Americas

Ban to visit Jamaica to participate in Caribbean regional summit

30 June 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Jamaica this weekend to attend a Caribbean summit and discuss regional efforts to try to achieve the social and economic targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations announced today.

Experienced legal campaigner to head UN-backed crime probe in Guatemala

30 June 2010
A renowned Costa Rican advocate against organized crime has been chosen as the next head of the United Nations-backed commission charged with dismantling illegal armed groups and tackling impunity in Guatemala.

General Assembly President meets Ecuadorian leader on final leg of trip

30 June 2010
The global efforts to achieve the social and economic targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were at the centre of talks today between General Assembly President Ali Treki and Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa.

Haiti: Ban welcomes setting of date for presidential polls

30 June 2010
Haitian President René Préval has set 28 November as the date for the people of the earthquake-devastated nation to vote for his successor, a move welcomed today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

UN chief urges G20 to 'not balance budgets on the backs of the poorest'

26 June 2010
Despite rising budget deficit and severe fiscal problems, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) industrialized and developing economies to take urgent steps to help the poor and vulnerable make ends meet through investment.

General Assembly President and Venezuelan leader discuss development, UN reform

24 June 2010
United Nations reform, climate change and global efforts to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have topped the agenda during wide-ranging talks between General Assembly President Ali Treki and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Coca cultivation declining in Colombia but on the rise in Peru, UN agency reports

22 June 2010
The cultivation of the raw material for cocaine has declined significantly in Colombia, the world’s leading producer of coca, but the situation in Peru remains worrying with the amount of the narcotic grown there consistently rising, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported today.

UN helps Panama strengthen maritime security to curb illicit trade

22 June 2010
In an effort to strengthen maritime security in Central America, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Panama today launched a joint programme intended to prevent illicit and counterfeit goods from entering markets through sea ports.

UNESCO designates Canadian Governor-General as Special Envoy for Haiti

22 June 2010
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that it is designating Canada’s Governor-General Michaëlle Jean to be the agency’s Special Envoy for Haiti, the country where she was born but later left as a child refugee.

Haiti: UN peacekeepers help to arrest 30 criminals on the run since quake

18 June 2010
United Nations peacekeepers have this morning helped local police in Haiti capture 30 criminals who had escaped from prison in the wake of January’s catastrophic earthquake and subsequently infiltrated a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the capital.