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Secretary-General
Ban welcomes new
political
agreement in
Zimbabwe
 UN
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
welcomed the
announcement by
President Robert
Mugabe of
Zimbabwe and
Morgan
Tsvangirai,
leader of the
opposition
Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC),
that they have
signed an
agreement paving
the way for
talks to end
instability in
the country.
"The
secretary-general
welcomes the
signing of a
memorandum of
understanding
between the
parties in
Zimbabwe, which
provides a
framework for
formal talks to
end the
political crisis
in the
country,"
according to a statement
released by
Michele Montas,
Mr. Ban's
spokesperson.
Mr.
Ban commended
the efforts of
South African
President Thabo
Mbeki and his
mediation team
in facilitating
the signing of
the agreement
and stressed
that the UN was
committed to
supporting
continuing
mediation
efforts through
participating in
the Reference
Group.
Photo:
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
(right) meets
with Morgan
Tsvangirai,
Leader of the
Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) of
Zimbabwe, at UN
headquarters in
New York in
April 2008.
UN
Photo by
Eskinder Debebe
The
Reference Group
"will
accompany the
mediation
process and
consult, as
needed, on how
to facilitate
and advance the
negotiations,"
according to Ms.
Montas.
The other
members of the
group are the
African Union
and the Organ on
Politics,
Defense and
Security of the
Southern African
Development
Community (SADC).
"The
Secretary-General
encourages all
sides to engage,
in good faith,
in serious talks
that would lead
to a lasting
solution to the
political crisis
and address the
urgent economic
and humanitarian
needs of the
Zimbabwean
people,"
Ms. Montas said.
Mr. Ban also
urged the
enabling of
humanitarian
operations in
the country to
provide
assistance to
those in dire
need.
Senior UN
political
official Haile
Menkerios was in
Pretoria over
the weekend to
consult with
President Mbeki
and AU
Chairperson Jean
Ping on the
situation in
Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe has
been plagued by
violence and
unrest since a
first round of
presidential
elections was
held on March
29, followed by
a run-off
election last
month in which
Mr. Mugabe was
declared the
winner after Mr.
Tsvangirai
dropped out.
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UN
prosecutor
welcomes arrest
of Radovan
Karadzić -
"historic
moment for the
victims"
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 Nearly
13 years after the
first indictment
for crimes
committed as a
former Bosnian
Serb political
leader, Radovan
Karadzić has
been detained in
Serbia.
The chief
prosecutor of the
United Nations war
crimes tribunal,
which was set up
to try those
responsible for
atrocities
committed during
the Balkan
conflicts of the
1990s, welcomed
the arrest.
 Mr.
Karadzić's
indictment was
confirmed at the
International
Criminal Tribunal
for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY)
in The Hague.
He faces charges of
genocide, complicity
in genocide,
extermination,
murder, willful
killing,
persecutions,
deportation,
inhumane acts and
other crimes related
to his roles during
the 1990s as the
president of
Republika Srpska,
head of the Serbian
Democratic Party and
Supreme Commander of
Bosnian Serb
military forces,
known as VRS.
ICTY prosecutor
Serge Brammertz said
in a press statement
that the arrest of
Mr. Karadzić
was a
"milestone in
cooperation"
with the tribunal,
and he congratulated
the efforts of
Serbian authorities.
"This is a very
important day for
the victims who have
waited for this
arrest for over a
decade," Mr.
Brammertz said.
"It is also an
important day for
international
justice because it
clearly demonstrates
that nobody is
beyond the reach of
the law and that
sooner or later all
fugitives will be
brought to
justice."
Photo:
ICTY prosecutor
Serge Brammertz
briefs reporters
outside the
Security Council
chamber at UN
headquarters in
New York. UN Photo
by Devra Berkowitz
Mr.
Karadzić had
been one of three
remaining
fugitives from the
ICTY, along with
Bosnian Serb
military chief
Ratko Mladić
and the ethnic
Serb politician
Goran Hadzić.
Mr.
Brammertz said the
date of Mr.
Karadzić's
transfer to the
custody of the
tribunal will be
decided later.
The indictment
states that Mr.
Karadzić and
others aimed to
control areas of
Bosnia and
Herzegovina that
had been
proclaimed part of
a self-styled
Serbian republic
and significantly
reduce their
non-Serb
population. They
are alleged to
have forced
non-Serbs such as
Bosnian Muslims
and Bosnian Croats
to leave, expelled
those who were
reluctant and
killed others.
"This
is a historic
moment for the
victims, who have
waited 13 years
for Mr. Karadzic
to be brought to
justice," said Michele
Montas,
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesperson.
Mr. Karadzić
is linked in the
indictment to some
of the most
notorious events
of the Balkan
conflicts,
including the 1995
massacre of about
8,000 Muslim men
and boys in the
supposed safe
haven of
Srebrenica and the
protracted
shelling and
sniping of
civilian residents
of the city of
Sarajevo.
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John
Ruggie
Special
Representative
of the
Secretary-General
on the Issue
of Human
Rights and
Transnational
Corporations
and other
Business
Enterprises
John Gerard
Ruggie
serves as
the United
Nations
secretary-general's
special
representative
for business
and human
rights.
Mr. Ruggie
also serves
as a
Kirkpatrick
Professor of
International
Affairs and
director of
the
Mossavar-Rahmani
Center for
Business and
Government
at Harvard
University's
John F.
Kennedy
School of
Government.
He also
serves as an
Affiliated
Professor in
International
Legal
Studies at
Harvard Law
School as
well as a
Faculty
Chair of the
Kennedy
School's
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
Initiative.
From
1997-2001,
Mr. Ruggie
was
assistant
secretary-general
and chief
adviser for
strategic
planning to
UN
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
He advised
the
secretary-general
on the
positioning
of the
United
Nations vis-à-vis
key global
challenges
and
constituencies,
including
institutional
reforms and
priorities,
UN-US
relations
and UN
relations
with the
global
business
community.
Ruggie's
major
responsibilities
included
designing
and
overseeing
the Global
Compact,
Annan's
flagship
initiative
to engage
the
corporate
sector in
promoting UN
principles
in the areas
of human
rights,
labor
standards,
environmental
sustainability
and
anti-corruption,
which now
engages some
3,000 firms
worldwide.
He also
played a
central role
in preparing
the United
Nations
Millennium
Summit in
2000,
including
drafting the
summit
report (We
the Peoples:
The Role of
the United
Nations in
the 21st
Century), as
well as the
summit's
final
"Declaration,"
which
adopted the
Millennium
Development
Goals that
have brought
renewed
energy and
focus to the
fight
against
global
poverty.
- Read more
about John
Ruggie...
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United
Nations
Peacekeepers
participate in
the Bastille
Day Parade in
Paris, France,
in honor of
the sixtieth
anniversary of
United Nations
Peacekeeping
Operations. UN
Photo by Mark
Garten
To
learn more
about UN
Peacekeeping,
visit:
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About
the United
Nations in
Washington
As
the UN
Secretary-General's
office in
Washington,
D.C, the
United Nations
Information
Center serves
as the focal
point for UN
news and
information to
advance
understanding
of the UN and
its work, and
to serve as a
resource for
United States government
officials,
NGOs,
civil-society
organizations
and the
American
people.
For more
information
about the
Center or
any of the
UN-affiliated
agencies,
please call
202-331-8670,
email unicdc@unicwash.org or
visit us
online at www.unicwash.org.
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