Tag: UN

Baby steps at Durban yield negotiating draft

The first week of the 17th UN Climate Conference closed in Durban, South Africa today with a 73-page draft negotiating text, which was issued to conference members for further discussion.

An “amalgamation” of drafts, the document includes suggestions for relevant issues such as finance, technology, cooperation and capacity building. Included in the recommendations are steps to create a $100-billion-per-year Green Fund by 2020 to help developing countries tackle the causes and impacts of global warming.

The text does not address the conference’s entrenching concern: a legally binding agreement regulating carbon emissions by developed and developing countries. Instead, a separate group has been assigned to address the issue, and will report directly to the Conference of Parties.

According to the text, India’s Economic Times observes that “the South African presidency would like the final outcome of the meeting to be a ‘party-driven’ process.

With a stated ambition to serve as a bonding agent for individual group work done at the conference the draft text “provides an overview aimed at enabling delegates to see where there are gaps or lack of balance and to find ways to address these accordingly,” reads the introduction.

A final document will be submitted to the Conference of Parties and the general assembly for review in the coming days.

Another leading concern is the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding agreement to cut carbon emissions which was not signed by the world’s leading emitters, China and the United States (US). While the European Union has voiced support for the agreement, Canada suggested withdrawal at the conference’s start and other countries dug in their heels over signing a second term.

Over the weekend, however, China indicated it would consider a “legally binding” deal to reduce emissions. The decision followed a public rally on December 3.

US National Public Radio (NPR) reporter Richard Harris, reporting from Durban, said Kyoto alternatives do exist.

“For example, it might be possible to reach an agreement to set a global limit for emissions from energy-intensive industries such as steelmaking. Or, if the world agreed to put a price on carbon (not likely at the moment), that would encourage a shift away from carbon dioxide emissions without requiring a treaty that spells out national emissions limits. A gloomier possibility is the world will not act until and unless there’s a catastrophic event that’s clearly triggered by climate change.”

His conclusion echoes the Maldivian delegation’s message, articulated by Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam: “Our survival will be our top priority.”

Upon his departure for the conference, Aslam said the Maldives would lobby for a new international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a rise in sea level, and would not relent to any country.

“We can’t go on without finding a conclusion to this. The Maldives will lobby for and say whatever we have to say to any country it is that we will not be able to move forward without endorsing this agreement.”

Officials at the ministry had not received sufficient updates from the Durban delegation to comment. Minivan was unable to reach the delegation abroad at time of press.

Meanwhile, former UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told the Associated Press (AP) that although he believes world leaders want an agreement, a failed negotiation process for a climate agreement had been a factor in his decision to leave his post 18 months ago.

“I do not see the negotiating process being able to rise to that challenge, being capable of delivering on that,” he told AP. “I believe the sincerity on the part of world leaders is there, but it’s almost as though they do not have control of the process that’s suppose to take them there.”

Do Boer, who refers to annual 194-nation summit as “a bit of a mouse wheel”, termed the current talks and their predecessors “a log that’s drifted away.” However, he recognises a group fear of leadership.”There is understandably a reluctance to be the first one to jump,” he said.

Meanwhile, the public is urging a plunge. “Occupy Durban”, a movement inspired by the ongoing “Occupy Wallstreet” protest in New York City, has assembled South African and foreign citizens protesting the “conference of polluters” which many claim does not represent the people.

Responding to Canada’s souring relationship with the Kyoto Protocol, indigenous citizens of Canada’s northern territories arrived in Durban “to act as a witness and to bring back the message of what Canada is saying so that we all understand where the Canadian government is at,” one protestor told CBC News Canada.

“We know that as indigenous people we have a lot of knowledge that is relevant to ecosystem, and that knowledge needs to be used when working on climate change adaptation,” said Daniel T’selei, a member of the indigenous youth delegation.

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Maldives calls for increased foreign intervention in Syria

The Maldives, European Union (EU), United States (US) and Arab League have convened a UN Emergency Session on human rights in Syria. The session is taking place at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Maldives was named one of the seven most important countries on the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed the Maldives played a key role in convening the session, which addressed the killing of thousands of Muslim civilians by Syrian security forces since the its Arab Spring began earlier this year.

The Maldives has also expressed full support for measures taken by the Arab League against Syria, which include economic sanctions.

The BBC today reported that Syria’s government said the League’s proposal to allow observers into the country placed “impossible conditions” on Damascus and infringed on Syria’s sovereignty.

The session in Geneva included a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which revealed “widespread evidence of gross and systemic human rights violations in the country.

“The conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry is that these violations amount to crimes against humanity, and thus necessitate referral to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court,” read the statement.

Addressing the session, Maldives’ Ambassador Iruthisham Adam accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government for missing “numerous opportunities to respond to the protests with dialogue and reform”, instead choosing repression, the statement claimed.

Adam further noted that Syrian authorities had rejected “numerous international efforts to mediate” by various bodies including the UN and the Arab League.

Adam concluded that the crimes committed constituted crimes against humanity, and therefore the international community would be expected to take further measures to protect the civilian population.

According to a UN estimate, 4,000 civilians have been killed since March. November was the deadliest month with nearly 950 casualties. Protestors acted peacefully until recently, when reports indicate that activists and civilians took arms against Syrian officials.

The Maldives has objected to Syria’s state-sponsored violence for several months. In August, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem firmly declared, “the time for promises is over – it is now time for action.”

More recently, 11 Syrian nationals were detained attempting to get into Germany and Switzerland via Maldives with forged Turkish passports. The government has pledged not to deport them to Syria, and is awaiting the family’s resolution.

While the Maldives supports international pressure during Syria’s unrest, it also backs Sri Lanka’s preference for privacy post facto. Amidst rising demand for an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s human rights violations at the end of its civil war, President Mohamed Nasheed voiced support for an internal investigation.

“We must understand that a number of very, very bad things happened but we must be able to move forward,” Nasheed said previously, distinguishing between investigating past abuses and supporting ongoing violations.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed previously spoke to Minivan News on the subject.

“You can’t have reconciliation and long-lasting peace unless you respect human rights and set up mechanisms to do so,” he said. “But we should steer clear of politicisation, or the divisions that have kept the flame of terrorism alive in Sri Lanka for so long. We are saying let Sri Lanka find a way forward and achieve reconciliation – we are not saying we don’t care about the past.”

Sri Lanka’s LLRC report was presented to the President on November 15, and to Parliament on November 20. Its findings have not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, the UN Emergency Session in Geneva adopted a new resolution to increase international pressure on Syria by citing crimes against humanity. It will refer the matter to relevant UN bodies in New York and will establish a UN Special Rapporteur on Syria.

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SE Asia should focus on keeping kids HIV-free: WHO

HIV/AIDS is shifting profile from a “life-threatening emergency to a manageable chronic disease,” finds an annual report on the Global Response to HIV/AIDS.

The report was released in honor of World Aids Day on December 1, 2011 by World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in collaboration with international partners.

The report analyses the health sector’s prevention, treatment and care to those infected in low- and middle- income countries using data through 2010. Among the recommendations for South East Asia was to eliminate childhood infection by 2015.

“We must learn from our experiences, and work to ensure that no child born gets infected with HIV,” Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, said in a press statement.

As of 2010, 16 million people out of South East Asia’s population of 593 million had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. But statistics suggest a synchronized solution. Over the preceding decade infection rates in South-East Asia declined by a sharp 34 percent while the number of people receiving treatment increased ten-fold.

“We are coming out of a transformative decade for the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With innovative treatment regimens, improved health services as well as political commitment, HIV-positive people who are on treatment are living longer and better lives,” Plianbangchang said.

As WHO pushes South-East Asia to eliminate the disease it makes children a priority. Towards that end, an initiative to eliminate new paediatric HIV infections and congential syphilis by that date was launched this year.

Meanwhile, less than one in five pregnant women in the region do not have access to testing facilities, and two out of three infected pregnant women do not receive anti-viral prophylaxis.

Historically the Maldives has been minimally affected by HIV/AIDS, however social trends are putting the population at risk.

Between 1991 and 2006 only 13 HIV cases were reported among Maldivians, compared to 168 among expatriate workers. Of the Maldivian cases 10 were sailors, two were spouses, and one was a resort worker who had traveled abroad; 11 cases were male, and all patients cited heterosexual transmission as the cause.

Yet the country’s geographical constraints have made it highly dependent on foreign imports. This has been shown to include human trafficking for purposes including sexual entertainment. In 2010, an HIV-positive prostitute was arrested locally.

Late last month, human trafficking was reported a growing industry. In 2008, a World Bank report listed mobility, sexual practice, commercial sex work and drug use as leading risk factors. Although HIV is not prevalent within the Maldives, the report claims travel, work and education abroad open opportunities for transmission.

The Maldives also has the world’s highest divorce rate, indicating a high rate of shared partners within the country. Without any formal sexual education in schools and a general stigma around purchasing a condom, the basic defenses against HIV transmission are low.

The report also cites drug use as a risk factor for two reasons. “Drug users may resort to selling sex to earn money, and injecting drug users (IDUs) may share needles/syringes.”

In Awareness, the Maldives scored in the middle-range. While 99 percent of Maldivians polled had heard of HIV/AIDS and 91 percent knew at least one mode of HIV transmission, only 50 percent said condoms can protect against HIV and 34 percent did not know that a healthy looking person can carry the virus.

Currently, the government and independent organisations provide support and awareness within the Maldives. The National AIDS Council, established in 1987, oversees the National AIDS Program (NAP) which coordinates and monitors a multi-sectoral response to the issue.

United Nations’ Development Program (UNDP) is also running a project, active in the Maldives until 2012, with several local NGOs. It aims to support preventative efforts and improve treatment.

Among the conclusions drawn in WHO’s 2011 report on Asia are:

  • Cambodia was the only country to achieve universal ART access
  • 39 percent infected children had access to paediatric HIV treatment
  • 49 percent of people living with HIV are in India
  • Infections among children declined by 23 percent in Asia, but increased by 31 percent in East Asia
  • Asia’s death toll from AIDS-related causes in 2010 was the largest outside sub-Saharan Africa; approximately 310,000 people died
  • Half of the 4.5 million people in Asia who inject drugs live in China
  • Homosexual transmission is highest among men in Indonesia, India and Myanmar

Officials at the Ministry of Health and Family and WHO Maldives were unavailable for comment at time of press.

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Islamic Ministry condemns MPs for allowing UN Human Rights Commissioner to address parliament

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has issued a statement proclaiming that nobody is allowed to talk against Islam in the Maldives, “even in parliament”, as Islam is “the source of all laws made in the Maldives.”

The Ministry’s statement follows a call from UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay in parliament last week that the Maldives put a moratorium on the practice of flogging as punishment for extra-marital sex,  while it holds a debate on the matter.

Pillay told parliament that flogging was a form of punishment “that is cruel and demeaning to women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

The Islamic Ministry condemned the parliament’s decision to let Pillay speak, noting that MPs were handed a Dhivehi translation of her speech and should have been aware of what she was about to say.

‘’No Muslim has the right to advocate against flogging for fornication,” the Islamic Ministry stated.

“According to the Quran 100 lashes should be given for the woman and man involved in fornication,’’ the Ministry said, citing 33:36 of Quran which reads: ‘’It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.’’

The Ministry said that no international organisation, foreign country or individual had the “right to obstruct Maldivians from upholding Islamic principles.”

‘’To preserve this nation’s sovereignty, all Maldivian citizens are obliged to respect the articles in the constitution and uphold the constitution,’’ the statement read. ‘’No law against any tenet of Islam can be enacted in the Maldives, according to the constitution.’’

The Islamic Ministry said any calls or action against this would be condemned by the ministry “in strongest possible terms.”

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has yesterday sent a letter to the UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, alleging that a call from UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay for a moratorium on flogging was “inhumane and disrespectful.”

In a press conference last week, Pillay also described the 100 percent Muslim provision in the Maldivian constitution as “discriminatory, and does not comply with international standards” which led to protests outside the UN head office in Male’.

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Salaf sends letter to UN, calls for action against Pillay

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has sent a letter to the UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, alleging that a call from UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay for a moratorium on flogging was “inhumane and disrespectful.”

In the open letter written in Dhivehi, sent to media today, Salaf claimed that Pillay had challenged the constitution and Islamic Sharia.

Salaf claimed the UN Resident Coordinator was obliged to write an incident report to the concerned person at the UN, “to take action against Pillay and seek a binding agreement that nothing like this will repeated by the UN in the future.”

‘’As the UN is a protected organisation in this muslim nation, it is something you should do to be sincere to the official religion of this nation and to respect the Muslims that serve in the UN,’’ Salaf said in the letter. ‘’If not, Maldivians will be forced to believe that the UN is conducting activities in this country with a hidden agenda to disrupt the peace, disrupt the religion of Islam and to influence civil unrest.’’

Salaf said Pillay’s comments “might change citizens’ perspective of the UN and its services to the Maldives”. The Maldives had a right to inform other Muslim nations of how ‘’dangerous’’ and ‘’scary’’ Pillay is, Salaf said.

‘’Let it be known, be it UN or an international organisation or a powerful country, if anyone acted as Pillay acted and criticised the religion of Islam, we cannot wait without denying it,’’ Salaf’s letter said.

Salaf further accused Pillay of denying the existence of the Maldivian constitution, although a recording of her relevant comment in Thursday’s press conference indicates that this was widely misreported in the Maldivian media. Pillay was responding to the phrasing of a question by Miadhu Editor Gabbe Latheef, and said “I don’t believe you have a constitution, you have a constitution”.

In parliament, Pillay called for a moratorium and debate on flogging as a punishment for fornication, describing it as a form of punishment “that is cruel and demeaning to women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

She also described the 100 percent Muslim provision in the Maldivian constitution as “discriminatory, and does not comply with international standards.”

In its letter, Salaf claimed that if Pillay was allowed to get away with her statements, this would be “torture of Maldivians”, and warned that the NGO “would be watching” the UN.

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More than 1000 cases of child abuse reported in 2011

Between December 2010 and October 2011, 1,138 cases of child abuse were reported to the Gender Department from atoll family and children service centres.

1,005 cases involved minors while 133 cases involved victims aged 18 and above.

A majority of cases (348) involved children aged 11 to 15; 30 percent of these cases were classified as sexual abuse.

Approximately one-third of the 81 cases involving children less than one year old involved neglect. Sexual abuse was reported in a quarter of the 192 cases for age group one to five, and in a fifth of the 230 cases age group five to ten.

Acting Head of the Child and Family Protection Services Aishath Ahmed said the report said more about the record keeping system than the issue itself.

“I would say the statistics show an improvement in the reporting system because people are more aware of how to file a report. I don’t think the situation is getting better, as far as I know the number of cases is increasing,” she said, explaining the report only accounted for cases reported.

However, Ahmed said people are less hesitant about filing reports than they were five years ago.

“Back then people didn’t want to report the cases, they didn’t want to get involved in other people’s business. But now they can report anonymously,” said Ahmed, explaining that island residents were also filing reports more regularly.

“Before, some people believed that only sexual penetration constituted child abuse,” she explained. “Now, they know more about the different kinds of abuse. The definition of sexual abuse is also clearer, so they can distinguish.”

Child abuse cases are divided between four categories: sexual, physical, psychological and neglect. Statistics show that 57 percent of abuse cases reported were physical. Ahmed said the second most common form of abuse was neglect (17.4 percent).

Family problems such as domestic violence, runaways and complications due to divorce were identified in 14.1 percent of the cases. Behavioral problems including teen pregnancy, self-mutilation, attempted suicide and anger management accounted for another 14 percent of reported cases.

In it’s own report, Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) yesterday said its offices had received 500 complaints of human rights violations in the past year, 74 of which involved the social protection of children, elderly and disadvantaged people.

HRCM is one of several organisations with which individuals may file a report on child abuse in the Maldives.

A report submitted to the United Nations by HRCM in July this year found that physical discipline in some schools qualifies as abuse.

“For instance, the investigation carried out by HRCM on Lale’ International School (2010) made apparent that number of students experienced physical and psychological abuse in the school. Some of the findings include abuses such as strangling and whipping children with belts. The findings of HRCM were further validated when the Criminal Court in August 2010 found the former principal of the school, guilty of assaulting children and sentenced him to pay Rf200 (US $12.97 ) as fine under article 126 of the Penal Code.”

Staff of Lale’ School, including the deputy principle, fled the Maldives in 2010 over allegations of child abuse and other misconducted, which was investigated by HRCM.

Article 10 of the Law on Protection of the Rights of the Child states that punishment in schools should be age-appropriate and should not affect them physically or psychologically.

According to Ahmed, child abuse has a lasting impact on the individual and the community.

The aftermath of abuse can vary by the age of the victim and the severity of the treatment. “If a child has experienced repeated sexual abuse, then as the child approaches sexual maturity she or he may have a difficult time adjusting within the age group. Physically abused children may also develop violent habits in their own marriages later in life,” said Ahmed.

Abusive behavior can also impact children’s social development. “It affects education as well. Children who have been abused sometimes can’t cope with their peers, and they might lash out or withdraw. They may have a hard time paying attention in school,” she explained.

HRCM’s report said the Ministry of Education (MoE) acknowledged that school monitoring and inspection was insufficient.

“Due to the fact that corporal punishment is existent in the education system, it is important that the MoE come up with a discipline policy where it could provide clear guidelines disciplinary actions/corrective measures in schools. It is equally significant that all staffs, including teachers are sensitized to the rights of the child and other related rights that are relevant while working in the education sector.”

HRCM’s action plan includes the public outreach campaign ‘Every Neglect is an Abuse’. The commission has also released handouts informing citizens of the United Nations’ Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), of which the Maldives is a signatory.

Last week, the Maldives recognised “World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse: Every Neglect is an Abuse“. Children’s festivals were organised by government groups and NGOs including the Child Abuse Prevention Society (CAPS), HRCM, the Ministry of Education, the Department of Gender and Family, Maldives Police Service, Care Society, Maldives Autism Association, Maldives Red Crescent and Tiny Hearts.

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed, who attended both events, said the efforts to raise public awareness of child abuse was an indicator of Maldivian society’s growing concern over the issue. Listing the four categories of abuse–physical, sexual, psychological and neglect–he urged parents not be overly-critical of their children.

When asked if there were sufficient resources for the Maldivian community to address child abuse, Ahmed said the network is growing.

“People can contact the police, NGOs, HRCM, and there’s a Family Protection Unit in IGMH [Indira Ghandi Memorial Hospital]. The cases are also forwarded to us, and we review them to see how best to address them,” she said.

Ahmed explained that a series of interviews, visits and follow-up reports are conducted to evaluate a claim. Sometimes the situation is not as severe as initially reported. “We may close a case when we feel there is no further assistance we can provide, but we rarely close a case.”

Child and Family Protection Services will be working to create more awareness throughout the year. A more specific action plan has not yet been drawn up.

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Half the world aged under 25: UN State of the World Report

With almost half the world’s seven billion people aged under 25, and 1.2 billion aged 10-19, investment and education in the young has never been more important.

That was one stand-out finding of the UN’s State of the World Population Report for 2011, unveiled in the Maldives today during a ceremony in the UN’s headquarters in Male’.

Rather than preach population reduction measures, the report acknowledges seven billion as testimony to the success of humanity, and advocates “planning and the right investments in people now – to empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves but for our global commons.”

Space, a video promo by National Geographic for the report noted, was not the problem. Rather, it was a question of balance.

“Our world of seven billion can have thriving, sustainable cities, productive labour forces that can fuel economic growth, youth populations that contribute to the well-being of economies and societies, and a generation of older people who are healthy and actively engaged in the social and economic affairs of their communities,” noted Executive Director of the UNFPA, Babatunde Osotimehin, in the report’s introduction.

“People are living longer, healthier lives. But not everyone has benefited from his achievement or the higher quality of life that this implies. Great disparities exist between and within countries. Disparities in rights and opportunities also exist between men and women, girls and boys,” Osotimehin wrote. “Governments that are serious about eradicating poverty should also be serious about providing the services, supplies, information that women need to exercise their reproductive rights.”

Many of the issues to do with providing opportunities for youth outlined in the report have strong parallels in the Maldives, where a quarter of the population is aged between 15-24.

Speaking at the report’s launch in Male’, Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan observed the migration of young people to Male’, and the need to create more job opportunities in the atolls.

Currently, a quarter of all young men and half of all young women in the atolls are unemployed. Anecdotally, many youth in Male’ are voluntarily unemployed.

Dr Waheed acknowledged the problem: “As important as access to jobs are better wages. People make calculations on whether it is worth working. If the pay is so low [they are unable to afford rent], they will stay at home and remain dependent on their parents,” he noted.

“It is also important to look at jobs not just in terms of salaries, but work satisfaction,” Dr Waheed said, noting that teachers in the Maldives frequently claimed this as their highest concern.
It was also important to ensure growing the number of jobs – an estimated 21,000 were needed each year – also included women, he added.

Deputy Minister of Finance Haifa Naeem suggested the Maldives needed to “diversify jobs to attract the youth market, in fields such as arts and culture.”

“Social investments in youth people’s education, health and employment can enable countries to beuild a storng economic base, thereby reveersing intergenerational poverty. Enhancing young people’s capacties can yield larger returns during the course of their economically productive lives,” the report noted.

Read the report

World at a glance:

  • People under 25 make up 43 percent of the world’s population, and 60 percent of the population of developing countries
  • Seven billion people would fit shoulder-to-shoulder in Los Angeles
  • 27.3 percent of young women in South Asia are employed, compared to 47.7 percent in developed countries. In the Middle east, the figure is 21.5 percent.
  • Half the population of the world live in cities
  • Asia currently accounts for 60 percent of the world’s population, while Africa is expected to triple to 3.6 billion by 2100
  • The average fertility rate is 2.5 children
  • The population growth rate for developed regions is 0.4 percent. For least developed regions, 2.2 percent
  • The population grew by one billion in just 12 years

Maldives at a glance:

  • The Maldives’ population in 2011 is 325,125, not including 70,259 foreign workers
  • Male’s population in 2011 was 110,000. In 1911 it was 5236, and in 1970, it was 14,037
  • 40 percent of the population are aged 15-24, and half of the country’s young people live in Male’
  • 1 in 4 people in the country are expatriate workers
  • Life expectancy has increased by 20 years since the 1980s
  • Every day, 20 people are born and three people die
  • The average annual income in Male’ is US$7217. In the atolls, it is US$647 – eight percent
  • One in three Maldivian women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes
  • 42 percent of working-age women are unemployed
  • In the atolls, 50 percent of young women and 25 percent of young men are unemployed
  • The average woman is married at 19, and has her first child at 20
  • The Maldives spends 15 percent of its GDP importing fossil fuels, over US$200 million a year
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UN celebrates 66th anniversary

The United Nations (UN)’s Maldives office today marked the 66th anniversary of the UN’s founding with a ceremony and reception held in the UN’s Male’ compound.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan observed that the UN “is as relevant today as it was when it was first founded.”

Dr Waheed, himself a former UN employee with the UNICEF agency, noted that he had himself witnessed the organisation’s work in 16 of the 190 countries in which it had a presence.

In countries such as Yeman and Afghanistan, Dr Waheed recalled that he had seen friends “risk their lives to deliver food, medicine and books to remote parts of countries that even government officials rarely visit. I’ve worked with warlords who fear the UN because of the human rights it stands for.”

The UN had a mandate to protect people from their own government, if the government turned on its own population, he said.

“The world does not want another Bosnia or Rwanda. Libya was saved thanks to the work of the UN Security Council,” he noted.

Locally, new problems such as transnational crime, drug addiction, human trafficking, piracy, human rights challenges, climate change, “cannot be solved in isolation. Some are international issues – global problems needing global solutions,” Dr Waheed said.

Also speaking at the ceremony, acting UN Resident Coordinator Zeba Bukhari observed that despite a perception that the UN dealt primarily with peace and security, “most of its efforts and resources are actually devoted to improving the conditions of vulnerable population groups, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development.”

Concrete examples in the Maldives, Bukhari noted, will include the support of electrification of islands through more efficient means and alternate energy, cost effective solutions to coastal management, water and sanitation, land use and resource management, reef systems management and waste management.

“All these efforts will be tied to better livelihoods and agriculture and fisheries opportunities, ‘green’ healthcare-related activities, disaster preparedness and mitigation measures, and greater environmental awareness especially at the community and school level,” she noted.

On October 26 the UN is due to launch a report marking the date the human population reaches seven billion. According to the report, the figure has implications for sustainable human development including climate change, food security, water and waste management, employment, and conflict and peace building.

“Some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are seven billion strong,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, in his UN Day address.

“We are living longer. More of our children survive. More and more of us live at peace, under democratic rule of law. As we have seen in this dramatic year, people everywhere are standing up for their rights and human freedoms,” he said.

“And yet, all this progress is under threat. From economic crisis. Rising joblessness and inequality. Climate change. Around the world, too many people live in fear. Too many people believe their governments and the global economy can no longer deliver for them. In these turbulent times, there is only one answer: unity of purpose.”

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Maldives to host 2013 World Tourism Day

The Maldives will host the 2013 World Tourism Day celebrations under the theme ‘Tourism and Water – Protecting our Common Future.’ The event is a function of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, which chose the Maldives over contender Iran.

The decision was made during the 19th General Assembly in Gyeongju, South Korea, held from October 10 to 13. Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa and Deputy Director General Moosa Zameer Hassan were among the 600 participants from member countries.

Tourism Ministry Deputy Director General, Moosa Zameer Hassan, said Iran conceded its bid for the event when the Maldives joined the running.

Tourism accounts for nearly 70 percent of the Maldives’ GDP indirectly, and 30 percent directly. Recent shifts in the global economy have brought a new wave of tourists from Asia, which has made the Maldives Conde Nast’s second-most popular tourist destination at a time of global recession.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the VVIP Koimala Executive Lounge at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Tourism Minister Dr Zulfa said tourism should be at the center of Maldives socioeconomic development. “Because tourism, of course, is our number one industry, and everything we do should center around making the product even more perfect than it is today.”

Hassan said the event was highly relevant to the Maldives.

“Tourism and environment are closely related to the future of the Maldives,” he observed. Although the event is a still two years away, Hassan said the Maldives hoped to take the opportunity to “provide our viewpoint to the U. N. on these issues, and portray our country and its message for this theme to the world.”

Although Hassan could not provide specifics, he was confident that the Maldives’ message in 2013 “will be about supporting tourism and environment in order to protect the Maldives, improve the quality of life for local Maldivians, and benefit foreign visitors and investors.”

Various public and private groups have lately taken steps to merge tourism and environmentalism.

Maldives Game Fishing Association (MGFA) is moving forward with a tag-and-release game fishing competition, to be held November 9-12 in and around North and South Male’ and Vaavu atolls. MGFA Committee Member Tiffany Bond previously said the event would introduce a new sport for tourists and locals while promoting conservation-friendly methods. “In many ways, it’s another feather in the tourism hat,” she said.

World Tourism Day is set for September 27 of each year. Next year’s celebration will be hosted in Spain under the theme ‘Tourism and Sustainable Energy–Powering Sustainable Development.’

Hassan concluded with a reflection on the importance of hosting World Tourism Day in the same year as the next presidential election.

“Twenty-thirteen is going to be a big year for the Maldives. By hosting an international event like this, we will be in a positive position for moving forward,” he said.

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