Effective immediately, the United Nations is taking additional steps to reduce risks to its national and international staff serving in Afghanistan. This is in light of the 28 October attack against UN staff in Kabul, as well as further ongoing threats.

The Secretary-General was confident that Governments would reach agreement in Copenhagen on the fundamental issues that would form the substance of a legally binding international agreement, Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team, said at Headquarters today.

The Security Council this morning received a briefing in an open meeting from Olusegun Obasanjo, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region.

The Secretary-General is in Washington, D.C., where this morning he was meeting with White House officials dealing with climate change.

The Secretary-General this morning spoke at the Security Council’s open meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and reflected on how the issue has risen in prominence on the Council’s agenda. Not so long ago, he said, many Member States questioned whether internal armed conflict posed a threat to international peace and security.

Without adequate security or resources for education, young women and men in refugee camps would turn to prostitution or violence, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad said at a Headquarters press conference today.

While progress in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been slow, the country was moving in the right direction and needed sustained efforts from its leadership, as well as the continuing support of the international community, said Ross Mountain, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country.

The Secretary-General strongly encourages all Heads of State and Government to attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, on 17 and 18 December. He believes it is essential to maintain political momentum at the highest level and from all sectors of society, and is optimistic that an ambitious, fair and effective climate deal can be reached in Copenhagen.

The Security Council today is holding a meeting to receive briefings on the work of three of its committees -- which deal respectively with resolution 1267 (1999), concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban; resolution 1373 (2001), concerning counter-terrorism; and resolution 1540 (2004), concerning weapons of mass destruction.

The short lead time for Iraqi elections in January meant preparations would be “stretched” but still doable, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Ad Melkert, said today at a Headquarters press conference.