The clashes between the Rizeigat and Misseriya tribes claimed nearly 140 lives last month, but the peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID, said that no further fighting has been reported since the groups signed a peace accord on 28 June.

In the past seven years an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others have been displaced as a result of fighting between rebels and Government forces backed by allied Janjaweed militiamen in Darfur. All sides are accused of serious human rights violations.

UNAMID, has been in place since the start of 2008, succeeding an earlier AU-only mission in the war-torn region. Its headquarters are in the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher.

In a related development, the mission today presented football equipment to leaders from three camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) for an inter-community youth tournament.

The competition seeks to empower the region’s youth by inspiring them to shun violence and channeling their energies towards uniting communities, rather than dividing them.

Hassan Gibril, head of UNAMID’s North Darfur office, praised the leaders of the IDP camps for being “ambassadors of peace in [their] communities,” as well as for working with the mission “in the search for lasting peace and enduring security in Darfur.”

Dozens of teams from the three camps took part in the preliminary level of the tournament, with 6 teams – two from each site – will compete in the finals which kick off on Tuesday.

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The young people – from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa – will join Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), at the game between Spain and the Netherlands.

Under an initiative entitled “Youth for a Safer Africa,” the youth will be sponsored by the UN agency and its partners, including non-governmental organization Right to Play and soft drink giant Coca-Cola.

The scheme aims to inspire African youth and enhance their participation in sports.

UN-HABITAT and its partners believe that youth are an untapped resource in many developing countries where they face obstacles preventing from being productive in society.

Involvement in sports has been proven to improve the livelihoods of young people, giving them increased focus and direction and a sense of working together. Sports – a driver of development – also strengthen teamwork and distracts youth from destructive activities.

While in South Africa, the youth will attend workshops on the promotion of sport for peace and development and take part in the opening of a sports centre.

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Together with liberal market mechanisms, we need to build up States with strong institutions that can create enabling environments for business, economic growth, and economic recovery to take hold, Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said yesterday in Geneva.

That will help Africa build up its resistance against crises that could recur, he told the Trade and Development Boards discussion of UNCTADs activities in support of African development.

Governments will have to pave the way to create enabling circumstances that will support industrialization, job creation, and increased demand for more sophisticated goods as incomes rise, he added.

Mr. Supachai noted that African economies enjoyed growth rates averaging some 6 per cent annually from 2003 to 2008, but that dropped to 1.2 per cent in 2009.

At the same time, he noted that trade between African countries and other developing countries, known as South-South trade, held up fairly well during the crisis.

The Economic Report on Africa 2010, published in May by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission, also noted that the current global economic crisis offers them an opportunity to lay the foundation for sustainable, employment-intensive economic growth.

The recession should work as a wake-up call for Africa to deal with its vulnerabilities and introduce further reforms to promote growth, but more particularly employment creation to promote social development in the region, Rob Vos, Director of Development Policy of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), had stated at the reports launch.

The report recommended investment in infrastructure and human capital, renewed efforts to mobilize domestic resources, market reforms, incentives to support private-sector employment and efforts to increase productivity and incomes in the informal sector.

It warned African countries against continuing to depend on traditional drivers of economic growth, such as exports of raw commodities, foreign investment and development aid, saying those sources of resources were unpredictable.

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To date, only one third of the 0 million regional appeal, launched six months ago by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has been financed.

OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs stressed at a press conference in Geneva today that it is urgent that more funds be made available to help those in need in West Africa.

To respond to the paucity of resources, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has earmarked nearly million over the past three months for Niger, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad.

Most of those funds went to Niger, which is home to over 7 million hungry people and in the throes of a serious food, nutrition and pastoral crisis.

According to data released by Nigers Government last month, the global acute malnutrition rate in the country has reached nearly 17 per cent for children under the age of five, which is far above the 15 per cent warning threshold and the 12.3 per cent rate estimated last year.

Since the start of this year, the Fund has allocated more than million to Niger, CAR, Chad, Guinea, Mali and Senegal.

CERF was set up in 2006 to make funding for humanitarian emergencies faster and more equitable. Since then, more than 115 Member States and several private sector donors have contributed nearly billion to the fund, which is managed by OCHA.

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The resurgence of coups dtat in West Africa, which I have consistently denounced, and the major role played by the armed forces in these coups, are a reflection of the difficult civil-military relationships in situations of bad governance, he says.

In February, a military ruling council in Niger dissolved the Government, seized the President and suspended a contested constitution that would have allowed then President Mamadou Tandja to remain in power beyond the stipulated term.

Meanwhile in Guinea, unrest erupted last year after the forces of Moussa Dadis Camara, who seized power in a coup in 2008 following the death of long-time president Lansana Cont, opened fire on unarmed protesters at a rally, killing at least 150 people.

The Secretary-General says that he is encouraged by developments in both countries, with the Government of Niger working to restore democratic rule and address the countrys humanitarian crisis, while Guineas transitional authorities remained committed to holding presidential polls late last month.

Although most countries in the region have been politically stable in the past six months, Mr. Ban notes in his latest report on the UN Office in West Africa (UNOWA) that increased election-related tension and violence, as well as weaknesses in armed and security forces, have threatened democratic processes.

The limited availability of credible and up-to-date data on population trends often leads to disputes over voter registration, hampering efforts to promote democratic governance, the report says.

In it, the Secretary-General also calls on West African leaders to bolster their national policies and for greater regional cooperation to fight cross-border criminal activities and terrorist threats.

In addition, he voices concern over human rights violations. Given the sensitivity of faith and ethnic-based violence, I urge governments, civil society organizations and community leaders to develop mechanisms, with the support of the international community, for addressing situations of tensions.

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Recent months have witnessed rising political and security tensions in the country, where a series of political assassinations last year had threatened security and stability but where order was restored with the election of Malam Bacai Sanh in the June 2009 presidential election.

However, as Mr. Ban notes in his latest report on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in that country, known as UNIOGBIS, the brief detention of the Prime Minister and of the Chief of General Staff and other senior military officers by some members of the armed forces on 1 April constituted a major setback to the process of consolidating stability and implementing key reforms.

In addition, the violation of the UN premises on 1 April by elements of the armed forces is unacceptable and condemnable, says the Secretary-General, who urges the national authorities to comply with their obligation to protect UN installations, personnel and assets.

The important progress made by the Government and people of Guinea-Bissau towards strengthening democratic institutions and implementing major reforms, which had generated positive momentum with and among international partners, could rapidly be compromised unless drastic changes are made by key national stakeholders to advance crucial reforms, including the reform of the defence and security sectors, and to stabilize the country, he states.

Mr. Ban adds that the President, the Prime Minister and other key national stakeholders would need to take concrete actions to preserve the gains made so far and to consolidate the State-building process in the country.

It is crucial, he writes, that the countrys civilian and military authorities agree on a rapid and acceptable solution to the sensitive issue of the military leadership in Guinea-Bissau. I call on the armed forces to demonstrate their resolve to remain subordinate to the civilian leadership, who enjoy legitimacy as a result of fair and transparent elections.

He stresses that continued dialogue and functional relationships among all State institutions are fundamental and would help to avoid future situations similar to the events of 1 April. Full respect for the separation of powers would also ensure the proper functioning of State institutions.

Dialogue should also be aimed at seeking broad national consensus on other major issues, including security sector reform, and should pave the way for the convening of the national conference planned for 2011, says the Secretary-General.

Guinea-Bissau is one of four countries currently on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission along with Burundi, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic (CAR) which was established in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict make an irreversible transition from war to sustainable peace.

Mr. Ban points out that security sector reform is of utmost importance, noting that without it, efforts to launch resource mobilization initiatives, such as the planned high-level event of the

Peacebuilding Commission on security sector reform and the donor round-table conference for development assistance, would be severely undermined.

He also highlights the growing influence of transnational crime, including drug trafficking, in some sections of the military and the State apparatus, and in the economy, which threatens to further compromise the fragility of the State.

Security sector reform is a sine qua non condition for stabilization, Mr. Ban stresses. However, unless strong action is taken against organized crime and drug trafficking, efforts to restructure the defence sector will be undermined.

The scourge of drug trafficking, which affects the entire subregion, would need to be addressed by national, bilateral and multilateral partners through well-coordinated and more robust strategies and initiatives, he adds.

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The new legislation lifting restrictions for people living with HIV/AIDS and other contagious diseases took effect in Namibia on 1 July.

Restrictions that limit movement based on HIV-positive status only are discriminatory and violate human rights, according to UNAIDS. There is no evidence that such restrictions prevent HIV transmission or protect public health, the agency said, adding that HIV-related travel restrictions have no economic justification, as people living with HIV can lead long and productive working lives.

I am heartened by this announcement in Namibia, said Michel Sidib, UNAIDS Executive Director. HIV-related travel restrictions serve no purpose and hamper the global AIDS response, he added.

UNAIDS advocates for an individuals right to freedom of movement, regardless of HIV status.

There are now 51 countries, territories, and areas that continue to impose some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV based on their HIV status. Five countries deny visas even for short-term stays, while 22 countries deport individuals once their HIV-positive status is discovered.

The United States and China removed long-standing HIV-related travel restrictions earlier this year. Several other countries, including Ukraine, have pledged to take steps to remove such restrictions.

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Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the founder and leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri region of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), faces two counts of war crimes: conscripting and enlisting child soldiers into the military wing of his group and then using them to participate in hostilities between September 2002 and August 2003.

His trial began at The Hague, where the ICC is based, in January 2009.

The Courts Trial Chamber I ordered to stay the proceedings considering that the fair trial of the accused is no longer possible due to non-implementation of the Chambers orders by the Prosecution.

The judges had ordered the Office of the Prosecutor to confidentially disclose to the defence the names and other necessary identifying information of intermediary 143, according to a news release issued by the ICC.

The Trial Chamber considered that in order for the Chamber to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial, it is necessary that its orders, decisions and rulings are respected, unless and until they are overturned on appeal, or suspended by order of the Court.

Established by the Rome Statute of 1998, the ICC is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The UN Security Council, the ICC Prosecutor or a State Party to the Court can initiate any proceedings, and the ICC only acts when countries themselves are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute.

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Earlier this year, the non-governmental organization (NGO) known as Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) informed the Ministry of Health in the state of Zamfara of a rise in the number of the deaths and illnesses of children in the villages of Bukkuyum and Anka.

WHO joined an international investigation team, which confirmed that more than 100 children in the area were suffering from severe lead poisoning, with more than 10 times the concentration of lead in their blood than the levels associated with impaired neurological development in young children.

Further, lead concentrations that are 250 times higher than the limit for residential areas in the United States and France were also found in the area.

WHO has deployed epidemiologists, paediatricians and others to carry out further technical assistance to respond to the outbreak and prevent similar ones in the future.

A random sample of 56 children under the age of five from the villages of Abare and Tungar-guru found that more than 90 per cent of them had lead poisoning, with the vast majority requiring urgent treatment.

The agency said that there is a strong likelihood that the high rates of convulsions and deaths in young children in these villages are due to lead poisoning.

It also estimates that more than 2,000 people need chelation therapy to remove the lead from their bodies in the area, with Zamfaras Ministry of Health noting that there may be other villages in the state where lead poisoning is an issue.

WHO said that to prevent further deaths and long-term neurological damage in affected children, it is vital that villages are decontaminated, especially homes. Further, poisoned children must be identified and given the necessary treatment.

For chelation therapy to be effective, WHO noted, children must be removed from exposure to lead, which means they cannot return to their homes until their residences have been cleaned.

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Djibril Bassol told reporters yesterday that he applauds the decision taken by the sides to involve internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and civil society, more generally, to conclude a comprehensive peace accord.

He met yesterday with Ghazi Salah Al-Din Attabani, an advisor to President Omar al-Bashir, who said that a peace agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) will be signed in Doha, Qatar, on 15 July.

Also taking place in Doha next week is the 2nd Civil Society Forum, kicking off on 12 July.

Mr. Bassol said that he asked Khartoum for its assistance in ensuring that all of Darfurs civil society representatives invited to that event can travel to the Qatari capital.

He also told Mr. Attabani that he would like the Government to take all possible measures to restore confidence and reduce tensions in Darfur, including seeking an end to all armed hostilities with all armed groups.

In the past seven years an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others have been displaced as a result of fighting between rebels and Government forces backed by allied Janjaweed militiamen in Darfur. All sides are accused of serious human rights violations.

The AU-UN peacekeeping force in the region, known as UNAMID, has been in place since the start of 2008, succeeding an earlier AU-only mission in the war-torn region. Its headquarters are in the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher.

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