| UN Calendar |
April 18
The Security Council is briefed by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). The Council also holds a meeting with troop-contributing countries on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The first working session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing takes place at UN headquarters through April 21.
April 19
The Secretary-General begins an official visit to Ukraine, where he will meet with senior officials and visit the Chernobyl site. He also attends two summits: the Kiev Summit on Safety and Innovative Use of Nuclear Energy and the international scientific conference, "25 Years After Chernobyl: Safety for the Future."
The Security Council holds consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and on the Côte d'Ivoire sanctions committee.
April 20
The Chinese Language Day at the United Nations.
The Security Council adopts a resolution on the 1540 Committee, and receives a briefing and holds consultations on the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). The Council is also briefed on and holds consultations on the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
The organizational session for the 2011 Committee on Conferences takes place at UN headquarters in New York.
April 21
The Secretary-General begins an official visit to Russia, where he will meet with senior officials and pay a visit to Patriarch Kirill I, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Security Council holds an open debate on the Middle East.
April 22
United Nations holiday is observed in New York and Washington
International Mother Earth Day is observed.
***** Watch live coverage of the events listed above at www.un.org/webcast
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| UN Reports | |
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
To Stay and Deliver: Good practice for humanitarians in complex security environments
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO)
Palestinian State-building: A Decisive Period
For a complete listing of reports, please visit:
UN Reports
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April 14, 2011 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (center) addresses an international conference on Libya, co-chaired by Mr. Ban with Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, at the League's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Pictured with Mr. Ban are B. Lynn Pascoe (right), UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Abdel-Elah Mohamed Al-Khatib (left of Mr. Ban, facing camera), his Special Envoy to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
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UN and Libya reach agreement on humanitarian presence in Tripoli United Nations envoys visiting Libya have reached an agreement with the authorities on setting up a humanitarian presence in Tripoli, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, while once again calling for an immediate end to the fighting that has taken a heavy toll on civilians.  | |
April 13, 2011 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) attends the first meeting of the Contact Group on Libya, in Doha, Qatar, co-chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani (centre), Prime Minister of the State of Qatar, and William Hague (right), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
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"It is absolutely necessary that Libyan authorities stop fighting, stop killing people," Mr. Ban said during a joint press conference in Budapest with Hungarian President Pál Schmitt, reiterating that the first priority is to secure an immediate and effective ceasefire. The second priority, he said, is to expand the UN's humanitarian assistance to people in need. The agreement to set up a humanitarian presence in Tripoli was reached during a visit yesterday to the capital by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos and the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Abdel Elah al-Khatib. The UN has already established a humanitarian presence in the rebel-held city of Benghazi. Mr. Ban warned last week that, under the worst-case scenario, as many as 3.6 million people could eventually require humanitarian assistance, stressing the need to mobilize all means at the disposal of the international community, including military, to get aid to those who need it. Read more Related Headlines
At Doha summit, Ban underscores importance of united global action on Libya UN chief heads to Qatar and Egypt for international meetings on Libya
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Côte d'lvoire: UN steps up humanitarian aid to ease widespread suffering
United Nations agencies are stepping up their efforts to ease the suffering of civilians in Côte d'Ivoire who bore the brunt of the post-election crisis that was marked by ethnic tensions, human rights violations and the displacement of an estimated one million people.
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April 14, 2011 - Jordanian officers of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) patrol the district of Cocody, Abidjan, days after former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo surrendered to internationally-recognized new president, Alassane Ouattara. Mr. Gbagbo's surrender put an end to a violent, months-long stand-off in which UNOCI staff had also been targeted. UN Photo/Basile Zoma
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The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is working to increase its presence in western Côte d'Ivoire, has so far distributed relief items to 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the area and is registering and profiling the displaced in Duékoué to better understand their needs and return intentions.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is airlifting over 60 tons of medical, nutrition, education and water and sanitation supplies to Côte d'Ivoire. Medical kits will allow health workers to treat more than 40,000 patients for the next three months.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it had managed to get some trucks into Côte d'Ivoire from Burkina Faso, and food distributions were now starting in a number of communities to provide high-energy biscuits.
Read more
Related Headlines
Ex-leader of Côte d'Ivoire surrenders as UN pledges to help restore rule of law
Côte d'Ivoire: Security Council calls for formation of an all-inclusive government
Côte d'Ivoire: Ban warns against retribution towards Gbagbo's supporters
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VIDEO - Côte d'Ivoire: UN steps up humanitarian aid to ease widespread suffering
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Lack of funds threatens UN food aid to millions of vulnerable Afghans
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on April 15 it urgently needs $257 million to continue providing food and assistance to more than 7 million vulnerable Afghans, most of whom are women and children.
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Afghan women use food vouchers provided by WFP at a grocery store in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in March 2011. Copyright: WFP/Challiss McDonough
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WFP's operation in Afghanistan has a twin focus, providing lifesaving relief and emergency aid for immediate needs, including those stemming from conflict and natural disaster, and improving overall food security, in partnership with the government.
The agency lacks half of the funding it needs to assist 7.3 million Afghans across all 34 provinces this year, and if money does not come in soon a "critical pipeline break" in wheat is expected to occur in June, it stated in a news release.
This will affect millions of people in Afghanistan, where wheat is the primary food staple and is used in rations for nearly all WFP operations, including food-for-work activities, vocational training and literacy programs for women and other marginalized groups, and emergency food distributions.
Read more
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One thousand ex-combatants to disarm in West Darfur
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March 27, 2011 - Personnel from the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) mark the location of an unexploded bomb (seen in foreground), near Shangel Tubaya, Sudan, so as to warn local villages and begin the process for its destruction. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
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The UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has launched a disarmament drive in West Darfur, though which more than 1,000 former fighters in the Darfur conflict will give up their weapons and reintegrate into civilian life.
The ex-combatants are former members of government armed forces and several rebel movements.
Throughout the drive, UNAMID will also be providing medical examinations and HIV/AIDS counseling to the participants. After registering and handing over their arms, the participants will receive material support and occupational training with which they may earn a living, according to a UNAMID press release.
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Parties to UN climate change convention appoint team to design new climate fund
Parties to the United Nations climate change convention have announced the selection of a 40-member committee tasked with designing an international fund to manage resources mobilized to enable developing countries to address the effects of climate change.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the transitional committee will prepare operational specifications for the Green Climate Fund in time for approval by the next UN Climate Conference in South Africa in December.
The transitional committee will have its first meeting in Mexico City on April 28.
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Week in Review
Kids Take Part in "Eyes of Darfur" Project
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April 10, 2011 - Girl scouts and boy scouts participating in the "Eyes of Darfur" project hold up their cameras at El Fasher's Youth Committee Center in North Darfur, Sudan. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
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_______________________________ Organization Chiefs Brief on Libya following Cairo Meeting
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April 14, 2011 - A view of the audience at a joint press conference by the heads of major regional organizations - the African Union, the European Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the United Nations - following their conference on Libya at the League of Arab States headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
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