Thousands of civilians have had to flee their homes in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN refugee agency says that it has registered more than 15,500 newly displaced persons since mid‑December. Those displaced are fleeing the negative repercussions of a Government military campaign against Rwandan rebels, as well as widespread banditry.

“This is really a children’s emergency. You know, in Haiti, 40 per cent of the population is under 14, so the number of children affected is really huge. And what we’re doing is for the moment very much focusing on life-saving operations,” Dr. Guido Cornale, Country Director for United Nations Children’s Fund, told reporters today during a video link briefing on Haiti.

The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia this morning formally adopted a mode of cooperation between China and the Western naval coalition patrolling the Gulf of Aden, Carl Salicath, its Chairperson, said at Headquarters today.

The Secretary-General today addressed the London Conference on Afghanistan, saying that we face a long and complex process of recovery and institution-building in that country. He said the international effort to deal with Afghanistan must be inclusive; it must strengthen governance and meet the basic needs of the Afghan people; it must respect human rights; and it must foster an environment conducive to justice and accountability, where corruption cannot thrive.

A top official of the European Union naval operation working to squash piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast lauded this afternoon the Chinese Government’s decision to add a warship to that operation.

The Secretary-General is on his way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the Fourteenth African Union Summit this weekend. On Sunday, he will deliver an opening address, in which he will highlight the need for African leaders to mobilize behind the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially with the deadline of 2015 fast approaching.

While the overall relief operation in Haiti was making solid progress, “there’s a long way to go before we can feel satisfied about reaching all the people who need aid,” the United Nations humanitarian chief told reporters today, as he provided a snapshot of the massive relief effort underway some two weeks after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the tiny nation, flattening much of its infrastructure and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without food and shelter.

The Secretary-General is in Cyprus today, where he met separately with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias, before meeting the two of them together. He made brief remarks at a press conference afterwards and read out a joint statement on behalf of the two leaders.

Describing the humanitarian situation in Haiti as the “main absolute priority”, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country said today that the United Nations was working hard to address it through a complex water and food distribution effort aimed at feeding 2 million people before the end of February.

Press Conference on ‘The Power of Muze Concert: A Prelude to Human Security’