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September 26 The Security Council held a briefing and consultations on Libya and the Libya Sanctions Committee. September 27 The Security Council receives a briefing and holds consultations on the Middle East. The Secretary-General attends a Ministerial Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations at headquarters. The Secretary-General attends the high-level meeting of the "Group of Friends" on Myanmar at UN headquarters. World Tourism Day is observed September 28 The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism holds a special meeting commemorating the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and the establishment of the Committee, in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB). A civil society side event is held on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee will be held in the ECOSOC Chamber (NLB). September 29 The Security Council holds a debate on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). In the afternoon, the Security Council holds consultations on the Sudan Sanctions Committee. The Fifth Committee holds its organizational meeting at UN headquarters. The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) holds its first meeting at UN headquarters. World Maritime Day is observed September 30 The Secretary-General makes remarks on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence in the ECOSOC Chamber (NLB). The event is being organized by the Permanent Mission of India. ***** Watch live coverage of the events listed above at www.un.org/webcast
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September 27, 2011, United Nations, New York - Najib Mikati (left), Prime Minister of Lebanon, addresses the Security Council's meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. He also chaired the meeting as Lebanon holds the presidency of the Council for September. At right is B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
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Security Council to discuss Palestinian request for UN membership on Wednesday
The Security Council will discuss Palestine's application to become a United Nations member state on Wednesday morning, when it plans to refer it to the committee tasked with examining such requests.
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September 23, 2011, United Nations, New York - Nawaf Salam, Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the UN and President of the Security Council for September, tells the press the Council has received the Palestinian application for UN membership and will begin its consideration of the issue this week. UN Photo/Mark Garten
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The 15-member body held discussions on September 26 on the application, which Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, officially submitted to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last Friday. Mr. Ban then forwarded the request to the Council.
Any recommendations for admission must receive the affirmative votes of nine of the Council's 15 members, provided that none of its five permanent members - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States - vote against the application.
If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the 193-member Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of members present and voting is necessary for admission of a new state.
Palestine currently has observer status at the UN.
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UN agencies seek $18 million to assist Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia
United Nations agencies and their aid partners have appealed for $18.3 million to help tens of thousands of refugees who are fleeing into western Ethiopia to escape violence in Sudan's Blue Nile state.
 The joint appeal by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and their partner agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is intended to help up to 35,000 refugees.
Both Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states, which lie next to Sudan's border with South Sudan, have been the scene of deadly fighting in recent weeks. UN officials have called on all parties to cease hostilities and to ensure access so that humanitarian workers can reach those who need help.
An estimated 25,000 refugees have arrived in Ethiopia since September 3, when the influx started, UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
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Security Council resolves to enhance UN's preventive diplomacy efforts
The Security Council has voiced its determination to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in defusing potential and ongoing conflicts, and encouraged the world body to use all the preventive diplomacy tools at its disposal.
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September 22, 2011, United Nations, New York - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) speaks with Paul Toungui, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Gabonese Republic, inside the Security Council Chamber before the Council's high-level meeting on diplomacy and conflict prevention. UN Photo/Susan Markisz
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During a high-level meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon on September 22, which holds the Council's presidency for September, the 15-member body also underlined the "overriding political, humanitarian and moral imperatives as well as economic advantages" of preventing the outbreak, escalation or relapse into conflicts.
The UN currently has an array of assets available to it in the area of preventive diplomacy, including the Secretary-General's good offices, envoys, early warning systems, the Mediation Support Unit of the Department of Political Affairs, and fact-finding missions.
In his address to world leaders gathered in New York for the General Assembly's general debate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said preventing and mitigating conflicts was one of the five "generational opportunities to shape the world of tomorrow by the decisions we make today."
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Iraq becoming a peaceful democratic state, president tells General Assembly
Iraq is striving to build a democratic state anchored in peace and the rule of law, with all communities living in harmony, irrespective of their sectarian, ethnic or factional affiliation, the country's President, Jalal Talabani, told the General Assembly on September 23.
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September 23, 2011, United Nations, New York - Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq, addresses the general debate of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. UN Photo/Marco Castro
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"This is the basis for the path which we are moving on and continually implementing," Mr. Talabani told the annual general debate.
Stressing that Iraq had succeeded in getting rid of sanctions and restriction imposed as a consequence of the invasion of Kuwait by the Saddam Hussein regime, Mr. Talabani encouraged the international community to seek investment opportunities in the country in the fields of oil, natural gas and infrastructure.
He said Iraqi security forces had proved that they are capable of providing security and combating terrorism when United States troops withdraw from the country at the end of the year.
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Week in Pictures
International Day of Peace celebration in Juba
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September 21, 2011, Juba, South Sudan - Members of UN Police and the South Sudan Police Services taking part in a rope pulling competition hold hands in camaraderie, during celebrations to mark International Day of Peace. The Day is observed annually on September 21. UN Photo/Isaac Billy |
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General Assembly Heads of State Luncheon  |
September 21, 2011, United Nations, New York - Lee Myung-bak (left), President of the Republic of Korea, and Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women ( UN Women), meet at the luncheon hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in honor of heads of state and government attending the general debate of the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz |
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