UNRIC Library Newsletter - August 2010

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NEW WEBSITES WITHIN THE UN SYSTEM

UN in General

Department of Political Affairs introduces new website
http://www.un.org/depts/dpa/
The Department of Political Affairs (DPA) has revamped its website in order to better illustrate the work of the United Nations to prevent and resolve deadly conflict through political means. New features include:

• A more dynamic home page with images, video and regularly updated news on political issues managed by the Department. 
• Greater visibility for UN political missions and good offices efforts in the field; 
• Enhanced presentation of regional and thematic priorities as well as UN electoral assistance activities and UN peacemaker; 
• Expanded content on emerging themes such as preventive diplomacy and mediation support, cooperation with regional organizations and counter-terrorism;
• More information for donors and member states on voluntary funding and requesting assistance.

General Assembly 65th session - Provisional agenda (A/65/150)
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/65/150
The provisional agenda for the 65th session of the General Assembly had been issued (A/65/150). The session will open on Tuesday, 14 September 2010.

General Assembly 65th session - High-level meetings and general debate (A/65/HLPM/INF/1)
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/65/HLPM/INF/1
The information note for delegations on the Arrangements or the High-level meetings and the general debate of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly is now available (A/65/HLPM/INF/1). The meetings will be held in New York from 20-30 September 2010. Included in the note are information on schedules, protocol, security, media arrangements and information on catering and dining facilities.

General Assembly Resolution tables (UN Documentation Research Guide)
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/gares1.htm
The General Assembly Resolution tables in the UN Documentation Research Guide have been updated, e.g. 1st Session, 1946. Each session now includes detailed information about each resolution, including: Resolution symbol, Committee, agenda item, Meeting Record symbol, Draft Resolution symbol, and Resolution title. In addition, the access page has been updated to include links to all sessions on one page.

High-level meeting on the International Year of Biodiversity – Background paper (A/64/865)
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/64/865
The Secretary-General has transmitted to the General Assembly a background paper for the high-level meeting of the General Assembly as a contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, to be held on 22 September 2010 (A/64/865). Included as an annex is the proposed format for the high-level meeting.

Panel of Inquiry on Gaza Flotilla Incident
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35607&Cr=flotilla&Cr1=
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on 2 August 2010 the launch of a panel of inquiry on the 31 May incident in which Israel raided a six-ship convoy in international waters that was carrying humanitarian goods and activists and heading for Gaza. The former New Zealand Prime Minister, Geoffrey Palmer, will serve as chair of the panel and the outgoing President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, will be vice-chair.  The panel will have two additional members, one each from Israel and Turkey, and will begin its work on 10 August. It is expected to submit the first progress report by mid-September.

Security Council working methods (S/2010/507)
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2010/507 
In an effort to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Security Council’s work, as well as interaction and dialogue with non-Council members, the President of the Security Council has issued a note containing an annex with concise and user-friendly list of the recent practices and newly agreed measures which will serve as guidance for the Council's work (S/2010/507). The present note incorporates and further develops the notes by the President of the Security Council of 19 July 2006 (S/2006/507), 19 December 2007 (S/2007/749) and 31 December 2008 (S/2008/847), by superseding those notes.

"Top Story" - new daily feature on UN home page
http://www.un.org
The new daily "top story" feature on the UN home page is an initiative of DPI's News and Media Division (NMD) and brings together all NMD news and media products on a selected news item for easy access and broad visibility in the six official languages. On a daily basis, the home page features an abbreviated print news story, a related video, and direct links to related radio and photo stories. The videos are available through a playlist on the UN Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=493994B2A10AEF69. They have closed captions (subtitles) in the six official UN languages and a brief description with link to the relevant UN News Centre story.

United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification 2010 – 2020
http://unddd.unccd.int/
With more lands around the world facing increasing deterioration and degradation, the United Nations General Assembly declared the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against Desertification.

United Nations Private Sector Forum on the Millennium Development Goals (New York, 22 September 2010)
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/Business_Partnerships/Private_Sector_Forum_2010.html
Chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Private Sector Forum will convene approximately 350 Heads of State and Government, Chief Executive Officers, Civil Society Leaders and Heads of UN Agencies during the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Peace and Security

DPKO/DFS Guidelines: Integrating a Gender Perspective into the Work of the United Nations Military in Peacekeeping Operations
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents/dpko_dfs_gender_military_perspective.pdf

United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) – new website
English: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/monusco/
French: http://www.un.org/fr/peacekeeping/missions/monusco/index.shtml
Spanish: http://www.un.org/spanish/Depts/dpko/monusco/
MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation – the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010. It was done in accordance with Security Council resolution 1925 of 28 May to reflect the new phase reached in the country.

United Nations Peacekeeping Operations – Background Note: 30 June 2010 (DPI/1634/Rev.110/Corr.1, August 2010)
English: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/bnote.htm
French: http://www.un.org/fr/peacekeeping/bnote.htm

Economic & Social Development

Land and Natural Disasters: Guidance for Practitioners (UN-HABITAT)
http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2973
The Guidelines provide a holistic approach to addressing land issues from the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster through early recovery and reconstruction phases. It is targeted at humanitarians and land professionals, as well as government officials. The Guidelines take an inter-disciplinary approach to land, one that also brings together humanitarian emergency relief and early recovery perspectives. Throughout the text, readers will find many short cases illustrating practical aspects of bringing land issues into the post-disaster recovery process. Tools and other useful references are also included. The information provided in these Guidelines will be of interest and use to anyone directly working to support rapid yet sustainable recovery of human settlements following a natural disaster. The Guidelines were produced through a partnership between UN-HABITAT, the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), FAO and the Early Recovery Cluster.

Thematic Paper on MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger - Review of Progress, 2010 (United Nations Development Group - ILO, WFP, FAO, World Bank)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/pardev/download/mdg/undg_tf_mdg-1_final-01-06-2010.pdf
A High-level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly will be held from 20 to 22 September 2010 to accelerate progress towards the MDG target of 2015. In preparation for the meeting, the ILO and other UN agencies have garnered reports on case studies that can be replicated and scaled up, highlighting lessons learned, identifying remaining challenges, and making recommendations for progress.

UNIFEM’s Partnerships with Regional Organizations to Advance Gender Equality
English, French & Spanish: http://www.unifem.org/materials/item_detail.php?ProductID=173
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has released an evaluation report on its partnerships with regional organizations to advance gender equality. It aims to determine how UNIFEM's partnerships contribute to institutional change and progress, and to provide information that contributes to a more systematic and effective approach to partnerships.

Human Rights

OHCHR: Media Guide to the new UN independent experts - Who are they? What is expected of them? And how can you contact them?
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10249&LangID=E
A group of international human rights experts took over their mandates on 1 August 2010, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to Special Procedures mandates.

Second follow-up to the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (A/64/890, 11 August 2010)
English, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/64/890
The Second follow-up report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (A/64/890) as requested in General Assembly resolution 64/254 has been released. The first follow-up report was issued as document A/64/651. The report of the Fact-Finding Mission, better known as the Goldstone report was published as document A/64/490.

Humanitarian Affairs

News Focus: Pakistan floods
English:http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=142&Body=Pakistan&Body1=flood
French: http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/infocusRelF.asp?infocusID=93&Body=Pakistan&Body1

Pakistan floods
http://ochaonline.un.org/OCHAHome/WhereWeWork/Pakistan/PakistanFloods/tabid/6844/language/en-US/Default.aspx
ReliefWeb: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc108?OpenForm&emid=FL-2010-000141-PAK&rc=3

The UN and its partners will need nearly US$460 million dollars to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of millions of people in flood-devastated Pakistan. The Government now estimates that more than 14 million people across the country have been affected in some way, and the emergency is still evolving and assessments are ongoing.

ReliefWeb – CREATE A BRIEFING KIT
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/doc424?openform&clickid=homepage
Create your customized briefing kit to get a concise overview of a humanitarian situation in a single PDF file. Once the desired options are selected, you will be able to download the kit or receive an email that allows you to download the kit at a later time.

International Law

International Court of Justice (ICJ) - "Kosovo" Proceedings
English: http://www.icj-cij.org/presscom/menu.php?p1=6&p2=8〈=en
French: http://www.icj-cij.org/presscom/menu.php?p1=6&p2=8〈=fr
Accordance with international law of the unilateral declaration of independence in respect of Kosovo - Advisory Opinion of 22 July 2010
English: http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/141/15987.pdf
French: http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/141/15988.pdf

2010 Treaty Event: Towards Universal Participation and Implementation
(21-23 and 27-28 September 2010, United Nations Headquarters)
English: http://treaties.un.org/Pages/TreatyEvents.aspx?pathtreaty=Treaty/Focus/Page1_en.xml
French: http://treaties.un.org/Pages/TreatyEvents.aspx?pathtreaty=Treaty/Focus/Page1_fr.xml