BAN KI-MOON
DISCUSSES MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, WESTERN BALKANS WITH CZECH PRESIDENT

• The Secretary-General has arrived in Prague at the
  start of his four-country visit to Eastern and Central Europe.
   

• This morning he
  
  met President Vaclav Klaus, whom he briefed on recent developments in
  the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Libya and Egypt. The
  Secretary-General underscored the important role that the European Union can
  play, particularly in socio-economic development.
   

• He noted that the people of the Czech Republic had
  their own experience in managing a transition, and this could be a useful
  contribution.
   

• Their discussions also covered world economic
  developments, the activities of the Group of 20, global governance and the
  situation in the Western Balkans.
   

• The Secretary-General will meet Foreign Minister Klaus
  Schwarzenberg later today.
   

• The Secretary-General also
  met representatives of non-governmental organizations. He also told them
  that their country's experience with political transition meant it was well
  placed to help those countries which are undergoing political change in the
  Middle East and North Africa.

 

COTE D’IVOIRE
REFUGEES LIVING IN ALARMING CONDITIONS, AGENCY SAYS

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
  reports that, with the security situation
  apparently calming in western
  
  Côte d’Ivoire, its staff is reporting large groups of internally
  displaced people (IDPs) living in alarming humanitarian conditions.
   

• An estimated 200,000 people
  in western Côte d’Ivoire have been displaced by post-election violence over
  the past four months, the Agency says.
   

• In Duékoué, 27,000 people
  are currently sheltered at the overcrowded Catholic mission after fleeing
  villages within a 40-kilometre radius of the town. This week, five of these
  people died from malaria.
   

• Many of the displaced told
  UNHCR staff they are waiting to see security restored in their areas of
  origin so that they can return home. Some displaced people are hoping to be
  relocated to sites with more space and humanitarian aid. Others are asking
  for help to rebuild their damaged homes. The Refugee Agency is working to
  increase its presence in western Côte d’Ivoire to effectively respond to
  these needs. 
   

• Meanwhile,
  
  
  UNICEF is airlifting over 60 tonnes of medical, nutrition, education and
  water and sanitation supplies to Côte d’Ivoire. Medical kits will allow
  health workers to treat over 40,000 patients for the next three months.

 

IRAQ: HUMAN
RIGHTS CHIEFS CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO CAMP ASHRAF KILLINGS

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay,
  
  condemned an Iraqi military operation in a camp housing an Iranian exile
  group that left at least 34 people dead and dozens injured.
   

• Ms. Pillay said that there must be an independent
  inquiry and called on governments to consider resettlement to third
  countries as a matter of urgency.
   

• Although full details of what exactly happened on the
  morning of 8 April are still only beginning to emerge, she said that it now
  seems certain that at least 34 people were killed in Camp Ashraf, including
  at least seven women. Most were shot, and some appear to have been crushed
  to death, presumably by vehicles.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE BROAD
REFORMS OF UNITED NATIONS

• Asked about legislation in the US Congress to cut
  payment to the
  
  UN budget, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations does not
  comment on ongoing legislative processes. He said it would need to assess
  the impact, if any, once the terms of the resolution become clearer.
   

• The United Nations, Haq said, is fully conscious
  of all the international community going through this era of austerity, and
  that the United Nations is being asked to do more with less.
   

• The Secretary-General has made clear that he
  intends to continue to pursue a broad reform effort to strengthen the UN’s
  ability to deliver on the ground, while maintaining budget discipline and
  ensuring full accountability.
   

• The Secretary-General has
  also instructed his advisors to come up with appropriate plans to reduce the
  budget by 3 percent, the Spokesperson added. At the same time, the United
  Nations continues to need robust financial support from the Member States,
  including the United States. 

 

U.N. TRIBUNAL HANDS DOWN SENTENCES TO CROATIAN GENERALS CONVICTED OF WAR
CRIMES

• The International Criminal
  Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has
  
  convicted two Croatian generals of crimes against humanity and
  violations of the laws or customs of war. Ante Gotovina was sentenced to 24
  years in prison while Mladen Markač will serve an 18-year sentence.
   

• Generals Gotovina and Markač
  were convicted for crimes committed by Croatian forces during a military
  campaign between July and September 1995. The Tribunal says that both men
  helped plan and oversee Operation Storm, whose objective was the forcible
  permanent removal of Serbs from the Krajina region, among other abuses.
   

• Another Croatian army
  official, Ivan Čermak, was acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence.
  The Tribunal ordered that he be released as soon as possible.

 

LEADERS OF
CYPRUS COMMUNITIES DISCUSS THE WAY FORWARD

• The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot
  communities held a dinner meeting on Thursday in Nicosia. Following the
  talks, Alexander Downer, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, told
  reporters that it was a very “warm” occasion.
   

• They discussed the way forward for the next few months,
  as well as the meeting with the Secretary-General scheduled in June.

 

GROWING NUMBER
OF DEATHS IN GULF OF ADEN SPARKS U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY’S CONCERN

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
  
  reports that 18 people have drowned and another five are missing
  following two separate incidents this week in the Gulf of Aden. Nearly all
  were Somalis fleeing violence and human rights abuses in their home country.
   

• UNHCR is alarmed by the growing number of deaths in the
  Gulf of Aden this year. Nearly 90 people are known to have drowned in
  January and February alone, compared to 15 in all of 2010.
   

• The Agency is also greatly concerned over the
  resurgence of violence and inhumane treatment by smugglers of the refugees,
  asylum-seekers and migrants that they are transporting.

 

** The guests at the noon briefing today were Alain Le
Roy, Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and
Anthony Banbury, Assistant Secretary-General for the Department of Field
Support.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD
AT THE UNITED NATIONS

16 – 22 APRIL
2011

 

Saturday, 16 April

 

There are no major events scheduled for today.

 

Sunday, 17 April

 

Today, the Secretary-General will begin an official visit
to Hungary, where he will meet with senior officials and give a public address
on challenges ahead for the United Nations at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

 

Monday, 18 April

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold a meeting with
troop-contributing countries on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara (MINURSO). In the afternoon, the Security Council will be briefed
by the Department of Political Affairs (DPA).

 

Today, the first working session of the Open-ended Working
Group on Ageing will be held in Conference Room 1 in North Lawn Building (NLB).
It will run until 21 April.

 

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium,
there will be a press conference with Firdaus Kharas, Chairman of Chocolate
Moose Media and Culture Shift, to launch a new animated campaign to prevent
domestic violence and abuse. This event is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of
Canada.

 

At 1:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium,
there will be a press conference with Eric Calais, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) seismologist. He will brief reporters on risk reduction plans
to be implemented with the Government of Haiti, key challenges, and upcoming
earth shift threats in the country and its neighbours.

 

Tuesday, 19 April

 

Today, the Secretary-General will begin an official visit
to Ukraine, where he will meet with senior officials and visit the Chernobyl
site. He will also attend 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.”

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold consultations
on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). In
the afternoon, it will hold consultations on the Côte d’Ivoire sanctions
committee.

 

Wednesday, 20 April

 

Today is the Chinese Language Day at the United Nations.

 

This morning, the Security Council will adopt a resolution
on the 1540 Committee, and receive a briefing and hold consultations on the
United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). In the afternoon, the Security Council
will be briefed on and hold consultations on the African Union-United Nations
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

 

At 3:00 p.m., the organizational session for the 2011
Committee on Conferences will be held in Conference Room 5 of the NLB.

 

Thursday, 21 April

 

Today, the Secretary-General will begin 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.

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold an open debate
on the Middle East.

 

Friday, 22 April

 

Today is an official United Nations holiday in New York.

 

Today is International Mother Earth Day.