unbrussels_ff7_10%20JUNE

UNFCCC: Ms. Christiana Figueres

(Costa Rica) has been appointed as the

new Executive Secretary of the United

Nations Climate Change Secretariat

based in Bonn, Germany. Her

appointment comes at a crucial time in

global efforts to take effective action

on climate change. She most recently

served as Vice-President of the UNFCCC Bureau.

UNICEF: Mr. Anthony Lake (United

States) was appointed as Executive

Director of UNICEF. Mr. Lake, who

succeeds Ann Veneman in the

position, has more than 45 years of

public and international service,

including as foreign policy advisor to

several democratic US presidents and

presidential candidates.

Sexual violence and conflict: Ms.

Margot Wallström (Sweden) was

appointed as Special Representative of

the Secretary-General on Sexual

Violence in Conflict. Ms. Wallström has

been a long-time advocate of the

r i g h t s a n d n e e d s o f w o m e n

throughout her political career, first as

Swedish Minister and later as

Environment Commissioner and Vice-President of the

European Commission.

Burundi: Mr. Charles Petrie (United

Kingdom/France) was appointed as

the new Executive Representative for

Burundi and Head of the United

Nations Integrated Office in that

country (BINUB). Mr. Petrie brings to

the position 20 years of extensive

experience with the United Nations,

which reflects expertise in conflict

prevention, peacemaking, peace-

building, and humanitarian and recovery/development

action, as well as broad experience in the Great Lakes

region of Africa.

The United Nations team in Brussels has published its fifth

annual report showcasing the concrete results of an

increasingly dynamic partnership between the United

Nations and the European Union. The report focuses on

results of joint actions undertaken with EU partners

ranging from crisis prevention, through humanitarian

action and promoting sustainable development, to

building democratic and just societies. All actions are

guided by the collective responsibility to advance the

Millennium Development Goals to halve world poverty by

2015 and firmly rooted in the UN Charter and within the

framework of EU's own Consensus for Development,

Consensus for Humanitarian Aid, and Common Foreign

and Security Policy.

The report again demonstrates that by working together,

the EU and the UN achieved more than they could have

done working alone. It also highlights what is unique about

the UN-EU partnership, and why it adds value to both:

Working with the UN, the EU was able to tackle sensitive ?

issues of development, for example elections in post-

conflict environments, and the rule of law – thereby

benefiting from the impartiality and legitimacy of the

United Nations;

Unique to the UN-EU partnership was its ability to span ?

the UN responsibility from developing and promoting

internationally-binding norms, to translation of these into

reality on the ground, in refugee protection, labor rights,

and in support of the UN's mandate for Palestinian

refugees;

MINURCAT: Mr. Youssef Mahmoud

(Tunisia) was appointed as new Head

of the United Nations Mission in the

Central African Republic and Chad

(MINURCAT), replacing Mr. Victor

Angelo. Before his arrival in Chad, Mr.

Mahmoud served as Executive

Representative of the Secretary-

General and Head of the United

Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB).

UNMIS: Mr. Haile Menkerios (Eritrea)

w a s a p p o i n t e d a s S p e c i a l

Representative of the Secretary-

General for the Sudan. Mr. Menkerios

has an extensive experience in African

issues and most recently served as

Assistant Secretary-General for

Political Affairs.

OHCHR: Mr. Ivan Simonovic (Croatia)

has been appointed Assistant

Secretary-General for Human Rights at

the United Nations, to head the High

Commissioner's New York office. He is

the first person to hold the new post,

which was approved by the UN

General Assembly in December 2009.

During his carreer, Mr. Simonovic has

been Minister of Justice of Croatia, Deputy Minister in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Croatia's Permanent

Representative to the United Nations.

Human Rights Council: In

May, the General Assembly

elected 14 States to serve on

the Human Rights Council for

3 - y e a r t e r m s : A n g o l a ,

Ecuador, Guatemala, Libya,

M a l a y s i a , M a l d i v e s ,

Mauritania, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Spain,

Switzerland, Thailand and Uganda.

Published by United Nations Office in Brussels, 14 rue Montoyer, 1000 Brussels email: brussels.of [email protected]

4

UN Office Brussels | 7th issue | 10 June 2010

FAST FACTSUnited Nations

1

h issue | 10 June 2010

Recent AppointmentsUnited Nations

On 10 June 2010, Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and Chair of the United Nations Development Group,

launched the fifth annual report on the partnership between the United Nations and the European Union,

”Improving Lives: Results from the Partnership between the United Nations and the European Union in 2009”,

prepared by the United Nations team in Brussels.

The Fifth UN-EU Partnership Report

?

countries, coupled with its long-term and close

relationship with national counterparts, guaranteed

access before, during and after crises. The EU worked with

the UN in places where the international community had

no real presence of its own, such as Somalia;

The UN technical and thematic expertise was mobilized ?

in line with its core capacity building function e.g. in health

pandemics experts stemmed outbreaks and advised on

the management and prevention of future outbreaks;

By working with the UN, the EU benefited from its broad ?

platform and privileged policy dialogue with governments

that increased impact and efficiency and enhanced

Europe's own participation in policy dialogue with partner

countries.

The new UN-EU Partnership Report can be downloaded at

The worldwide UN physical presence in nearly 170

http://unbt.unric.org/

“While the world is progressively recovering from the global economic crises that have affected virtually all countries, it is

crucial that the poorest countries are not left behind. This is a deep conviction Europe shares with the UN. The partnership

between the EU and the UN is an essential component in our efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

“I am grateful for the EU support that made achievements recounted in this report possible, and I look forward to continued

cooperation in the years to come.”

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

United Nations Office Brussels | 10 June 2010

United Nations Office Brussels | 10 June 2010United Nations Office Brussels | 10 June 2010

Upcoming Event

2

The second edition of “Millenium” Film Festival will take

place from 12 to 18 June 2010 at the Vendôme and CIVA

(Centre International pour la ville, l'architecture et les

paysages) cinemas in Brussels. The weeklong festival

includes 45 films, of which 17 are nominated for awards

and a series of special events and panel discussions.

The opening ceremony will be on Saturday 12 June in

Flagey at 19.30. The movie Sierra Leone's Refugee All

Stars, by Zach Niles and Banker White, will be screened at

20.00. It tells the story of a group of musicians who

escaped the horrific violence of Sierra Leone's civil war,

landed in a West African refugee camp and formed a band

which has since become an international musical

sensation. The band will perform live after the screening.

The competition will bring together 17 documentary

films, with an Award for Best Film (”Objectif d’Or”), Award

for Best Development Content (offered by the United

Nations Development Programme), Award for Best

Human Rights Content (offered by the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights) and the Special Jury

Award. The Jury will comprise 7 members and will be

presided by Belgian director, Marion Hänsel.

Some results of an ever deepening partnership

In 2009, working hand in hand with governments, local authorities and civil society in 105 countries, the partnership

between the UN and the EU achieved the following results:

Delivered life-saving interventions food, shelter, water, emergency health, education and protection – to people in

over 60 countries suffering the effects of natural disasters or conflict;

Cleared 150 million square meters of land of mines, and destroyed 4,000 tonnes of small arms and light weapons;

Educated 2.2 million children, including in emergency settings, thereby providing a sense of normality to these

children's lives;

Helped 20 country governments and their communities to be better prepared to respond to natural disasters and to

limit the suffering that disasters might cause;

Delivered a fast and coordinated response to the food crisis, supporting 14 million people in over 50 countries;

Supported governments in 12 countries towards the elimination child labour and provided psychosocial support to

children suffering from trauma in crisis and post-crisis countries;

Strengthened the electoral bodies in 22 countries to fulfill their vital democratic functions, and supported elections in

8 countries where 88 million valid votes were cast;

Integrated environmental concerns into the poverty reduction strategies of 22 countries;

Built capacities of 20 countries to conform to international trade norms and standards, helping increase their

competitiveness in international markets.

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In 2009, the UN and the EU worked together in over 100 countries.

The EU supported the United Nations to deliver better on

its mandates by:

Supporting UN global coordination and bolstering UN ?

capacity to respond to emergency and post-crisis needs;

Channeling EU support through multi-donor efforts ?

coordinated by the UN, helping to reduce transaction costs

and improve efficiency for partner country governments

while adding EU critical mass to joint actions;

Maintaining the commitment to “forgotten crises”, with ?

EU support helping the UN sustain its support to countries

long after media attention had moved on, but where

critical humanitarian needs persisted;

Leveraging European expertise: increasingly, the EU ?

worked with the UN on behalf of EU member states to

develop policies and practical tools, notably in post-

conflict and post-disaster needs assessments where a

tripartite effort between the UN, the European

Commission and the World Bank provided a platform for

the international community to intervene after a crisis.

The report comes at a crucial time before the September

summit of world leaders convened by the United Nations

to reassert their commitment to achieving the Millennium

Development Goals by 2015. In looking at challenges

ahead, the report is clear in stressing that “the UN and the

EU must be able to respond and use the strength of their

existing partnership to accelerate their contribution to the

MDGs” in a concerted way.

Building upon the success of the first edition which took

place in Brussels in September 2009, the Film Festival is an

independent initiative supported by the United Nations, in

particular the MDG Achievement Fund and the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Belgian

Development Cooperation, the Belgian National Lottery

and other partners.

At the turn of the new millennium, Heads of states and

governments, made a pledge to achieve the 8 Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. These goals deal with

issues concerning extreme poverty, illiteracy, women

rights and climate change. Yet, as the target date of 2015 is

swiftly approaching, it is of paramount importance that

these goals are urgently tackled and supported and action

reinvigorated. The “Millenium” Film Festival aims to

support this message through the insightful art of

documentary film-making. Films can have the

extraordinary power to inspire change and to bring

together individuals of all backgrounds to discuss and

exchange ideas and to take an active role in meeting these

indispensable goals.

Millenium Film Festival

The UN-EU Partnership

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Objectif d’Or