Author Archives: UN Insider 
Ban kicks off first visit to Sudan
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Sudan yesterday to check on the progress made in Darfur.
“I want to see for myself the plight of those we seek to help, and the conditions under which our peacekeepers in Darfur will operate,” Ban said.
Mr. Ban’s visit comes just weeks after the Security Council authorized a hybrid force, which will have some 26,000 peacekeepers at full deployment, to quell the violence in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died and more than two million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 because of fighting between rebel groups, Sudanese Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias.
UNICEF rushing emergency aid to cholera victims in Iraq
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is providing assistance to thousands of victims of a cholera outbreak in northern Iraq.
Yesterday the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the UN response to the outbreak, reported that Sulemaniyah governorate experienced close to 5,000 cases since 10 August, with 10 deaths reported and 51 confirmed cases in Kirkuk. Two hospitals in the stricken governorate also reported treating 2,000 diarrhoea cases.
UN envoy to Liberia calls for an end of violence against women
The United Nations envoy to Liberia has called for an end to violence against women, stressing the importance of security.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General Alan Doss remarked yesterday, “It does not matter where you are in Liberia, your security is important. River Gee County may be a long way from Monrovia but you are not forgotten.”
Ban to visit Sudan, work towards peace in Darfur
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he will be traveling to Sudan next week, to check on the peace progress in Darfur.
Mr. Ban told a press conference at UN Headquarters that he is visiting Sudan and some of its neighbours “to go and see for myself the very difficult conditions” under which the hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force will operate in Darfur from the start of next year.
Global climate change meeting kicks off
A United Nations-backed climate change meeting–drawing 1,000 representatives from over 150 governments, business, environmental organizations and research institutions–kicked off in Vienna yesterday, in preparation for a global summit in Bali.
The summit, scheduled to take place from 3 to 14 December in Bali, Indonesia, aims to determine future action on mitigation, adaptation, the global carbon market and financing responses to climate change for the period after the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol – the current global framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions – in 2012.
UN backs conference on youth, technology and the environment
More than 180 young people from 85 different countries will meet in Germany next week to discuss the ways in which technology can be used to promote environmental protection.
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “Our hope is that on the basis of discussions at this Conference, 180 young people will return to their communities and nations and become beacons of activities and also motivators for many others to play a part in addressing environmental challenges.”
-
-
The SC; HRC; DPRK; South Sudan
The SC: The Security Council today held its last consultations under the Council Presidency of ROK. Tomorrow, Russia will take over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for March under Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
-
-
The SG; Mali; Middle East; Palestine
The SG: At the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna, Austria today, the SG emphasized the role of youth in ensuring a “prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.”
-
The SG; DRC; HRC; Palestinian Prisoner
The SG: In Ethiopia over the weekend, the SG is now in the United Arab Emirates. Today he met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, where the two discussed developments in the region, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.
-
