Americas

UN assists Peru after snowstorms threaten lives in highlands

19 July 2004
United Nations emergency relief programmes are channelling money, food and warm clothes to Peruvians today after snowstorms, accompanied by strong freezing winds, have destroyed more than 3,000 houses and threatened the survival of more than 150,000 people in the south and central highlands.
CTC Chairman Amb. Alexander Konuzin

Security Council backs committee's help to countries in anti-terror fight

19 July 2004
The United Nations Security Council today voiced ongoing support for the work of its Counter-Terrorism Committee and invited the expert group to accelerate its assessments of nations' abilities to fight the scourge.

UNICEF advocates ‘citizen watchdog’ to monitor aid to Haiti

18 July 2004
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is urging the creation of a “citizen watchdog” to support accountable reconstruction in Haiti, where past efforts at assistance have been hampered by corruption.
Children struggle to survive as temperatures plummet

UN agencies take urgent steps to help victims of cold snap in Peru

16 July 2004
With 50 Peruvian children already dead and 1.4 million people suffering from life-threatening respiratory infections due to the worst cold weather in 30 years, United Nations agencies have launched urgent operations to help hundreds of thousands of youngsters facing starvation and disease in the South American country.

UN mission condemns clashes in Haiti, urges efforts to promote stability

16 July 2004
The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) today condemned clashes which left a number of police dead in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
UNFPA chief Thoraya Obaid

US decision to deny funds could cost thousands of lives - UN population agency

16 July 2004
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today voiced regret that the United States administration has decided to withhold $34 million appropriated by Congress for the agency, warning that lives will be lost as a result.

UN development report calls for cultural freedom to become a basic human right

15 July 2004
Countries should treat cultural freedoms as basic human rights that are essential to life in modern, diverse societies, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says today in its annual flagship report.
Mark Malloch Brown of the UNDP

AIDS is wreaking devastating toll on human development - UN report

15 July 2004
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is having a catastrophic impact on human development in sub-Saharan Africa, reducing life expectancy and living standards in many countries and reversing the effects of any gains made in other fields, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says today.

UN agencies rushing aid to flood-hit Nicaragua appeal for donor support

14 July 2004
With Nicaragua now battered by four weeks of heavy rains which provoked landslides and flooding, United Nations agencies are rushing supplies to the affected areas while seeking nearly $1 million to provide more relief to 5,700 people in the Central American country.
Louise Fréchette

Leaders transcend borders and find local solutions, Fréchette tells students

14 July 2004
Good leaders must be able to connect with people from all over the world as well as operate effectively in complex environments, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette told a gathering of student leaders today.