United Nations Information Centre (New York) - June 22, 2001

The US delegation will be headed by Secretary Powell with Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson as Alternate Head of Delegation, and include 51 persons from the Administration, Congress and the private sector. See http://www.un.org/ga/aids for a calendar of events. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $100 million to the Global Fund against AIDS, the largest private donation so far.

UNAIDS and the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation have entered a partnership to support AIDS education, prevention and treatment programs. The CCAF is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to implementing the philanthropic and corporate citizenship programs of Coca-Cola in Africa.

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VISITS THE IDB AND U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ON THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM.

UNHCR, Mary Robinson visited Washington to deliver the keynote address at a Conference of the Inter-American Development Bank dedicated to Race, Ethnicity and Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. Over two days, Mrs. Robinson held a series of meetings at the State Department, NSC, the World Bank and on Capitol Hill, she appeared briefly at a meeting of the Black Congressional Caucus on the Conference. Mrs. Robinson hopes to raise the level of political commitment to the Conference to produce a breakthrough on the issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. She said the global community should be addressing the problems of the past in order to build a forward-looking Program of Action. For a copy of Mrs. Robinson speech to the IDB, check http://www.unicwash.org .

UN SECRETARY GENERAL REPORT ON CONFLICT PREVENTION

In a new report to the General Assembly and Security Council, the Secretary-General issued a wide-ranging set of recommendations aimed at reinforcing conflict prevention mechanisms in the principal organs of the United Nations and in the UN System as a whole. Recommendations cover such fields as disarmament, human rights, development, humanitarian relief, health care, public information, gender equality and crime prevention. The report is available at http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/reports/2001/sgrep01.htm

ILO SESSION ENDS : FOCUSSED ON "DECENT WORK DEFICIT"

The National Council of East Timor passed a regulation on the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights violations between 1974 and 1999. The Council asked the United Nations Transitional Administrator to set up a tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of serious human rights violations in the territory.Donors meeting in Canberra this week endorsed a $65 million budget for the territory.

The International Labour Conference (ILO) which brings together Ministers of labour, employers and workers of the ILO's 175 member States, concluded its session in Geneva. Debates focused on the report of the Director-General of the ILO, Juan Somavia, "Reducing the Decent Work Deficit." Delegates approved the first-ever convention on labour standard for agricultural safety and health, a convention aimed at protecting the 1.3 billion agricultural workers. This new convention will enter into force when ratified by two Member States.

UNHCR : 20 JUNE PROCLAIMED WORLD REFUGEE DAY.

The United Nations observed the first World Refugee Day on Wednesday, 20 June 2001, the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The theme of this first Refugee Day was "respect" -for the refugees themselves and for their rights. Activities were organized around the world. In New York, events were held at Ellis Island where immigrants were processed until 1954.

UNITED NATIONS VOLUNTEERS (UNV): THREE DECADES OF ACTIVITIES.

UNV Executive Coordinator, Sharon Capeling-Alakija, launching UNV annual report "Reaching Out" retraced three decades of activities of an institution aimed at providing professional assistance to the UN in its work for peace and development. Nearly 5,000 volunteers were deployed last year with 65 % of them recruited from the developing world. Among UNV's most recent initiatives is a program to help developing countries build their capacity to use information technology.

IFAD "DRYLANDS CAN BE BREADBASKETS":CONFERENCE CALLS FOR ACTION

A 20 June Conference on Capitol Hill, "Drylands Can Be Breadbaskets" hosted by EarthAction and the International Fund for Agricultural Development gathered leaders of NGOs, international organizations, industry and the US administration to identify avenues for implementing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Desertification affects 110 countries and threatens the livelihoods and food supplies of over 1 billion people. Participants presented past successes in fighting desertification and concepts for future action. A bi-partisan group of 23 legislators lent their support to the conference.

ADVISORY FOR NGOs WISHING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM.

Please be advised that the deadline for registration to the NGO Forum is 30 June, 2001. The deadline for the NGOs for the conference itself is 15 July, 2001, as for the delegates. Monitor the following sites:

http://www.racism.org.za/index/index.html and

http://www.hri.ca/racism/accredited/accredit.doc
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