Somalia is one of the most complicated humanitarian situations in the world, yet the United Nations has made significant achievements there to date, said Mark Bowden, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.
In progress at UNHQ
Press Conference
As the United Nations marks its first Nelson Mandela International Day this weekend with events around the globe, South Africans will be celebrating the 18 July birthday of their nation’s father with a weekend of prayer and acts of goodwill, South Africa’s Foreign Minister told reporters at a press conference held at United Nations Headquarters today.
Kimberly Prost, the newly appointed Ombudsperson of the Security Council’s 1267 Committee — also known as the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee — pledged at Headquarters today that she would make her office independent and accessible to sanctioned individuals seeking redress.
Debris removal, freeing up funds for economic development and bolstering education were among the priority areas facing the Haitian people and the United Nations Mission in that country, Nigel Fisher, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, ad interim, said today.
With 58 cities already committed to “Making Cities Resilient”, and 70 more preparing to participate, the campaign had made great progress, Margareta Wahlström, Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said at a Headquarters press conference today.
After years of protracted talks, the United Nations is finally set to begin intergovernmental negotiations next week on a legally binding treaty to regulate the sale of conventional arms and help keep them from ending up in the wrong hands, “a delicate and sensitive matter and at the same time, a very urgent one”, according to the Argentinean Ambassador who will chair the preparatory process.
Acclaimed actor Edward Norton, the newly appointed United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for biodiversity, said today that the key challenge of his new role as advocate for species protection and environmental preservation would be making people more aware that human well-being is fundamentally intertwined with biological diversity.
As the world continued to adjust to changed circumstances in the wake of the economic and financial crisis — sluggish economic growth, tight-fisted lenders and wary investors — a senior International Labour Organization official suggested at Headquarters today that Governments seize the opportunity to craft policy measures to boost incomes, create new jobs and provide broad social protection.
Hailing the expected creation today of “UN Women”, the agency that would become the focal point for all the world body’s activities towards ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment, the President of the Economic and Social Council said today that the move was clear recognition that women remained at the very heart of efforts to realize the Millennium Development Goals.
Conflict prevention and settlement of disputes, particularly in Africa, would come under the spotlight during the tenure of Joy Ogwu of Nigeria as Security Council President for July, the Ambassador said today briefing correspondents about the Council’s programme of work for the month.