31 May 2010 - Latest news and information from UN agencies operating in Afghanistan.

WORLD NO-TOBACCO DAY:
WHO URGES COUNTRIES TO PROTECT WOMEN FROM TOBACCO

On World No Tobacco Day today, WHO will focus on the harm to women’s health caused by tobacco. The organization seeks to make men more aware of their responsibility to avoid smoking around the women and children with whom they live and work.

This, because tobacco kills over five million people each year, including approximately 1.5 million women. And unless urgent action is taken, tobacco use could kill more than eight million people by 2030, of whom 2.5 million would be women. Approximately three-quarters of these female deaths would occur in low-income and middle-income countries.

“Controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women is an important part of WHO’s tobacco control strategy,” said Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. He called on policy-makers to implement a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship of smoking and smokeless tobacco products, as called for in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Women constitute one of the biggest target groups for the tobacco industry. As women gain spending power, tobacco companies are increasingly targeting them through active marketing campaigns. As a result, the epidemic of tobacco use among women is increasing.

Advertisements falsely link tobacco use with female beauty, empowerment and health. Advertisements lure women with such misleading identifiers as "light" or "low-tar," implying that such produces are less deadly. More women than men smoke "light" cigarettes.

Due to such aggressive and misleading marketing, as well as ignorance and misconceptions about the dangers of tobacco use, the prevalence of tobacco use (in particular, use of smokeless tobacco) is high among women in the Region.

For more details, please contact, Ms Vismita Gupta-Smith: guptasmithv@searo.who.int
For more information, please visit www.searo.who.int.

UNODC TRAINING FOR DEFENCE ATTORNEYS COMPLETED TODAY

Twenty-five Defence Attorneys from Kandahar and Kabul will today complete training delivered by UNODC.

The training is part of a Criminal Justice capacity-building program, extending a professional judicial culture to the provinces. The training was organised in conjuction with the Afghanistan Independent Bar Association (AIBA).

Lawyers were trained to handle the defence of criminal cases of corruption, human trafficking and juvenile justice.

An effective judicial system is a high priority for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and an essential prerequisite for future peace and stability in the country.

This marks the first in a series of trainings that UNODC will deliver to support this aim.

For details, contact Tara Ali: +93(0)795643820 or tara.ali@unodc.org

INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION LED BY UNODC TO ASSESS SCHOOL-AGE DRUG-DEPENDENCE

Today an international delegation led by UNODC will begin assessing the situation of drug-dependence amongst Afghan school-age children.

Children in conflict and post-conflict areas are often heavily affected by severe problems and war-related traumas, both physical and mental.

On top of this, recent research by the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) has shown alarming trends in the exposure of children to opium in the home.

UNODC will be joined by WHO, Johns Hopkins University, INL, The University of Vienna, The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Project and NIDA International.

Findings from the three-day multi-agency mission will be used to develop drug dependence treatment interventions especially tailored to youths.

For details, contact Tara Ali: +93(0)795643820 or tara.ali@unodc.org

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO HOLD 14TH SESSION STARTING TODAY

The Human Rights Council will hold its fourteenth regular session from 31 May to 18 June at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

On the morning of Monday, 31 May, the Council will hear an update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to be followed by a general debate.

Under this item, which covers the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, the Council will have before it a number of reports, including the High Commissioner’s report on operationalizing the framework for business and human rights; the reports of both the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner on human rights in the administration of justice, including juvenile justice; the report of the High Commissioner on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights; and the report of the High Commissioner on protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict.

Concerning the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, the Council will review reports by and hold interactive dialogues with Special Procedure mandate holders on issues concerning the following:

Human rights and transnational corporations; the effects of foreign debt on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights; the right to education; the independence of judges and lawyers; the protection of human rights while countering terrorism; the right to freedom of opinion and expression; extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; trafficking in persons, especially in women and children; the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; human rights and extreme poverty; and violence against women, its causes and consequences.

For details, check out http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/14session/.

UNIDO WEEK AT EXPO 2010 FOCUSED ON TURNING URBAN LIFE GREEN

“Green Industry for a better life” is the theme of the display of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at the Expo 2010 that opened in Shanghai last 23 May.

Set up as part of the Expo’s UN Pavilion, UNIDO showcased the organization’s Greening Industry concept.

UNIDO organized events to discuss the best approaches towards a more prosperous, harmonious and environmental-friendly urban future, investment promotion, technology transfer, as well as strengthening worldwide cooperation and partnerships.

“Shanghai has made outstanding achievements in the last years in developing high-tech applications in industries, especially in reforming traditional industries and adjusting industrial structure through high and new technologies. Shanghai’s successful practice in transforming from the traditional economy to the innovative economy has set a good model for cities in developing countries,” said UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K Yumkella.

He added that in the last decades, rapid urbanization has been witnessed all over the world but developing countries face many problems, including urban poverty, unemployment and social inequity, as well as pollution part of which originates from emissions from transportation and industrial production activities.

For details, call +86-21-22063323 or e-mail mediaservices@expo2010.gov.cn