The Security Council is holding its periodic debate on the Middle East today. Briefing Council members this morning, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe said that, over the past month, there has been no significant progress, and some worrying developments on the ground.

In a preview of her annual report (document A/64/254), set for presentation to the General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict acknowledged the momentum that the Organization had built over the past year to protect the rights of boys and girls enduring armed conflicts around the globe.

Jordan Ryan, Assistant-Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, said today at a Headquarters press conference that the devastating effects of the late September tsunami and earthquake that battered Samoa and Tonga were a reminder of the importance of investing in disaster risk reduction in order to build back better.

Today in Geneva, the Human Rights Council began its special session on the “human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem”.

United Nations officials -– from support staff to senior decision-makers -- will visit public high schools throughout New York City next week as part of the Department of Public Information’s “UN4U” programme to raise awareness about the Organization’s work and commemorate UN Day, celebrated annually on 24 October, the head of the world body’s public information department said today.

The twelfth Special Session of the Human Rights Council, on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem, wrapped up this morning.

All responses to the current financial and economic crisis must pay particular attention to the welfare of children, who were most vulnerable to its negative effects, Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, told correspondents at Headquarters today on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples two years ago signalled the “strong commitment” of the international community to remedy historical ills and combat the ongoing denial of rights, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference today.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was designed to address the current challenges facing the continent, including poverty, development and continued marginalization of Africa, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership’s secretariat said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns yesterday’s terrorist attacks in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran which resulted in the death of a large number of people and many injured.