MIDDAY 5 March 2010

The Human Rights Council at a midday meeting discussed reports presented by Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on the right to food and Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context.

Mr. De Schutter, presenting his annual report, said the world was confronted with a challenge on three levels: increasing demand for primary agricultural goods in a context of limited resources; the need to ensure access to food for poorer populations, in

- Indian Ocean archipelago is on climate change front line

- Risks being swamped by sea rise through global warming

- Climate change damages island fisheries, spurs disease

By Pascal Fletcher

PORT OF SPAIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - For Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, the cold scientific numbers of the climate debate add up to the very survival of his tropical Indian Ocean state.

If global temperatures rise just 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), "we won't be around, we will be underwater," he told Reuters in Trinidad and Tobago, where he and

GA/10862

Sixty-fourth General Assembly
Plenary
5th & 6th Meetings (AM & PM)

To effectively tackle terrorism, entrenched poverty and the threat of weapons proliferation, a more equitable multilateral system that valued diversity and fostered a "climate of dialogue" was urgently needed, world leaders attending the General Assembly's annual debate stressed today, as they pushed for a more democratic United Nations.

Written by: Thin Lei Win

BANGKOK (AlertNet) - Mention the Maldives and sandy beaches, five-star resorts, colourful coral reefs and stunning scenery come to mind - a luxurious getaway. However, the setting that gives this collection of over 1,000 low-lying islands its beauty is also its biggest curse.

The country's existence is threatened by a changing climate, especially by a predicted rise in the sea level. Eighty percent of the Maldives lies no more than one metre above sea level -- not high enough, it seems, to survive long-term -- and it was seriously

Executive summary

The implementation of tsunami recovery programmes in Maldives since early 2005 has helped to establish goodwill and better understanding within the country about the humanitarian nature of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. This understanding generated support for the formation of a Maldivian national society, a process which has been going on since September 2005. In June 2006, all Movement partners in the Maldives agreed on a common 'Maldives Red Cross and Red Crescent Tsunami Operation In-Country Strategy: 2006-08'. This

Male, Maldives - The UAE delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Red Crescent Authority (RCA) and the Abu Dhabi Development Fund and Maldivian officials discussed yesterday the humanitarian situation in the Maldives and development projects planned to provide basic services to victims of natural disasters which hit the group of Maldivian atolls in recent years. The UAE delegation which is led by Mohammed Hamad Hadid, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were briefed by Representative of the Maldivian Foreign Ministry

Each week, the World Health Organization Health Action in Crises in Geneva produces information highlights on the health aspects of selected humanitarian crises. Drawing on the various WHO programmes, contributions cover activities from field and country offices and the support provided by WHO regional offices and Headquarters. The mandate of the WHO Departments specifically concerned with Emergency and Humanitarian Action in Crises is to increase the effectiveness of the WHO contribution to crisis preparedness and response, transition and recovery.

This situation report is based on information received from the Maldives' National Disaster Management Center, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, as well as from the OCHA Regional Office for Asia and Pacific in Bangkok.

SITUATION

1. On 15-17 May 2007, a series of swells, between 10 - 15 feet, hit an estimated 35 islands in 13 Atolls across the Maldives, causing the inundation of up to 600 metres from the coastline. The southern atolls of the Maldives were the most affected, in particular Seenu and Gaafu Dhaalu. These high tides occur annually, but not to this