29 July, Ankara (UN Information Centre) – Three decades after nearly 2 million people perished under Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia, a United Nations-backed tribunal issued its first verdict on 26 July, finding the former head of a notorious detention camp guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kaing Guek Eav, whose alias is Duch, was sentenced to 35 years in prison by the trial chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

The first person to stand trial before the court, he headed the S-21 camp, also known as Tuol Sleng, where numerous Cambodians were unlawfully detained, subjected to inhumane conditions and forced labour, tortured and executed in the late 1970s. more

25 July, Ankara (UN Information Centre) – The United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday announced the names of the three experts who will serve on a fact-finding mission to investigative violations of international law resulting from Israel’s interception of a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip, which led to the deaths of nine civilians.

Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Desmond de Silva of the United Kingdom and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia will comprise the panel, the Council’s President, Ambassador Sihasak Phuangketkeow of Thailand, said.

Mr. Phuangketkeow called on all parties to fully cooperate with the fact-finding mission, saying he hoped its work would contribute to peace and justice in the region. more

22 July, Ankara (UN Information Centre) – The role of the media in fostering dialogue and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians will be the focus of a two-day United Nations meeting to be held later this week in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.
The upcoming media seminar, which starts today, will be the 17th such gathering organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), and aims to sensitize public opinion on the issue of Palestine and the peace process.

With this year marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the landmark resolution 1325, which stresses the importance of giving women equal participation and full involvement in peace and security matters, their role in achieving peace will also be discussed.   more

20 July, Ankara (UN Information Centre) – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday received World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General’s Special Recognition Award for Contribution to Global Tobacco Control.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO’s regional director for Europe, presented the award to PM Erdoğan at a ceremony at Ankara Rixos Hotel.

Jakab said that it is a great pleasure for her to present the award to PM Erdoğan on behalf of WHO, the Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan and all WHO staff who have worked on Turkey’s national tobacco control programmes.  more

20 July, Ankara (UN Information Centre) – Shahid Najam, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ankara yesterdaymet with Zsuzsanna Jakab, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe who was in Ankara to present a WHO award to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

During the meeting,  Najam and Jakab, together with WHO country representative Maria Cristina Profili discussed issues related to how to further enhance joint action to promote WHO activities and priorities in Turkey.

Another issue that was discussed in detail was full integration of WHO activities into UN System efforts in Turkey to fight against climate change and support sustainable development.  more

19 July 2010 –The United Nations is marking Nelson Mandela International Day for the first time this year in honour of the former South African leader’s contribution to the struggle for peace and freedom.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was most impressed by Mr. Mandela’s humility when he met the former anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Mr. Mandela preferred to talk not about himself but about what other people had done in the struggle for human rights and dignity, Mr. Ban said in a message to a special commemorative ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York. more

16 July 2010 –A new United Nations report says that a radically simplified approach to ensuring access to HIV treatment for everyone who needs it could prevent 10 million deaths by 2025 and 1 million new infections annually.

The so-called Treatment 2.0, says the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), could lower the cost of treatment, simplify treatment regimens, ease the burden on health systems, and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and their families. more

11 July 2010 – With dozens of countries carrying out United Nations-supported national censuses this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked this year's World Population Day by stressing the importance of gathering information to bolster good governance, transparency and accountability.

“Population data helps leaders and policy-makers to make informed decisions about policies and programmes to reduce poverty and hunger, and advance education, health and gender equality,” Mr. Ban said in his message for the Day.

He underscored the importance of solid data to effectively respond to humanitarian crises. more

4 July 2010 –In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly on 2 July voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials.

“The newest member of the UN family has been born today,” Mr. Ban told the Assembly after it passed the resolution setting up the new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to be known as UN Women.

“This is truly a watershed day,” he declared. more