SECRETARY-GENERAL EMPHASIZES IMPORTANCE OF
HUMAN RIGHTS AS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IS AWARDED

• The award of the
  Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo of China is a recognition of
  the growing international consensus for improving human
  rights practices and culture around the world.
  
   

• The
  Secretary-General has consistently emphasised the importance
  of human rights along with development and peace and
  security as the three main pillars of the work of the United
  Nations.
  
   

• Over the past years,
  China has achieved remarkable economic advances, lifted
  millions out of poverty, broadened political participation
  and steadily joined the international mainstream in its
  adherence to recognized human rights instruments and
  practices.
  
   

• The
  Secretary-General expresses his sincere hope that any
  differences on this decision will not detract from
  advancement of the human rights agenda globally or the high
  prestige and inspirational power of the Award.

 

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION EXPRESSES CONCERN
OVER INCREASED VIOLENCE IN NORTH DARFUR

• The
  
  Security Council delegation to Uganda and Sudan began
  its day in El Fasher, meeting with the Wali of North Darfur.
   

• At the start of the
  meeting, the Council's leader for this part of the mission,
  UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, expressed the Security
  Council's concern over increased levels of violence, the
  protection of civilians, sexual violence and the illegal
  flow of weapons.
   

• He said that the
  Council wanted to show its support for the UN-African Union
  peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
  and mentioned yesterday's abduction of a UNAMID staff
  member.
   

• The Council members
  followed their meeting with a visit to the Abu Shouk camp
  for internally displaced persons, where they met camp
  residents, and with a visit to its police community centre,
  where they received a briefing.
   

• The Council
  delegation has now arrived in Khartoum.

 

PAKISTAN: U.N. AGENCIES CONTINUE TO
DELIVER FOOD, MEDICINE AND SHELTER MATERIAL

• The Office for the
  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that UN
  agencies and their partners
  have delivered a
  total of 169,000 metric tonnes of food in
  
  Pakistan since the start of the crisis caused by the
  floods there. Approximately 8 million people are being
  targeted for food assistance in October, and some 500,000
  people received monthly rations this week.
   

• The United Nations
  and its partners have also provided medicines to cover the
  health needs of 5.15 million people, and clean water for
  daily usage to 3.7 million people.
   

• Overall, more than
  260,000 tents and 413,000 tarpaulins have now been
  distributed, serving the needs of some 467,000 households.
   

• The Office for the
  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs adds that the province
  of Sindh remains one of the hardest-hit areas, with 1
  million people in need. Huge numbers of people continue to
  depend on life-saving assistance. However, access to remote
  areas is improving.
   

• In answer to
  a question, the Spokesperson added that the Floods Emergency
  Response Plan and Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan are
  funded at 33 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO ADDRESS SCREENING OF
DOCUMENTARY ON VICTIMS OF TERRORISM

• This evening at UN
  Headquarters, the Secretary-General will host a screening of
  “Killing in the Name”, an award-winning documentary film
  depicting the lives of victims of terrorism. He will deliver
  remarks at that screening about the need to support the
  victims of terrorism, and what we can learn from them.
   

• A panel discussion
  will follow the screening with the Secretary-General; Ashraf
  Al-Khaled, whose family members were killed in an al-Qaeda
  attack; the film’s executive producer; Carie Lemack; and
  UNDP Senior Programme Advisor Carla Khammar, who survived
  the attacks on the UN compound in Algiers in 2007.

 

HAITI: PROVISION FOR 200 INTERPRETERS IN
U.N MISSION’S NEXT BUDGET

• In response to a
  previous question on interpreters for the police elements of
  the U.N. Mission in Haiti,
  
  MINUSTAH, the Spokesperson confirmed that there was a
  provision for roughly 200 interpreters in the Mission’s
  budget that will be presented to the General Assembly in a
  few weeks' time.
   

• Also, on the
  question of the need for more personnel, he said there were
  currently no plans to deploy additional troops or police. He
  noted that the deployment of an additional 2,180 UN police,
  authorized by the Security Council after the earthquake, is
  still in progress. This deployment has already helped to
  significantly increase the police presence in and around the
  major camps in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. 
  However, given that there are an estimated 1.5 million
  displaced people scattered across 1,300 camps, it is
  virtually impossible to ensure complete coverage of all the
  camps all the time.  The Haitian National Police, which
  comprises close to 10,000 officers, has primary
  responsibility for ensuring the security and safety of the
  population, including internally displaced persons.

 

U.N. LAUNCHES GLOBAL MAPPING OF EMERGENCY
STOCKPILES TO ACCELERATE RESPONSE TO CRISES

• The United Nations
  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  and the Logistics Cluster, led by the World Food Programme (WFP),
  today launched an
  
  interactive web-based tool, "Global Mapping of Emergency
  Stockpiles," which displays information on emergency relief
  warehouses managed by international humanitarian
  organizations.
   

• The aim of this tool
  is to assist affected countries and humanitarian relief
  agencies identify and send emergency relief items in
  response to crises.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
9 -15 October 2010

 

Saturday, 9 October

 

Today is World Post Day.

 

Sunday, 10 October

 

Today is World Mental Health Day. The theme
this year is “No health without mental health".

 

Starting today and until 20 October, the UN
Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, will undertake a
fact-finding mission to Greece.

 

Monday, 11 October

 

At 1:00 p.m., in the Dag
Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the UN Office for the Special
Adviser on Africa (OSAA) will hold press conference on the
release of a joint study recommending further diversification of
African economies, titled “Economic Diversification in Africa: A
Review of Selected Countries.”. Participants will be Mr. Ibrahim
Assane Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD; Mr. Eckhard Deutscher, Chair of the
OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC); and Mr. Cheick Sidi
Diarra, Under-Secretary-General, and UN Special Adviser on
Africa.

 

In Geneva, the Human
Rights Committee will hold its 100th session until 29 October.

 

Tuesday, 12 October

 

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library Auditorium, Ms. ZOU Xiaoqiao, Vice Chair of the
Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against
Women, will hold a press conference.

 

At 11:30 a.m. (1 p.m. in case elections
delayed), in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Lawrence Cannon, and
Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Canada (Americas), Peter
Kent, will give a press conference following the Security
Council elections.

 

At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library Auditorium, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative
for Children and Armed Conflict, will be guest at the Noon
Briefing.

 

At 7 p.m., in the General Assembly Hall,
there will be the world premiere screening of the award-winning
documentary “Children of War” as part of the Zero Under 18
Campaign.

 

Wednesday, 13 October

 

Today, the Security
Council will hold a debate on post-conflict peacebuilding. The
Council will also hold consultations on the UN Mission in Nepal
(UNMIN).

 

At 11:15 a.m., in the Dag
Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, Ms. Yanghee LEE, Chair of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, will hold a press
conference.

 

At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag
Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, the guests at the Noon Briefing
will be: Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under-Secretary-General, Special
Adviser on Africa and High Representative for Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States; Alpha Konare, former President of Mali; John
Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank. Alpha Oumar
Konaré, and James Wolfensohn are the co-chairs of the recently
established Eminent Persons Group for the Least Developed
Countries appointed by the Secretary-General to raise the
visibility of the challenges faced by the group of 49 least
developed countries.

 

Today is the
International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.

 

Thursday, 14 October

 

This morning, the Security Council is
expected to adopt resolutions on the UN Stabilization Mission in
Haiti (MINUSTAH) as well as on the Sudan panel of experts. The
Council will also hear a briefing on its mission to Uganda and
Sudan. It will then hold consultations on the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and on Côte d’Ivoire (Resolution 1893).

 

At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library Auditorium, Angela Kane, Under-Secretary-General for
Management, will be guest at the Noon briefing to brief on the
UN financial situation.

 

Friday, 15 October

 

There will be no Noon
Briefing today. The Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium will be
undergoing technical work.

 

This morning, the
Security Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution on Côte
d’Ivoire (Resolution 1893). It will also hear a briefing and
then hold consultations on the UN Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

 

Today is the
International Day of Rural Women.