UN agencies are on the ground continuing to offer treatment, prevention and response preparedness measures to help contain the recent outbreak of cholera in Haiti.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Haiti's health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) have developed a strategy to ensure the availability of all basic medical supplies required to respond to the disease and strengthen the capacity of treatment centers and hospitals.

Eighty primary health care centers and 12 special cholera treatment units are being equipped to better handle cases, while eight hospitals now have the capacity to treat the most severe cases.

OCHA is trucking in tens of thousands of liters of water to the affected areas and distributing rehydration salts and water purification tablets. The organization is also delivering meals ready to eat (MREs) including some 9,000 MREs to St. Nicholas Hospital.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), for its part, said it is adapting 22,000 standard hygiene kits to meet specific needs to reduce the spread of the disease. The kits contain chlorine water purification pills, rehydration salts and soap to maintain higher levels of hygiene.

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Kevin Kennedy, Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), met with US officials in Washington this week on the UN's role in assisting with humanitarian and reconstruction efforts. Kennedy said the government of Haiti, non-governmental organizations, and the UN are making progress in the country but the crisis is "far from over." In addition to providing care to some 1.3 million Haitians living in displaced camps, MINUSTAH will also be assisting with preparations for Haiti's presidential elections scheduled for Nov. 20. Watch the full video interview with Kevin Kennedy.

Eric Dienes, Liaison Officer for the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace, spoke on a panel at a Sports and Peacebuilding Symposium hosted by the US Institute of Peace in Washington this week. He said sport serves as a form of communication to rehabilitate communities and as a "cost-effective tool" to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

Dr. Najat Maalla M'jid, the UN's Special Rapporteur that monitors the sale of children and commercial sexual exploitation of children, concluded a fact-finding mission in the United States with a visit to Washington on October 27.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Christine McNab, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq, visits Washington to meet with US officials and takes part in a UN Development Programme roundtable entitled, Iraq's Development Challenges, on Tuesday, November 2.

Margot Wallstr�m, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict for the United Nations, will speak at the US Institute of Peace's Women and War Conference at The World Bank on Wednesday, November

3-4.

The Security Council marked the tenth anniversary of the landmark resolution on women and peace and security on October 26 by calling for the full and effective participation of women at all stages of peace processes, and for ending the abuse of women and girls in armed conflict.

Adopted on October 31, 2000, resolution 1325 marked the culmination of years of concerted appeals and efforts, especially by civil society and women's organizations, to draw attention to and seek action to reverse the egregious and inhumane treatment of women and girls, the denial of their human rights and their exclusion from decision-making in situations of armed conflict.

"Resolution 1325 will never be implemented successfully until we end sexual violence in conflict," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a video message to the Council meeting. "We must hold those responsible to account, whether the crimes are committed by state or non-state parties."

In his latest report on women and peace and security, Mr. Ban noted that the conditions that women and girls face in situations of armed conflict continue to be "abhorrent" and that effective methods for monitoring their impact are lacking.

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The United Nations and its partners are helping the government of Indonesia to assess the needs of people affected by the tsunami and the volcano eruption which hit the country earlier this week, the world body reported.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said authorities had indicated that they have the capacity to respond to both disasters.

On the tsunami, which was triggered by 7.2-strength earthquake off the southwest coast of Pagai Island in West Sumatra on Monday, assessments by the government, UN agencies and their partners got under way on October 27.

There have been 154 confirmed deaths, 400 people are missing and more than 500 families have reportedly been displaced. Some 179 houses were severely damaged and another 300 sustained slight damage, according to official reports.

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The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia dealing with mass killings and other crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge three decades ago is crucial in the world's fight against impunity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the South-East Asian nation on October 27.

As many as 2.2 million people are believed to have died during the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which was then followed by a protracted period of civil war in the impoverished country.

Under an agreement signed by the UN and the government, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was set up as an independent court using a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel. It is designated to try those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between April 17, 1975 and January 6, 1979.

"You are helping the people of Cambodia continue the process of reconciliation and build a peaceful and prosperous future," the Secretary-General told the Court on October 27.

"Your work is vital in the world's fight against impunity."

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