Americas

Three UN peacekeepers in Haiti wounded during patrols

28 February 2005
Three United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti were shot at and slightly wounded by so far unidentified people during weekend patrols in an area of the Caribbean country's capital, Port-au-Prince, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said today.

UN begins formal inquiry into rape allegations against UN police officers in Haiti

25 February 2005
A board of inquiry into a Haitian woman's accusation that she was raped last week by two civilian police officers serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country has begun its work.

UN probing rape allegations against peacekeepers in Haiti

24 February 2005
A preliminary investigation into a Haitian woman's rape accusations against United Nations peacekeepers suggests that the encounter involved prostitution, but since the personal code of conduct for "blue helmets" forbids that kind of contact, the soldiers will be disciplined, a UN spokesman said today.

UN mission in Haiti says nearly 500 prisoners have escaped from national prison

22 February 2005
Nearly 500 prisoners escaped during an “armed commando” attack on the national penitentiary in Haiti’s capital over the weekend, but the Haitian police joined in returning two jailed ministers from the government of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the United Nations mission in the Caribbean country said.

Concerned for judicial independence in Ecuador, UN legal expert seeks early visit

18 February 2005
Citing urgent concerns over judicial independence in Ecuador after a move by Congress to replace 27 of the 31 Supreme Court judges with magistrates of its own choosing and the resignation of the court’s president, a top United Nations legal expert today called on the Government to let him to visit much sooner than it had wanted.

UN agency confirms new flight of civilians caught up in Colombian fighting

18 February 2005
Some 1,200 people in a region of northwestern Colombia that was the site of a church massacre two years ago have fled their homes in fear of impending clashes between various armed groups in the country’s decades-old civil war, and the numbers seem to be climbing, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

Inequality in Asia and policy gaps in Africa impede rise out of poverty, UN says

18 February 2005
Increasing social inequality in parts of Asia and the lack of beneficial policies and institutions in West and Central Africa are creating unique challenges to poverty eradication, senior officials from the United Nations agricultural fund said today in Rome.

UN envoy appeals to Caribbean Community to help with Haiti's reconstruction

18 February 2005
The top United Nations envoy for Haiti has appealed to the Caribbean Heads of State and government to lend a hand in reconstructing post-conflict Haiti and start a new form of cooperation between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the island nation.

UN human rights envoy calls on Barbados not to violate laws by executing prisoner

14 February 2005
A United Nations human rights expert has called on Barbados not to execute a convicted prisoner whose execution was scheduled to take place today, saying it would violate the Caribbean island’s international legal obligations.

UN human rights agency condemns massacre of seven Colombian peasants

11 February 2005
The United Nations human rights agency has called on the Colombian authorities to investigate as soon as possible the massacre of seven peasants, including two minors, at the end of last month and punish those responsible for “this atrocious crime.”