Press Conference

With the successful conclusion in Haiti of legislative and presidential elections signalling renewal and the rise of a new political generation, there were solid reasons for optimism about the country’s future, nearly 15 months after the devastating earthquake, Edmond Mulet, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, said today at a Headquarters press conference.

Aid to thousands of civilians across Côte d’Ivoire was running out as “extremely serious human rights violations” continued unabated, said the United Nations top humanitarian officer at a Headquarters press conference today.

Néstor Osorio, Permanent Representative of Colombia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, said today that the 15-nation body would tackle a “loaded” agenda this month, while also keeping a wary eye on the ripple effects of the popular protests sweeping North African and the Middle East.

Recent talks had brought Georgia and the Russian Federation no closer to ending their longstanding political stalemate, said a top Georgian official, speaking at a Headquarters press conference today. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Grigol Vashadze, said that “no substantial breakthroughs” had been made at the just-concluded fifteenth round of the negotiations, first launched in Geneva following a military conflict in 2008.

Despite a delay resulting from extra security measures, the construction overhaul of the United Nations compound — known as the Capital Master Plan — remained on schedule and was making headway towards closing its budget gaps, said the project’s chief officer today. “We’ve gotten through most of the surprises,” said Michael Adlerstein, Executive Director of the Capital Master Plan, speaking at a Headquarters press conference.

Globally, the rate of HIV infection is declining and access to treatment is expanding, but with 7,000 people newly infected every day and funding going down, the fight against the scourge must be reinvigorated, says a new report of the Secretary-General launched this afternoon at Headquarters.

Strongly condemning the recent burning of a copy of the Koran by the pastors of a Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida, as an “outrageous and irresponsible act”, representatives of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ambassadorial Group in New York today said the event spotlighted the need to bolster the United Nations and Muslim-led effort to promote worldwide interfaith and intercultural harmony.

Music, books, fashion, videos, cultural products and other parts of the “creative economy” hold enormous potential for developing countries seeking to diversify their economies, if adequately nurtured, states a United Nations report launched today at a Headquarters press conference.

With no real movement towards forming a Government in Lebanon following the collapse nearly three months ago of Saad Hariri’s administration, United Nations envoy Michael Williams today called for an end to the political polarization in the Middle Eastern country so that both the security and development priorities of the people could be met.

While economic growth had increased in the 49 least developed countries over the last decade, it had not produced sufficient social or economic returns, owing to persistent structural challenges in the nature of growth, employment and decent work, said the Executive Director of the Employment Sector at the International Labour Organization (ILO) today at a Headquarters press briefing.