The six main timber producing African countries in the Congo Basin meeting in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, from 21 to 22 October have agreed on measures to stop illegal timber trade.
The Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon on Wednesday adopted the Brazzaville Declaration to stop illegal timber trade.
Improving the way governments run the political and economic affairs on the continent has been considered critical for improving people’s lives in Africa.
This issue is under the spotlight at the United Nations this week which is being observed as Africa-NEPAD week from 21 to 25 October.
NEPAD, is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, adopted by African leaders in 2001 to promote development on the continent.
Since 1988, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched, the number of cases of polio has fallen by 99%.
There are currently just three countries where the disease is endemic–Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan—and experts are hopeful that polio will have disappeared completely within the next few years.
But the World Health Organization fears that a suspected outbreak in Syria, the first reported in the country since 1999, may spread throughout the region and prove difficult to contain amid civil unrest.
Attacks against peacekeepers and inter-communal violence continue to affect efforts to bring peace to Sudan’s Darfur region.
That message comes from Mohamed Ibn Chambas, head of the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), who briefed the Security Council on Wednesday.
Dianne Penn reports.
Duration: 2'44"
Treatment for tuberculosis has saved the lives of more than 22 million people, yet challenges remain, according to the United Nations health agency.
In its 2013 Global Tuberculosis Report launched in London on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) also says the number of people ill with TB fell to 8.6 million in 2012.
TB deaths decreased to 1.3 million, the report adds.
On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza, an eight story commercial building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, killing more than 1,100 people.
Gilbert Houngbo, the ILO’s Deputy Director-General for Field Operations sat down with Patrick Moser to discuss what has been done in the six months since the tragedy to improve conditions in the South Asian country’s ready-made garment (RMG) industry.
The situation of human rights in China was put under scrutiny at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.
The 47-member Council conducted the second Universal Periodic Review or UPR for the country.
A Chinese delegation of more than 40 members participated in the review where diplomats expressed their opinions about human rights in the most populous nation in the world.
The head of UN Political Affairs is urging the international community to take advantage of the current heightened diplomacy in the Middle East.
In a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday, Jeffrey Feltman said this moment provides opportunities for dialogue on a range of issues in the region.
Topping the list: the Middle East peace process, and the creation of two states—Israeli and Palestinian—whose people live side-by-side in peace and security.
Dianne Penn reports.
Duration: 2'28"
The rights of indigenous peoples continue to be violated throughout the world, according to a United Nations independent expert.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people, James Anaya, presented his final report to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.
In September 2007 the General Assembly adopted a declaration which outlines the rights of the estimated 370 million indigenous peoples around the world.
Derrick Mbatha reports.
The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to work with local authorities in the wake of an inter-communal attack in Twic East County in Jonglei State on Sunday.
UNMISS has strongly condemned the attack by unidentified assailants on cattle camps.
Cattle raids and inter-communal attacks and counter attacks continue to be a major security challenge for the government of South Sudan since the country became independent from Sudan in 2011.
