SECURITY COUNCIL SENDS MISSION TO SUDAN

• The
  
  Security Council adopted its programme of work for
  October this morning. Afterward, the Security Council
  President, Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda, informed the press
  that the Security Council will travel on Monday evening to
  Sudan, where a Council delegation will visit Khartoum, Juba
  and El Fasher.
   

• Ambassador Rugunda
  this morning also read a press statement following
  consultations, saying that Council members condemned the car
  bombing that took place last Friday in Abuja, Nigeria.

CLIMATE CHANGE CHIEF CALLS TO ACCELERATE
SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUNDS BEFORE CANCUN CONFERENCE

• The head of the
  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
  Christiana Figueres, has called on governments to accelerate
  their search for common ground, ahead of the Climate Change
  Conference in Cancún, Mexico.
   

• With less than two
  months left, she said that a concrete outcome in December
  was urgently needed to restore faith in the ability of
  Parties to take the negotiations forward. Governments need
  to agree on what is doable in Cancún, and how it will be
  achievable in a politically balanced manner, she added.
   

• Figueres was
  
  speaking at the opening of the Tianjin climate meeting
  in China, which is being attended by around 3,000
  participants from more than 176 countries.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOKE BY PHONE WITH
ISRAELI, PALESTINIAN LEADERS AND MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

• On Friday, 1
  October, the Secretary-General made separate
  
  telephone calls to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
  the State of Israel, President Mahmoud Abbas of the
  Palestinian Authority, and Senator George Mitchell, US Envoy
  for the Middle East.
   

• In each case, the
  Secretary-General discussed with his interlocutor the
  current status of the direct talks between Israelis and
  Palestinians.
   

• He renewed his hope
  that the Government of Israel would extend its settlement
  restraint policy.

U.N. OFFICE IN MIDDLE
EAST IS SHOCKED AT APPARENT ARSON AT WEST BANK MOSQUE

• The UN Special
  Coordinator's Office for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO)
  expressed shock Monday following an apparent act of arson at
  a West Bank mosque, the Spokesperson said in response to a
  question.
   

• This attack is
  shocking and completely unacceptable, UNSCO said. Robert
  Serry, the Special Coordinator, is extremely concerned with
  this act of desecration. It follows a number of attacks upon
  mosques as well as ongoing attacks on Palestinian civilians
  and property.
   

• The Special
  Coordinator’s office reminded the Israeli Government that
  the extremists responsible for such attacks must be brought
  to justice and the rule of law upheld.

HEADS OF U.N. MIDDLE EAST PEACEKEEPING
MISSIONS MEET WITH ISRAELI PRESIDENT

• Earlier today, the
  heads of the three UN peacekeeping missions in the Middle
  East (UNTSO,
  
  UNDOF and
  
  UNIFIL) met Israeli President Shimon Peres at his
  residence in Jerusalem. The evolving regional affairs and
  the dangers of terrorism were discussed.
   

• President Peres
  expressed his gratitude for the work of UN peacekeepers,
  while the Heads of Missions noted they are honoured to serve
  the cause of peace in the Middle East.

ON WORLD HABITAT DAY, SECRETARY-GENERAL
STRESSES NEED TO CREATE BETTER CITIES FOR URBAN POOR

• Today is World
  Habitat Day and the theme of the Day this year is “Better
  City, Better Life”. In a
  
  message to mark this day, the Secretary-General says
  that the urban poor are too often condemned to a life
  without basic rights, hope of an education or decent work.
  But he adds that the challenges of urban poverty – from
  pollution to criminal gang culture – are not
  insurmountable. 
   

• “Smart cities
  recognize the importance of good governance, basic urban
  services for all, and streets and public spaces where women
  and children feel safe,” he says.
   

• The
  Secretary-General stresses that creating better cities
  demands the combined efforts of national and local
  governments, civil society and the private sector, supported
  by the best efforts of the United Nations system.

HEAD OF U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS OF RISE
OF SEMI-PERMANENT GLOBAL REFUGEE POPULATION

• UN High Commissioner
  for Refugees António Guterres
  
  warned today that a rise in drawn-out conflict was
  creating new semi-permanent global refugee situations.
   

• He said this
  requires broader and better protection for the world’s 43
  million forcibly displaced people.
   

• In a speech to the
  opening of the annual meeting of
  
  UNHCR’s governing Executive Committee, Guterres said
  that the environment for refugees, internally displaced
  people, asylum seekers, stateless people and others in need
  of help was becoming significantly more complex.
   

• He said “the
  changing nature and growing intractability of conflict makes
  achieving and sustaining peace more difficult.”

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. WILL STRIVE TO ENSURE WORK OF LEBANON TRIBUNAL:
Asked about potential problems in the budget for the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Spokesperson reaffirmed
the UN’s belief in the importance of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon's work. The Tribunal has a mandate from the Security
Council, he said, and we will strive to ensure that it can go
about its work. He noted the role of
the Tribunal's management committee in that process.

HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON
SUDAN NOTED IMPORTANCE OF ABYEI REFERENDUM:
Asked about remarks in the press suggesting the possible delay
of the referendum on Abyei, the Spokesperson said that the
communiqué at the end of the recent high-level meeting on Sudan
had noted the importance of the Abyei referendum.