UN WIRE August 20, 2013

August 20, 2013 FOLLOW THE UN FOUNDATION   News covering the UN and the world SIGN UP | FORWARD | ADVERTISE | DONATE Top Story UN seeks human rights monitors in Egypt; Ban requests inquiry into prisoners' deaths The United Nations human rights agency is urging Egypt to allow entry to monitors who would "talk to NGOs, national human rights institutions, draw up reports," says UN spokeswoman Liz Throssell. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for an investigation into the deaths of 37 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners. Al Jazeera (8/20), Al Arabiya (United Arab Emirates) (8/20) Share: Above the Fold UN's Amos seeks Security Council action on humanitarian plan for Syria Post-2015 development goals must stress accountability Violence, reproductive health are key issues for Latin American women S. Arabia to aid Egypt as crackdown continues with leader's arrest UN Radio Quote of the Day @UNFoundation: "There will be hunger this year." Malawians prepare for another year of little food: bit.ly/13qo5F8 Share: UN Dispatch “Violence against civilians is reaching unprecedented levels in the Central African Republic. As Michel Djotodia took his oath as the new president of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Aug. 18, Séléka, the coalition of rebel groups that he led and that helped him overthrow the government on Mar. 23, were still looting and killing civilians. ... Uncontrolled elements of the rebel coalition consequently retreated to provinces to continue 'business as usual.' The outcome was an unprecedented peak in violence against civilians, particularly in the north." UN Dispatch (8/20) Share: United Nations UN's Amos seeks Security Council action on humanitarian plan for Syria Valerie Amos, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, wants the UN Security Council to act on her recent proposals to improve delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians. "We haven't been able to reach a political consensus, but I think we can do more on the humanitarian side right now," Amos says. Thomson Reuters Foundation (8/19) Share: Torture, executions part of daily life in N. Korean prison camps, defectors say Reuters (8/20) Share: UN seeks to improve aid workers' safety ABC News/The Associated Press (8/19) Share: "Transparency" needed regarding armed drones, UN's Pillay says FoxNews.com/The Associated Press (8/19) Share: UN human rights envoy to visit DR Congo BigNewsNetwork.com/United Press International (8/19) Share: Ban to make 6-day visit to South Korea GlobalPost.com/Yonhap News Agency (8/20) Share: Health & Development Post-2015 development goals must stress accountability Accountability needs to be spelled out in the post-2015 development goals so that "concrete tasks and responsibilities" are clearly laid out, write Thomas Pogge and Mitu Sengupta. "[I]it must be clear who is supposed to do what," they argue. "The most powerful and influential agents must be given clear tasks and responsibilities -- not merely in the arena of development assistance, but also in terms of tasks that must be taken into account in all their policy and institutional design decisions." The Guardian (London)/Poverty Matters Blog (8/20) Share: Kurdistan caps daily number of inbound Syrian refugees The Kurdistan regional government in Iraq is setting a limit of 3,000 refugees per day from Syria. The United Nations says 30,000 refugees have crossed into the Kurdistan since Thursday. "We do not have enough resources to deal with this problem, and there has been a lack of donations from the international community for the refugees," says Dindar Zebari, a Kurdistan deputy minister. Reuters (8/20), USA Today (8/19) Share: Nigerian polio effort must overcome mistrust, polio survivor says The Guardian (London) (8/19) Share: Women & Girls Violence, reproductive health are key issues for Latin American women Latin American women haven't reaped the rewards of the improved quality of life because of the prevalence of gender-based violence and reproductive health issues, writes Barbara Crossette. Some Latin American governments are addressing the situation through special courts for femicide and by women-only transportation options. PassBlue (8/19) Share: Peacekeeping and Security S. Arabia to aid Egypt as crackdown continues with leader's arrest Saudi Arabia says it will provide funding to Egypt to replace financial aid withdraw by the U.S. and others, while the EU is holding an emergency session on Wednesday to discuss aid. Meanwhile, Muslim Brotherhood senior leader Mohammed Badie was arrested in Cairo on charges of inciting violence and murder, says Kevin Connolly of the BBC. The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (8/19), The Christian Science Monitor (8/20), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (8/19), BBC (8/20), Reuters (8/19) Share: Has Boko Haram's leader been killed? Al Jazeera (8/20) Share: Tailban clashes with Afghanistan security guards, leaving 32 dead Yahoo/The Associated Press (8/19) Share: Security remains elusive in Central African Republic Inter Press Service (8/19) Share: Musharraf is indicted on murder charges in connection with Benazir Bhutto's death The Huffington Post/The Associated Press (8/20) Share: Position Title Company Name Location Officer, Global Partnerships United Nations Foundation Washington, DC Budget Analyst, Business Services and Budgets (2 openings) United Nations Foundation Washington, DC