SECRETARY-GENERAL EMPHASIZES
IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ADDRESSING COUNCIL OF EUROPE

• In Strasbourg today, the
  Secretary-General
  
  spoke to the Council of Europe, to join with the Council
  in celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the European
  Convention on Human Rights. He said that one of the cardinal
  missions of the United Nations is to shine the light of
  human rights everywhere, including the darkest corners of
  the world.
   

• The Secretary-General warned that
  in some developed nations, immigration and economic
  recession has combined to create anxieties which could
  gradually serve as a pretext for the politics of
  discrimination and exclusion. He said that our universal
  compact on human rights needs to be reinforced and stressed
  the need to protect the basic rights of migrants.
   

• He welcomed the Council’s
  convening of a meeting tomorrow to discuss the integration
  of Roma people in Europe.  He said, “Let this be the moment
  when governments reaffirm their commitment to the highest
  human rights standards for all.”
   

• The Secretary-General also
  
  spoke to the European Parliament, noting that these are
  testing times, even in a prosperous Europe.  And a dangerous
  trend is emerging, he added: a new politics of polarization.
  
   

• The Secretary-General said that
  Europe cannot afford stereotyping that closes minds and
  breeds hatred, and the world cannot afford a Europe that
  does this.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BEGIN VISIT
NEXT WEEK TO THAILAND, CAMBODIA, VIET NAM AND CHINA

• The Secretary-General will travel
  to Asia, starting on 26 October, for official visits to
  Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam and China. He will discuss the
  UN’s relations with the countries he is visiting, regional
  and global issues, as well as UN-ASEAN cooperation.
   

• His programme will begin in
  Bangkok, Thailand, where he will meet with the Prime
  Minister and other Government representatives.
   

• The Secretary-General will then
  travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he will meet with the
  King and the Prime Minister. While in the Cambodian capital,
  he will visit the
  
  Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
   

• In Viet Nam, the
  Secretary-General will attend the ASEAN-UN Summit. He will
  also meet with the President, the Prime Minister and the
  Foreign Minister of Viet Nam.
   

• The Secretary-General will then
  travel to China and visit Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. The
  Secretary-General will meet with the Chinese President, the
  Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s
  Congress, and other senior Government officials. During the
  visit, the Secretary-General will also participate in the
  Summit Forum and the Closing Ceremony of World Expo 2010.
   

• In each of the four countries,
  the Secretary-General will meet with UN Resident
  Coordinators, UN Country Teams and staff to discuss the
  important role they play in their respective countries of
  assignment.
   

• In response to a question, the
  Spokesperson added that the Secretary-General has previously
  visited China three times, on 23-26 July 2009; 1-3 July 2008
  and 24 May 2008.

U.N. STAFF UNHURT FOLLOWING ATTACK ON CONVOY IN IRAQ

• In response to a question, the
  Spokesperson confirmed that a convoy including the
  Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
  
  Iraq, Ad Melkert, had been struck by an attack from an
  improvised explosive device while on the road in Najaf, in
  southern Iraq. Melkert and all UN staff were unharmed, Haq
  said. The matter is being investigated.
   

• He added that the attack had occurred
  following a meeting that Melkert had held with Ayatollah Ali
  al-Sistani.

SECRETARY-GENERAL REMINDS PARTIES IN SUDAN OF COMMITMENT TO
HOLDING REFERENDA ON TIME

• Asked whether there could be delays in
  the referenda in Sudan, the Spokesperson recalled that both
  parties recommitted themselves to holding the referenda on
  time and to respecting their outcomes in the communiqué
  issued after the 24 September High-Level Meeting on Sudan.
   

• The Secretary-General reminds both
  parties of their commitment stated in the communiqué. The
  United Nations continues to operate on this basis, Haq
  added.
   

• Asked whether the United Nations
  Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  was reporting troop build-ups in areas between the North and
  South, the Spokesperson noted that the head of the Mission,
  Haile Menkerios, said on Monday that
  UNMIS has been making adjustments to the deployment of its
  existing troops throughout the cease-fire zone to defuse
  tensions where they exist, consistent with its mandate and
  with the full knowledge of the two parties.
   

• Haq said that
  the United Nations has appealed to the leadership of the
  Sudanese parties to ensure the calm and proper functioning
  of the political, security and technical mechanisms they
  have established.
   

• Asked about reports of attacks in
  
  Darfur, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations
  actually has had reports of attacks on as many as six
  villages, including Soro, as well as other villages in
  Eastern Jebel Marra. These villages have not all been
  identified, as the information about the reported attacks is
  very sketchy, he added. Confirmation is very difficult, as
  there is no access in these areas; the United Nations is
  trying to obtain access.

SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD OF TIMORESE
ADVANCES IN TAKING OVER POLICING RESPONSIBILITIES

• The
  
  Security Council received a briefing this morning from
  the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Timor-Leste,
  Ameerah Haq, on the work of the UN Integrated Mission in
  that country, known as
  
  UNMIT.
   

• Haq noted the stability in Timor-Leste
  in recent months, and said she was pleased to note that
  Timorese leaders continue to hold inclusive dialogue to
  address the current challenges facing the country. She also
  highlighted advances by the Timorese in taking over policing
  responsibilities from the United Nations in several
  districts.
   

• She said that agreement had been
  reached with the Government on transitional planning for
  UNMIT, so that there will be a smooth transfer of the
  Mission’s functions to Timorese institutions.

TOP U.N. OFFICIAL IN COTE D’IVOIRE
SAYS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN HAS BEGUN PEACEFULLY

• Young-jin Choi, the head of the
  
  UN Mission in Cote d’Ivoire, says that the campaign
  period for the 31 October presidential election has taken
  off peacefully. Choi said campaigning is evolving in
  accordance with democratic rules despite the passion
  inherent in this kind of event.
   

• He made those remarks on Monday
  in Abidjan after meeting with the chairman of the
  Independent Electoral Commission. Choi added that the UN
  Mission would begin delivery of printed electoral materials
  to voting sites later this week. He also noted that 66,000
  polling agents are being trained by the Ivorian authorities;
  the UN, meanwhile, is helping to build temporary shelters in
  3,200 polling stations.

MORE THAN 20 MILLION PEOPLE
AFFECTED BY PAKISTAN FLOODS

• The Office for the Coordination
  of Humanitarian Affairs
  
  (OCHA) reports that an estimated 20.2 million people
  have been affected by the floods in Pakistan, with an
  estimated 14 million in need of immediate humanitarian aid.
   

• An area larger than the
  Netherlands - 50,000 square kilometers - has been ravaged by
  floods, and over 2.2 million hectares of crops have been
  lost. Over 1.9 million homes have been destroyed or damaged
  and at least 7 million people are currently without shelter.
   

• Throughout September and October,
  food rations have been supplied to an estimated 8.8 million
  people. High-energy biscuits and Ready to Use Supplementary
  Food is being provided for around 2 million children. Also,
  since the start of the response, essential medication has
  been provided to cover the potential health needs of 5.15
  million people.
   

• OCHA reports that the emergency
  shelter needs for an estimated 3.4 million people have been
  met, while 3.7 million people have access to clean water on
  a daily basis.
   

• At the same time, the Office
  says, the Response Plan for Pakistan is still only 36%
  funded.
   

• Meanwhile, UNICEF is reporting an
  increase in polio cases in Pakistan. Seventy-eight polio
  cases have been reported among children, which is a 26 per
  cent increase over 2009 figures. UNICEF says its last
  immunization campaign in Pakistan reached more than 8.5
  million children.

COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY
CALLS FOR ACTION ON LAND TENURE AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS IN
AGRICULTURE

• The
  
  Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has called for
  action on key issues related to food security and nutrition
  such as land tenure and international investment in
  agriculture, food price volatility and on addressing food
  insecurity in protracted crises.
   

• The Committee has requested its
  high-level panel of experts to take a close look and make
  recommendations regarding "causes and consequences of food
  price volatility, including market distorting practices and
  links to financial markets, and appropriate and coherent
  policies, actions, tools and institutions to manage the
  risks linked to excessive price volatility in agriculture."
   

• The five-day Rome meeting of the
  high-level intergovernmental body was its first following a
  reform which aims at making it the cornerstone of the global
  governance of agriculture and food security.

U.N. RELEASES THIRD QUARTER
STATISTICS ON ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION INVOLVING
PEACEKEEPING PERSONNEL

• The
  
  Department of Peacekeeping Operations-Department
  of Field Support released the third quarter 2010
  statistics on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse
  involving UN peacekeeping personnel.
   

• It says during the
  third quarter of 2010, there were 19 allegations of sexual
  exploitation and abuse, of which 5 concerned minors. During
  the first three quarters of 2010, 64 allegations were
  reported, compared to 81 allegations during the first nine
  months of 2009, which shows a decrease of 21 percent.
  Further details are available on the
  
  Conduct and Discipline website.