Two top United Nations officials briefed correspondents at Headquarters today on the Secretary-General’s recent trip to Sri Lanka and the steps that the United Nations will be taking to aid the country’s reconstruction and reconciliation.
In progress at UNHQ
Press Conference
The top United Nations management official presented a “mixed picture” of the Organization’s financial health at a Headquarters press conference today, while noting some recent improvements in several areas.
While the activities of huge, complex peacekeeping operations in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo grabbed the headlines, there were several smaller United Nations missions carrying out their mandates “quietly and effectively” and, along the way, helping to improve the lives of local populations in their host countries, the world body’s top peacekeeping official said today.
The first non-profit, tuition-free global online university could provide unprecedented access to education for aspiring students in developing countries, Shai Reshef, founder of the University of the People, said at a Headquarters press conference this morning.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues had an urgent mandate to activate the 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through national legislation around the world, members said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon on today’s opening of the Forum’s eighth session.
As the Government of Sri Lanka declared an end to military operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes today urged the authorities to ensure safe transit for and speedy processing of thousands of war-dazed civilians fleeing the conflict zone.
Delegates at the just-concluded Third Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference today adopted an agenda and reportfor the 2010 summit -- a “good omen” that reflected encouraging political realities and a fresh, cooperative spirit, which had eluded past meetings, Committee Chair Boniface Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe said at a Headquarters press conference.
Eric Danon, Representative of France to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, said today that the two-week preparatory meeting for the 2010 Nuclear Non-proliferation Review Conference heralded a change in attitude towards the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and brought new momentum to talks.
The international community must remain steadfastly committed to Haiti’s long-term recovery and development as the impoverished Caribbean island nation grappled with the impact of four hurricanes last year, sharp hikes in food and oil prices, and the global recession, the head of a team of United Nations advisers that visited Haiti last week said today at a Headquarters press conference.
A viable climate change agreement was achievable before the critical Copenhagen meeting in December, but with only 200 days left, progress must accelerate, Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said at a Headquarters press conference today.