United Nations Washington
In This Issue
UN helping thwart spread of cholera in Haiti
NEW: UN in Washington
Security Council calls for ensuring women's participation in building, sustaining peace
UN helps Indonesian authorities assess needs after tsunami and volcano
UN-backed Cambodia tribunal vital in global fight against impunity, Secretary-General says
Week in Pictures

UN Calendar
 October 29

 

The Secretary-General addresses the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok and travels on to China.

 

November 1

 

The United Kingdom will assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of November.


November 4

 

Human Development Report 2010 20th Anniversary: The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development

 

November 14

 

World Diabetes Day

 

November 16

 

International Day for Tolerance

 

November 25

 

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

 

November 29-December 10

 

United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun - COP 16 & CMP 6


The sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) and the sixth Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) will be held in Cancun, Mexico.

 

December 1

 

World AIDS Day



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Security Council's October Calendar



UN Headlines

AFRICA

 

West/Central Africa: More than 1.8 million people affected by floods

 

Niger: Donor support helps avert food crisis but more required, says UN official

 

Somalia: Fresh clashes drive 60,000 from their homes, reports UN agency

 

Sudan: Coming months critical for Sudan's future, Security Council hears

 

Darfur: Deadly violence continues, Ban says in latest report

 

C�te d'Ivoire: Calm political, security climate bodes well for polls, Ban says

 

AMERICAS

 

Argentina: UN chief mourns passing of former Argentine leader N�stor Kirchner

 

Nicaragua: UN agency helps fight hunger

 

ASIA PACIFIC

 

Afghanistan: Ban and Security Council condemn attack on UN compound

 

Asia-Pacific nations agree on regional disaster readiness strategy at UN-backed forum

 

Pakistan: UN agency steps in to help farmers after floods destroyed seed stocks

 

Myanmar: 'Not too late' to make upcoming polls more inclusive, Ban says

 

EUROPE

 

Cyprus: 25,000th landmine cleared by UN

 

MIDDLE EAST

 

Lebanon: Attack on staff will not deter Hariri murder probe, says UN-backed tribunal

 

Lebanon: Tensions highlight need for Lebanese parties to put national interests first, says Ban

 

WORLD

 

Trust placed in UN World Court vital for promoting rule of law, says top judge

 

UN report urges action to save Arctic biodiversity

 

Measures to improve economies of poorest nations focus of UN-led forum

 

On World Day, UNESCO urges preservation of audiovisual heritage

 

UN issues guidebook on private standards for exporters in developing countries


UN Reports
Secretary-General's Reports

African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)

 

The Sudan

 

United Nations Operation in C�te d'Ivoire


United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP)

 

Protecting Development Gains: Reducing Disaster Vulnerability and Building Resilience in Asia and the Pacific October 26, 2010



For a complete listing of new reports, please visit:


UN Reports
                                        


UN Washington Online
UN Washington YouTube Page
 Facebook
UN Battalion Secures Water Distribution at Center of Haiti Cholera Outbreak
October 26, 2010 - The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) provides security as residents of Jurve, Haiti, wait to receive bottled water from the Jeunesse En Mission organization. Jurve is a small village on the Artibonite River, identified as the contaminated source of a recent outbreak of cholera which has so far claimed 303 lives and hospitalized 4,722 people in Haiti's Artibonite region. UN Photo/Sophia Paris
UN helping thwart spread of cholera in Haiti
    

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 Cholera Patients Treated by Doctor in L'Estere, Haitisupplies 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.

 

Read more



UN in Washington

US CapitolKevin 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.


Security Council calls for ensuring women's participation in building, sustaining peace
  

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.

 

Head of UN Women Addresses Council Meeting on Landmark Resolution 1325Adopted 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.

 

Read more


UN helps Indonesian authorities assess needs after tsunami and volcano
 

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.

 

Read more


UN-backed Cambodia tribunal vital in global fight against impunity, Secretary-General says
  

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.

 

Secretary-General Addresses Cambodian Courts' Extraordinary ChambersAs 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."

 

Read more


Week in Pictures

UNAMID Celebrates United Nations Day

UNAMID Celebrates United Nations Day

October 24, 2010 - Members of the community in North Darfur perform traditional song and dance during celebrations with the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) marking United Nations Day in El Fasher, Sudan. UN Photo/Olivier Chassot


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Royal Audience with King of Cambodia

King of Cambodia

October 27, 2010 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) has a royal audience with Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia, inside the Royal Palace's Throne Hall in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. UN Photo/Mark Garten

 

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