The United Nations has appealed for more than $7.4 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 50 million people suffering from the effects of conflicts and natural disasters in 28 countries over the coming year.

The amount sought for 2011 is the largest since the creation of the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) in 1991. It comprises appeals for the West Africa region and 13 countries - Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Haiti, Kenya, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

"In 2011, tens of millions of people will need help to survive," said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos, who chaired the launch of the appeal in Geneva. "Conflicts and natural disasters will cut them off from their homes, their livelihoods, and from access to essentials like drinking water and health care.

"This appeal is asking for the resources needed to respond quickly. The strong response to the mega-disasters this year in Haiti and Pakistan shows what is possible when the international community comes together," she added.

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Under-Secretary-General for UN Women Michelle Bachelet and Staffan de Mistura, the special representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) were in Washington, D.C. this week for meetings with U.S. administration officials. Bachelet was honored at an event for Foreign Policy's top 100 global thinkers on Tuesday evening, then met with White House, State Department officials and NGOs on Wednesday, in addition to taking part in an event hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue. Staffan De Mistura was visiting to take part in an Afghanistan review exercise with key representatives from the Obama administration together with a core group of countries.

Cecilia Ruthstrom-Ruin, chief of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Terrorism Prevention Branch and Mike Smith, executive director of the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate spoke about the importance of strengthening the criminal justice response to terrorism, and on the Digest of Terrorist Cases, UNODC's tool to strengthen the legality of counterterrorism efforts. Both UN officials spoke at an event titled, "A Practical View from Counterterrorism Prosecutors and US and UN Counterterrorism Experts," hosted by the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation in Washington on November 30. Ruthstrom-Ruin provided an overview on the process involved in compiling the digest and emphasized the need to strengthen international cooperation in joint investigations, issuing of arrest warrants, and other aspects of counterterrorism efforts. Smith provided an overview of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, created after September 11 to help the Security Council monitor the signatories to resolution 1373 which combats international terrorism. Todd Hinnen, deputy assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice, praised the digest as a very comprehensive review and said that the fact that the UN and foreign governments were together on the panel symbolizes the cooperation that exists.

A United Nations envoy encouraged Myanmar authorities to build on recent developments towards democracy and national reconciliation, and to address concerns about the recent elections during his visit on November 28.

Vijay Nambiar, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Myanmar, said he listened to as many parties as possible about their hopes, expectations and concerns at this "critical juncture" for the country's future direction.

"In this process, strong concerns were expressed by many parties about the process and outcome of the recent elections, which I have urged the government and the Union Election Commission to address as transparently as possible. This is important for laying the foundation of a credible transition," he told reporters in Yangon at the end of a two-day visit.

During his visit, Mr. Nambiar, who is also Chief of Staff for the Secretary-General, met with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was recently released after being under house arrest for much of the past two decades, and members of her party, the National League for Democracy.
 

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has laid out a four-point agenda for cooperation on issues ranging from security to development between the United Nations and the largest regional security organization in the world, embracing 56 States stretching from the United States across Europe and Central Asia to the borders of China.

"The United Nations stands with you as we seek to make this world a safer, more just and more prosperous place for all," he told leaders gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the first summit meeting in 11 years of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Detailing the four pillars of the agenda - securing peace, fundamental freedoms and human rights, sustainable development, and arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation - Mr. Ban noted that the UN and the OSCE share the conviction that security is not a narrow concept but must be addressed in all its dimensions with a comprehensive approach in an increasingly globalized, complex and connected world.

In bilateral meetings on the margins of the summit, Mr. Ban conferred with leaders from Australia, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and United States, discussing a range of issues from tension on the Korean Peninsula and the situations in Afghanistan and the Middle East, to sustainable development and climate change.
 

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The United Nations has called on Haitians to ignore unofficial results of Sunday's presidential and legislative elections and to wait for the official results to be announced December 7 by the country's electoral council.

"The Provisional Electoral Council should be granted the time and political stability needed to complete its work, the results of which will then be subject to any eventual dispute from candidates, political parties and the Haitian people through legal procedures for settling the issue," the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said in a news release.

"Quick counts or opinion polls are not an exact science. The population and media should not be guided by unofficial results, speculation or purported partial counts which are circulating at the moment."

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