United Nations Radio

Caribbean News Round-Up: a weekly 15-minute news magazine on developments at the United Nations concerning the Caribbean.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the aid operation in Haiti is complex, but they're now seeing significant progress. The Secretary-General told reporters the situation is largely calm, noting that food distribution is growing smoother by the day. He also disclosed that former United States President Bill Clinton who is the UN special envoy to Haiti has agreed to take on an expanded leadership role in coordinating the UN international aid effort.

Cash-for-Work Programme identified as a priority in Haiti's early recovery programme

cash for work in Haiti

The Cash-for-Work Programme has been identified as one of the priority activities in the early recovery agenda.
UNDP's head of crisis prevention Jordan Ryan told reporters Thursday that it began drawing on the experience that the Government of Haiti and UNDP gained coming out of the 2008 hurricane season when over 100,000 jobs were created.

UN humanitarian chief points to significant progress in getting aid to Haitians

John Holmes

UN humanitarian chief John Holmes explained that the operation had been complicated and difficult to mount and that there had been frustration from all parties involved in the operation as they had not been able to reach, as quickly as they would have liked it, everybody with the aid they needed.

St. Kitts says the economic burdens that global warming imposes on island nations are considerable

Denzil Douglas

All nations crave stability and the knowledge that their respective fates are by and large, in their own hands. That's what Prime minister Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts-Nevis told the Copenhagen Climate Summit. And he said all nations also crave consequential insulation from the irresponsible practices of other nations.
The prime minister said while all nations expect, at one time or another, to deal with the vicissitudes of the market-place and have reconciled themselves to the prospects of occasional social unrest, it is truly beyond the realm of normalcy for any nation to have to grapple with floods and famine; hurricanes and refugee flows; dramatically altered rainfall, stunted agricultural production, and in some cases, even the disappearance of one's entire landmass due to the excessive green house gas emissions of other nations.

Producer: Donn Bobb