UN Pulse from U.N. Dag Hammarskjöld Library

Press release (SC/10371)following Security Council briefing on Kosovo. (30 August)

In the light of recent border tensions in Kosovo, the UN Security Council was scheduled to host a debate on Monday (29 August). Due to inclement weather in New York, the meeting has been postponed until Tuesday (30 August) The foreign ministers of both Serbia and Kosovo are expected to participate. 

UN Resources on Kosovo

• General Assembly resolutions
• Security Council resolutions
• Security Council meeting records
• Secretary-General reports
• Letters

• UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) official website
• UNHCR Refworld - Policy Papers and Legal Articles on UNMIK

Non-UN Resources on Kosovo

• What’s in Blue Insights on Kosovo
• Security Council Report Kosovo (August 2011)

*Photo: Security Council President Briefs Media (August 2011) - UN Photo/Rick Bajornas 

This report is submitted in accordance to Generally Assembly Resolution 64/139.

This is a report of the UN Secretary General in accordance to Generally Assembly resolution 35/151 and 65/205. This report provides  information on policy decisions adopted by the Board of Trustees in implementing of the recommendations by the Office of the Internal Oversight Services of the UN.

In response to an increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world and a growing number of reports concerning harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses or relatives of persons who have disappeared, the UN General Assembly established the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. (A/RES/65/209). 

UN Resources on Enforced Disappearance of Persons

• Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (A/RES/47/133) General Assembly resolution
• General Assembly resolutions
• Human Rights Council resolutions
• Commission on Human Rights resolutions
• Secretary-General reports

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Resources

• Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Fact Sheet 
• Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reports
• Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances website

*Photo: Medelín, Colombia The wife and children of a man who was kidnapped, and subsequently disappeared, protest in the city centre. - ICRC / P. Smith / panos-pict-paul-smith

Monday (29 August) marks the UN’s International Day Against Nuclear Tests. Established by the General Assembly in December 2009 (A/RES/64/35) the day is intended to galvanize support for information, education and advocacy efforts concerning the necessity of banning nuclear tests.

The UN Secretary-General will convene a High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security on 22 September 2011.

UN Resources on Nuclear Tests

• General Assembly resolutions
• Security Council resolutions
• Secretary-General reports

• United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation website
• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs website
• International Atomic Energy Agency website

Photo: A view of Semipalatinsk Test Site’s ground zero in Kurchatov, Kazakhstan. Remote Semipalatinsk was once the Soviet Union’s primary testing venue for nuclear weapons (April 2010) - UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

A new report from the UN Secretary-General titled “ Realization of the Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals for persons with disabilities” (A/66/128) has been published.

The report reflects the UN’s ongoing efforts to realize the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted as part of the UN’s Millennium Declaration in 2000 (A/RES/55/2).

The eight goals the UN has focused on are:

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

UN Resources for Millennium Development Goals

• Millennium Development Goals Report 2011 (pdf)
• Secretary-General reports
• General Assembly resolutions
• UN Statistics Division Millennium Development Goals Indicators

After condemning the use of force in Syria and calling for an immediate end to all violence there (S/PRST/2011/16), UN Security Council members were briefed on the situation in Syria, Thursday, 18 August.

Human Rights Council Documents and Information

• Resolution (A/HRC/S-17/L.1) adopted by 17th Special Session (23 August)
• 17th Special Session on the “Situation of Human Rights in the Syrian Arab Republic” portal
• Webcast from 17th Special Session (22 August)
• Statement by all UN Special Procedures mandate-holders at the Human Rights Council Special Session on the situation of human rights in Syria

• Syrian Arab Republic - Country Information Page
• Resolutions
• Report of the Fact-Finding Mission on Syria

Security Council Documents

• Security Council Meeting Records
• Presidential Statements
• Letters

UN Member States on Record

• Syrian Arab Republic

Non-UN Resources on Syria

• Security Council Report on Syria - 26 May 2011
• What’s in Blue Insights on Syria

*Photo: UN Rights Council Holds Special Session on Syria (22 August) - UN Photo/Pierre Albouy

In its 1999 declaration to proclaim 23 August each year as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (transmitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly A/54/137), UNESCO sought to “increase awareness of the slave trade and slavery, its causes and consequences, including modern forms of slavery, to encourage solidarity with the peoples that have suffered because of slavery and to celebrate the African Diaspora.”

UN Resources on the Slave Trade and its Abolition

• The Slave Route Project (UNESCO)
• Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery UNESCO Slave Route Project and the NYPL Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (25 March)

Non-UN Resources on the Slave Trade and its Abolition

• Mémoire St Barth | Histoire de Saint-Barthélemy Comité de Liaison et d’Application des Sources Historiques
• Abolition of Slavery National Archives of the United Kingdom
• The Abolition of the Slave Trade Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

*Artwork - Banner created collaboratively at the art workshop at the Regional Youth Encounter in Trinidad and Tobago (2001)/UNESCO

The annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization (A/66/1) has been published and is available online.

The report details the work of the UN throughout the year. The subject contents appear below:

Delivering results for people most in need

• Development
• Peace and Security
• Humanitarian Affairs
• Human rights, rule of law, genocide prevention and the responsibility to protect, and democracy and good governance

Securing global goods

• Climate change
• Global health
• Countering terrorism
• Disarmament and non-proliferation

Creating a stronger United Nations

• The Secretariat, the intergovernmental machinery, system-wide coherence and regional organizations
• Global constituencies

Past Reports of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization

*Photo: Secretary-General Presents Annual Report to General Assembly (23 September 2010) - UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Pursuant to Assembly resolution A/RES/65/273, the latest report of the World Health Organization entitled “Consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2015” was transmitted to the General Assembly by the UN Secretary-General and is now available online: A/66/169.

More UN Resources on Malaria

• Roll Back Malaria Partnership - launched in 1998 by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank
• World Health Organization Global Malaria Programme
• Millennium Development Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

• General Assembly resolutions
• ECOSOC resolutions
• Secretary-General reports

Photo by S. Hollyman, copyright WHO

The United Nations Secretary General has issued a report to the 66th General Assembly on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas. This report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/140, which requested the Secretary General  to report on the implementation  of this resolution. The report is issued under symbol A/66/181.

Today Security Council members will hear a briefing by the Head of the United Nations Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) on the work of the Office during the first months of its operation.

Background information on the Office for Central Africa

Inaugurated the in March 2011, UNOCA was established by Secretary-General in order to strengthen United Nations support for the peaceful settlement of disputes through improved interaction with regional organizations.

The needs for a stronger cooperation between the United Nations and its regional partners was first raised during an open meeting of the Security Council in 2002 (S/PV.4460). In continuation, the Security Council emphasized the importance of a comprehensive, integrated, and concerted approach to issues of peace, security and development in Central Africa. (S/PRST/2002/31). 

In 2008, the Secretary-General suggested to put in place regional tools in order to create more opportunities to support regional solutions (S/2008/18) and proposed the establishment of a United Nations regional office in Central Africa (S/2008/186 - S/2009/697) with the following core functions:

• Cooperation and assistance to regional organizations in the promotion of peace and stability in the subregion; 
• Carrying out good offices roles and special assignments in countries of the subregion, on behalf of the Secretary-General; 
• Strengthening the Department of Political Affairs’ capacity to advise the Secretary-General on matters relating to peace and security in the region; 
• Enhancing linkages in the work of the United Nations to promote an integrated subregional approach and facilitate coordination and information exchange;
• Reporting to Headquarters on developments of subregional significance.

More information on UNOCA is available in A/65/328/Add.3 and other related documents;

Security Council documents on cooperation with regional organizations

• Resolutions and Presidential statements
• Meeting records
• Reports

World Humanitarian Day (19 August) was designated by the General Assembly in December 2008 (A/RES/63/139) to honour, commemorate and raise public awareness of the challenges facing humanitarian aid workers worldwide. Celebrations continue around the world this month with volunteer opportunities and interactive activities detailed on the OCHA World Humanitarian Day website.

UN resources on Humanitarian Aid

• United Nations Humanitarian Affairs
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

• General Assembly resolutions
• Security Council resolutions
• Secretary General reports

Other resources on Humanitarian Aid

• ReliefWeb Up-to-date coverage of humanitarian crises around the world

Today, August 12, 2011, is International Day of Youth. In its resolution 54/120, the United Nations General Assembly, on December 17, 1999, endorsed the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth held in Lisbon on August 8-12, 1998, that August 12 of each year be declared International Youth Day.

International Youth Day is an awareness day meant as an opportunity for governments and the society to draw attention to youth issues worldwide. Concerts, workshops, cultural events, and meetings involving national and local government officials and youth organizations take place around the world in honor of International Youth Day. The first International Youth Day was observed on August 12, 2000.

Photo taken by DESA.

Today the Security Council will go on discussing the report by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea (S/2011/433)

UN documents and information on Somalia and Eritrea

• Reports by the Monitoring Group
• Security Council Sanctions Committee
• Resolutions
• Presidential statements
• Meeting records

UN documents on the Situation in Somalia

• Resolutions
• Presidential statements
• Meeting records
• Secretary-General’s reports

Non-UN resources

• What’s in Blue - Insights on Somalia

*Photo: Special Representative for Somalia addressing the Security Council (UN Photo/ Paulo Figueiras)

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) was first pronounced by the General Assembly in December 1994 (A/RES/48/163), to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004). In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity” (A/RES/59/174).

UN resources on Indigenous People

• International Day website
• UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 
• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (A/RES/61/295)
• General Assembly resolutions
• Secretary-General’s reports
• Human Rights Council resolutions
• Human Rights Council reports

Photo Credit: UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

According to a joint report released by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), between 2003 and 2009, nearly 950,000 people per year emigrated from the Americas to countries of the OECD. 

The Report on International Migration in Americas offers in-depth analyzes of the migration situation in Argentina, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, and Uruguay. Those eleven countries participated in the first phase of the Continuous Reporting System on Labour Migration for the Americas (SICREMI)

Resources

- Report on International Migration in Americas

• English: Full report – Executive Summary 
• Spanish: Full report – Executive Summary - Country Reports

- Continuous Reporting System on Labour Migration for the Americas (SICREMI)

- ECLAC Press release 

The environmental restoration of Ogoniland could prove to be the world’s most wide-ranging and long term oil clean-up exercise according to the Environmental Assessment of Ongoniland released by the United Nations Environement Programme (UNEP). 

The report key findings are alarming both in terms of human health protection and environmental protection:

• Some areas, which appear unaffected at the surface, are in reality severely contaminated underground;
• At least 10 Ogoni communities where drinking contaminated water;
• Control and maintenance of oilfield infrastructure in Ogoniland has been and remains inadequate;
• The impact of oil on mangrove vegetation has been disastrous.

The report recommends direct actions in order to address the Niger Delta contamination by oil and warns that the restoration of the area could take up years.

Resources

• Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland: Executive summary - Full report;
• UNEP press statement;
• UNEP: Disaster and Conflicts in Nigeria