Tag: UN

Sustainable development is a top priority The United Nations today launched a campaign ahead of its major conference on sustainable development (Rio+20) in June next year, inviting governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people everywhere to engage in a global conversation about the communities they want to see in the future."Sustainable development is a top priority for a simple reason - it cuts across all the challenges and priorities," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a press briefing this morning. "We know that what we face - food insecurity, water scarcity, energy shortages, climate change, increasing carbon emissions and unhealthy oceans - all these are the priority challenges which we have to address."The campaign - Rio+20: The Future We Want - aims to encourage people to envision how societies can build a future that promotes prosperity for everyone without degrading the planet's natural environment, and to contribute their ideas through various mediums - photos, letters, essays and drawings - which will be combined to form an exhibit at the conference next year, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."Opportunities like Rio+20 do not come along often," Mr. Ban said. "The Rio+20 conference offers us a unique chance to discuss the challenges which ...

INTERTANKO attends the CGPCS session in New York INTERTANKO this week attended the CGPCS session in New York, where reports were given of the efforts to disrupt piracy enterprises ashore. This news was welcomed by all, particularly representatives from Somalia. Almost 70 countries were in attendance with solid representation from the industry, all determined to make an impact on the piracy menace.The UN Contact Group has grown continually since its first meeting early in 2009, consisting of four longstanding WGs and a recently formed fifth WG:WG1 - Military Operations and Regional CapacityWG2 - Legal IssuesWG3 - Self Protection of Commercial VesselsWG4 - Diplomatic and Public Information EffortsWG5 - Efforts to Disrupt the Piracy Enterprise Ashore(INTERTANKO representatives participate in WGs 1-3 and will join WG5 which has so far met just once. WG4 is closed to industry)The CGPCS emphasised that close international co-operation continues to be of central importance in order to effectively tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the wider Indian Ocean. The CGPCS underlined, though, that the ultimate responsibility to tackle piracy lies within Somalia, stressing the level of international anger at the ongoing suffering of innocent, kidnapped seafarers.The reduction in successful attacks was very much ...

tThe UN's chief of counter piracy says there are growing links

Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - which represents all sectors and trades of the global shipping industry and more than 80% of the world merchant fleet - has produced a briefing document for government climate change negotiators, in advance of the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17), which commences in Durban at the end of November.The Document entitled 'Shipping, World Trade and the Reduction of CO2 Emissions' is being distributed via ICS member national shipowners' associations and can be downloaded at www.ics-shipping.org/CO2lowres.pdf ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe explained:"The international shipping industry is firmly committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by twenty per cent by 2020, with significant further reductions thereafter. However, the Durban Climate Change Conference needs to give the International Maritime Organization a clear mandate to continue its vital work to help us deliver further emission reductions through the development of Market Based Measures."The shipping industry hopes that governments at COP 17 will respond positively to the significant IMO agreement, in July 2011, to adopt a package of technical measures to reduce shipping's CO2 emissions - which by 2030 should reduce ships' emissions by 25-30% compared to ...

Counter-piracy operations being conducted in the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has deployed a team to assess the scope of the piracy threat in the Gulf of Guinea and make recommendations for possible United Nations support in tackling this scourge.The assessment mission is being sent to the region in response to a request from President Boni Yayi of Benin, according to Mr. Ban's spokesperson.It is co-led by Sammy Kum Buo, Director of the Africa II Division in the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA), and Mariam Sissoko, Country Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria.The mission will visit Cotonou, Benin, from 7 to 16 November; Abuja, Nigeria, from 17 to 19 November; Libreville, Gabon, from 20 to 21 November; and Luanda, Angola, from 22 to 24 November.It will meet with representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, as well as Government officials and relevant national counterparts in each country.Last month Mr. Ban urged States and regional organizations in the Gulf of Guinea to develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat ...

The strategy will entail the drafting of domestic laws and regulations The Security Council condemned all acts of maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea and welcomed the intention by States in the region to convene a summit to consider a comprehensive response to the menace.In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council encouraged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to develop a strategy against maritime piracy.The strategy will entail the drafting of domestic laws and regulations - where they do not exist - which will criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea and develop a regional framework to counter piracy and armed robbery, including information-sharing and operational coordination mechanisms in the region.The regional anti-piracy effort will also include the development and strengthening of domestic laws and regulations to implement relevant international agreements on the safety and security of navigation, in accordance with international law.The Council encouraged ECOWAS, ECCAS and the GGC to counter piracy in the Gulf of Guinea through bilateral or regional maritime patrols, in line with relevant international law, while ensuring that such activities do ...

The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability United Nations agencies in Paris today launched a plan to improve the management of oceans and coastal areas. The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability sounds the alarm about the health of the oceans, and explains how they influence our everyday life by regulating the climate, providing highly-nutritious and by sustaining livelihoods and economies.It recalls that although the ocean accounts for 70 per cent of the surface of our planet, only one per cent of it is protected. Presented at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters during the 36th session of the General Conference, the Blueprint was prepared for consideration by the UN conference on sustainable development (Rio+20, June 2012). It proposes a series of concrete measures to:Create a global blue carbon market as a means of creating direct economic gain through habitat protectionFill governance gaps in the high seas, by reinforcing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Support the development of green economies in small island developing statesPromote research on ocean acidification- how to adapt to it and mitigate it.Increase institutional capacity for scientific monitoring of oceans and coastal areasReform and reinforce regional ocean ...

Security Council urges all countries to adopt laws The UN has issued a news release stating that the Security Council has renewed its call for tougher anti-piracy measures in Somalia and the wider region as follows:The Security Council renewed its call for tougher anti-piracy measures in Somalia and the wider region, urging all countries to adopt laws and cooperate with international organizations to accelerate the prosecution and punishment of piracy.In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body urged countries that have not already done so to criminalize piracy under their domestic laws and to implement prosecution methods in accordance with international human rights law.Stressing the need for cooperation between countries and international organizations, the resolution urged countries to share evidence and information to enhance the prosecution of suspects, and imprisonment of convicted pirates.The Council emphasized that the failure to prosecute persons responsible for piracy undermines the broader anti-piracy efforts of the international community, making it crucial that all countries work to ensure that pirates are held accountable for their actions.The resolution also emphasized the need to establish specialized anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other countries in the region, and requested the Secretary-General, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ...

The 15-member council unanimously agreed on a call for tougher legal weapons to be used The UN Security Council on Monday called on states around the world to criminalise piracy as a way of stepping up the campaign against record numbers of sea attacks.The 15-member council unanimously agreed on a call for tougher legal weapons to be used against piracy that is now rife off the coast of Somalia and is spreading to other regions around Africa. A resolution passed by the council 'strongly' urged all states to make piracy a national crime and called for all 193 UN members to report by the end of the year on action they have taken to halt pirates, particularly those operating off Somalia.The Security Council has been debating whether to back special anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other countries in East Africa. Hundreds of accused pirates are now in detention in jails around the world.Source: AFP

The issue of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea was raisedat the 66th General Assembly annual debate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged States and regional organizations in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea to develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat maritime piracy, which he said threatens to hinder economic development and undermine security in the region."The threat is compounded because most Gulf States have limited capacity to ensure safe maritime trade, freedom of navigation, the protection of marine resources and the safety and security of lives and property," Mr. Ban told the Security Council during an open debate on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.He said he was aware of plans by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convene a summit on the issue and the intention of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to hold an international conference.Let us therefore work together to forge a balanced and coherent strategy that addresses the roots of the problem as well as deterrence on land and at sea."I also encourage them to build on the existing Memorandum of Understanding on maritime law enforcement developed by the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa and the International Maritime Organization ...