United Nations Washington
In This Issue
UN Calendar
UN Headlines
UN Libyans must come together and reconcile after Qadhafi's death, says Secretary-General
Guatemala, Morocco and Pakistan elected to two-year terms on Security Council
As food crisis grips North Korea, UN aid chief urges world to not 'turn our backs'
UN agencies and US Peace Corps cooperate in fighting hunger
World Soccer great Ronaldinho aims to score goals in UN campaign against AIDS
Week in Pictures
New UN Reports
UN in Washington

Anthony Banbury, UN Assistant-Secretary General for Field Support, participated in a panel discussion at a Brookings Institution event titled, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Fit for Purpose?, on October 18 in Washington. He discussed how the United Nations is reforming its peacekeeping operations by seeking ways to reduce costs and become more efficient. Listen to the full audio of the event.

Calendar

October 24

 

United Nations Day is observed

 

World Development Information Day is observed

 

Security Council holds an open briefing on the Middle East.

 

A panel discussion and launch of e-learning courses on the "Implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean" takes place at UN headquarters. This event is being co-organized by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the Permanent Mission of Norway.

 

A panel discussion on "2013: International Year of Quinoa and its contribution to food security and nutrition" takes place at UN headquarters. This event is being co-organized by the Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

 

Fourth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption begins in Marrakech, Morocco through October 28.

 

Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, is in Seoul, where he will open the High-Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management. Mr. Sha will then travel to Israel, where he will open a preparatory meeting for Rio + 20.

 

October 25

 

The Security Council holds a private meeting on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is also briefs and holds consultations on the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

 

October 26

 

The Security Council adopts a resolution on C�te d'Ivoire sanctions. It also briefs and holds consultations on Libya and Western Sahara.

 

October 27

 

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (UNESCO) is observed.

 

The Security Council adopts its annual report. It will also be briefed and hold consultations on Somalia.

 

October 28

 

Patricia O'Brien, UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, speaks at a UNA-NCA's International Law Committee event titled, Legal Issues Facing the United Nations - Reflections from Three Years as Legal Counsel, beginning at 1 p.m. at the UN Foundation. To RSVP please visit unanca.org  

 

The Security Council holds an open debate on women and peace and security (resolution 1325).  

  

*****

 

Watch live coverage of many of the events listed above at www.un.org/webcast 

  

UN Headlines
AFRICA

Tunisia: can again be Arab Spring pioneer with elections - UN rights chief

 

DR Congo: UN supports training for police ahead of elections

 

C�te d'Ivoire: UN agency calls for mobilization of financial support for refugees

 

Malawi: ICC asks government to explain failure to arrest Sudan's President on visit

 

Nigeria: Death toll of UN staff from terrorist attack rises to 12

 

Gulf of Guinea: Ban calls for integrated strategy against maritime piracy

 

Eritrea: UN agency dismayed by Sudan's deportation of refugees

 

Somalia: UN and partners scale up malaria response for two million Somalis at risk

 

UN official stresses climate change adaptation measures in Africa

 

AMERICAS

 

Chile: Human rights approach to education policies needed - UN official

 

Mexico: Ang�lique Kidjo lauds efforts of UN-backed centre helping abused children

 

El Salvador: UN approves emergency grant as floods ravage Central America

 

Haiti: With new government in place, UN urges united effort to rebuild

 

ASIA PACIFIC

 

Philippines: UNESCO condemns killing of radio journalist

 

Cambodia: Khmer Rouge leader with dementia may not be able to participate in UN-backed trial

 

Myanmar: must release all remaining political prisoners by year's end - UN expert

 

Cambodia: UN legal chief warns on interference in work of genocide tribunal

 

General Assembly President voices deep concern at South-East Asian floods

 

South Korea: New UN facility on sustainable development opens

 

Timor-Leste and UN step up efforts to dispose of unexploded ordnance

 

EUROPE

 

Veteran war crimes jurist elected President of UN tribunal for Balkans conflicts

 

Ban urges Europe to forge common agenda against global inequality

 

MIDDLE EAST


 UN Secretary-General Welcomes Prisoner Exchange Agreement Leading to Release of Israeli Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit, Hundreds of Palestinian Prisoners

  

Lebanon pledges to improve disaster reduction efforts at UN-backed meeting

 

Yemen: Ban and Nobel Peace Prize laureate discuss human rights situation

 

Iran: UN human rights expert concerned over judicial abuses

 

Palestine: Assembly President welcomes Israeli-Palestinian prisoner exchange

 

Yemen: UN human rights office condemns latest killing of unarmed protesters

 

Syria: Ban urges leader to take decisive action to stop civilian deaths

 

WORLD

 

UN human rights expert urges putting housing at core of post-disaster recovery

 

Development needs of today must not trump prospects for tomorrow - Ban

   

General Assembly President urges greater support for countries with special needs

 

Dialogue vital tool to foster understanding among different faiths - UN expert

 

Corporate leaders at UN-backed meeting urge reforms to reinvigorate economies

 

UN agencies resolve to improve well-being of drylands communities

 

UN stresses need for improved methods to measure desertification and poverty

 

World's youth facing worsening jobs crisis, new UN report says

 

Young environmental advocates showcase green projects at UN workshop

 

UN Washington Online


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UN News Centre

 

UN Special Representative in Libya Speaks on News of Qaddhafi Death
October 20, 2011, United Nations, New York - Ian Martin (on screen), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), briefs members of the press on the death of Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi, via videolink from Tripoli, during the noon press briefing at UN headquarters. Mr. Martin called the news a "key moment" in the Libyan political transition. Pictured right is Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
UN Libyans must come together and reconcile after Qadhafi's death, says Secretary-General

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all sides in Libya to lay down their arms and work together peacefully to rebuild the North African nation amid reports that Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi has been killed.

 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

"Clearly, this day marks an historic transition for Libya," Mr. Ban said at UN headquarters in New York on October 20, reacting to the reports of the death of the Libyan leader and the end of fighting in Sirte and other cities.

 

"In the coming days, we will witness scenes of celebration, as well as grief for those who lost so much," he stated. "Yet let us recognize, immediately, that this is only the end of the beginning. The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."

 

Pro-Qadhafi forces and rebels have been engaged in fighting for months after a pro-democracy movement emerged at the start of the year, similar to the popular uprisings witnessed in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

 

Read more

 

Related Headline 

 

Libya: UN human rights office calls for probe into Qadhafi's death

 

Guatemala, Morocco and Pakistan elected to two-year terms on Security Council

 

Guatemala, Morocco and Pakistan will serve as non-permanent members of the 15-member Security Council in 2012-13 after winning their seats during the first round of elections held earlier today.

 

Security CouncilUnited Nations member states voted in the General Assembly by secret ballot for five non-permanent seats divided by geographical grouping - three from the Africa and Asia-Pacific grouping, one from Eastern Europe, and one from Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

To win election, a country must receive a two-thirds majority of those countries present and voting, regardless of whether or not they are the only candidate in their region. Voting continues until the two-thirds threshold is reached for the required number of seats.

 

Today's elections are being held to replace the departing members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria.

 

The new members will join Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa, whose terms end on December 31, 2012, and the five permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

Read more

 

As food crisis grips North Korea, UN aid chief urges world to not 'turn our backs'
 

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) cannot feed its people for the "foreseeable future," the United Nations relief chief reported today, urging the world to step up humanitarian support and not "turn our backs" on a population where an estimated six million people now depend on food aid.

 

Humanitarian Affairs Chief Visits UN-Supported School in DPRK
October 18, 2011, Hamhung City, North Korea - Valerie Amos (right), Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, visits a classroom in the Provincial Boarding School supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in Hamhung City, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). UN Photo/David Ohana

Valerie Amos, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, told journalists after a five-day visit to the North Korea this week that the country remains "highly food insecure," with daily rations recently reduced, unreliable food supplies, restricted agricultural production and many children left stunted. "New solutions are needed if we are to see an end to this chronic, seemingly never-ending crisis," she told a press briefing in Beijing, held immediately after her departure from North Korea.

 

Ms. Amos visited two hospitals, an orphanage, a biscuit factory, a communal farm, a local market, a medical warehouse and a public distribution centre during her mission. She also met with government officials, UN agency staff, representatives of non-governmental organizations, donors, diplomats, health workers and mothers. She found that steadily deteriorating living conditions since the mid-1990s meant many people in North Korea were increasingly vulnerable.

 

Read more

 

UN agencies and US Peace Corps cooperate in fighting hunger
 

The United Nations and the United States Peace Corps signed an agreement on October 20 to cooperate in combating worldwide hunger by increasing food security in the 76 countries where the more than 8,600 US volunteers currently work.

 

The agreement, signed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) at their Rome headquarters, builds on years of cooperation with the 50-year-old US organization.

 

The Peace Corps has worked with FAO and WFP in nearly 40 countries, sharing techniques and practices identified to promote food security through broad-based citizen participation, education, and capacity building. In Swaziland, WFP provided Peace Corps volunteers training on sustainable gardening and organic farming techniques and worked with the volunteers to provide nutrition and hygiene education to children.

 

In Liberia, four volunteers have been assigned to WFP to provide information to community leaders on proper food storage, handling, and cooking at local schools, while in Namibia, the Peace Corps has worked with FAO in organizing a community garden workshop to grow vegetables.

 

Read more

 

World Soccer great Ronaldinho aims to score goals in UN campaign against AIDS

  

The United Nations has a new striker on its team to defeat HIV/AIDS, Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, who will now parlay his devastating skills on the sports field into raising awareness among young people worldwide to help block further infections.

 

RonaldinhoA two-time World Player of the Year for the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and star of countless matches on his country's national team and top European sides Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Milan, the 31-year-old attacking midfielder and forward has accepted an invitation from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Brazil's Health Ministry to promote AIDS awareness through sport.

 

Ronaldinho's 'new cap' is just the latest example of close collaboration between UN agencies and the world of sport to advance humanitarian causes. "I am honored to stand together with UNAIDS and the Ministry of Health of Brazil in the response to HIV," he said. "I am delighted to make a small contribution to this important cause by doing what I do best: playing football.

 

Read more

 

Week in Pictures

 

 Mother and Child at UN-Supported Pediatric Hospital in North Korea

Mother and Child at UN-Supported Pediatric Hospital in North Korea

October 18, 2011, Hamhung City, North Korea - A mother and her child at the Provincial Pediatric Hospital in Hamhung City, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The hospital is supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO). UN Photo/David Ohana


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 Secretary-General Meets 2011 UN Disarmament Fellows

Secretary-General Meets 2011 UN Disarmament Fellows
October 19, 2011, United Nations, New York - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) addresses this year's participants of the United Nations Fellowship Programme on Disarmament. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
 
UN Reports 

Secretary-General Reports

 

Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph 3 of resolution 1957 (2010) 

 

International Labour Organization (ILO)

 

Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 Update

 

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

 

Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries

 

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