SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES SUPPORT AT HAITI DONORS’ CONFERENCE

• The
  
  Secretary-General today opened the
  
  Donors Conference on Haiti. He is co-hosting the event with US Secretary
  of State Hillary Clinton. The Secretary-General
  
  highlighted the recovery and reconstruction plan being presented by the
  Haitian Government, which would establish a new Interim Haiti Recovery
  Commission to channel $3.9 billion into specific programmes and projects
  during the next 18 months. Over the next ten years, he said,
  
  Haiti's reconstruction needs will total an estimated $11.5 billion,
  which must be well-invested and well-coordinated.
   

• The Secretary-General said the plan deserves full and
  generous support. As a plan for action, he said, it is concrete, specific
  and, above all, ambitious – a plan to create a “new Haiti.”
   

• He warned that the rainy season is fast approaching,
  and some camps for displaced persons are at risk of flooding. Health and
  sanitation issues are growing more serious. We are also very concerned about
  the security situation in some of the camps, especially for women and
  children. He appealed for further support for the
  
  Revised Humanitarian Appeal for $1.4 billion, which is currently only 50
  percent funded.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS EDMOND MULET AS HIS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HAITI

• The
  
  Secretary-General today announced the appointment of
  
  Edmond Mulet of Guatemala as his Special Representative and Head of the
  
  UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
   

• Mr. Mulet succeeds
  
  Hédi Annabi of Tunisia, who tragically perished in the 12 January 2010
  
  earthquake. The Secretary-General remains indebted to Mr. Annabi, who
  ranked amongst the United Nations most dedicated and energetic officers. Mr.
  Annabi’s commitment, integrity and diligence inspired and shaped an entire
  generation of United Nations officers and will continue to be the gold
  standard against which all who serve in the international civil service will
  be measured.
   

• Mr. Mulet has been serving as the Assistant
  Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations and Head of the Office of
  Operations since August 2007.  Since January 14, 2010, Mr. Mulet functioned
  as Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of
  MINUSTAH.
   

• In the weeks following the devastating earthquake, Mr.
  Mulet has demonstrated his remarkable leadership and through his resilience,
  strength, clear-sightedness and determination has anchored the efforts of
  the United Nations family, the people of Haiti, Governments of the region
  and the broader international community. 

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ASSERTS COMPLETION OF REPORT
ON BENAZIR BHUTTO’S KILLING

• Asked whether the
  
  Commission of Inquiry that has been looking into the 2007 assassination
  of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto would re-open its inquiry,
  the Spokesperson said that the Commissioners have informed the United
  Nations that the report is complete.
   

• They believe, Nesirky said, that they have
  finished their work and that there is no need to include any further
  information. It is for them to consider whether they need to change their
  report.
   

• Asked whether the Government of Pakistan would
  provide further information to the Commission, the Spokesperson said that
  the Government is free to provide any further information if it believes it
  is worthy of consideration. On the basis of what the Commissioners have
  informed us, so far, they believe that their work is done.
   

• Asked about reports that several countries had
  made warnings about threats to Bhutto prior to her death, Nesirky noted that
  the Commissioners have seen a considerable amount of relevant information,
  including what has been in the news media in recent days. After conferring
  in light of the latest information, they continue to say that they have
  completed their work.
   

• Asked about any extension of the Commission’s
  mandate, he reiterated that the Commissioners have said that they have
  finished their work. Any extensions to take into account the delay in
  presenting the report will be purely technical.

PRESIDENT OF
SECURITY COUNCIL ISSUES PRESS STATEMENT ON IRAQ

• The President of the Security Council, Ambassador
  Emanuel Issoze-Ngondet of Gabon, issued a press statement today on behalf of
  Council members on the
  
  Iraqi elections. Council members congratulated the Iraqi people and
  Government on the successful election and called for the political entities
  to respect the certified election results and the choices of the Iraqi
  people.  The members of the Security Council alsod urge Iraq’s political
  leaders to avoid inflammatory rhetoric and actions.
   

• Today is the last day of Gabon’s
  
  Presidency of the
  
  Security Council. On Thursday, Ambassador Yukio Takasu of Japan will
  assume the Council’s rotating Presidency for the month of April.

U.N. CLIMATE
CHANGE CONVENTION HAS RECEIVED SUBMISSIONS FROM 75 PARTIES

• Since the closing of the
  
  UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December last year, the
  
  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has
  received submissions of national pledges to cut or limit emissions of
  greenhouse gases by 2020 from 75 parties – which together account for more
  than 80 per cent of
  
  global emissions from energy use.
   

• This data and other information can be
  
  found in the official reports on the results of the conference, released
  by the UN Climate Change Secretariat today.
   

• The results include that 41 industrialized countries
  have formally communicated their economy-wide targets to the UNFCCC, while
  35 developing countries have communicated information on the mitigation
  actions they are planning to take, provided they receive the appropriate
  support in terms of finance and technology.

HIGH-LEVEL
ADVISORY GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCING HOLDS FIRST MEETING

• The
  
  Secretary-General’s
  
  High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing met today for the
  first time in London.
   

• Today’s meeting focused on establishing priorities and
  a plan of action for the Group’s work, which will feed into the
  
  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process.
  The Group is expected to issue initial outputs before the UNFCCC negotiating
  session to be held at the end of May and early June, and the final report
  will be submitted to the Secretary-General and to the current and next
  presidents – Denmark and Mexico, respectively – of the UNFCCC Conference of
  the Parties by November.
   

• In relation to the group’s composition, the
  Secretary-General is pleased to announce that, in addition to the list of
  members announced in February, Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister of
  France, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Finance Minister of Indonesia, have
  joined the High-level Advisory Group. He is grateful for the expertise,
  experience, and perspective they will bring to the Group’s work.
   

• The Group will seek to identify new and innovative
  sources of climate financing to reach $100 billion per annum, with further
  scale-up envisioned in the future, as agreed during the UN Climate Change
  Conference in Copenhagen last December.
   

• Asked about the process to select a successor to
  the head of the
  
  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
  Yvo de Boer, the Spokesperson said the deadline for submission ends at the
  close of today. He added that candidates would not be identified by name or
  nationality.

U.N. MISSION IN D.R. CONGO CONTINUES TO
INVESTIGATE MASSACRE BY LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY

• Asked about the reported death toll from killings
  in Mabanga, in the
  
  Democratic Republic of the Congo, that were attributed to the Lord’s
  Resistance Army (LRA), the Spokesperson said that, on 27 January, the
  
  UN Organization Mission for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
  went public with the information gathered during its weekly press
  conference. It was announced at the time that more than 100 people were
  suspected to have been killed by the LRA.
   

• Nesirky added that MONUC sent investigation teams
  to the area on 29 December 2009, 7 January 2010 and 20 January 2010. MONUC
  investigations have been done in collaboration with civil society, the local
  authorities and the Congolese Armed Forces. MONUC investigations are
  continuing, he said.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

STEPS TOWARDS RECONCILIATION IN BALKANS WELCOMED:
Asked about a resolution passed in Serbia condemning the atrocities committed in
Srebrenica, the Spokesperson said that any steps towards reconciliation in what
has been an extremely troubled part of the world are to be welcomed.

WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY OBSERVED ON FRIDAY: World
Autism Awareness Day will be observed globally, only for the third time, this
coming Friday, 2 April. In a written message for the Day, the

Secretary-General says that by combining research and awareness-raising
efforts, we can provide adults and children with disabilities such as autism the
protection, support and full membership of an inclusive society.

Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
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