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UN Calendar |
September 1
Swimming Champion Marcos Diaz speaks to Washington, D.C.-area students after embarking on a five continent swim to help bring awareness to the MDGs.
September 17
Millions of people around the world will take part in the STAND UP campaign to demand that world leaders end poverty and achieve the MDGs. In Washington, D.C, STAND UP at Farragut Square Park (17th and I Streets NW) from Noon to 2 p.m.
September 20-22
UN MDG Summit, a high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, takes place in New York
September 23-30
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UN Reports |
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Did You Know...
The United Nations assists more than 34 million refugees and others fleeing war, famine or persecution.
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August 30, 2010 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Robert Dijkgraaf (fourth from left), Co-Chair of the InterAcademy Council (IAC), and members of the IAC Committee to Review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including Harold Shapiro (third from left), Chair of the Committee at UN headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe |
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UN-backed climate body says independent review will strengthen its work
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the United Nations-backed panel tasked with preparing scientific reports on the impact of climate change has welcomed the findings of an independent review which called for major changes in management and procedures to enable the group to strengthen the quality of its assessments.
In March, Mr. Ban and Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), requested the review amid intense public debate about the science of climate change, as well as questions over the accuracy of the panel's reports.
"The report we are releasing today identifies and recommends fundamental reforms to IPCC's management structure," Robbert Dijkgraaf, co-chair of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) and head of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science, told a news conference at UN headquarters in New York on August 30.
"The IPCC needs to strengthen its procedures to handle ever-larger and increasingly complex climate assessments as well as the more intense public scrutiny coming from a world grappling with how best to respond to climate change," he added.
In 2007, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning IPCC issued its landmark Fourth Assessment Report, which found the warming of the climate is outpacing natural variability, driven largely by human activity. The panel's credibility came into question after revelations that the report contained some mistakes, including over the rate of Himalayan glacier melt.
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Health needs of flood-hit communities in Pakistan remain high
Providing health services to millions of people affected by the massive flooding in Pakistan remains a priority for humanitarian agencies, as a large numbers of those affected by the disaster continue to seek treatment for diseases such as diarrhea, skin infections, respiratory problems and malaria, the United Nations health agency says.
 Medical needs have been rising even as assessments indicate that some 400 of the more than 1,000 health facilities in flood-affected districts have been damaged or destroyed by floodwater, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported.
According to the latest data, some 3.7 million people are reported to have received some form of medical treatment between July 29 and August 23. Of those, 500,000 were cases of acute diarrhea, 517,000 involved acute respiratory infections, there were 693,000 cases of skin infections and 94,000 suspected cases of malaria.
UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York that it could take months before the clinics and health centers, schools and other public infrastructure destroyed by the massive floods can be restored. Most of those affected are also not expected to regain their capacity to support themselves any time soon, Mr. Nesirky added.
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Security Council extends mandate of UN force in Lebanon
The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year, saying its presence there, as well as that of the Lebanese armed forces, is helping to promote stability in the south of the Middle Eastern country.
 In a unanimous resolution on August 30, the Council said it had determined that "the situation in Lebanon continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security" and had therefore decided to extend UNIFIL's mandate until August 31, 2011.
The Council strongly urged all parties concerned to respect the cessation of hostilities, to prevent any violation of the so-called Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, and to cooperate fully with the UN and UNIFIL.
It also urged the Israeli government to expedite the withdrawal of its army from northern Ghajar, a village that straddles the Blue Line, without further delay in coordination with UNIFIL, which, the Council said, has actively engaged Israel and Lebanon to facilitate the withdrawal.
The Council also reaffirmed its call for the establishment, between the Blue Line and the Litani River, of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons except those of the Lebanese Government and UNIFIL.
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Week in Pictures
UNAMID Meeting in West Darfur
August 24, 2010 - Ibrahim Gambari (standing), Joint Special Representative for the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), meets with local Sudanese sheiks at Mornei Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in El Geneina, West Darfur. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
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Medical Assistance in Cote d'Ivoire
August 24, 2010 - During the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI)'s "UNOCI Days," mission staff offer free medical consultations to residents of Bocanda. The UNOCI event also included workshops, forums, sports games, and traditional Ivorian performances and concerts. UN Photo/Basile Zoma
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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.
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