UN Calendar
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November 14
World Diabetes Day
November 15
The Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution on piracy off the coast of Somalia. It will also hold an open debate on its 1276, 1373 and 1540 Committees
November 16
The Security Council will hold a debate on Sudan in the morning. The Secretary-general is expected to address this meeting. In the afternoon, the Security Council will hold consultations on Western Sahara.
International Day for Tolerance November 18 The Secretary-General will meet with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, in the framework of the on-going negotiation process to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, conducted by the two communities under the auspices of the United Nations. 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
***** Security Council's October Calendar
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| November 11, 2010 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses a UN-Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) forum in Seoul hosted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. Mr. Ban is also attending the Group of 20 (G20) Summit. UN Photo/Evan Schneider |
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Secretary-General urges focus on development at G20 in Seoul
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Group of 20 leaders gathered in Seoul today, making the case that development is not a side issue, and that investing in development is investing in everyone's recovery. "Our words must translate into action on the ground," he told the Group. "The people of the world are watching. Many are anxious, angry and hurting. They fear for their jobs, their families, their futures. It is up to us now to show that we understand and are willing to act," he said. During remarks to the Korean National Assembly's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Forum on November 11, Mr. Ban said, "I believe that promises made must be promises kept."
While in Seoul, Mr. Ban met with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa and thanked him for his country's role in co-chairing the G20 development working group, which will help to coordinate the work by the G20 and the UN to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
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UN in Washington
Lamberto Zannier, UN secretary-general's special representative for Kosovo, met with White House, State Department, Pentagon and congressional representatives during his two-day visit to Washington, D.C. this week. He gave an overview of the work of UNMIK past and present at a discussion at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies titled, "Kosovo: Current Challenges and the Role of the UN." Watch a video interview with Mr. Zannier.
Melissa Powell, head of strategy and partnerships for the UN Global Compact, spoke on peacebuilding and the private sector in conflict zones during a discussion at the John Hopkins School for International Studies in Washington on November 9. Powell said the private sector has a clear role to play in human rights, labor, environment, anti-corruption issues and can contribute to the MDGs.
Thomas Stelzer, UN secretary-general for policy coordination and interagency affairs, provided a keynote address at a John Hopkins School for International Studies event hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington on November 8. Stelzer discussed the importance of the UN in helping member states come together to address the challenges of climate change.
THE WEEK AHEAD
John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, will be in Washington for a series of meetings with congressional leaders and civil society.
The UN Development Programme hosts a roundtable discussion on the 20th anniversary of the Human Development Report titled, The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development, on Wednesday, Nov. 17 beginning at Noon.
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Haiti: UN launches $164 million appeal to fight deadly cholera outbreak
United Nations agencies and their partners have appealed for $164 million to support Haiti's efforts to fight the deadly cholera outbreak that has already claimed several hundred lives in the small Caribbean nation. The funds sought for the Cholera Inter-Sector Response Strategy for Haiti launched on November 12 will go towards getting additional doctors, medicines and water purification equipment to respond to the epidemic, which has spread quickly since it was first confirmed on October 22. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 12,000 Haitians having been hospitalized so far, and more than 800 people have died from the disease, which is spread by contaminated food and water. Nearly half a million water tablets, soap and oral rehydration salts are being distributed, targeting areas where cholera has already been detected. Cholera treatment centers - an essential first line of response - are now open in 15 urban centers across the country, including seven in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
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UN elects executive board of new agency for women's empowerment
Member states took the next step in enabling the newly-created United Nations agency on gender equality and women's empowerment to begin its work by electing countries to serve on its executive board. The elections, held in the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on November 10, will enable the new board to come together prior to the official establishment on January 1, 2011 of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). The 41 board members were selected on the following basis: 10 from Africa, 10 from Asia, 4 from Eastern Europe, 6 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 5 from Western Europe and 6 from contributing countries. Headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, UN Women is the merger of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW). Read more
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Progress on Security Council reform rests with UN membership, says GA president
The president of the General Assembly kicked off an annual debate on reforming the Security Council on November 11 by urging member states to show the necessary flexibility and creativity needed to make progress on an issue that has been the subject of discussion for 17 years.
Five permanent members hold veto power - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States - and 10 non-permanent members, with no veto, are elected for two-year terms.
Some countries have argued that this structure does not represent the realities of today's world. Key issues under discussion are the category of membership, the question of veto, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council, and the Council's working methods and its relationship with the General Assembly.
"It must be very clear that the solution is in your hands," Assembly President Joseph Deiss told member states as they began the debate, which is expected to hear from at least 60 speakers.
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Week in Pictures
UNMIS Helicopters Deliver Electoral Materials to Remote Parts of Sudan
November 8, 2010 - Voter registration materials are loaded onto a helicopter from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), operating under the guidance of the UN Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division (UNIRED), in Torit, Sudan, for delivery to the country's remote counties. On January 9, 2011, Sudan will hold two referenda which will determine whether South Sudan and the region of Abyei remain part of the country. UN Photo/Tim McKulka
_______________________________ Forum on Sexual Violence in ConflictNovember 9, 2010 - Margot Wallstr�m (second from right), Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, leads a forum on the issue, organized by the United Nations University Office in New York (UNU-ONY). UN Photo/John McIlwaine
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