SECRETARY-GENERAL: THIS CENTURY MUST BE
BETTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S HEALTH

• Speaking at the
  second
  
  meeting of the
  
  Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group this
  morning, the
  
  Secretary-General said that, when it comes to raising
  public awareness and mobilizing political will, what’s
  needed is eloquent voices, inspiring leadership and creative
  minds.
   

• The
  Secretary-General said their outstanding accomplishments
  made them obvious choices for the task. They are especially
  well-placed to hold leaders accountable for sticking to
  their commitments to the
  
  Millennium Development Goals.
   

• He also called for
  their support for an initiative he was launching later
  Wednesday: the
  
  Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health.
   

• Addressing the
  
  launch, the Secretary-General noted how in many parts of
  the world, women have yet to benefit from advances that made
  childbirth much safer nearly one hundred years ago, with
  millions of children dying from malnutrition and diseases
  which have been treatable for decades.
   

• He said these
  realities are simply unacceptable and that the 21^st
  century must be and will be different, with the Global
  Strategy providing a clear road map for making a fundamental
  difference in millions of lives.  

PANEL APPOINTED TO MONITOR
REFERENDUM IN SOUTH SUDAN

• In response
  to a request from the parties to
  
  
  Sudan’s Comprehensive
  Peace Agreement, the
  
  Secretary-General has
  
  appointed a panel to monitor the upcoming
  self-determination referenda for Southern Sudan and the
  Abyei Area, headed by former President of Tanzania Mr.
  Benjamin Mkapa.  The two other members of the Panel are Mr.
  Antonio Monteiro, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of
  Portugal, and Mr. Bhojraj Pokharel, former Chairman
  of the Election Commission of Nepal.
   

• The Panel will make periodic
  visits to Sudan through the scheduled holding of the
  referenda in January 2011.  Panel members will engage with
  all relevant actors, including the parties to the
  
  Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the referendum
  commissions, civil society and observer groups.  The Panel
  will follow key referenda processes, as well as the
  political and security situation.  In addition to reporting
  to the Secretary-General on the conduct of the referenda,
  the Panel will work directly to enhance confidence in the
  process by encouraging the Parties and the relevant
  authorities to take corrective measures to resolve any
  significant problems or disputes that may arise.
   

• The upcoming referenda are
  extraordinarily important for the future of Sudan.  The
  Secretary-General is confident that the Panel can play a
  helpful role in encouraging credible, Sudanese-led processes
  that reflect the will of the people of Southern Sudan and of
  the Abyei Area.
   

• The support being provided by the
  Secretary-General through the Panel is independent of the
  
  UN Mission in Sudan’s substantial programme of
  technical, logistical and security assistance for the two
  referenda.

MIDDLE EAST QUARTET STRONGLY
SUPPORTS RESUMPTION OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TALKS

• The
  
  Secretary-General
  hosted a meeting of the Middle East Quartet yesterday, which
  ended with the principal members issuing a
  
  statement expressing strong support for the resumption
  of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which can resolve all
  final status issues within one year. The Quartet also
  confirmed its determination to support the parties
  throughout the negotiations and in the implementation of an
  agreement.
   

• Noting that mutual trust and
  confidence are critical to successful negotiations, the
  Quartet reiterated its call on Israel and the Palestinians
  to promote an environment conducive to progress, including
  by refraining from provocative actions and inflammatory
  rhetoric. The Quartet noted that the commendable Israeli
  settlement moratorium instituted last November has had a
  positive impact and urged its continuation.
   

• The Quartet recalled that
  unilateral actions by either party, including settlement
  activity, cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and
  will not be recognized by the international community.
   

• The Quartet called upon both
  sides to fulfill their obligations under the Road Map.
   

• Asked why the Quartet press
  conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon had been
  cancelled, the Spokesperson said that was due to a power
  outage that affected the room where the press conference was
  to be held, as well as delays in the schedule of Quartet
  meetings.
   

• Nesirky added that a
  short-circuit in a major circuit breaker box and a failure
  in a rented backup generator caused limited power outages in
  the North Lawn Building on Tuesday.
   

• The power failure
  affected the broadcast systems for the entire North Lawn
  Building. Technicians began working immediately to resolve
  the problem, and power was restored by 8 p.m.

U.N. ENVOY IN SOMALIA CALLS FOR
COUNTRY’S LEADERSHIP TO REMAIN UNITED

• The Special
  Representative of the Secretary-General for
  
  Somalia,
  
  Augustine Mahiga, said
  that the resignation of the Somali Prime Minister, Omar
  Abdirashid Sharmarke, is yet another manifestation of the
  serious disputes within the Transitional Federal
  Institutions.
   

• Mahiga
  expressed the hope that the Institutions will now put an end
  to the internal divisions, which have crippled the
  Transitional Federal Government’s ability to carry out its
  essential tasks. The Somali leadership must remain united
  and focused on its work, he added.

HAITI’S FOOD PRODUCTION RECOVERING BUT
STILL BELOW PRE-EARTHQUAKE LEVELS

• Food production in
  
  
  Haiti is slowly recovering but
  still remains significantly below the levels that existed
  prior to the January 2010 earthquake,
  
  according to a report of joint assessment mission by the
  
  Food and Agriculture Organization and the
  
  World Food Programme.
   

• The
  
  report says Haiti's 2010 spring harvest, compared to
  2009, saw bean production drop by 17 per cent and declines
  in maize, sorghum and plaintain.
   

• But the report says
  despite the damage to Haitian food production systems and a
  late start of the 2010 spring rainy season, subsequent
  rainfall was generally favourable and supported agricultural
  recovery.

* The guest at today's briefing was
Michelle Bachelet, the incoming head of UN Women.