• A humanitarian assessment mission, led by the
  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and
  comprising representatives of key UN humanitarian agencies, viz., the
  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development
  Programme (UNDP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
  Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food
  Programme (WFP) and a representative of the Office of the High
  Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), will visit South Ossetia and
  Tbilisi from 17-20 September.
   

• The objective of the mission is to gain first-hand
  knowledge of the humanitarian and human rights situations and needs on
  the ground, including the position of those displaced by the conflict
  and other vulnerable groups. The results of the mission will feed into
  the revision of the humanitarian Flash Appeal, launched on 18 August.
  The mission has been coordinated with the Russian and Georgian
  authorities and will visit Moscow, South Ossetia and Tbilisi.
   

• The United Nations is also planning a broader
  fact-finding mission to the region.

GEORGIA CONFLICT CAUSED FARMERS TO
LOSE MUCH OF THIS YEAR’S HARVEST

• Assessment teams from the Office of
  the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report
   that, in the so-called “buffer zone” north of the town of
  Gori, most villagers who live close to Gori appear to have returned to
  their homes. But deeper inside the buffer zone, the rate of return is
  considerably lower, since beatings, looting and arson by marauding
  militias have created an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
   

• UNHCR reports that the destruction of
  buildings and houses is not as widespread as was initially feared. But
  the communities, which are largely dependent on agriculture, have lost
  70 to 80 per cent of this year’s harvest -- because of restricted
  irrigation water from South Ossetia, crop damage from heavy military
  equipment passing through fields, and the continued presence of
  landmines.
   

• Since the local gas pipeline is no
  longer functioning, the price of firewood has risen by 50 per cent.
  Also, there are no health services inside the buffer zone.

HUMAN
RIGHTS CHIEF CONCERNED BY SHARP RISE IN AFGHAN CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
  
  expressed serious concern Tuesday, as new figures released by her
  office showed a sharp increase in the number of civilians killed in
  Afghanistan during the first eight months of 2008, compared to the same
  period the previous year.
   

• The human rights team attached to the UN Assistance
  Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
  recorded a total of 1,445 civilian casualties in the first eight months
  of 2008, an increase of 39 percent compared to the same period in 2007,
  when there were 1,040 conflict-related deaths.
   

• August was a particularly deadly month, with 330
  civilians killed, including up to 92 civilian deaths reported during an
  operation involving Afghan and international military forces in
  Shindand. “This is the highest number of civilian deaths to occur in a
  single month since the end of major hostilities and the ousting of the
  Taliban regime at the end of 2001,” Pillay said.
   

• Exactly 800 killings – or 55 percent of the total
  number of civilian deaths recorded in the first eight months of 2008 –
  are attributed to the Taliban and other insurgent forces. Suicide
  attacks and improvised explosive devices, used extensively by the armed
  opposition, were the cause of 551 civilian deaths.
   

• Asked about follow-up
  from the Secretary-General to the reports on civilian casualties in
  Afghanistan, the Spokeswoman noted that the Human Rights Office in UNAMA
  and Special Representative Kai Eide had issued statements about civilian
  casualties and that the Secretary-General had also made clear his
  concerns on that matter.
   

• She added that Eide and the Human Rights
  Office are following up on the issue and are in touch with the relevant
  parties.

 U.N. STAFFERS RELOCATE WITHIN SRI
LANKA 

• In Sri Lanka, most of the remaining United Nations
  staff today was relocated from Kilinochchi to Vavuniya, in compliance
  with the Government’s request.
   

• So far, 29 staffers have moved - of whom 21 are Sri
  Lankan nationals and eight are international staff.  All are now in
  Vavuniya, joining colleagues who had been relocated earlier last week. 
  The number of international non-governmental organization staff who were
  relocated today is 13, comprising of 10 national and 3 international
  staff.
   

• Twenty-one UN national staff still remain in
  Kilinochchi. These are staff the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
  did not give passes to, or who chose to stay with families who could not
  get passes to move.
   

• With the UN's continuing commitment to and concern
  for the civilians of the Vanni, senior staffers are in place to mount
  humanitarian operations from Vavuniya.

 U.N.-BACKED SECURITY CONTINGENT
STARTS RECONNAISSANCE MISSION IN CHAD 

• The UN-backed Integrated Security Contingent of the
  Chadian army, which is tasked with the protection of refugees and
  internally displaced persons in eastern Chad, has begun a reconnaissance
  mission in the region. That is according to the Mission in Chad and the
  Central African Republic (MINURCAT),
  which says that some 70 troops of the contingent will tour six
  districts, including Abeche and Goz Beida.
   

• This is the first reconnaissance mission by the
  Security Contingent ahead of its full deployment. To date, the UN
  Mission has trained some 320 members of the Contingent; it intends to
  train another 500 soon.

 U.N. AGENCIES FIGHT CHOLERA OUTBREAK
IN ZIMBABWE 

• UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and
  their humanitarian partners are responding to a cholera outbreak that is
  reported to have claimed the lives of 11 people and infected 80 others
  in the outskirts of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. The outbreak was
  reported earlier this month.
   

• UNICEF, working closely with local authorities,
  non-governmental organizations and WHO, has established two cholera
  treatment centers. The clinics are mainly managed by
  Médecins Sans Frontières.
   

• Lack of clean water for domestic use fuelled the
  spread of the cholera. Sewer line blockages are common in the affected
  area, resulting in numerous incidents of sewage flowing in open drains
  along the streets.
   

• Temporary measures have been put in place to
  address water shortages in the most affected area.  The trucking of
  30,000 liters of drinking water is being done daily and will continue
  for the duration of the outbreak.

 UNITED NATIONS. RAMPS UP AID
DELIVERIES IN HURRICANE-HIT HAITI 

• The Secretary-General Special Representative for
  Haiti, Hedi Annabi, and the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
  in that country are continuing to work out logistical and security
  capacity available to help deliver humanitarian aid to the population in
  all regions affected by recent hurricanes and ensuing floods.
   

• The Mission says it is encouraged by the solidarity
  shown by political actors, the private sector and the Haitian diaspora.
  This past weekend, Haitian-born performing artist Wyclef Jean and actor
  Matt Damon visited the towns of Gonaives and Cabaret, two of the
  hardest-hit regions.
   

• The stars handed out much-needed food and other
  emergency assistance goods. They said that their goal in visiting the
  region was to get first-hand impressions of the extent of the damage
  wrought on the island nation by the flooding. They also sought to
  receive information likely to help them collect funds and improve their
  assistance efforts.
   

• Meanwhile, the amount of food being sent to tens of
  thousands of people on the storm-ravaged island of Haiti has tripled
  over the past week as the World Food Programme (WFP) has accelerated its
  hurricane response.
   

• Working alongside UNICEF the International
  Organization for Migration (IOM) and MINUSTAH, WFP has ramped up aid
  deliveries since 14 September, with 1,000 tons of rice, beans, cooking
  oil, fresh water and other supplies delivered across the country. 
   

• The increase means that WFP has supplied enough
  food to feed 217,000 people since the relief operation was launched.

 TRADE CHIEFS CALL FOR DOHA AGREEMENT 

• The heads of the UN Conference on Trade and
  Development (UNCTAD)
  and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
  today called for a conclusion of the now-stalled Doha trade
  negotiations.
   

• Speaking at UNCTAD’s annual Trade and Development
  Board, they stressed that reaching such an agreement would not only
  bring direct gains but also inject confidence and order into shaken
  economies and financial markets.
   

• They noted that stable trade is vital for economic
  progress in poor nations, and requires a supportive international
  banking and financial climate.

 OZONE HOLE OVER ANTARCTICA BIGGER
THAN LAST YEAR 

• Today is the International Day for the Preservation
  of the Ozone Layer.  In a
  
  message, the Secretary-General notes that decisive action, under the
  Montreal Protocol, has resulted in the banning of substances (such as
  chlorofluorocarbons) that both deplete the ozone layer and contribute to
  climate change.
   

• It may take 50 years or more for the ozone layer to
  fully recover, he notes, but the lesson is that “by acting on one
  challenge, we also act on many others”.  The Secretary-General urges
  governments to move forward on a wide range of environmental challenges
  and reach a decisive new agreement on climate change. 
   

• In related news, the World Meteorological
  Organization
  
  says the ozone hole over the Antarctic this year is already larger
  than at its peak last year.  Amid other worrying trends, WMO is warning
  of potential delays in any expected recovery of the ozone layer. 
   

• Meanwhile, several UN agencies have launched a new
  education pack for secondary schools.  Entitled “High sky”, it features
  the characters “Ozzy” and “Zoe Ozone”.  Through role-playing exercises,
  students learn simple ways to protect the ozone layer and safely enjoy
  the sun.

 OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HUMAN RIGHTS
RAPPORTEURS PLAY ESSENTIAL ROLE: The
Spokeswoman noted, in response to a question, that today the Human Rights
Council heard from the Special Rapporteur for Sudan, Sima Samar, who also
held a press conference. She is independent, Okabe noted, adding, in
response to a question on her mandate, that the Rapporteurs are nominated by
the Human Rights Council and play an essential role as eyes and ears
on human rights situations around the world.

BOOK OUTLINES
BAN KI-MOON’S VISION FOR UNITED NATIONS:
Asked about a small blue book
issued recently on the Secretary-General’s messages, the Spokeswoman
said that the book outlines the
Secretary-General's vision for the UN in
2008 and beyond, which he had been conveying to world leaders and the press.
The easy-to-read booklet makes the message available to staff around the
world. She noted that staff members and interns were handing out the blue
books, which had also been available at a recent management retreat in
Italy, to staff at UN Headquarters. [As outlined in book, the
Secretary-General is seeking to achieve three guiding objectives during his
tenure: delivering results for people most in need, security global goods
and creating a stronger United Nations through full accountability.]

MUSIC STARTS JOIN MESSENGER OF PEACE PAVAROTTI
MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR AFGHAN REFUGEES: A special

concert and memorial ceremony will take place in Petra, Jordan, next
month.  The event will pay tribute to UN Messenger for Peace Luciano
Pavarotti, who died one year ago, and also raise funds for projects run by
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World
Food Programme in Afghanistan. Stars of both classical and pop music are
taking part in the October 11th and 12th event. The line-up includes Sting,
Andrea Bocelli, and many others.