UNO - Current Affairs for July, 2016

Shri Shashi Kant Sharma, CAG India is currently attending the 70th regular session of the UN Board of Auditors at the New York Headquarters.

• Along with Auditor Generals of Tanzania and the UK, Sharma signed 11 UN Audit reports approved by the Board.
• The reports will be presented to UNGA and UNICEF, UNHCR, UNDP, etc.

Centre for United Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) commenced the first United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners.

• The course commenced for three weeks from July 25 in new Delhi.
• It is being conducted jointly with the US.
• Indian Army has acquired decades of experience through participation in UN Peace Keeping Operations.

UN’s cultural agency on 14th July 2016 added the five World Heritage sites to the danger list indicating armed militias pose grave danger to archaeological treasures.

• Sites named by UNESCO include the Old City of Ghadames referred to as the pearl of the desert and Hellenic archaeological site Cyrene.
• Rock art sites of Tadrart Acacus on the border with Algeria also features thousands of cave paintings dating back to 12000 BC to 100 AD.
• The other two are the coastal archaeological sites of Leptis Magna and Sabbratha.
• Since the 2011 led NATO military inflation, Libya has been in grips of conflict killing thousands of militia.

Costa Rica nominated former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres to be the next UN Secretary General.

• This makes her the 12th candidate to enter the race ahead of the first Security Council secret ballot
• UN and the world need a Secretary General who is a bridge builder and Figueres figures in the list