Americas

UN chooses Costa Rican human rights expert as rapporteur on right to education

31 August 2004
A Costa Rican professor and adviser with a long record of advocating for the protection of human rights has been selected by the United Nations to serve as the world body's Special Rapporteur on the right to education.
Economic blockades have severely affected the local population

UN officials begin mission to remote Colombian region affected by civil war

27 August 2004
Colombian authorities and United Nations humanitarian officials have begun a joint mission to the country’s remote and impoverished Middle San Juan River region to assess how best to help more than 1,200 Afro-Colombians there displaced by recent fighting in the long-running civil war.
Juan Gabriel Valdés

UN mission in Haiti renovates school in suburb of capital

27 August 2004
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti today inaugurated a renovated school in the Pétionville suburb of the Caribbean island's capital, Port-au-Prince, as the first in a series of quick impact projects that will include repairing a public centre in another suburb, Cité Soleil, and a medical centre in the capital.

Haitian Electoral Council inherits $9 million in US funds from 2000 UN mission

25 August 2004
Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council has received just over $9 million in United States funding left over from a one-year United Nations mission, which consolidated the work of previous operations on respecting human rights, reinforcing law enforcement and coordinating international dialogue with Haitian leaders until February 2001.
Mr. Shashi Tharoor

UN lauds sporting values of teamwork and tolerance at US Open tennis ceremony

25 August 2004
As the international professional tennis caravan stopped off today at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the men's and women's singles draws for the United States Open, a senior UN official spotlighted the shared values of tolerance, teamwork and respect.
The community of Altos de Cazuca

Colombians displaced by conflict face new threats, UN refugee agency warns

24 August 2004
Officials from the United Nations refugee agency have met Colombian lawmakers to discuss how to improve the human rights situation around the capital, Bogotá, where tens of thousands of people displaced by its civil war are facing renewed threats of violence and even murder.

Guatemala: UN urges probe of threats against Human Rights Ombudsman

19 August 2004
Calling attention to new threats against Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman, the United Nations Verification Mission (MINUGUA) is urging the local authorities to investigate.

Brazil beats Haiti in UN-backed peace-building soccer match

19 August 2004
A Brazilian all-star team shut out Haiti six to zero in a friendly soccer match on Wednesday aimed at encouraging national reconciliation in the troubled Caribbean nation, with the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MINUSTAH) on hand to provide security and public health information.

Haiti plays UN-organized national reconciliation soccer match against Brazil

18 August 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed a friendly soccer match between Brazil and Haiti in the troubled Caribbean country's capital for showcasing not only some of the best athletes in the world but also the ideal of peace.

In fight against child mortality UNICEF chief urges doctors to address root causes

17 August 2004
With nearly 11 million children dying before the age of five every year, most from preventable causes, the world's paediatricians must champion action that reaches beyond traditional health initiatives to underlying factors such as poverty, discrimination, and minority marginalization, according to the United Nations' top children's advocate.