The United Nations was on track to support the June presidential elections to be held in Guinea, but the proof of that support lay in what was done to help overcome the country’s humanitarian, reconstruction and development needs after the polls, Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the West African nation, said today.

Presenting highlights from their recent evaluations of the human rights records of Mexico, Argentina, Uzbekistan and New Zealand, members of the Human Rights Committee today called it a matter of “serious concern” that Belarus had apparently executed two men, despite a request from the expert body that their death sentences be postponed pending its review of their cases.

The Secretary-General has issued this statement: “I welcome the conclusion of negotiations between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on a successor agreement to the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It is an important milestone for the international efforts to advance nuclear disarmament and to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. I congratulate President Medvedev and President Obama on this accomplishment and commend their leadership."

The international Donors’ Conference, “Towards a New Future in Haiti”, is taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York this Wednesday. This Conference will focus on pledges of assistance for the country’s effective long-term recovery and reconstruction.

Ahead of Wednesday’s international donors’ conference at United Nations Headquarters, two senior officials closely linked with leading international recovery efforts for the country said today that they counted on the generosity of donors to mark a turning point in the Haitian people’s dream that one day their homeland would no longer need international assistance.

Approximately 7.8 million inhabitants of Niger, accounting for half of the country’s population, were in a very vulnerable situation, Khardiata Lo N’Diaye, newly appointed Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Niger, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

A new report on the impact of supermarket policies in Europe appeared to reveal that better communication was needed between large chains and their consumers before everyday people could begin leading truly sustainable lifestyles, experts in consumption patterns suggested at Headquarters today.

The Secretary-General accepted an urgent request by the President of Pakistan to delay the presentation of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the facts and circumstances of the assassination of the former Pakistani Prime Minister, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, until 15 April 2010.

The European Union would pledge some $1.6 billion for Haiti’s reconstruction at today’s “International Donors’ Conference towards a New Future for Haiti” at United Nations Headquarters, top officials of the Union told correspondents today.

The Secretary-General, opening the Donors’ Conference on Haiti this morning, which he is co-hosting with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, highlighted the recovery and reconstruction plan being presented by the Haitian Government, which would establish a new Interim Haiti Recovery Commission to channel $3.9 billion into specific programmes and projects during the next 18 months.