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October 30
Meetings with the Secretary-General and the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities begins in Greentree, Long Island through October 31.
October 31
The Security Council is briefed on post-conflict peacebuilding.
The Secretary-General and other UN officials speak to reporters regarding the world's population reaching seven billion. Juju Chang, Special Correspondent, "Nightline," ABC News, will moderate the discussion.
A special event on "Agricultural cooperatives: A means to achieving food security" takes place at UN headquarters on the occasion of the launch of the International Year of Cooperatives.
November 1
Portugal assumes the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of November.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro delivers the keynote speech at the United Nations Association's Kansas Chapter Annual "UN Day Dinner", hosted by the Mayor of Kansas City.
November 2
Ambassador José Filipe Moraes Cabral, President of the Security Council for the month of November, will present the Programme of Work of the Security Council for the month.
November 4
Kyung-wha Kang, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks at a Brookings Institution event titled, Human Rights and the Arab Awakening: Assessing the United Nations Response, beginning at 9 a.m.
A panel discussion on "The impact of Aid for Trade and trade facilitation measures for the effective participation of landlocked developing countries in the international trading system" takes place at UN headquarters.
November 7
Roger Meece, the UN Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), is in Washington to meet with administration officials.
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Watch live coverage of many of the events listed above at www.un.org/webcast
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| UN News Center - New York | 
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October 24, 2011, New York - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (center) and students of the New Explorations into Science, Mathematics and Technology (Nest+m) School stand with "7 Billion" signs, reminders that the world's population will grow to seven billion early next week. As part of the UN4U outreach programme, Mr. Ban addressed Nest+m students on UN Day, emphasizing the energy, food and security needs of a world of seven billion and urging students to make the world seven billion "strong". UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
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World must seize birth of 7 billionth inhabitant as clarion call to action
With the world population projected to reach 7 billion on Monday, October 31, actions taken now will decide whether the future will be healthy, sustainable and prosperous or marked by inequalities, environmental decline and economic setbacks, according to a United Nations report issued on October 26.
 The world must seize the opportunity to invest in the health and education of its youth to reap the full benefits of future economic development or else face a continuation of the sorry state of disparities in which hundreds of millions of people in developing nations lack the most basic ingredients for a decent life, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said in the report, The State of World Population 2011.
Of the world's 7 billion, 1.8 billion are young people between the ages of 10 and 24, Osotimehin noted. "Young people hold the key to the future, with the potential to transform the global political landscape and to propel economies through their creativity and capacities for innovation."
Read more
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Women must play greater role in conflict prevention, UN says The Security Council began a day-long debate today on the role of women in achieving peace and security, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for much greater involvement by women in conflict prevention and mediation as essential building blocks in reinforcing democracy.  | |
Women from Um Dersay IDP Camp (Shangil Tubaya, North Darfur) participate in a gender awareness training.
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"Women's participation remains low, both in official and observer roles. This has to change," he said, pledging that the United Nations would lead by example, and noting that the number of women leading UN peacekeeping, political and peacebuilding missions had gone up to six out of 28 missions over the past year. The Department of Political Affairs (DPA), meanwhile, has increased the proportion of women candidates in its roster of senior mediators, team members and thematic experts to 35 percent. In the field, our teams are supporting women so they can engage in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, management and reconciliation," he said. Read more
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Libya: Security Council ends mandate for international military operations
The Security Council has ordered the end to authorized international military action in Libya, more than seven months after allowing United Nations member states to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians during a popular uprising against the country's former regime.  | |
October 27, 2011, United Nations, New York - Mark Lyall Grant (left), Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN, speaks with Susan E. Rice (right), United States Permanent Representative to the UN, and her Deputy, Rosemary A. DiCarlo (center), before a meeting of the Security Council on Libya, at which members adopted resolution 2016 (2011), ending international military action in the country. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
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The 15-member UN body unanimously passed a resolution on October 27 ending the UN mandate allowing military intervention and terminating a no-fly zone over Libya that had also been imposed in March. After those measures were introduced, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other countries carried out air strikes to protect civilians caught up in the fighting between then rebels and forces supporting former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi. According to today's resolution, the authorization will end at 11:59 p.m. local time in Libya on October 31. Authorization for the no-fly zone will lapse at the same time. Read more Related headlines ICC Prosecutor in contact with Qadhafi's son on possible surrender After liberation, elections and security top priorities in Libya - UN official UN panel urges Libya to probe detainee violations, commit to human rights
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Secretary-General presents budget proposal of nearly $5.2 billion for next two years
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented a proposed budget of nearly $5.2 billion for the United Nations to carry out the important work that member states have entrusted to it in areas ranging from peace and security to human rights and development over the next two years.  Prepared against the backdrop of "global financial austerity and uncertainty," the new budget is 3.2 percent less than the current budget, Mr. Ban told the General Assembly's Fifth Committee, which deals with administrative and budgetary matters.
Governments - and especially people - are struggling. In these difficult circumstances, the world is turning more and more to the United Nations for answers and help. "We must live up to the expectations of you, the membership, and respond to the needs of the peoples of our world. And we have a responsibility to make the best possible use of the resources which you, the member states, provide," he added. "This budget reflects that reality." Read more
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Week in Pictures
Disarmament Week Honours Testimony and Activism of Japanese A-Bomb Survivors | |
October 25, 2011, United Nations, New York - Surrounded by schoolchildren, a Hibakusha, one of the survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, speaks at a special event co-organized by the Government of Japan, the Department of Public Information (DPI), and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), commemorating Disarmament Week (annually October 24-30). The winners of a "Poetry for Peace" contest, in which Hibakusha testimonies were used as inspiration, were announced during the event. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
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Sudanese Entertainer Launches Song for UN Day in Darfur | |
October 24, 2011, El Fasher, Sudan - Renowned Sudanese entertainer Omer Ihsas performs his new song, "New Era", for a group of girls at Al Zubier Volleyball Stadium in El Fasher, North Darfur, during UN Day celebrations. The UN Day event, commemorating the sixty-sixth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations, was organized by the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). UN Photo/Olivier Chassot
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About the United Nations in Washington
As the United Nations office in Washington, D.C, the UN Information Center serves as the focal point for UN news and information to advance understanding of the UN and its work, and to serve as a resource for United States government officials, NGOs, civil-society organizations and the American people.
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