UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

BAN KI-MOON TO
BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL ON HIS TRIP TOMORROW

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is on his way back
  from his trip to the London Conference on Afghanistan, the African Union
  Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Cyprus.
   

• He intends to brief the Security Council about his
  trip tomorrow afternoon at 3:00.
   

• Then, when he has finished his briefing to the
  Security Council, he intends to speak to reporters at the Security
  Council stakeout, tentatively at 4:30 pm.

 UNITED NATIONS WILL WORK
TO AVOID POTENTIAL NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF REFERENDUM

• In order to clarify erroneous reports about remarks
  
  attributed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon concerning Sudan, the
  Spokesperson for the Secretary-General would like to reaffirm the
  Secretary-General’s position, which is in accordance with the
  Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the United Nations mandate in
  Sudan.
   

• The Secretary-General
  made
  clear that the United Nations would work to support the parties in
  their efforts to “make unity attractive” as well as the exercise by the
  people of Southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a
  referendum. In this connection, he made clear that the United Nations
  would work to avoid any potential negative consequences following next
  year's referendum.
   

• Any suggestion that the United Nations may have
  taken a position that may prejudge the outcome of such a referendum is
  incorrect.
   

• Asked whether the
  Secretary-General had said the words attributed to him in the media
  about secession in Sudan, the Spokesperson said that he had not, and
  that the media outlet which had misquoted him has now run a correction.
   

• He said that the
  Secretary-General had said that the United Nations would work to avoid
  “not to have any negative consequences” resulting from a possible
  secession.
   

• Asked about his comments
  to the African Union meeting about efforts by the parties to make unity
  attractive, Haq noted that the language the Secretary-General was using
  came from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and were simply a
  restatement of what the Agreement had called for.

U.N.-A.U. MISSION IN DARFUR HAS REPORTED ACTS OF
BANDITRY

• Asked about allegations
  made against the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID),
  accusing the Mission of collaborating with rebel groups in Darfur and
  not reporting acts of banditry, the Spokesperson said that UNAMID is
  categorically rejecting the accusations that were made. The Mission
  never collaborated in any way described with any of the parties to the
  conflict.
   

• Rather, he said, it has
  reported acts of banditry to the relevant authorities.
   

• The accusations, Haq
  said, will not detract UNAMID from its responsibility and obligation to
  be an honest broker in the peace process.
   

• It is regrettable that
  an occasional act of banditry has been used to level an attack on the
  integrity of the mission, he added. However, this will not affect the
  good working relationship that UNAMID has established with all levels of
  the civilian and military leadership of Sudan.

INFORMAL
TALKS ON WESTERN SAHARA WILL BE HELD THIS MONTH

• The Secretary-General is
  
  pleased that the parties have agreed to the proposal made by his
  Personal Envoy, Mr. Christopher Ross, that the next set of informal
  talks on Western Sahara be held on 10-11 February. 
   

• The meeting will take place in Westchester County
  and will be based on the guidance provided by Security Council
  resolution 1871 (2009) and earlier resolutions. He encourages the
  parties to make further progress and urges focused and productive
  discussions.

HAITI:
SHELTER IS CRITICAL PRIORITY, FOOD DISTRIBUTION ARE SCALED UP

• In Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of
  Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  says that the provision of shelter remains an urgent need for hundreds
  of thousands of displaced people in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.
  
   

• The delivery of shelter materials is being speeded
  up, which will improve shelter conditions in the short term. However,
  with the rainy season approaching in April, followed by the hurricane
  season a few months later, planning for durable transitional shelter to
  house people for at least two years must go hand-in-hand with the
  emergency efforts, according to OCHA.
   

• The World Food Programme (WFP)
  says it has now reached around 850,000 people since the earthquake
  struck – more than 200,000 have been reached through the new
  distribution system in the past 48 hours.
   

• The scale up continues under the leadership of the
  Haitian government, and in coordination with the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH),
  the US military, and a group of key non-governmental organizations.
   

• Concerning health, OCHA says that targeted
  vaccination programmes will begin today for populations in temporary
  settlements.
   

• OCHA also says that increased sanitation support is
  a main priority: some 7,000 latrines are needed and sanitation will
  remain an important public health issue in the coming weeks.
   

• The first round of a detailed interagency needs
  assessment has now been completed and the data collected is being
  compiled and analyzed. The assessment will feed into a revised 12-month
  Humanitarian Appeal to be presented in mid-February.
   

• Also, yesterday, the acting Special Representative
  of the Secretary-General, Edmond Mulet, reported that advance teams from
  Brazil, Guatemala, Japan, and the Republic of Korea had already visited
  Haiti to assess deployment conditions for contingents expected to arrive
  from those countries as part of the Security Council-authorized increase
  in MINUSTAH troop and police strength.
   

• Asked about reports of
  some unrest in Haiti, the Spokesperson said that MINUSTAH had made clear
  that the situation on the ground has been largely calm, with food
  distributions proceeding in an orderly manner.
   

• At the same time, he
  said that the Mission was prepared to deal with a volatile situation,
  given that some gang members were at large following the collapse of the
  main Port au Prince prison after the earthquake.

MORE THAN
250 SOMALIS KILLED AS RESULT OF ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN SOMALIA

• According to local sources, intense clashes between
  government forces and militia groups fighting for control of the
  conflict-torn central regions have left at
  least 258 civilians dead and another 253 wounded, which makes January
  the deadliest month since last August, reports the UN Refugee Agency
  (UNHCR).
   

• UNHCR estimates that more than 80,000 Somalis have been
  displaced since the beginning of the year.
   

• In particular, the internally displaced people
  (IDPs) in Galgaduud region face difficult conditions, with many reported
  to be sleeping in the open without adequate shelter and water. There are
  also growing concerns about the health conditions of particularly
  vulnerable groups - such as children, women and elderly.
   

• The deteriorating security conditions have made it
  hard, if not impossible, for humanitarian workers to reach the needy
  population.
   

• UNHCR plans to distribute emergency relief items
  and shelter material to over 18,000 people in 27 locations where the
  displaced are temporarily settled around Dhusamareebb and Belet-Weyn as
  soon as the security situation will permit.
   

• Overall, more than 1.4 million people are
  internally displaced in Somalia and some 560,000 Somalis are living as
  refugees in the neighbouring countries, including Kenya and Ethiopia.

U.N.
CLIMATE CHANGE CONVENTION RECEIVES LIST OF GOVERNMENT PLEDGES

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
  Change (UNFCCC)
  has received submissions of national pledges to cut and limit greenhouse
  gases by 2020 from 55 countries. These countries account for 78 per cent
  of global emissions from energy use.
   

• Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the Convention,
  said that this represents an important invigoration of the UN climate
  change talks and that he saw these pledges as clear signals of
  willingness to move negotiations towards a successful conclusion.
   

• (As you know, industrialized countries listed their
  mid-term targets to cut emissions, while developing countries
  communicated information on their mitigation actions.) And you can find
  that information on the UNFCCC’s website.
   

• The next round of formal negotiations is scheduled
  to take place in Bonn, at the end of May 2010.

MALARIA
ENVOY IN D.R.CONGO, AFTER SUPPORTING AFRICAN LEADERS MALARIA ALLIANCE IN
ADDIS ABABA

• The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria,
  Ray Chambers, is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today, on the
  second day of a three day visit to Africa.
   

• Mr. Chambers will meet with DRC’s Minister of
  Health and the Minister of Finance to discuss solutions for addressing a
  financial shortfall for 14 million long-lasting insecticidal mosquito
  nets. DRC bears perhaps the world’s highest malaria burden, according to
  the Special Envoy’s office.
   

• Yesterday, the Special Envoy supported the African
  Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) meeting during the African Union Summit
  in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There, 20 Heads of State gathered to reaffirm
  their commitment to meeting the Secretary-General’s goal of protecting
  all people from malaria by December 31, 2010.

 OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS PROGRAMME OF WORK: In
its first consultations this month, the Security Council this morning
adopted its programme of work
for February.

BHUTTO COMMISSION
IS RECEIVING COOPERATION:
Asked about the work of the commission
looking into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto, the Spokesperson said that the commission had reported receiving
cooperation as it goes about its work. Its mandate, he noted, was extended
until the end of March.