* UN Headquarters will be closed on Monday for a US holiday, and there will be no Noon Briefing.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO LOS ANGELES FOR OUTREACH TO CREATIVE COMMUNITY

• On Monday, the Secretary-General will travel to Los Angeles as part of the U.N.'s Creative Community Outreach Initiative. That initiative aims to work with the global creative community to promote peace and raise awareness of critical global issues.
   

• During the two-day visit, the Secretary-General will attend a forum to discuss climate change and environment, and the empowerment of women and protection of children, with the creative community in Los Angeles.
   

• The Secretary-General will take part in a Facebook town hall via online video link to promote the use of social media as a platform to raise awareness and funding for critical global issues. The town hall will be an online live-broadcast.
   

• The Secretary-General will return to New York on Wednesday.

 

SECURITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER DRAFT RESOLUTION ON PALESTINE

• The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting at 3:00 this afternoon on the Middle East. Council members are expected to consider a draft resolution concerning the question of Palestine.
   

• Asked about the Russian proposal for a trip by the Security Council to the Middle East, the Spokesperson said that it would up to Council members to determine whether to conduct such a trip. The Secretariat stands ready to support such a trip if Council members agree to one.
   

• This morning, the Security Council received an update on children and armed conflict by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Radhika Coomaraswamy, in closed consultations.

 

HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CONDEMNS VIOLENT REPRESSION OF MIDDLE EAST PROTESTS

• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has condemned the response of a number of governments in the Middle East and North Africa to the legitimate demands of their people as illegal and excessively heavy-handed.
   

• She said that the use of lethal force by security personnel in Libya has reportedly led to the death of more than 20 protestors.
   

• Ms. Pillay also expressed deep regret for the deaths in recent weeks of protestors in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. She added that she was particularly troubled by targeted attacks by security forces on certain professions.
   

• Ms. Pillay condemned the use of live ammunition in recent days against peaceful protestors in Libya, the use of electric tasers and batons in Yemen, and the use of military-grade shotguns in Bahrain.
   

• She also expressed serious concern at recent remarks made by some parliamentarians in Iran calling for the execution of opposition leaders.
   

• Asked whether there have been contacts with the Bahrain authorities, the Spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General, in his remarks on Thursday, made clear that violence against peaceful demonstrators and journalists must stop and that those responsible must be brought to justice. He added that his sentiments apply to medical professionals, as well.
   

• UN personnel in Bahrain have been in contact with UN Headquarters on the recent developments, Nesirky added.
   

• Asked further about the Secretary-General’s views, the Spokesperson reiterated that the Secretary-General has made clear that leaders need to listen to the legitimate aspirations of its people.

 

CÔTE D’IVOIRE’S HEALTH SYSTEM DETERIORATING IN POST-ELECTION CRISIS

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the deteriorating health system in Côte d’Ivoire, which had been exacerbated by the post-election crisis.
   

• Several epidemics – including yellow fever, cholera and measles – have flared up recently, and WHO has carried out vaccination campaigns to reach hundreds of thousands of people.
   

• According to UNICEF, more than half of all health workers in the country are not at their posts, due to the political deadlock.
   

• For its part, the UN Refugee Agency this morning began relocating some 100 Ivorian refugees in Liberia from the border area to a newly-established camp at Bahn, some 50 kilometres away. Over the coming weeks, it plans to move 15,000 refugees into the camp.
   

• In total, the Agency has registered more than 38,000 refugees in Nimba County in eastern Liberia, all of whom fled instability following the elections in Côte d’Ivoire.

 

DARFUR MISSION SENDS PATROL TO VERIFY REPORTS OF FIGHTING IN WADIMURA AREA

• Asked about reports of aerial bombing in Darfur, the Spokesperson said that the UN-African Union Mission there (UNAMID) is reporting that sounds of heavy explosions were heard at frequent intervals, throughout the day.
   

• A patrol tasked to carry out investigation and verification of fighting in the area was advised by the Sudanese military at Shangil Tobaya that they should not visit Wadimura, as air operations was still going on. The team was told that they might get clearance to allow the UNAMID patrol to visit Wadimura area on Saturday, if the situation comes under control.
   

• Nesirky added, in response to further questions, that recent fighting has displaced a large number of the local population. There has reportedly been a large influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the ZamZam IDP camp, as many as 1,400 families. However, he said, the Government of Sudan suspended humanitarian access to the camp on 16 February due to the clashes.
   

• Concerning the humanitarian assessment mission that was planned for that day, UNAMID has said that the patrol could not proceed beyond Dar el Salaam, about 45 km east of Shangil Tobaya, due to the ongoing aerial bombardment around Shangil Tobaya.

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

UNITED NATIONS BACKS FULL PARTICIPATION BY ALL PARTIES IN MYANMAR: Asked about remarks in the New Light of Myanmar concerning Aung San Suu Kyi, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations has consistently backed the right of all parties to participate freely in the political process in Myanmar and will continue to do so. He said that the United Nations would be concerned by any action or statement that runs counter to that.

 

HAITI’S INFECTION RATE FOR CHOLERA MAY BE SLOWING: The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is reporting that the infection rate in Haiti’s cholera epidemic appears to be slowing down. Citing the latest Haitian government figures, OCHA says that the epidemic has claimed 4,549 lives so far, out of more than 231,000 recorded cases, with the mortality rate now down to 2 per cent.

 

**The guest at the noon briefing was David Nabarro, Coordinator of the Secretary-General's High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, who briefed via videolink from Geneva. He spoke about recent rise in food prices and the UN response.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
19 – 25 FEBRUARY 2011

Saturday, 19 February

 

There are no major events scheduled for today.

 

Sunday, 20 February

 

Starting today, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, will visit Qatar.

 

Starting today and until 27 February, the United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, Michel Forst, will visit Haiti to evaluate the situation since his last mission in September 2010.

 

Today is the World Day of Social Justice.

 

Monday, 21 February

 

Today is an official UN holiday and Headquarters in New York will be closed.

 

Today is International Mother Language Day.

 

Today, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will launch its report entitled “Towards a Green Economy: Synthesis Report for Policymakers.”

 

Tuesday, 22 February

 

Today, the Secretary-General will take part in the Global Creative Forum in Los Angeles.

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold a debate on the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

 

At 10:00 a.m., the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations will begin its 2011 regular session in Conference Room 2 of the North Lawn Building (NLB). It will run until Friday, 18 March.

 

At 10:00 a.m., the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will begin in Conference Room 3 (NLB), and will wrap up on Friday, 4 March. Government representatives and more than 1,500 women’s activists from around the world will discuss the participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of full and decent employment for women.

 

Today, the forty-second session of the Statistical Commission will begin in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (NLB), and will end on Friday, 25 February.

 

Wednesday, 23 February

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold consultations on its 1718 Committee.

 

At 11:15 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, Norway, Nepal and UN Women will hold a press briefing to launch Nepal’s National Action Plan on Security Council Resolution 1325.

 

Thursday, 24 February

 

Today, the Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution on the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). It will also hear a briefing and then hold consultations on the Middle East.

 

At 10:00 a.m., the first organizational meeting of the 2011 session of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples will be held in Conference Room 4 (NLB).

 

At 6:00 p.m., there will be an event in the General Assembly Hall to celebrate the launch of UN Women. Speakers will include General Assembly President Joseph Deiss, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet.

 

Friday, 25 February

 

This morning, the Security Council will hear a briefing and then hold consultations on the United Nations Integrated Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS).

 

At 8:30 a.m., in the Delegates’ Dining Room, there will be a special event to encourage investment in adolescent girls and to promote their rights. Participants will include UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Executive Director Saad Houry.

 

At 10:30 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, Hilde Frafjord Johnson, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, and Dr. Sarah Kambou, President of the International Center for Research on Women, will launch the State of the World’s Children 2011 Report entitled “Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity.”