UN Malawi family welcomes new Resident Coordinator. Ms. Mia Seppo

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1 NKHANI ZATHU Our Stories Volume 3, Issue 1 April, 2013 UNITED NATIONS IN MALAWI UN Malawi family welcomes new Resident Coordinator United Nations Malawi has a new Resident Coordinator, thanks to the appointment of Ms. Mia Seppo to succeed Mr. Richard Dictus who had been in the position until his reappointment as the new Executive Coordinator for the UN Volunteer Programme in Bonn, Germany. Ms. Seppo, who also doubles as UNDP Resident Representative in the country, assumed office on 8 th April Main Stories 1. UN Malawi family welcomes new Resident Coordinator 2. UN Malawi hosts the Right to Food Conference 3. UN holds a National Conference on Women Political Participation 4. Malawi Validates and Launches the MAF Action Plan 5. Malawi Holds National Consultations on the Post 2015 Campaign 6. Who is Who in UN Ms. Mia Seppo A firm believer in the UN values and principles, Ms. Seppo acknowledges the indispensability of the UN System at the global level and noted that although it may not be perfect, no other institution worldwide works at the multilateral level like the UN. Speaking at a meeting which she had with UNDP staff, she encouraged staff to believe in the work they are doing and work to their best because it is changing lives. Ms. Seppo believes her open door policy can only motivate staff to be more forthcoming and innovative and improve programme delivery by the country office. Says Ms. Seppo: Staff should be able to come and see me when they need to. I am not a gate keeper; I am a gate opener. Since I am new, I will very much rely on advice from UN staff to understand the development context of Malawi. Ms. Seppo presented her letter of credence to Her Excellency the State President of Malawi, Dr. Joyce Banda on 13 May 2013, acknowledging her as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Malawi. Ms. Seppo holds a Master's degree in Political Science and Government from the University of Helsinki. Before joining UN Country Team in Malawi, she worked as the UNDP Country Director for Sierra Leone. Staff should be able to come and see me when they need to. I am not a gate keeper; I am a gate opener

2 Page 2 United Nations in Malawi hosts the Regional Right to Food Conference NKHANI ZATHU Around 60 experts from governments, civil society, national human rights institutions, as well as the agricultural sector met from 3 to 4 April 2013 in Lilongwe, to discuss concrete measures to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food in the sub-region. Experts from Flanders, Norway, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN agencies attended the seminar. The Regional Office for Southern Africa of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights organized this seminar in close cooperation with the Government of Malawi, the United Nations Country Team in Malawi, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, with the financial support of the Flemish Government (Belgium) and the Royal Norwegian Embassy. The objective of the seminar was to facilitate an exchange of experiences and lessons learned related to the implementation of the right to food, and to increase awareness of the right to food and of existing implementation tools in the subregion. The seminar was in follow-up to the recommendations made at a subregional expert seminar on economic, social and Participants at the Regional Right to Food Conference cultural rights held in Maputo, Mozambique, in December The Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium, Mr. Kris Peeters who graced the seminar emphasized the need to respect human rights. We need to respect human rights because without respect for human rights, no country can ever become a great nation. The rights of every person are diminished when the rights of one person are threatened, he said. Agreeing with the Minister-President, the UNICEF Resident Representative, Mr. Mahimbo Mdoe, who spoke on behalf of the United Systems in Malawi, thanked the delegates for attending the seminar and emphasised the importance of observing the right to food. The right to food is recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and is enshrined in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, said Mr. Mdoe. The regional seminar sought to bring together exp e r i e n c e s a n d b u i l d knowledge on the implementation of the right to food and human rights-based approaches to tackling hunger and food and nutrition insecurity in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We need to respect human rights because without respect for human rights, no country can ever become a great nation. The rights of every person are diminished when the rights of one person are threatened

3 Volume 2, Issue 4 Page 3 Pictorial Focus Cocktail party in honor of the Flemish Minister-President Mr. Kris Peeters Mr. Peeters addressing the guests Mr. Peeters viewing UNICEF displays Mr. Peeters being briefed by one of the stakeholders Mr. Peeters viewing UNDP displays Guests at the cocktail party Viewing displays from different stakeholders Participants listening to Mr. Peeters making a speech Sharing some documents

4 Page 4 The United Nations holds a National Conference on Women Political Participation On 25 th March 2013, The United Nations organized a two day national conference on women political participation. Minister of Gender, Children and social welfare, Anita Kalinde who officially opened the conference appealed for increased women s participation in politics and decision making positions. Kalinde said: Malawi is a signatory to several international, regional and sub region gender equality instruments. The instruments contain articles which urge member states to build the capacity of the institutions which facilitate the promotion of women in politics and decision making. The minister also said the conference was organized at an opportune time because the country s National Assembly passed the Tripartite Elections Act 2012 and the elections are due to be held in May The 2014 tripartite elections give political parties an opportunity to put in place measures that will facilitate the elections of more women into Parliament and Local Government, she said. Dr. Chimbiri making a statement Speaking earlier, United Nations Development Programme, Assistant Representative, Dr. Agnes Chimbiri who represented the United Nations Resident Coordinator said women are still poorly represented in politics and decision making structure even after 20 years of democracy. Dr. Chimbiri said: It is therefore imperative for the country to seriously implement campaign for women representative in decision-making to ensure women are presented in leader- Guest speaker - Dr. Miria Matembe Newsletter Title Principal Secretary for Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Dr. Mary Shawa said women have been left behind in decision-making positions though they are in the majority. Since the country became independent in 1964 and democratically in 1994, as political parties we have never come together as women representing different political parties although women look at politics beyond it. Despite the women being in majority, there is under representation of them in decisionmaking positions which needs to be looked into, Dr. Shawa said. UN Malawi organized the national conference on women political participation to strategize a campaign. Political parties that were presented in the conference included; People s Party, Malawi Congress Party, United Democratic Front, Democratic Progressive Party, Petra and Mafunde. (L-R) PS for Gender, Dr. Shawa, Deputy Min of Gender Hon Chatipwa and Minister of Gender Hon. Kalinde Despite the women being in majority, there is under representation of them in decisionmaking positions which needs to be looked into

5 Page 5 Malawi validates and launches the MAF-Action Plan Newsletter Title United Nations and the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare launched the Millennium Development Goals Acceleration Framework (MAF) Action Plan and White paper at the Bingu Conference Centre (Lilongwe) on 22 March, The two documents were launched by the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare Ms. Anita Kalinde and the then UNDP Acting Resident Representative, Ms. Naomi Kitahara who represented the United Nations Resident Coordinator. The MAF Action Plan provides a systematic way for countries to develop their own action plan based on existing plans and processes to pursue their MDG priorities. It also helps governments to focus on disparities and inequalities, two of the major causes of uneven progress, by particularly responding to the needs of the vulnerable. According to the latest MDG Progress Report on Malawi (2012), Malawi has got mixed results in terms of progress in achieving MDGs. She is on course to achieve possibly half of the eight millennium development goals and these are reducing child mortality (MDG 4); combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG 6); ensuring environmental sustainability in (MDG 7); Participants at the MAF validation workshop and developing global partnership for development (MDG 8). Ms. Kitahara appealed to all parties concerned with implementing the MAF Action Plan to mainstream gender in all their sectoral plans and programmes. It is our expectation that as various sectors implement the MAF Action Plan, gender will be mainstreamed in all sectoral plans and programmes. The priority sectoral intervention areas covered in the MAF Action Plan include education; economic development; business and finance; politics and decisionmaking; and gender-based violence. This calls for the Education Sector-Working Group; Agriculture Sector Working Group; Industry, Trade Private Sector Working Group; Governance Sector Working Group and Gender & Youth Sector Working Group to ensure efficient coordinating of the implementation and reporting of the identified priority interventions, she said. It is our expectation that as various sectors implement the MAF Action Plan, gender will be mainstreamed in all sectoral plans and programmes

6 Malawi holds national consultations on the Post 2015 Campaign The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education have been a milestone in global and national development efforts. The framework has helped to galvanize development efforts and guide global and national development priorities since the turn of the new millennium in On 31 December, 2015, this framework will expire requiring nations to agree and forge a new world development agenda for 2016 and beyond. Since the beginning of this year, consultations at different levels of society have been conducted in 50 selected countries worldwide including Malawi. The UN Country Team and the Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, led the consultations which aim at stimulating an inclusive debate on a post 2015 development agenda by providing an analytical base, inputs and ideas that build a globally shared development agenda vision with clear recommendations for government, civil society and broad stakeholders on how to achieve them. Participants at the Post 2015 Validation Workshop The former Vice President who championed the campaign said there are a number of things that need to be considered for the post 2015 development agenda. Among others, he cited sustainable economic growth, poverty and hunger reduction as some of the most important challenges currently facing the country. The consultations in Malawi were done in 9 districts, namely: Lilongwe, Chikhwawa, Machinga, Ntcheu, Karonga, Mulanje, Mwanza, Dowa, Mzimba, Salima, Rumphi, Zomba, Mchinji. Apart from the vulnerable groups, other stakeholders involved in the consultations were: the Civil society, District Assemblies, the General public in Malawi, Parliamentarians, Political Parties, the Private Sector, Traditional Authorities, and UN staff. International Women s Day UN Malawi gives a special treat to Maula female inmates ensure that their basic human rights are respected and protected. Participants to the event, including UN Staff, Development Partners, Government Officials and Civil Society Organizations were welcomed to visit the women s cells, where it was explained that every cell has beds, bed sheets, bed covers and a mosquito net for each of the women inmates. After the discussion, the acting UN Resident Coordinator, the UN Women Representative and the UNFPA Assistant Representative distributed toiletries to inmates to improve their hygiene and health conditions. UN Officials that were part of the event The UN system in Malawi celebrated the International Women s Day on the 8th of March, by visiting the female wing of the Maula Prison in Lilongwe to convey the message of universality of human rights for all, men and women, included those restricted in their liberty. After the welcoming remarks of the Prison s Officers, the Chief Commissioner addressed the audience, highlighting the importance of rehabilitation of inmates and the ne- The event was concluded with the distribution of food and drinks to the inmates as well as dancing. Officials dancing with the inmates

7 Who is Who in UN Who is Steve Kamponda? I was born John-Steven Kamponda on Wednesday, 23 April, The name has been twisted and turned over the years so much so that people now simply call me Steve or Stee. I am the last born in a family of 8 siblings: six girls and two boys. I am not married but have a steady girlfriend whom I dearly love. I hold a Bachelor s Degree in Media for Development Studies from the University of Malawi (Chancellor College) specializing in Health Communication. I am a multi-media producer with passion and technical acumen in desktop publishing (including graphic designing) and video production. Your career, when did you join the UN and what inspired you to join? I joined UNDP on 17 December 2012 as a Young Professional (Communications Assistant). Before UNDP, I worked with World University Service of Canada and Farm Radio International. Joining UNDP was an easy choice for me: I wanted a new challenge that could have a significant impact on my career development. I saw UNDP (or the UN system in general) as a perfect option for me to prove myself and prepare for further studies. My initial six month with UNDP have been so fruitful. I am happy with my contribution here and I m dead positive that am going to perform even better for the rest of the year. What is your favorite food and what do you like doing in your free time? My favourite food is a fruit; I love most of the succulent fruits out there, especially mango. During free time, I am usually on my computer doing graphics or listening to conscious reggae music. I love photography very much; I dedicate few hours each week to practice different shots with my camera. I play pool (8-ball) apart from being a soccer fan with Arsenal as my team. Your dreams and aspiration? My dream is to see Malawi s media transform and compete with the rest of the world. My aspiration is to be part of this transformation. I work hard to be the best producer of print and audio visual media simply to be up there with the best. My motto in life Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first, and everything else shall be added there unto. For more information: Contact the UN Resident Coordinator s Office Phone: Fax: ,