|
UN Calendar |
|
March 22
World Urban Forum meets in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil through March 26.
March 23
High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development takes place in New York through March 24.
March 29
Disarmament Commission meets in New York through April 16. |
|
|
| UN Washington Online |
 |
|
| |
Good Afternoon!
Here is your UN news update from Washington... |
|
In Middle East, Ban pledges to help settle all key issues
Visiting Gaza, Ramallah and Jerusalem, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his solidarity with the people of the area and reiterated his commitment to help the Israeli and Palestinian sides reach a settlement in the next two years.
"Indirect talks," Mr. Ban told reporters after meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, "are not the end result," and there are "no other alternatives" to direct negotiations.
 Following his stop in Gaza, Mr. Ban returned to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr. Ban told reporters after talks with the Israeli leader that his visit is taking place at a "crucially important juncture," coming just before the start of proximity talks between the country and Palestinians.
The Secretary-General arrived in the Middle East from Moscow, where he attended a meeting on Friday of the diplomatic Quartet comprising the UN, Russia, the European Union (EU) and the United States.
The group issued a joint statement in which it called for the sides to immediately resume talks to pave the way for a settlement "that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its neighbors."
Mr. Ban called for both parties to restart talks with "sincerity and flexibility," noting the substantial progress that had been made before talks stalled more than one year ago.
"I know how much Israelis yearn for lasting security," he said. "That is my goal too. I am here to say that peace is just not necessary and urgent. It is also achievable."
Related Headlines
|
|
Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Afghanistan by one year
The Security Council voted on March 22 to extend the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another 12 months and to expand its mandate to include support for the parliamentary elections scheduled for September.
 In a resolution adopted unanimously, Council members agreed to extend UNAMA through March, 23 2011, following the recommendation of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his latest report on the work of the mission.
The Security Council also requested that UNAMA provide technical and logistical support to the National Assembly and civil society in preparation for the parliamentary poll, as requested in a letter by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with further assistance from the international community, as appropriate.
UNAMA has been in Afghanistan since March 2002, when following the fall of the Taliban, the Bonn Agreement established an interim Government and prescribed the drafting of a new Constitution and the holding of elections.
The mission is mandated to manage all humanitarian, relief, recovery and reconstruction activities.
Related Headline
|
Unsafe water kills more people than war, Ban says on World Water Day
 More people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, calling for better protection and sustainable management of one of the Earth's most precious resources on the occasion of World Water Day on March 22.
"These deaths are an affront to our common humanity, and undermine the efforts of many countries to achieve their development potential," Mr. Ban said in his message for the Day, which this year focuses on "Clean Water for a Healthy World" as its theme.
 In his message, Mr. Ban highlighted that water is vitally linked to all UN development goals, including maternal and child health and life expectancy, women's empowerment, food security, sustainable development and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
As such, the General Assembly recognized 2005-2015 as the International Decade for Action "Water for Life."
In order to address these gaps and with the looming 2015 deadline to fulfill the MDGs, the UN will host a high-level thematic debate in September to coincide with the opening of the Assembly's annual General Debate in New York.
Every day around the world, 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are poured in the earth's waters, while one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
|
|
Week in Pictures
Secretary-General Meets U.S. Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow
March 18 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Sergey V. Lavrov (center), Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State, prior to a dinner with representatives of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet at the Foreign Ministry Mansion in Moscow, Russia. UN Photo/Mark Garten
Afghan women celebrate the New Year 1389 at Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan
March 21 - Afghan women gathered at the Hazrat Ali Shrine, the center of the New Year 1389 celebration at Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. Afghans and residents of neighboring countries like Iran celebrate their New Year on March 21. Nowruz marks the beginning of the year, and the first day of spring. In his Nowruz message, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lauded the UN General Assembly's decision to this year recognize the International Day of Nowruz, saying it is "evidence of a growing global awareness of the holiday's significance not only in the regions where it is celebrated but around the world." | |
|
About the United Nations in Washington
As the United Nations office in Washington, D.C, the UN Information Center serves as the focal point for UN news and information to advance understanding of the UN and its work, and to serve as a resource for United States government officials, NGOs, civil-society organizations and the American people.
United Nations. It's your world. |
|
|
