Press Conference

Expressing anger at the United States Government’s expanded presence at seven military bases in Colombia, the Venezuelan Government had asked the Security Council to place an examination of Colombia’s armed conflict on its work agenda, its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jorge Valero Briceño, told correspondents today at a Headquarters press conference.

According to an agreement with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the United Nations would be able to conduct surprise visits to SPLA camps in Sudan to verify the presence of child soldiers, said Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, who added that such dialogue might begin for similar action plans with other participants in the Darfur peace process.

Following is a transcript of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a press conference on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held today, 24 November:

Up to 70 per cent of women at some point in their lifetime experienced physical or sexual violence by men, most from someone they knew, which meant that men had a crucial role in ending such abuse -- as fathers, friends and decision-makers, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today at a Headquarters press briefing, following the launch of a major initiative to engage politicians, activists, religious and community figures in that charge.

Nearly six months after Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war came to an end, the Government planned to close all camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the end of January 2010, with some 1,000 to 3,000 people returning home daily, John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said today at a Headquarters press briefing.

One out of four people in the world lived in the dark, without access to electricity or fuel, and 2 million died every year from diseases associated with exposure to indoor pollution owing to reliance on solid fuels, Olav Kjorven, Assistant Administrator and Director of Development Policy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said at Headquarters today.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the launch of the Africa Commission’s report -- Realizing the Potential of Africa’s Youth -- at Headquarters at 1.15 p.m. today, Ulla Tornaes, Minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark, stressed the relevance of that survey’s recommendations for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly as the General Assembly geared up for its high-level review of the status of the Goals’ implementation next September.

The upcoming conference in Copenhagen on climate change should not only be attended by the most interested and concerned Heads of State, but there should also be good results, the President of the General Assembly said this evening at a Headquarters press conference after an informal Assembly meeting on the matter.

With 17 days left before the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said today that there was no doubt in his mind that the event would be a success.

The United Nations Population Fund launched today at Headquarters its annual report on global population trends, which this year focuses on ways to curb the long-term harmful consequences of the planet’s changing climate by reaching out and empowering poor women, some of the world’s most vulnerable people.