United Nations Daily Highlights, 10-05-03

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARTIN NESIRKY

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, May 3, 2010

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON OPENS NUCLEAR REVIEW CONFERENCE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the

Review Conference for the nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying that the worlds people expect action to protect them from the destructive power of nuclear weapons and to build a safer, more secure world.

He said that he has put forward a concrete action plan, convinced that our moment is now.

And he added that, on 6 August, the anniversary of the day the first atomic bomb was dropped, he will visit Hiroshima to reiterate his stance for a world free of nuclear weapons.

The Secretary-General said that, as we begin this 8th Review Conference, there are encouraging signs of progress, including the recent nuclear arms agreement between the United States and Russia and last months summit on nuclear security in Washington.

He laid out five key benchmarks for progress on nuclear weapons issues: real gains towards disarmament; movement towards the universality of the Treaty; strengthening the rule of law; progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the

Middle East and on other regional concerns; and a strengthened NPT review process.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS THREE NEW SENIOR OFFICIALS

The

Secretary-General today made three senior appointments.

Heraldo Muņoz of Chile has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Mr. Muņoz will replace

Rebeca Grynspan, who has been appointed as United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP.

Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Partnerships Bureau of UNDP. Ms. Kaag will replace Bruce Jenks, who has retired from service after a long and distinguished career with UNDP.

Ivan imonovic of Croatia has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General to head the New York Office of the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mr. imonovic is the first person to hold the new post, which was approved by the

UN General Assembly in December 2009.

LEBANON ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF SECURITY COUNCIL

Lebanon has assumed the

Security Councils rotating presidency for the month of May, replacing Japan.

Tomorrow, the Security Council is expected to hold consultations on its programme of work for this month.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF CONDEMNS L.R.A. VIOLENCE IN D.R. CONGO

The Under-Secretary-General for

Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator,

John Holmes, was over the weekend in Orientale Province, in the north-eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he condemned the violence committed by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

In the Haut-Uele District, he met survivors of reported new killings by the LRA in February. The

United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has investigating these reports since early March.

Last December, the area was already the scene of one of the worst massacres by the LRA, according to the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Holmes said the ongoing atrocities committed by the LRA were unacceptable and that a rapid solution was needed to what has become a regional crisis. Holmes also raised concern about the possible drawdown of MONUC, saying it could have negative effects on the protection of civilians and humanitarian access.

Yesterday, the UN humanitarian chief visited the town of Dongo in the Equateur Province. And today, he is in Kinshasa where he is meeting with senior government officials and donors, on the last day of his visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

ASSESSMENT MISSION TO DARFURS JEBEL MARRA COMPLETED

A four-day UN inter-agency assessment mission to the villages of Guldo and Thur in the Jebel Marra region of

South Darfur concluded yesterday.

This mission, the first to the region this year, was intended to confirm the number of people displaced by inter-factional fighting, which broke out in March, and to determine their humanitarian needs.

According to the local leaders, the majority of those displaced by the clashes have returned to their places of origin after the security situation had stabilized. The mission has estimated that approximately 2,000 internally displaced people remain in the host communities.

Other areas of the Jebel Marra region are still inaccessible to the

African Union-UN Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and to the aid agencies, which rely on the Mission to provide them with security escorts.

U.N. REPRESENTATIVE CONDEMNS WEEKEND EXPLOSIONS IN MOGADISHU

The

Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Somalia,

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, strongly condemned the explosions that took place at a mosque in Mogadishu over the weekend, which killed and injured many Somalis, as well as some foreigners.

Ould-Abdallah said, This was a brutal attack on people who had gone to the Mosque to pray. He called on Somalis to stop the indiscriminate killing and to strive for a peaceful future for the sake of themselves, their children and their country.

ANTHONY LAKE STARTS APPOINTMENT AS HEAD OF UNICEF

Anthony Lake today begins his tenure as the sixth Executive Director of the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), bringing more than 45 years of public and international service to the position.

This morning, he participated in a swearing-in ceremony presided by the

Secretary-General, who also swore in the new Assistant Secretaries-General for

Political Affairs and

Peacekeeping Operations.

Lake

said, on his first day in office, I am excited to be joining UNICEF. I look forward to working with our exceptional staff and our many partners to advance childrens rights around the world.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

FORUM FOCUSES ON ROLE OF I.C.T. IN HELPING ECONOMIC RECOVERY: The Under-Secretary-General for

Economic and Social Affairs,

Sha Zukang, is in Geneva, where he is participating in the Third Parliamentary Forum on Shaping the Information Society. The three-day Forum (3-5 May) ICT and the Global Economic Crisis: Current Situation and Future Perspectives will focus on the role that ICT can play in facilitating economic and social recovery by addressing such issues as investments in high-speed internet networks, e-government and competitiveness, cybercrime and the liberalization of ICT markets, among others.

SECRETARY-GENERAL REMAINS BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN THE CAUCASUS: Asked when the

Secretary-Generals next report on Georgia would come out, the Spokesperson noted that the United Nations no longer has an observer mission in the area, and therefore has no regular reports about the work of its mission. However, he said, the Secretary-General remains briefed on the situation in the region.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, SA-1B15

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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