United Nations Daily Highlights, 10-03-19

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, March 19, 2010

QUARTET WELCOMES READINESS FOR PROXIMITY TALKS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

The

Secretary-General

met with the other principal members of the Quartet in Moscow today, and, following their meeting, he read out a joint statement on behalf of all the Quartet principals.

In that statement, the Quartet welcomed the readiness to launch proximity talks between

Israel and the Palestinians, and emphasized that the circumstances which made it possible to agree to launch those talks be respected.

The Quartet members underscored that the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties, and they condemned the decision by the Israeli Government to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem.

The Quartet also expressed its deep concern at the continuing deterioration in Gaza, including the humanitarian and human rights situation, and stressed the urgency of a durable resolution to the Gaza crisis.

The Secretary-General today also met with European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton to discuss

Haiti, the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), climate change and a range of regional security matters.

Asked further about the Secretary-Generals discussions with Catherine Ashton on the MDGs, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General, in his discussions with leaders in recent months, has stressed the need to implement the Goals by the target date of 2015 and has invited them to participate at the highest level in the meeting on the Goals that he will convene in New York this September.

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS MIDDLE EAST OVER THE WEEKEND

On Friday evening, the

Secretary-General left Moscow for

Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, which he will visit over the weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Secretary-General expects to meet with a range of senior officials, including Israels President and Prime Minister and the Palestinian Prime Minister.

He also intends to visit Gaza, to see firsthand the humanitarian conditions there.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES IMPACT OF ILLICT WEAPONS IN CENTRAL AFRICA

The

Security Council this morning began a meeting to discuss the impact of illicit weapons on peace and security in Central Africa.

Addressing that meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General,

Asha-Rose Migiro,

said that we have long known that the flow of illicit arms to Africa is largely made possible by the secrecy that surrounds it.

Central Africa, she warned, is awash with illicit weapons exacerbating inter-communal violence, increasing cross-border crime and threatening ongoing peace and national reconciliation processes.

She added that peace and security in Central Africa require, among other things, a strong commitment by States in the sub-region together with State suppliers of weapons to expand their individual and collective efforts to eradicate weapons trafficking.

Later on Friday, the Security Council was scheduled to hold a meeting on Somalia.

EMERGENCY PHASE OF HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS TO CONTINUE FOR MONTHS

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than two months after the

Haiti earthquake, the emergency response phase of the relief efforts should continue for months to come, given the scale and complexity of the crisis.

Concerning shelter, OCHA says that over three-quarters of the 1.2 million people in need of emergency shelter have now received shelter materials. It adds that the relocation of people needs to be sped up, ahead of the rainy season.

Concerning security in the camps, OCHA says it is working with the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the Haitian National Police to improve protection. Some 150 patrols by UN Police and the Haitian National Police are conducted everyday in camps. A pilot project is underway in the Petionville Club camp, where female UN police officers and the Haitian National Police are working specifically on gender-based violence.

Meanwhile, the

UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is in the process of assembling and distributing 17,000 flashlights to women in

Haiti. UNFPA will also give 300 tents to set up safe spaces for women in camps.

Margareta Wahlstrom, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Disaster Risk Reduction is in Haiti this week. She will visit affected communities in Port-of-Prince, Fondwa and Jacmel and have meetings with high-level Government officials.

MORE THAN TWO MILLION PEOPLE REACHED WITH FOOD AID IN PAKISTANS SWAT VALLEY

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the latest round of food distribution was completed in Pakistan on 9 March. It reached more than 2.7 million beneficiaries with approximately 37,000 metric tonnes of food. This will be the final round of free food distribution for many returnees in Swat and Buner.

During March, the

World Food Programme is introducing a variety of early recovery activities in areas where people previously displaced by conflict have been returning. These focus on educational and health system support, and also on improving opportunities for livelihood and infrastructure rehabilitation. Meanwhile, in host communities, sanitation and water are the two main priorities.

In Pakistan, OCHA says, the total number of internally displaced people is 1.24 million. Just over 24,000 families are living in ten camps. Almost two million previously displaced people have returned home.

U.N. AGENCIES PROVIDING AID IN MADAGASCAR FOLLOWING TROPICAL STORM

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that UN agencies and their partners are working to provide aid to populations affected by a tropical storm last week.

Tropical Storm Hubert made landfall on the east coast of Madagascar between 12 and 14 March, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 230, according to reports. It also left in its wake damaged roads, homes, schools and hospitals, and flooded towns and villages where residents could lose much of their recent harvests.

OCHA says another 28,300 people have been affected by the storm. And UN agencies and local authorities are mobilizing shelter, food and other items, mosquito nets and medicine to help those in need of urgent assistance.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR RACISM-FREE SOCCER

WORLD CUP

Ahead of this years Fifa World Cup in South Africa the first time an African nation will have ever hosted the events finals the

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Navi Pillay, is

urging all nations to work to ensure the event is free from any kind of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

With this in mind, Disqualify racism is the focus of this years

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, with the emphasis being on eliminating racism from sport.

Speaking in Geneva at this years commemorative event for the International Day, Pillay spoke of the good that can flow from participation in sport. It has a convening power with considerable potential to assist the integration of marginalized groups and increase social cohesion. While racism is about hate and exclusion, sport is about affection and participation, she said.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GENOCIDE ADVISER POSTPONES VISIT TO NIGERIA: Due to the recent political developments in Nigeria, the Secretary-General's

Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide,

Francis Deng, has decided to postpone his visit, which was planned for 22-23 March. Mr. Deng was hoping to visit Nigeria to meet with government, United Nations and ECOWAS officials to discuss his mandate and exchange views on national and sub-regional mechanisms that could contribute to the prevention of genocide in West Africa. Mr. Deng will continue his visit to Guinea and Ghana as planned.

CONTRACT OF HEAD OF U.N. MISSION IN D.R. CONGO EXPIRES IN JUNE: Asked about the end date for the contract of the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for the

Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Alan Doss, the Spokesperson later replied that it expires at the end of June 2010.

EVENTS SURROUNDING SREBENICA ALREADY REVIEWED: Asked about remarks made by a US general concerning the actions taken by Dutch troops in Srebrenica during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Spokesperson noted that the United Nations had already conducted its own review into what happened in Srebrenica. The

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has also looked into the killings there.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]

20- 26 March 2010

Saturday, 20 March

Today and tomorrow, the Secretary-General will be in Israel where he expects to meet with a range of senior officials, including Israels President and Prime Minister and the Palestinian Prime Minister. He also intends to visit Gaza, to see firsthand the humanitarian conditions there.

Sunday, 21 March

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In Doha, the third annual World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, will be held in conjunction with United Nations Office for Partnership (UNOP), today and tomorrow. It will focus on how the integrated efforts of philanthropic, public and private sectors can effectively respond to the worsening global issues of hunger, poverty, disease, and violence.

Monday, 22 March

This morning, the Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). It will also hear a briefing and hold consultations on UNIPSIL.

Today is World Water Day.

At 9 a.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, a high-level interactive dialogue on the implementation of the International Decade for Action, Water for Life, 2005-2015, and the realization of the internationally agreed water-related goals, will be held on World Water Day.

At 6.15 p.m., the photographic exhibit entitled Care for Water, Care for Life will open in the north-east gallery of the Visitors Lobby of the General Assembly Building.

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations will hold a press conference to introduce Costa Rica's nomination of Mrs. Christiana Figueres as a candidate for the position of Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In Rio de Janeiro, the World Urban Forum 5 UN-HABITAT The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide will starts today and run until 26 March.

In Geneva, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark will give remarks at the International Labour Organization Working Party on the Social Dimension of Globalisation.

Starting today and until from 28 March, more than 500 delegates will gather in Cali, Colombia, to finalize the text of the international regime on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use.

Tuesday, 23 March

Today is World Meteorological Day.

Today and tomorrow, the General Assembly will hold a High-Level Dialogue on financing for Development.

At 1:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) will hold a press conference about the resumed session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Participants include William Pace, moderator and CICC Convenor; David Donat Cattin, Director of the International Law and Human Rights Programme at Parliamentarians for global Action (PGA), and Mohamed Ndifuna, Executive Director of Human Rights Network, Uganda.

In Geneva, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark will give remarks at the opening of the 23rd Session of the International Coordinating Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

The UN Special Rapporteur on migrants, Jorge A. Bustamante, will undertake his first official visit to Japan until 1 April 2010, to observe the human rights situation of migrants in the country.

Wednesday, 24 March

Today is World Tuberculosis Day.

Today and until Friday, the Deputy Secretary-General will be in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Today, the Security Council will hear a briefing and then hold consultations on the Middle East.

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold a press conference for World TB Day. Participants include pop star Craig David, newly appointed Goodwill Ambassador against Tuberculosis for the Stop TB Partnership; Dr. Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary for Stop TB Partnership; Judith Mandelbaum-Schmid, moderator and Senior Communications Adviser for Stop TB Partnership.

At 2:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the Permanent Mission of Nigeria will hold a press conference about Financing for Development in Nigeria's Niger Delta. Participants include: Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Executive Governor of Delta State, Nigeria; H.E. Mr. Joy U Ogwu, Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations; and Mr. Oma Djebah, Delta State Information Commissioner, who will moderate the press conference.

Thursday, 25 March

Today is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

At 11:00 a.m., Hania Zlotnik, Director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, will hold a press conference about the results of the 2009 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium.

At 12:00 p.m., Mr. Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; and Susana Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, will hold their quarterly press conference.

At 1:00 p.m., the Department of Public Information will hold a press conference to commemorate the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

From 3 to 4:30 p.m., a solemn Commemorative Ceremony will take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Today is the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members.

In Copenhagen, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark will give remarks to the MDG3 Conference, with World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Friday, 26 March

At 12:00 p.m., Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah, newly appointed Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of Guinea, will be the guest at the noon briefing.

At 12:45 p.m., members of the Human Rights Committee will brief the press at the conclusion of its 98th session held in New York, at which it reviewed the reports of Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand and Uzbekistan under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark will be in Washington DC to meet with U.S. officials and speak at the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps lecture at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

[1]This document is for planning purposes only and is current as of DATE \@ "HH:mm" 13:56 DATE \@ "dddd, dd MMMM, yyyy" Friday, 19 March, 2010.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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