SECRETARY-GENERAL WRAPS UP FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO MEXICO

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon headed way back to New York from Mexico City, where he wrapped up his official visit to Mexico and participation in the International AIDS Conference.

• The Secretary-General spoke to the press after his meeting on Monday afternoon with President Felipe Calderón, and he praised the progress Mexico has made in setting up several new, ambitious targets, which go beyond the original Millennium Development Goals, and commended Mexico for providing regional leadership in the response to the AIDS pandemic. He added that, during their meeting, he and the President also discussed Haiti, where recent unrest and political instability have shown the fragility of the stabilization process.

• The Secretary-General later spoke to the Mexican Senate, telling them that the world faces three critical challenges on which their engagement is essential: a climate crisis, a food crisis, and an emerging development emergency. Each by itself is a formidable threat, yet they are deeply intertwined and require a truly global response.

• On Monday evening, the Secretary-General and his wife, Ban Soon-taek, visited the Global Village at the AIDS Conference, where they saw a performance by the “Dance for Life” group and heard from people who are infected with HIV in an interactive discussion.

• In comments at the Global Village, the Secretary-General emphasized that the people he had met were at the heart of the AIDS response, and he told them, “I profoundly admire your courage and commitment.” He called for renewed leadership in eradicating stigma and discrimination associated with HIV.

U.N. POLITICAL OFFICIAL TO TRAVEL TO SOUTH AFRICA AND ZIMBABWE

• Haile Menkerios, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, is departing New York today for South Africa, to be briefed and to have consultations in Pretoria on the mediation process with regard to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

• He is going in his capacity as the UN's high-level representative to the Reference Group on Zimbabwe, which was established to support the mediation effort.

• Menkerios intends to also visit Zimbabwe later in the week before returning to New York over the weekend.

DARFUR FORCE COMMANDER PAYS CONDOLENCE VISIT TO NIGERIAN COMPANY THAT LOST COMMANDING OFFICER

• The Force Commander of the Joint UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), General Martin Luther Agwai, today paid a condolence visit to members of the Nigerian company in Foro Baranga, Western Darfur, following the loss of their Commanding Officer, Major Shehu Gada, three weeks ago.

• Major Gada was shot dead on 16 July while on an administrative patrol. During the visit, General Agwai said that it would be a disaster to allow what happened to Major Gada to happen again and reminded the UNAMID peacekeepers that personal security is paramount.

• On Monday, a team from UNAMID’s Sector South Headquarters and some Department of Safety and Security Officers conducted an air investigation patrol to parts of South Darfur to investigate reports of aerial bombardment by the Government of Sudan. The visit was successful, and a full report would be communicated soon.

MYANMAR CYCLONE RELIEF EFFORTS NEED $51 MILLION

• Three months after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, rescue efforts still remain critically underfunded, and delivery of sufficient relief and early recovery assistance remains a challenge, according to the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar.

• While agriculture is a key area to provide food for the 2.4 million affected people, it remains the least funded sector in the Revised Flash Appeal of 10 July, with unmet requirements of US$51 million.

• More donor support is also critical to fund the remaining relief and early recovery needs, as indicated in the Revised Appeal. So far, the Appeal is 41 percent funded, with a shortfall of US$285 million.

• To date, more than 25,600 tonnes of food assistance has been delivered approximately 684,000 cyclone-affected people. Some 924,000 vulnerable individuals face urgent food needs on a systematic basis over the next nine months.

PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO BE RESETTLED IN ICELAND, SWEDEN

• According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, nearly 200 Palestinian refugees who have been stranded on the Iraq/Syria border for two years will soon be resettled in Iceland and Sweden.  More than two dozen Palestinians from the Al Waleed camp will head to Iceland in the coming weeks, while another group of more than 150 refugees from the Al Tanf camp are bound for Sweden.

• More than 2,000 Palestinians are still living in desperate conditions at the camps. The health situation of many of the refugees has become increasingly dire, as proper medical care is lacking. UNHCR has repeatedly called for international support for them, and expresses its appreciation to both Iceland and Sweden in finding help for some of these very vulnerable people.

• Meanwhile, the U.N. Refugee Agency has begun distributing school kits to Iraqi refugee children in Damascus. Containing uniforms, shoes and school materials, the kits are valued at between US$46 and US$79, a significant amount of money for refugee families with several children in school but no money coming in. It is expected that 30,000 children will receive the kits before the school year begins on 7 September.

U.N. SYSTEM TAKES PART IN BEIJING OLYMPICS

• The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, will represent the Secretary-General at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games.  He will attend the Opening Ceremony on Friday, along with the UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura and U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner.  Steiner will also participate in the Olympic Torch Relay.

• U.N. agencies have been participating in the lead-up to the Games as well. The World Meteorological Organization, for example, is coordinating efforts by China and other nations to provide timely and accurate weather information. The forecasts will improve the prediction of high-impact weather near Olympic venues.

• UNEP has been working with the Beijing Olympic Committee for the last three years to help make the Games environmentally-friendly. The Chinese Government has spent US$17 billion on efforts to “green” the games. The city of Beijing has also imposed tougher emissions standards and expanded its public transport network, including by introducing nearly 4,000 buses powered by compressed natural gas. The Olympic venues themselves will obtain 20 per cent of their energy from wind, while the Bird’s Nest stadium has an advanced rainwater recycling system, UNEP says.

• Finally, the UN Refugee Agency is encouraging athletes and national Olympic Committees to give their surplus sportswear to refugees. UNHCR has set a goal of collecting 50,000 pieces of sports clothing for its “Giving Is Winning” campaign. Items collected so far have been distributed to refugees in Rwanda, Tanzania, Chad, Moldova, Georgia and Panama.

REPORT ON U.N. LEBANON FORCE’S PROCEDURE ON ISRAELI PILOTS COMPLETELY FALSE

• Asked about a media report today alleging that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had a new procedure to deal with Israeli pilots who may be shot down over Lebanon, the Spokeswoman said that the report was completely inaccurate and was categorically refuted by UNIFIL.

• Montas said that Israeli over-flights of Lebanese airspace are a violation of Resolution 1701. UNIFIL has protested and continues to protest such violations to the IDF requesting that they cease.

• She added that UNIFIL reports all violations and acts in a completely transparent and impartial way, keeping UN Headquarters and the Security Council fully informed about any violations of Resolution 1701. All UNIFIL’s activities are defined by that resolution.

• Asked what would happen if UNIFIL encountered an Israeli pilot in Lebanon, the Spokeswoman noted that, in accordance with the Technical Arrangements established in 2006 between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL will hand over to the Lebanese Army any persons whom they may detain, and any weapons, ammunitions and explosives they may seize in the course of discharging their duties under the mandate of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and in accordance with UNIFIL Rules of Engagement.

WORKING GROUP TRYING TO RESOLVE OUTSTANDING ISSUES IN ENDING OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME

• The Secretary-General, in a letter to the Security Council that is out on the racks today, details the efforts made by the Working Group that has been trying to resolve the outstanding issues involved in ending the oil-for-food programme.

• The Group met in Amman, Jordan, from 27-30 June, and has indicated a series of alternatives that could be considered by the Security Council in order to conclude all outstanding issues. Those alternatives are outlined in a report by the Working Group that is attached to the Secretary-General’s letter.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HOPES TO MOVE FORWARD ON JUDGE APPOINTMENT FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA TRIBUNAL

• The Secretary-General, in a letter on the racks today, informed the Security Council that he would like to proceed to consultations with the Council on the appointment of Christoph Flügge of Germany to serve as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Flügge would replace Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, also from Germany, who resigned from the Tribunal, effective this November.

ACHIEVEMENT OF DEVELOPMENT GOALS LARGELY DEPENDENT ON PROGRESS IN CHINA AND INDIA, UNICEF SAYS

• A new UNICEF report examining the latest trends in child and maternal health states that global achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) depends largely on India’s major improvements and China’s further progress.

• The report, titled “State of Asia-Pacific’s Children 2008”, states that unless India achieves major improvements in health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, gender equality and child protection, global efforts to reach the MDGs will fail. China needs to make significant strides to regain the early progress it made in child survival.

• In 2006, 2.1 million child deaths occurred in India and 415,000 in China, accounting for nearly a third of all child deaths in the world, in a region with half of the world’s children.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION LAUNCHES PLAN FOR UNIVERSAL ACCESS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF HIV/AIDS

• Today, at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a package of priority interventions designed to help low- and middle-income countries move towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.

• The package includes everything from how to expand condom programming to the latest in treatment recommendations, guidelines and standards.

• “This document responds to a long standing country need,” says WHO HIV/AIDS Department Director, Dr. Kevin De Cock. He said it provides WHO's best guidance on what the global HIV/AIDS health-sector response needs to deliver.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS ATTACK IN CHINA: The Spokeswoman, in response to a question about the attack that killed police officers in China on Monday, said that the Secretary-General condemned that attack.

HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON DEVELOPMENT TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER: The Spokeswoman, in response to a question on topics to be addressed at this fall’s General Assembly plenary, said that the Secretary-General and the President of the 63rd Session would convene a high-level event on 25 September to move forward in implementing the Millennium Development Goals.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TAKE BRIEF VACATION BEFORE RETURNING FOR MEMORIAL CEREMONY:  Asked whether the Secretary-General would take any time off from work this month, the Spokeswoman said that he intends to take a vacation on the second week of August. He would return to New York on 19 August, when he would participate in a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the death of UN staff members in Baghdad.  On September 1st, she added, he would also attend, in Geneva, a Memorial Service for the victims of the Baghdad Bombing, with family members of the deceased staff.