UN holds events on 60th birthday

JAKARTA: The United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Jakarta is holding a five-day public event from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, the UN Information Center (UNIC) said.

The program will include a briefing by UNIC director, Abdullah Saleh Mbamba titled The United Nations After the September Summit -- A Time for Renewal and a screening of a video message from the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, UNIC said in a media statement.

UNIC Jakarta will also organize an exhibition of UN documents, as well as distribute pamphlets on UN peacekeeping, human rights and development issues. There will also be a screening of UN- produced short documentaries and reports from around the world on global topics such as human rights, environmental survival, women's issues, religion, refugee protection, racism, disease control, universal education, war and peace.

In his message on UN Day, Annan reported on the progress of the UN Summit in New York in September where member states committed to policies that, if fully implemented, could reduce hunger and poverty by 50 percent in the next ten years. These include the creation of new UN bodies for promoting human rights and peace building, a commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms, and the reforms to the UN Secretariat.

"But on climate change and Security Council reform, they could make only weak statements. And on nuclear proliferation and disarmament they could not agree at all," Annan said.

"They have left us a great deal of work to do," he said.

The Jakarta events will be held at the UNIC office at Gedung Surya, 14th floor, Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 9, Jakarta 10350, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon. For more information, contact (021) 39831011 or 39831013. -- JP