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.

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.

The Spokesperson today introduced her successor, Martin Nesirky of the United Kingdom, saying he comes to the United Nations from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), where is he currently the spokesperson. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, in media relations and international affairs.

The Secretary-General is saddened by the reports of the brutal killing of more than 40 civilians in the Maguindanao Province, southern Philippines. He condemns this heinous crime committed in the context of a local election campaign. The Secretary-General extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that no effort will be spared to bring justice and to hold the perpetrators accountable.

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.

The Secretary-General is travelling tomorrow to Trinidad and Tobago, for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. During his three-day trip, the Secretary-General is expected to urge the leaders to attend next month’s Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen and seal a deal.

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.

An AIDS-free generation was now in sight, but progress around the world had been extremely uneven, marked by huge deficiencies in preventing transmission of the disease, said Jimmy Kolker, Chief of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) HIV and AIDS Section, as he presented a new joint report on the impacts of the pandemic on children at a Headquarters press conference today.