BAN KI-MOON TO VISIT MOROCCO, ADDRESS
COUNCIL OF EUROPE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

• Later this week, the
  Secretary-General will travel to Morocco to address the
  opening session of the World Policy Conference 2010, on
  Friday 15 October in Marrakesh. The three-day conference,
  organized by the French Institute of International Relations
  (IFRI), will gather some 140 personalities from governments,
  the private sector, academia and the media to discuss global
  governance issues.
   

• The
  Secretary-General will also be received by His Majesty
  Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, and meet with the UN Country
  Team in Rabat.
   

• The
  Secretary-General will then travel to Strasbourg, in France,
  where on Tuesday, 19 October, he will address the Council of
  Europe on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the
  European Convention on Human Rights. Later that day, he will
  also address the European Parliament in plenary session.
   

• The
  Secretary-General will meet with the Secretary-General of
  the Council of Europe, and the President of the European
  Parliament. He will also attend an extraordinary meeting of
  the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and be
  welcomed officially by the Senator-Mayor of Strasbourg.

SECURITY COUNCIL COMPLETES VISIT TO SUDAN,
CALLS FOR PEACEFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF PEACE DEAL

• The
  
  Security Council has returned from its mission to the
  
  Sudan, where ambassadors visited Juba, El Fasher and
  Khartoum last week. Speaking to reporters as the Council
  visited Khartoum on Saturday, UK Ambassador Mark Lyall
  Grant, one of the leaders of the trip, affirmed that the
  Security Council has been and remains concerned about
  conflict in Sudan and the continuing risks to peace and
  security there.
   

• He said that, during
  the visit, the Council focused primarily on two main issues:
  the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and
  
  Darfur.
   

• He said that the
  Council has a strong commitment by both parties to fully
  implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; that includes
  the recognition of the need for the referenda to be held on
  time, to be peaceful, to be credible and for the outcomes to
  be fully respected. He added that the Council members are
  deeply concerned about the insecurity and continuing
  conflicts in Darfur, which has led to significant suffering
  of the Darfuri people and internally displaced people in
  particular.
   

• Asked about
  the voting in the referenda, the Spokesperson said that the
  Secretary-General has made clear his views about the CPA and
  the importance of the right of the people to exercise their
  vote.

SECRETARY-GENERAL’S PANEL ON REFERENDA BEGINS SUDAN VISIT

• The
  Secretary-General’s Panel on the Referenda in the
  
  Sudan today kicked off its first visit to the country
  with a series of high-level meetings with officials from the
  Government of Sudan and the Southern Sudan Referendum
  Commission.
   

• The three-member
  panel met Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and Foreign
  Minister Ali Ahmed Karti and senior members of the Southern
  Sudan Referendum Commission, which is tasked with organizing
  the referenda.
   

• They also received
  briefings from UN officials in Sudan and held a meeting
  later today with representatives of the African Union.
   

• During today’s
  meetings, the panelists and their interlocutors discussed
  some of the key challenges involved in preparations for the
  referenda, including voter registration, security and
  funding, and emphasized the need for the referenda to be as
  credible and fair as possible.
   

• Later this week, the
  panel will travel to Juba and Abyei and then return to
  Khartoum as they hold talks with the Government of Southern
  Sudan, civil society organizations and observer groups.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL
SADDENED BY DEATH OF DEVELOPMENT WORKER

• Robert Watkins, the
  Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in
  
  Afghanistan, issued a statement over the weekend
  expressing great sadness at the death of development worker
  Linda Norgrove. He said that her death is a tragedy and loss
  to the people of Afghanistan, whom she served with
  dedication and passion.
   

• From 2005 to 2008,
  Linda Norgrove had worked in Afghanistan for the UN
  Environment Programme and the UN Office for Project Services
  on bio-diversity conservation and road projects, among
  others.
   

• Watkins condemned
  her killing and added, “The increasing violence which
  targets humanitarian and development workers, as well as
  civilians in Afghanistan is unacceptable.”
   

• The
  Secretary-General has also expressed his condolences
  regarding Ms. Norgrove’s death.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

RIVAL DARFUR TRIBES SIGN NON-VIOLENCE
PACT: The African-Union-United Nations
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
reports that leaders of the Rizeigat and Fur tribes signed an
agreement on Sunday in Nyala, South Darfur, committing the two
tribes to peaceful coexistence and easing years of ethnic
tensions. Both tribal leaders voiced hope that this agreement
would inspire tolerance and encourage unity and stability in the
troubled region. They also made the commitment to disseminate
the signed document to their respective communities through a
joint task force.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS
ISSUED STATEMENT ON NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:
Asked whether the Secretary-General calls for
Liu Xiaobao’s release from custody, the Spokesperson noted that
the Secretary-General had issued a

statement last Friday.

UNITED NATIONS AWARE
OF ARREST OF I.C.C. SUSPECT: The
Spokesperson, in response to a question, said that the United
Nations was aware that the International Criminal Court (ICC)
has announced that Callixte Mbarushimana, a leader of the
Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR),
was arrested earlier today, in Paris, by the French authorities
following a sealed ICC arrest warrant.

SECRETARY-GENERAL
HEARTENED BY GLOBAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE:
The Secretary-General is heartened by the
countless citizens who participated on Sunday in a day of
grassroots global action on climate change. He encourages
governments to heed the example set by their citizens, and to
take the actions needed to address the climate challenge through
bold, visionary leadership.