Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking to reporters flanked by victims including Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician held for 2321 days by Colombian rebels, said, "Too often the victims of terrorism are reduced to numbers, and dehumanized - too often we pay more attention to the voices of terrorists, rather than their victims - we want to put a human face on the scourge of terrorism, and provide an opportunity for victims to share experiences, gather best practices."
 
Ms. Betancourt added, "For us, this meeting is very important because when we talk about victims of terrorism, we are talking about human suffering, and suffering that goes on every day."

 

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United Nations humanitarian agencies are providing food, water, and relief supplies to hurricane victims in the Caribbean after a fourth hurricane struck the region in less than a month.
 
Hurricane Ike, the latest of the deadly storms, has killed more than 40 people in Cabaret, a village near Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, adding to the 500 deaths in the northern port city of Gonaïves as a result of Hurricane Hanna last week.
 
In Haiti, where some 800,000 have been affected by the flooding and lethal mudslides, UN agencies are mobilizing their relief efforts by providing emergency food assistance, water, purification tablets, blankets and other supplies.