U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-Up 378
14 - 20 April 2007


CONTENTS:

UGANDA: Death penalty for HIV-positive child sex offenders
UGANDA-SUDAN: Renewed truce raises optimism over future talks
GLOBAL: "Sustainable Urbanisation" key to fighting urban poverty
GLOBAL: Proper policies key to upgrading slums
GLOBAL: Health, environment threatened by future urban growth
EAST AFRICA: Lake Victoria region at risk of environmental degradation
DRC: Arbitrary killings, rape part of ongoing abuses in the east

SEE ALSO:

UGANDA: Govt relocates 'beggar' pastoralists at:
[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71702]

CAR: Leprosy still a challenge despite drop in cases at:
[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71646]


UGANDA: Death penalty for HIV-positive child sex offenders

A new law passed by Uganda's parliament on Wednesday has stipulated that
an HIV-positive person who willfully infects a minor through sexual
intercourse will face the death penalty.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the existing penal code, which
has been criticised for being too lenient with HIV-positive people who
rape children. Capital punishment has been the penalty for anyone found
guilty of rape or defilement since 1996, but has never been implemented.

Some groups were, however, opposed to the new legislation. "We are of
the view that the death penalty for defilers is unacceptable, and
amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment," said Livingstone
Sewanyana, executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights
Initiative (FHRI), a human rights advocacy group.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71713]


UGANDA-SUDAN: Renewed truce raises optimism over future talks

The renewed truce between the Ugandan government and the Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) has boosted hopes that upcoming talks between the
two may finally end the conflict in northern Uganda, a senior official
said.

At Saturday's meeting between a Ugandan government delegation and the
LRA leaders in Ri-Kwangba on the Sudan-Democratic Republic of Congo
border, the ceasefire - which expired in February - was renewed until
the end of June.

The meeting was chaired by the United Nations Secretary-General's
special envoy in the region, former Mozambican president, Joaquim
Chissano. Both sides agreed that the talks will keep the southern
Sudanese vice president, Riek Machar, as mediator.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71624]


GLOBAL: "Sustainable Urbanisation" key to fighting urban poverty

The number of slum-dwellers worldwide is set to reach a new high in
2007, making alleviating poverty a global priority, the United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.

"Urban poverty should be unacceptable in the new urban era, and yet this
is the year in which the number of slum dwellers worldwide is forecasted
to reach one billion," Ban said in a statement read by the deputy
executive director for UN-Habitat, Inga Klevby, during the opening of
the 21st Session of the agency's Governing Council.

The meeting, under the theme: "Sustainable Urbanisation: Local Action
for Urban Poverty Reduction", focuses on finance and planning, and runs
until 20 April. "The urban poor are the most vulnerable to natural
disasters, made more frequent by climate change patterns since they live
in places prone to disasters," Ban said.

The executive director for UN-Habitat, Anna Tibaijuka added that many
governments in developing countries are facing cash shortages and are
unable to provide better housing, sanitation and health for low-income
households.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71634]


GLOBAL: Proper policies key to upgrading slums

The well-being of millions of the world's slum-dwellers can only be
improved through policies that not only target upgrading, but also
strengthen urban and national economies, the World Bank Institute (WBI)
said.

"Proper measures, policies and regulations must be undertaken by local
and national governments, international organisations and other
stakeholders to improve the lives of slums-dwellers and stem their rapid
spread," Barjor Mehta, WBI representative, said in the Kenyan capital of
Nairobi.

Hundreds of millions of slum-dwellers are exposed to severe inadequacies
and cannot access human requirements such as water, sanitation, shelter,
health and education.

"Urban expansion poses great challenges, with developing countries set
to triple their entire urban areas in 30 years, and their population
expected to double if current policies remain unchanged," said Rafael
Tuts, a representative from UN-Habitat.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71685]


GLOBAL: Health, environment threatened by future urban growth

Half of the world's population will live in towns by 2008, marking the
moment in history when humans became an urban species but posing a major
threat to health and the environment, a research organisation warned on
Tuesday.

"More than half of all people will live in urban areas, mostly in
low-income urban settlements in developing countries - this unplanned
and chaotic urbanisation is taking a huge toll on human health and the
quality of the environment," said Zoe Chafe, Worldwatch International
representative during the launch of its 2007 State of the World report
in Nairobi, Kenya.

Titled, "Our Urban Future", the report looks at the ways urbanisation
affects human life and the global environment. It was released during
the on-going 21st Session of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.

It noted that close to half of urban dwellers live in "slums" - areas
where people cannot secure key necessities such as clean water, toilets
or durable sanitation. Around 1.6 million people die in such areas each
year due to lack of clean water and sanitation.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71648]


EAST AFRICA: Lake Victoria region at risk of environmental degradation

The lives of 30 million people living and dependent on Lake Victoria are
in danger as a result of uncontrolled municipal and industrial waste,
urbanisation and slum overpopulation, a senior United Nations official
said on Thursday.

"Lake Victoria is a fragile ecosystem and the international community
must now come to its aid since urbanisation, pollution and
overpopulation in towns surrounding it continue to degrade it,
contributing to its slow death," said Anna Tibaijuka, the executive
director of UN-Habitat.

Tibaijuka, speaking at the launch of phase three of the lake's City
Development Strategies (CDS) in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, said the
CDS aims to enable municipal authorities to address local environmental
issues and urban poverty to achieve sustainable urbanisation by
providing improved environmental planning and management policies.

The lake is the world's second largest fresh water body shared by Kenya
(6 percent of the lake), Tanzania (49 percent) and Uganda (45 percent)
and a third of the combined population of these countries dependent on
it for fishing, agriculture and domestic use.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71710]


DRC: Arbitrary killings, rape part of ongoing abuses in the east

Executions and rape of civilians have continued in eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) according to a report published by the United
Nations detailing human rights abuses during the month of March.

The report, released by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) on Monday,
claims the atrocities were committed by soldiers from the Forces armees
de la republique democratique du Congo's (FARDC) recently mixed Bravo
Brigade.

Numerous cases of alleged rape, human rights violations and looting are
listed. The report also details cases of arrests, rape and killings by
police.

[Full report at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71700]

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