Africa

The UNMIS Corrections Advisory Unit conducts a training exercise for prison officers

On the eve of a new State, UN lends a helping hand to improve prison system

26 May 2011
In what will soon be the world’s newest country, Southern Sudan, the independence celebrations are about to start. But in a place where paying jobs are few, functioning roads are fewer and the population is still deeply scarred by war, the hard spadework of nation-building is only just beginning.
Amb. Mark Lyall Grant

Somalia’s leaders must agree on way forward for peace process – Security Council

26 May 2011
The Security Council has stressed that a planned consultative meeting of Somalia’s leadership next month should result in agreement on a schedule for elections in the Horn of Africa country, where the interim federal institutions remain divided over governance issues beyond August when the transitional period expires.
Displaced people seeking safety and assistance at a Catholic mission in Duékoué, Côte d’Ivoire

Death toll in Ivorian post-election violence surpassed 1,000 – UN

26 May 2011
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reported today that post-election violence that began last December had killed more than 1,000 people in the western part of the country before it came to an end last month.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (file photo)

Africa’s young people vital to sustainable development, says UN chief

25 May 2011
One of Africa’s greatest untapped resources is its young people, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today, urging the continent to take advantage of the skills and talents of its youth to promote sustainable development.

In Africa, UN chief spotlights progress in improving women’s and children’s health

25 May 2011
Visiting health workers in Ethiopia today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spotlighted the progress made in improving the health of women and children, while also stressing the need to do more to avoid needless deaths.
Ongoing violence in Somalia has forced more than two million people to flee their homes

Somalia: Ban urges leaders to commit to stability and public service

25 May 2011
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Somalia’s transitional federal institutions (TFIs) to demonstrate they are moving the country towards political stability and social-economic development, saying the Security Council and donors are losing patience with the tensions within the leadership.
Unidentified men carry away sacks of food looted from the World Food Programme compound in Abyei, Sudan

Sudanese town of Abyei still tense after burning and looting, UN reports

25 May 2011
While the Sudanese town of Abyei is now empty with its residents having fled the recent violence, the situation there remains tense, according to the United Nations, which called on both sides to cease their hostilities and return to negotiations.
Homes set on fire by armed elements in Abyei following the seizure of the town by Northern Sudanese troops

UN human rights chief urges immediate end to violence in Abyei

24 May 2011
The United Nations human rights chief today condemned the recent attacks in the disputed Sudanese region of Abyei and called on the governments of both the north and the south to peacefully resolve the crisis.
Families take shelter in the Catholic Mission in the western town of Duékoué, Côte d’Ivoire

Clashes in south-western Côte d’Ivoire hamper UN humanitarian efforts

24 May 2011
Armed clashes in south-western Côte d’Ivoire have displaced thousands of women and children, halted a vital polio immunization campaign, and are threatening other forms of life-saving assistance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today.
UNDP irrigation support has this farm in Arabaat, Sudan in full bloom

UN-managed irrigation project in Sudan boosts community’s crop production

24 May 2011
Irrigation equipment provided through an initiative managed by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) has enabled more than 1,000 farmers in north-eastern Sudan to increase harvests and boost incomes from the sale of their produce.