21/05/2012 – Today, civil protection intervention teams from seven Western Balkan countries are arriving near Zagreb in Croatia to take part in a four-day exercise simulating a large scale flooding. The teams from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo(*) will be participating side by side with their EU colleagues and trainers from Slovenia, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg.
Geneva and Skopje, 10 May 2012 – The Macedonian armed forces have destroyed a previously unknown stockpile of anti-personnel mines in compliance with the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or Ottawa Convention. At destruction events near Skopje yesterday and today, 1,248 PFM-1S anti-personnel mines were destroyed. These mines had been discovered in 2011 when the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia sought to determine which munitions under its possession would need to be destroyed in accordance with its international obligations.
On 12 April soldiers deposed the government in Guinea-Bissau, marking another coup in a country in which no leader since independence has completed a full term. Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior, widely expected to win the presidential run-off election scheduled for 29 April, and interim President Raimundo Pereira were detained by the military junta for two weeks, before their release to Côte d’Ivoire. The coup was swiftly condemned by the international community, with ECOWAS imposing sanctions and threatening force to restore civilian rule.
This report covers the period 01 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
In brief
Programme outcome
In line with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Strategy 2020, the aim of the Federation-supported programmes in Macedonia is to save lives, protect livelihoods, and strengthen recovery from disasters and crises; to enable healthy and safe living; and to promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence and peace.
Geneva, 19 April 2012: A conference on the global ban on cluster bombs has concluded with news that 650,000 cluster munitions stockpiled by States Parties, containing 68.2million explosive submunitions, have been destroyed.
Peace agreements brought the last Balkan conflict to an end more than two decades ago, but they didn't resolve ethnic tensions, which are rising to the surface again.
SKOPJE, March 22, 2012 (AFP) - Special teams of divers have cleared some four tonnes of explosives from Lake Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia, a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, the MIA news agency said Thursday.
"There were unexploded mines, bombs and different munitions for the Balkans wars in the 1900s, World War I and World War II... that posed a potential danger to the population," the interior ministry said in a statement quoted by MIA.
SKOPJE, March 8, 2012 (AFP) - Ten people were injured in a series of violent attacks in the Macedonian capital, raising fears of rising tensions between ethnic Macedonian and Albanian communities, officials said Thursday.
Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska strongly condemned the violence in the former Yugoslav republic, which took place overnight Wednesday-Thursday.
"It can not be excluded that someone wants inter-ethnic relations to deteriorate" he said. "The violence will not be tolerated."
The unusually cold winter weather conditions that affected Macedonia in the form of heavy snowfalls
and extremely low temperatures at minus 25 degrees Celsius in some places have resulted in
numerous traffic problems especially in rural areas, and caused shortages of food supply and medical
assistance. Residents are still exposed to hunger and frosts, especially the homeless people and those in remote villages cut off.
Brussels, 13 February 2012 - The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has become the 32nd member of the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism which facilitates European cooperation in disaster response. This brings the country into a community of European nations which work together for better prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. The European Commission supports the Mechanism through its Monitoring and Information Centre.
BUDAPEST, February 10, 2012 (AFP) - Hungary closed the Danube to river traffic Friday due to thick ice, bringing shipping to a near standstill on Europe's busiest waterway, as the continent's cold snap death toll passed 540.
"Shipping was ordered stopped overnight Thursday to Friday because of conditions created by icing along the Hungarian part of the river," Istvan Lang, who heads the national technical supervisory body OMIT said.
"All ships still underway must immediately head for the closest harbour," Lang, quoted by MTI news agency, said.
The plight of thousands of people continues in Europe where forecasters say that icy conditions are unlikely to improve before the end of this week. In the last 11 days, several Red Cross societies have been in a race against time to reduce the impact of the extreme cold. Estimates so far suggest 389 have died, and official sources say the winter has been the most brutal in decades.
CHF 92,668 has been allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Macedonian Red Cross in delivering immediate assistance to 1,300 beneficiaries. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.
Summary: Extreme cold and snowfall in the past two weeks have caused many problems in nine regions in Macedonia. On 8th February, more than 80 villages were reported to be totally isolated because of the snow. Governmental institutions are working on clearing the roads.
More than six thousand personnel are deployed in political missions worldwide. The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe oversee the majority of these missions. Although many political missions deal with active conflicts or postconflict situations, some have contributed to conflict prevention in countries ranging from Estonia to Guinea.
The Security Council work programme for December would contain 18 open meetings — including 2 debates, 11 briefings and 5 meetings to adopt draft resolutions — as well as 20 closed consultations, Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation) said at Headquarters today.
At a press conference where he briefed on his country’s December presidency, he said the Council would adopt about 10 draft resolutions in addition to issuing a number of presidential statements, expressing hope that the Council would have concluded its work by 22 December.
557 Fourth meeting of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Independent Monitoring Board
559 Increased transmission and outbreaks of measles, European Region, 2011
Sommaire
557 Quatrième réunion du Comité de suivi indépendant de l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la poliomyélite
559 Augmentation de la transmission et des flambées de rougeole, Région européenne, 2011
Sixty-sixth General Assembly
Plenary
58th Meeting (AM)
Briefing Assembly, Officials Say Courts Winding Down Work,
Need International Community’s Support to Retain Staff, Prevent ‘Impunity Gap’
As deterrents of war crimes and guards against the “baser” aspects of human nature, the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia had had a far‑reaching impact over the course of their lifespan, said General Assembly delegates in a joint debate today.
