WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LET RECOVERY FALTER,
SECRETARY-GENERAL WRITES IN LETTER TO G-20 LEADERS

• The Secretary-General will
  travel next week to Seoul, where he will meet with G-20 leaders and
  discuss development issues with them. He has sent a letter to the G-20
  leaders, describing the consultations he has had with Member States on
  development.
   

• He said that, while there may be
  divergences within the G-20 on some issues, there is one point on which
  we can all converge: we cannot afford to let the recovery falter at this
  stage. Otherwise, the world’s poor and the vulnerable will again have to
  pay an unacceptable price.  He urged the leaders to continue their
  efforts to sustain economic recovery globally and to lay the foundations
  for more inclusive, resilient and green growth, including through
  a concerted focus on delivering the
  
  Millennium Development Goals.
   

• In his letter, the
  Secretary-General stressed that G-20 nations can contribute to
  development by addressing vulnerabilities as they emerge; dealing with
  climate change directly; and addressing food and nutrition security
  comprehensively.  As the MDG Summit has proven we can and must
  pull together to ensure a more secure, prosperous and equitable world
  for all.
   

• Asked about
  representation of nations at the G-20, the Spokesperson noted that the
  Secretary-General intends to speak on behalf of all 192 UN Member States
  when he attends the summit. He noted that development would be on the
  agenda of the summit.

 

CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCING OPTIONS FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE AND
POLITICALLY VIABLE, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS

• The Secretary-General
  
  received the final report of the High-level Advisory
  
  Group on Climate Change Financing. The Secretary-General had asked
  the Group to identify new, innovative and additional sources of
  financing to meet the goal set by industrialized countries, last year in
  Copenhagen, of $100 billion dollars a year by 2020.
   

• He
  
  said that the options identified in the report are both financially
  feasible and politically viable. He said that the Advisory Group has
  given us a path; it is now up to Governments to consider the options and
  to act.
   

• The Secretary-General also said
  that the report will feed into the United Nations Framework Convention
  on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
  process and that it could help governments in their discussions on
  climate finance – one of the most difficult areas in the negotiations.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES GUINEA-BISSAU’S LEADERS TO
DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT TO STABILITY

• The
  
  Security Council this morning heard an open briefing on
  Guinea-Bissau by the Secretary-General’s Representative for that
  country, Joseph Mutaboba.
   

• The Secretary-General’s latest
  
  report to the Security Council on Guinea-Bissau says that it is the
  responsibility of that country’s civilian and military leaders to
  demonstrate their firm commitment to long-lasting stability for their
  country. He urges them to forge a national consensus on the best way to
  ensure the stability of Guinea-Bissau.
   

• He further appeals to the
  authorities not to spare any effort to maintain stability and ensure
  respect for constitutional order and the rule of law, as well as to be
  resolute in fighting impunity and promoting national reconciliation. He
  also recommends a one-year extension of the mandate of the UN Office in
  Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS).
   

• The Council followed its meeting
  with consultations, also on Guinea-Bissau.

 

PEACEKEEPER SHOT BY UNKNOWN ARMED MEN IN NORTH DARFUR

• A
  peacekeeper for the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
  was shot by unknown armed men while on guard duty at a water point in
  Kutum, in North Darfur.
   

• UNAMID
  forces nearby retaliated with gunfire, which forced the perpetrators to
  flee.   The peacekeeper was rushed to a nearby UN medical centre for
  treatment and later evacuated to the Mission’s hospital in El Fasher; he
  is in a stable condition.
   

• The Mission
  is appealing to the Sudanese authorities to speedily investigate this
  incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
   

• In response
  to a question, the Spokesperson confirmed that three crew members
  working for the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS),
  contracted to the World Food Programme (WFP),
  were abducted in Nyala town, in South Darfur, on Thursday. They are all
  Latvian nationals and are helicopter crewmen. He added that he had no
  more information at this time.

 

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF WARNS OF POTENTIAL VIOLENCE
BECAUSE OF SUDAN REFERENDUM

• Valerie
  Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
  Relief Coordinator, is in Sudan, where she
  
  said today that the January referendum on the future of Southern
  Sudan could create new humanitarian needs if violence breaks out. She
  said that Southern Sudan was at a critical juncture.
   

• Amos
  stressed that the already difficult humanitarian operating environment
  in the South had deteriorated. She noted the worrying trend of increased
  interference in humanitarian operations by Southern Sudanese state
  authorities and security forces. Since February, there have been 118
  reports of interference, harassment, and restriction of aid workers'
  access to beneficiaries by state authorities.
   

• Amos
  said, “The security of humanitarian staff is essential to carrying out
  humanitarian programmes, especially as the final stages of a highly
  political process are unfolding.”

 

HAITI: U.N. AGENCIES CONTINUE TO PREPARE TO RESPOND TO
HURRICANE TOMAS

• In Haiti, UN agencies continue
  to prepare to respond to Tomas, which has now strengthened to a
  hurricane, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
   

• The Office for the Coordination
  of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  says that additional emergency supplies and equipment are urgently
  needed. Tarpaulins and tents in stock only cover 60% of the estimated
  number of people who could be affected by Tomas.
   

• On Thursday, more than 2,000
  people from the exposed Corail camp for internally displaced persons
  were evacuated to a nearby building.
   

• UN agencies and their partners
  are also continuing their efforts to contain and prevent cholera in the
  country. The World Health Organization (WHO)
  says it has sent emergency health kits to Port au Prince which contained
  medicines to treat 10,000 persons for three months. Other emergency kits
  were sent to other areas with the capacity to treat between 10,000 to
  20,000 persons, also for three months. 
   

• The World Food Programme (WFP)
  says that its essential staff are on standby for a rapid response and
  that a food distribution could start in a matter of hours after the
  hurricane passed.

 

MILLIONS STILL IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE HELP 100 DAYS AFTER
START OF PAKISTAN FLOOD CRISIS

• Rauf Engin Soysal, the
  Secretary-General’s
  
  Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan, says that millions of
  people there remain in need of immediate help, one hundred days after
  the
  
  flooding crisis began in the country.
   

• The emergency is far from over,
  with an estimated 14 million people in need of urgent humanitarian
  assistance. Many face serious challenges on a daily basis and need
  supplies of safe drinking water, food, health care and shelter,
  especially as the harsh winter begins and temperatures drop in northern
  Pakistan.
   

• The humanitarian crisis is still
  widespread, with displaced people scattered across vast areas and
  floodwaters still engulfing their homes, particularly in the province of
  Sindh.
   

• To date, funding for the UN
  Floods Relief and Early Recovery Response Plan, which amounts to $1.93
  billion, is only 40 per cent funded.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
6 November-12 November 2010

Saturday, 6 November

 

Today is the International Day for
Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

 

Sunday, 7 November

 

There are no major events scheduled for today.

 

Monday, 8 November

 

The guest at the noon briefing will
be Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

 

The 2010 United Nations Pledging
Conference for Development Activities and the 2010 United Nations/Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Pledging Conference for the
World Food Programme will be held today in the Economic and Social Council
Chamber (NLB).

 

Tuesday, 9 November

 

This morning, the Security Council will hear a briefing
and then hold consultations on piracy off the coast of Somalia.

 

At 11:15 a.m., the International Federation for Human
Rights (Féderation Internationale des droits de l'homme, FIDH) will hold a
press conference to discuss human rights in Iran. Participants include Dr.
Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Mr. Antoine Madelin,
International Advocacy Director (FIDH), who will moderate the press
conference.

 

Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict will be the speaker at the
“Sexual Violence in Conflict” event organized by the United Nations
University Office at the UN, from 1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room 7
(NLB).

 

Wednesday, 10 November

 

The Secretary-General will arrive in
Seoul, Republic of Korea where he will participate in the G-20 Summit,
tomorrow and Friday.

 

This morning, the Security Council
will hear a briefing on the Development Fund for Iraq/International Advisory
and Monitoring Board.

 

At 1:30 p.m., the Contact Group on
Piracy off the Somali Coast, under the chairmanship of the Republic of Korea
(ROK), will hold a press conference. Participants include Mr. Moon Hayong,
Ambassador for the International Counter Terrorism Cooperation for the
Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs (ROK); Mr. Bae Hanji, Director of
International Security Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade (ROK); Mr. Shin Boonam, Deputy Permanent Representative of the
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations.

 

Thursday, 11 November

 

Today, the Security Council will hold an open debate on
Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Friday, 12 November

 

This afternoon, the Security Council
will hold a debate on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK).

 

At 1:15 p.m., the United Nations
University will hold a presentation entitled “Food Systems and Health in
Sub-Saharan Africa.”