Rule of law: The United Nations must respond as the demands for justice around the world grow, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling for ushering in a new era of respect for the rule of law. In September, the UN will convene a high-level meeting on the rule of law – the first event of its kind and the first time, since 2005, that these issues will be discussed by top leaders. The UN’s approach has three basic components: promoting accountability and reinforcing norms through transitional justice; building justice and security institutions to promote trust; and focusing on justice for women and girls to foster gender equality.
South Sudan: The top United Nations envoy in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson today urged an immediate end to the cycle of ethnic violence in the newly independent nation, and called on the Government to hold the perpetrators to account and to deploy more forces to key areas to avert further bloodshed. Ms. Johnson also noted that UNMISS has in recent months consistently deployed its limited resources to reinforce efforts to prevent and mitigate conflict in Jonglei state, including to the Lou Nuer, Dinka and Murle communities. Ms. Johnson also noted that South Sudan is moving with determination towards consolidating its independence on the national and international scenes.
UNDP report: Services that combine access to modern energy for heating, cooking and electricity, with measures that generate cash, supplement incomes and improve health and education would be the most effective energy solutions in Asia and the Pacific, according to the UN study entitled “Towards an ‘Energy Plus’ Approach for the Poor,” released today. The report by UNDP confirms that there can be no development without energy, and that poverty cannot be addressed sustainably without paying due attention to energy services.
Climate Technology: Following on the UN conference in Durban last year, the secretariat of the UN climate change convention today invited proposals for hosting the climate technology centre, as requested by Governments.
The Climate Technology Centre is the implementing arm of the Technology Mechanism established at the conference in Cancún, Mexico, in 2010. The mechanism is designed to stimulate technology cooperation and to enhance the development and transfer of climate-sound technologies to support action on mitigation and adaptation by developing countries.
Yemen: A Yemeni draft law granting immunity to the outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from prosecution over the killing of protesters was amended on Thursday to limit the protection his aides would enjoy, a minister said. The draft law will now shield the aides only in “political cases,” Legal Affairs Minister Mohammad Makhlafi told Reuters. It had previously offered blanket immunity to associates of Saleh, who will still get full protection himself, Makhlafi said, without elaborating on what kinds of cases could be tried.
Somalia: A bomb blast killed six Somalis Thursday near a camp for displaced people after a food aid distribution in the war-torn capital Mogadishu, a UN source said. “Six people were killed, including two police officers,” the source said. Insurgents also hurled two hand grenades at a United Nations compound, “…but fortunately the grenades landed onto an empty building next door,” a local UN official said on condition of anonymity, adding that there were no casualties.