Afghanistan: 90
civilians killed in
recent military
operations, says UN
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 An
investigation by the
United Nations
Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan ( UNAMA)
has found that some 90
civilians, including 60
children, were among those
killed during military
operations in the
strife-torn nation's
western Herat province
last week.
A team of human rights
officers from UNAMA went
to Herat's Shindand
district to investigate
reports that large
numbers of civilian
casualties were
sustained during
operations conducted by
foreign and Afghan
military personnel
around midnight on 21
August.
They found
"convincing
evidence, based on the
testimony of
eyewitnesses, and
others," that some
90 civilians were killed
- including 60 children,
15 women and 15 men -
and another 15 villagers
wounded.
"This is a matter
of grave concern to the
United Nations. I have
repeatedly made clear
that the safety and
welfare of civilians
must be considered above
all else during the
planning and conduct of
all military
operations," Kai
Eide, Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General for
Afghanistan, said in a statement
issued in Kabul.
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UN climate
change talks in Ghana
 The
latest round of
United
Nations-sponsored
global climate
change negotiations
are underway in
Accra, Ghana,
bringing together
more than 1,600
participants to
discuss future
greenhouse gas
emission reduction
targets ahead of a
major summit set for
2009.
Government delegates
from 160 countries
and representatives
from business and
industry,
environmental
organizations and
research
institutions are
attending the
one-week meeting of
the UN Framework
Convention on
Climate Change ( UNFCCC).
The Accra
meeting is
part of a series of
UN-sponsored talks in
the run-up to the UN
Climate Change
Conference in Copenhagen
in December 2009.
The goal of the
negotiations is to
create a successor pact
to the Kyoto Protocol,
with first-round
commitments ending in
2012, on greenhouse gas
emissions reduction.
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Update:
Humanitarian situation
in Colombia
|
 The
United Nations refugee
agency has expressed
deep concern over the
humanitarian situation
of thousands of
Colombians fleeing the
conflict embroiling
the country's Pacific
coast region.
Fighting between two
rival guerrilla armies
and national forces
has forced some 800
people to escape to
the small town of
Lopez de Micay, where
most are sheltered in
school buildings with
only one meal a day
for the past week,
reported the UN High
Commissioner for
Refugees ( UNHCR).
Another 1,000 people have
taken flight from their
homes in the mountainous
Andes region of Nariño
further down the Pacific
Coast because of fighting
between the Columbian army
and an irregular armed
group.
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UN
supporting victims of
terrorism
|
 The
United Nations will
convene a symposium on
supporting victims of
terrorism next month
at headquarters in New
York.
The symposium, the
first of its kind at
the UN, seeks to help
member states to stand
as one to support the
victims of terrorism
and to encourage civil
society's involvement
in a global campaign
against terrorism.
Some 13 universal
anti-terrorism
conventions and three
protocols identifying
acts of terrorism will
be used as benchmarks
for selecting
participants to the
symposium.
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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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New
UN
Agency Reports
Here is a sample
of UN agency reports
recently published:
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