UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
 

PROGRESS MADE IN DELIVERY OF HUMANITARIAN AID IN HAITI; TENTS REMAIN
PRIORITY NEED

• In
  Haiti, the
  
  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports
  that the coordination of humanitarian help is improving every day but
  that difficulties remained link to the fact that the
  
  earthquake had happened in a very dense urban center.  Emergency and
  humanitarian workers have to move through piles of rubble. The United
  Nations’ current goal is to help around three million persons that had
  been affected by the quake.
   

• A Joint Operation and Tasking Center has started
  operating today, bringing together the UN, the
  
  UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the US Army and the
  Canadian Army, says OCHA.
   

• OCHA adds that one of the priorities right now is
  the need for tents. Some 40,000 tents are already in Haiti, but a much
  larger number is needed. Currently, some 800,000 to one million persons
  had already organized themselves into temporary shelters.
   

• The
  
  World Food Programme (WFP) says it has reached nearly 450,000
  persons with the equivalent of nearly 10 million meals since the
  earthquake.  This week, nearly 75 trucks are expected to arrive from the
  Dominican Republic.  Two WFP-contracted helicopters have arrived Monday
  in the Dominican Republic and will be operational this week.
   

• Concerning health, the
  
  World Health Organization (WHO) says that health providers on the
  ground are now moving from emergency care towards more post-operative
  and primary healthcare. It adds that there is a great need for services
  for amputees, as thousands of people have suffered amputations as a
  result of this emergency.
   

• WHO is also voicing concern over primary healthcare
  and says it is increasing services in this field, particularly through
  mobile clinics visiting the displacement camps and other locations where
  people have moved.
   

• Meanwhile, UNICEF says it has decided to reinforce
  controls in
  
  Haiti’s hospitals and orphanages, as well as at the airport. UNICEF
  is working with 29 organizations to control unaccompanied children and
  to reunite them with their families, as fast as possible, it says.
   

• Asked about the death toll among UN
  personnel, the Spokesperson said that at present, 82 personnel were
  confirmed dead while 45 remain unaccounted for.

SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED ON SUDAN, WARNED OF RETURN TO ARMED CONFLICT

• The
  
  Security Council this morning held consultations on
  
  Sudan, during which it was briefed by the Under-Secretary-General
  for Peacekeeping Operations,
  
  Alain Le Roy, on the
  
  Secretary-General’s latest
  
  report on the
  
  UN Mission in Sudan.
   

• In his report, the Secretary-General says that the
  parties to the
  
  Comprehensive Peace Agreement have made important breakthroughs,
  allowing them to move beyond several major obstacles. Even so, he warns,
  a return to armed conflict remains a very real possibility.

SECRETARY-GENERAL INTENDS TO RESPOND TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ON GAZA
WITHIN THREE-MONTH DEADLINE

• Asked when the
  
  Secretary-General will report to the
  at the
  
  General Assembly concerning the
  report of Richard Goldstone’s fact-finding mission on Gaza, the
  Spokesperson said that the General Assembly had
  
  asked the Secretary-General to report on the status of the
  implementation of its resolution (A/RES/64/10) within three months of
  its adoption. The resolution was adopted on 6 November 2009, so the
  three month deadline ends on 5 February, Nesirky noted.
   

• He added that the resolution has asked the
  Government of Israel and the Palestinian side to undertake independent
  and credible investigations, consistent with international standards,
  into the serious violations of international humanitarian and human
  rights law reported by Goldstone. The Secretary-General had also asked
  for such investigations to be carried out.
   

• Asked when the Israeli and Palestinian
  replies should arrive, the Spokesperson said they should come in time so
  that the Secretary-General can report back to the General Assembly, in
  accordance with its resolution.

DECLARATION ON AFGHANISTAN EXPECTED AT END OF
LONDON CONFERENCE

• Asked about expectations from the London
  Conference on
  
  Afghanistan, the Spokesperson said that, at the end of the
  Conference, we are likely to see a Declaration issued. That will include
  commitments from the Government of Afghanistan to its people for the
  next 18 months to two years. It will also have corresponding commitments
  from the international community in support of Afghanistan.
   

• The Spokesperson said that the
  
  Secretary-General will be co-hosting the
  Afghanistan Conference in London, and that more than sixty countries and
  organizations are attending.
   

• He expressed the hope that the London
  Conference will secure the political commitment needed from
  Afghanistan’s international partners to build peace, ensure security and
  boost development.
   

• Nesirky added that the Conference sees the
  international community coming together to align military and civilian
  resources behind an Afghan-led political strategy, with a focus on
  reform.

U.N.
POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF TO ATTEND YEMEN MEETING; OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS
CHALLENGES, UNDERLYING CAUSES

• The Under-Secretary-General for
  
  Political Affairs,
  
  B. Lynn Pascoe, will lead the UN delegation at the high-level
  meeting to be held on Yemen on Wednesday in London.
   

• From the UN’s perspective, this meeting is an
  opportunity for the international community and the Government of Yemen
  to have a focused discussion on how they can jointly address the many
  pressing problems and challenges facing the country and their underlying
  causes; that includes economic, developmental and humanitarian issues.
  Sustained international support will be necessary to ensure the
  prosperity, security and stability of Yemen and the region as a whole.
   

• The UN hopes that this will be the initiation of a
  long-term process of cooperation between the Government of Yemen and the
  relevant regional and international partners; and it is ready to take
  part in these efforts, with emphasis on providing support and
  cooperation in the areas of highest priority to the Yemeni Government
  and people.

U.N.
SOMALIA ENVOY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON MOGADISHU HOSPITAL

• The Special Representative of the Secretary-General
  for Somalia,
  
  Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has
  
  condemned the deadly attack Wednesday by insurgents on a Mogadishu
  hospital. The assault on the medical facility, which is run by African
  Union peacekeepers, reportedly killed half a dozen people.
   

• Ould-Abdallah notes that this is the second attack
  on the hospital, which treats an estimated 3,200 Somalis a month.

U.N.
REFUGEE AGENCY REGISTERS THOUSANDS DISPLACED BY FIGHTING IN EASTERN DR CONGO

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO ATTEND HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION

• At 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the
  
  Secretary-General will speak at the opening of an exhibit at the UN
  Secretariat building’s Visitors’ Lobby on the Auschwitz-Birkenau
  blueprints. That exhibit was curated and produced by Yad Vashem, and is
  part of the UN’s remembrance of the Holocaust this year.
   

• Wednesday is
  
  Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the theme of this year’s
  commemoration at UN offices around the world is the legacy of survival.
  There will be a message from the Secretary-General concerning all the
  people – most of them Jews, but also including groups like the Roma and
  Sinti – who suffered the horrors of the ghettos and Nazi death camps and
  yet somehow survived.
   

• At 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, there will be a
  commemorative event at the
  
  General Assembly Hall, with keynote remarks by a Holocaust survivor,
  Nechama Tec; a statement by Andrzej Mirga, a Senior Adviser on Roma
  Sinti Issues; and musical performances by the Nürnberg Philharmonic
  Orchestra, the Jerusalem Oratorio Chamber Choir and the Bayreuth Zamir
  Chorale.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN POLICY ON HONDURAS BASED ON GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTION: Asked about UN policy on
Honduras, where a new President is expected to be inaugurated, the
Spokesperson reiterated that the UN policy is based on a

General Assembly resolution, adopted on 29
June 2009, and it is up to the Assembly to change that policy.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WILLING TO VISIT CYPRUS AT
APPROPRIATE TIME: Asked whether the


Secretary-General will visit Cyprus, the
Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General is willing to visit Cyprus at
an appropriate time.

NO LETTER ON COPENHAGEN ACCORD RECEIVED:
Asked about a letter from the Government of India concerning the

Copenhagen accord, the Spokesperson said that the letter has not been
received yet.

The guests at the noon briefing were

John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for

Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and

Jordan Ryan, the Assistant Administrator and Director for the

Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the

UN Development Programme. They briefed on the latest developments
concerning the situation in Haiti.