SECRETARY-GENERAL TO STRESS CENTRALITY OF
DEVELOPMENT

AT G-20 SUMMIT

• The Secretary-General
  this evening is attending a working dinner for the leaders of
  the Group of 20, who are convening in Seoul. On Friday, the
  Secretary-General will address the G-20 leaders, to make the
  case that development is not a side
  issue, and that investing in development is investing in
  everyone's recovery.
   

• 
  Today, the Secretary-General attended an
  
  event on the
  
  Millennium Development Goals at the National Assembly of the
  Republic of Korea, and he appealed to
  the leadership of the Korean Government to push forward on the
  implementation of those Goals. By doing so, he said, the
  Republic of Korea can show its commitment to protect the human
  rights of the vulnerable.
   

• The Secretary-General
  also
  
  met today with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, whom he
  thanked for South Africa’s role in co-chairing the G20
  development working group. This would help to coordinate the
  work by the G20 and the United Nations to achieve the Millennium
  Development Goals by 2015. They agreed that it was highly
  significant that development would figure prominently on the
  agenda of the G20 summit for the first time.
   

• Asked about the Republic
  of Korea’s level of official development assistance (ODA), the
  Spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General had encouraged the
  Government to raise its level of assistance.
   

• Asked about G20
  differences over currency and trade issues, Haq said that the
  Secretary-General had made clear in his
  
  press remarks that the G20 should show unity of purpose in
  dealing with those challenges.

HAITI: U.N. HUMANITARIAN OFFICE SAYS AID EFFORT
NEEDS TO BE SUSTAINED TO FIGHT CHOLERA

• In Haiti, the Office for
  the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  says that the Government is focusing its efforts on areas of the
  country which do not have access to potable water sources,
  particularly in the central departments and in the greater
  Port-au-Prince area, and on purifying water supplies in all
  departments.
   

• It adds that a crisis
  cell has been established, and a major nationwide cholera
  sensitization and information campaign is being prepared.
   

• The humanitarian
  community is assisting these efforts by deploying water and
  sanitation experts to support Government teams verifying water
  quality around the country. Nearly half a million water tablets,
  soap and oral rehydration salts are being distributed, targeting
  areas where cholera has already been detected. A large scale
  public information campaign to educate people on how to avoid
  cholera infection is also underway, says OCHA.
   

• OCHA stresses that the
  aid effort will have to keep moving with at least the same
  momentum in the days and weeks ahead. National and international
  resources are now stretched to the limit, it adds.
   

• Urgent needs include
  additional medical personnel and equipment, water purification
  equipment and tablets, water tankers, water treatment units,
  family water kits, hygiene kits and soap.

U.N. PEACEKEEPERS SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH
ATROCITES BY LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY

• Asked about a Human
  Rights Watch report on the activities of the Lord’s Resistance
  Army (LRA), the Spokesperson said that the United Nations fully
  shares the concerns expressed by Human Rights Watch. The LRA
  continues to perpetrate horrendous human rights violations
  against civilians, and there should be an end to their
  atrocities, he said.
   

• Haq said that the United
  Nations is doing its best with the limited resources at its
  disposal. He noted that it supports the humanitarian efforts in
  the LRA’s vast zone of influence.
   

• The extreme difficulty
  to gain access to their areas of operation makes it very
  challenging for all, including for UN troops, he added.
   

• Although the United
  Nations has a protection mandate, the Spokesperson said, this is
  not a problem that it can solve alone. As has been mentioned
  many times in the past, it is an issue that requires a broader
  approach, which means engaging more partners and evidently more
  resources.
   

• In this regard, he said,
  the United Nations salutes the recent meeting convened in Bangui
  by the African Union, where all the countries that are affected
  by the LRA decided on new joint mechanisms aimed at reinforcing
  the fight against this group.

U.N. MISSION CHECKING WHY RADIO STATION WAS
BLOCKED IN SUDAN

• In
  response to a question, the Spokesperson said that the Radio
  Miraya website was blocked on Wednesday afternoon for a few
  hours by the National Telecommunications Corporation in Sudan.
  There was no access for those using local internet service
  providers, though UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  network access and access through international service
  providers were not affected.
   

• The
  site was blocked from 4pm to about 8pm local time. There was no
  pre-warning or reasons given for the blocking.
   

• Haq
  said that UNMIS will raise the issue with the Sudanese
  authorities to seek clarification as to why the blocking
  occurred.

W.H.O. CALLS ON GOVERNMENTS TO STEP UP EFFORTS TO
TACKLE TUBERCULOSIS

• Since 1995, more than 40
  million people have been cured of tuberculosis and six million
  lives have been saved.
   

• That’s according to the
  World Health Organization, which issued its most comprehensive
  
  report ever on the progress being made in combating the
  tuberculosis epidemic. The publication contains the very latest
  data, and for the first time also includes online profiles from
  212 countries and territories.
   

• With nearly 2 million
  people dying from tuberculosis last year, these successes are
  far too fragile, the
  
  WHO warned. It called on governments to step up efforts to
  tackle the epidemic.
   

• WHO says that the
  findings of the report confirm that, when WHO's best practices
  are put in place, and with the right amount of funding and
  commitments from governments, it is possible to turn the tide on
  the TB epidemic.

NEW U.N.-WORLD BANK REPORT SAYS PREVENTION OF
NATURAL HAZARDS PAYS OFF

• A new joint
  
  report from the United Nations and the World Bank says that
  annual global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185
  billion by the end of this century, even without calculating the
  impact of climate change.  Climate change could then add between
  $28 and $68 billion more in damages each year from tropical
  cyclones alone.  The report also says that the number of people
  exposed to storms and earthquakes in large cities could double
  to 1.5 billion by 2050.
   

• The 250-page report,
  Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective
  Prevention, was released in Washington.  Targeted directly at
  the world's finance ministers, it stresses that “prevention pays
  but you do not always have to pay more for prevention”.
   

• The report outlines a
  number of measures to prevent death and destruction from natural
  hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET
ON BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: The

Security Council will meet at 3:00 p.m., Thursday afternoon, to
discuss Bosnia and Herzegovina. Council members will receive a
briefing from the High Representative for Bosnia, Valentin Inzko, on
his

latest report about his office’s work.

HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF TO
VISIT BOLIVIA: The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is to pay her

first visit to Bolivia from 12-16 November, where she will meet
with President Evo Morales Ayma. Pillay’s visit takes place in the
context of a recent agreement with the Government which extends the
presence of the Human Rights Office in Bolivia for a further three
years, until 2013.

PAKISTAN APPEAL IS 45 PERCENT FUNDED:
Asked about the funding of the humanitarian appeal for Pakistan, the
Spokesperson said it is currently 45 percent funded. He noted the
work being done by the UN system to provide assistance to families
returning to their homes as floodwaters recede, including some
200,000 families who returned to their homes in Sindh in recent
weeks.