“Population data helps leaders and policy-makers to make informed decisions about policies and programmes to reduce poverty and hunger, and advance education, health and gender equality,” Mr. Ban said in his message for the Day.

He underscored the importance of solid data to effectively respond to humanitarian crises.

The theme of this year’s Day is “Everyone counts,” and “to be counted is to become visible,” especially for women and young people, the Secretary-General said.

Data sorted by age and gender can help decision-makers better respond to the needs of women and youth in a bid to create a more equitable society, he added.

Also emphasizing the importance of gathering reliable information is Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which is helping carry out censuses in many parts of the world, including Iraq.

“With quality data, we can better track and make greater progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs],” she said, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Such data, she said in her statement for World Population Day, can also help to “promote and protect the dignity and human rights of all people.”

Events to celebrate the Day will be held around the world, including in Timor-Leste, which is carrying out its census this month, with UNFPA assistance.

“With an estimated annual population growth of 3.2 per cent and with a lot of internal migration taking place as the result” after dozens of people were killed and 155,000 others – or about 15 per cent of the population – were driven from their homes in an eruption of violence partly due to regional tensions, said Pornchai Suchitta, the agency’s Country Representative in the country.

The small South-East Asian nation, which the UN shepherded to independence in 2002, faces numerous challenging obstacles in its census, which will take place between 11 and 25 July.

Timor-Leste, which does not have an address system, is a mountainous country with hard-to-reach rural areas and extremely low media penetration, complicating the census operation.

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Members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have recently been the target of protests and attacks by villagers in the south of the country in response to routine military exercises carried out by the mission.

The members of the Security Council strongly deplore the recent incidents involving UNIFIL peacekeepers which took place in southern Lebanon on June 29th, July 3rd and July 4th in the UNIFIL area of operation, Ambassador U. Joy Ogwu of Nigeria, which holds the Councils rotating presidency for July, said in a statement read out to the press following closed-door talks.

They also emphasized the importance of not impairing UNIFILs ability to fulfil its mandate under Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah.

The resolution also calls for respect of the so-called Blue Line separating the Israeli and Lebanese sides, the disarming of all militias operating in Lebanon and an end to arms smuggling in the area.

They call on all parties to ensure that the freedom of movement of UNIFIL remains respected in conformity with its mandate and its rules of engagement, the statement added.

In addition to monitoring the 2006 ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah, UNIFIL is also tasked with accompanying and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as they deploy throughout the south, and extending its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.

Also today, Michael Williams, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, discussed the recent incidents involving UNIFIL with Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami.

We all hope that the situation has now calmed down and that there will be no recurrence of such incidents, he in a statement following the meeting in Beirut.

Mr. Williams asserted that UNIFILs freedom of movement is a critical element for it to discharge its mandate and it must be fully respected.

I think that we all agree that the excellent cooperation between UNIFIL and LAF has been the backbone of the stability that has prevailed in the south, and we must do all we can to maintain and to enhance it, he added.

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The UN office in the Sri Lankan capital has been the scene of recent protests against the panel set up last month by the Secretary-General to advise him on accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the final stages of the conflict that ended last year between the Government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The UN has repeatedly clarified that the three-member panel is not tasked with investigating individual allegations of misconduct. Rather, it is a follow-up to the Joint Statement issued by the Secretary-General and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the UN chief visited the island country in May 2009.

The Secretary-General believes the strong reaction to his establishment of a Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka is not warranted, his spokesperson said in a statement.

The statement added that the panel has been set up to take forward the objectives of the Joint Statement, including the further fostering of reconciliation and related issues as well as reflecting the commitment by Sri Lanka to the promotion and protection of human rights and the importance of accountability in order to continue the strengthening of peace and development in that country.

Yesterday, Mr. Ban announced he is recalling the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Neil Buhne, to New York for consultations, and closing the Regional Centre in Colombo of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in light of the evolving situation on the ground.

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Forty-six people onboard the Cheonan ship died when it was sunk in late March. Seoul released the findings of an international report in May that concluded that the vessel was hit by a torpedo launched by its neighbour, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The Security Council condemns the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan, the 15-member body said in a statement read out by Ambassador U. Joy Ogwu of Nigeria, which holds the Councils rotating presidency for this month.

It added that such an incident endangers peace and security in the region and beyond.

The Council expressed its deep concern over the findings of the international report, but noted that the DPRK has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident.

Welcoming the restraint showed by the ROK, the Council stressed the importance of maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as in all of North-East Asia.

The Council encouraged the settlement of outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula by peaceful means to resume direct dialogue and negotiation through appropriate channels as early as possible, with a view to avoiding conflicts and averting escalation.

It urged the DPRK to fulfil its commitments under the now-suspended Six-Party Talks which sought to resolve the crisis over the countrys nuclear programme.

The Talks bringing together the DPRK, the ROK, Japan, China, Russia and the United States have been stalled for more than one year.

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With the issues of community development and conservation close to his heart, Mr. Norton voiced hope that he can channel the attention he receives for his work in Hollywood towards raising awareness of the UNs ideals and activities.

I think that [Goodwill] Ambassadors in many ways can play a role in highlighting the models of success that the UN is promoting around the world, he told the UN News Centre.

Mr. Nortons family has long been involved in sustainable development issues, with his father being a conservation advocate and his maternal grandparents having founded an organization to help provide affordable housing in the United States.

For his part, the new Goodwill Ambassador is very active in garnering support for conservation efforts, serving as a board member of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and taking part in launching an innovative social networking platform called Crowdrise to boost participation in charitable work.

Last year, he ran in the New York City Marathon, helping to raise more than million for local communities in Kenya.

In his new role, Mr. Norton said he will work with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to spotlight the crisis of biodiversity and ensure world leaders take appropriate measures to protect the environment.

One of his top priorities as Goodwill Ambassador will be to increase peoples focus on the fact that human well-being is intertwined fundamentally with biodiversity, the actor, twice nominated for an Academy Award, said.

It is vital that people realize that they are not separate from the web of life, he added. Our ability to thrive as a species and as a civilization totally depends on that web of life.

At his designation ceremony, Mr. Norton told the Secretary-General that biodiversity is an issue that transcends national boundaries, with people having lost sight of the need for environmental protection.

Referring to one of Mr. Nortons most famous movies, Mr. Ban voiced hope that the Goodwill Ambassador will help to move the world from Fight Club to a peace club.

Addressing reporters in New York, the new Goodwill Ambassador said environmental issues will incontestably be the defining challenge of this era.

He added that when people look back on this era that were living in they will not assess many of the things that we consider political hot buttons of the day. They will assess this era based on how we responded to this particular crisis, referring to biodiversity loss.

At the same press conference, Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD, pointed out that the rate of extinction of some species is 1,000 times higher than the natural rate. We are reaching the tipping point where irreversible damage is going to be done and therefore we need an urgent call for action.

The official said that the Secretary-General could not have chosen a better advocate, a better ambassador than someone who is [taking action], not only through statements and speeches, but doing it in reality than Mr. Norton.

Todays appointment comes as the UN marks 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with heads of State set to discuss the issue at a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York at the start of the General Assemblys 65th annual General Debate in September.

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In the hours immediately after the quake, WFP provided emergency food assistance that prevented this catastrophic event from evolving into a hunger crisis for the people of Haiti and the world, said the agencys Executive Director, Josette Sheeran.

Now we are working with the Government and other partners on programmes that use a mixture of food- and cash-for-work, school meals and nutritional initiatives to rebuild the food security system in Haiti, she added.

More than 200,000 people were killed in the magnitude-7.0 earthquake, which left 1.3 million more homeless and destroyed countless buildings, including Government facilities, hospitals and schools.

WFP has implemented temporary work schemes across the country, in partnership with the Government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Although the initiatives vary, they all seek to contribute to Haitis reconstruction and give agriculture a boost.

Workers are typically paid in both food and cash, giving them enough money for necessary expenditures, such as medicine and clothing, and also stimulating the local economy. The food and cash packages given to individual workers are intended to sustain families of up to five people.

Currently, some 35,000 people are employed in the WFP schemes, and that number is set to balloon up to 140,000 before the end of this year.

Were supporting huge numbers of people who would otherwise struggle to put food on their tables, said WFP Country Director Myrta Kaulard.

The agency is also working with Haitian authorities to reach 655,000 school-aged children with hot meals every day, hoping to expand this to 800,000 by the end of 2010.

The school meals programme is a cornerstone of our operations in Haiti, Ms. Kaulard said. It is a simple and effective way to guarantee children at least one nutritional meal every day and keep them learning.

For pregnant and nursing women, as well as children under the age of five, WFP is distributing special nutritional food supplements to ensure that the most vulnerable groups do not become malnourished.

With the hurricane season under way in Haiti, WFP has pre-positioned enough food to feed 1.1 million Haitians for six weeks, and has also organized a barge service, for the entire humanitarian community, to link Haitis main ports to its capital, Port-au-Prince, and the capital of neighbouring Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, should rain and landslides block roads.

We need to keep a balance between improving access to food for the most vulnerable Haitians, while taking care not to disrupt local markets or exclude local farmers from selling their produce, Ms. Kaulard said.

WFP, she said, will purchase food locally when possible, with the upcoming harvest bringing new products to the market.

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The UN chief has welcomed the additional measures announced this week by Israel in increasing the scope and quantity of materials allowed into Gaza, and said he hoped they will lead to an improvement in the situation of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the territory.

He and other UN officials have repeatedly called for ending the blockade against Gaza, which Israel imposed on the territory for what it called security reasons after Hamas, which does not recognize Israels right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement in the Strip in 2007.

Mr. Ban and Mr. Netanyahu also covered, among other topics, Lebanon and Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizbollah.

Their meeting also included a one-on-one discussion, according to the Secretary-Generals spokesperson.

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More than 200,000 people were killed in the magnitude-7.0 earthquake, which left 1.3 million more homeless and destroyed countless buildings, including Government facilities, hospitals and schools.

In addition, the quake severely damaged many of Haitis cultural infrastructure, affecting all historic buildings in the capital, Port-au-Prince, including the Cathedral, the National Palace and the Palace of Justice.

Among the towns also suffering extensive damage was Jacmel, in the southeast, which was founded in the late 17th century and is on Haitis tentative list of sites to be put forward for consideration for inscription on UNESCOs World Heritage List .

Chaired by the Caribbean nations Minister of Culture Marie-Laurence Jocelyn-Lasseque, the International Coordination Committee (ICC) was set up by UNESCO to support Haitian authorities restore their countrys cultural heritage.

During its first meeting, the Committee will identify priorities for the reconstruction of buildings, natural sites and damaged historic urban centres. It will also discuss how to restore museums, art galleries, archives and libraries.

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The conduct of parties to conflict is inevitably affected by their sense of susceptibility to punishment and accountability to their victims, and clear signals that impunity will not be tolerated, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said during the debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

He told the meeting, which heard from 40 speakers, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, that the danger is that the normative framework has outpaced the enforcement will and capacity of the international community.

So I urge the Council to take a robust approach to accountability, said Mr. Holmes, who addressed the 15-member body for the last time as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

He noted that while national justice systems must remain the first line of defence, the international community must explore alternative means when those systems prove unable or unwilling to bring perpetrators to justice and provide remedies to victims.

He welcomed the commission of inquiry launched by the Secretary-General for crimes committed during violence in Guinea last September, as well as the panel set up to advise Mr. Ban on accountability for violations of humanitarian and human rights law in Sri Lanka, especially in the last stages of the conflict in that country, and the mechanism recently set up by the Government of Sri Lanka itself.

The point is that this scrutiny needs to become the norm, Mr. Holmes stated. Actual and would-be violators need to understand that they have nowhere to hide. Politics must not always win out where powerful States or vocal States with powerful protection are involved.

He suggested that a permanent mechanism be established somewhere in the UN system to conduct inquiries on serious allegations, more or less automatically, noting that this would prevent calls for investigations from being politicized from the start.

Accountability of perpetrators is key for the protection of civilians, stated Ms. Pillay, who noted that among the most significant actions taken by the Council for the protection of civilians is the establishment of commissions of inquiry.

She noted that States bear the primary responsibility for carrying out investigations and prosecutions regarding genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and gross human rights violations. Several countries have established national commissions of inquiry, which are welcome demonstrations of a States willingness to seek justice.

True accountability can only be achieved, she stressed, if national inquiry mechanisms are credible, independent and impartial.

Such national commissions should have the power of access to all relevant authorities, persons and information, as well as adequate financial and human resources. It is these conditions that will instil confidence and trust in these national initiatives, she said.

The Council has acted to promote accountability, Ms. Pillay added, noting that it has explicitly made its support for the military operations of national armed forces conditional on their observance of human rights law, humanitarian law and refugee law.

We need to ensure that the UN and bilateral support to military operations and security sector reform is tied to promoting respect for human rights, she stated.

For his part, the Secretary-General said the Council has adopted important measures designed to put civilians first, but there is more that it can and must do, including maximizing the impact of peacekeeping missions in protecting civilians.

He welcomed the Councils efforts to increase the emphasis on the protection of civilians in designing peacekeeping mandates. However, he added, that for peacekeeping operations to successfully implement these mandates, the Council must provide them with the sustained political support they require.

The Councils engagement is vital to make certain that peacekeeping operations are adequately resourced, and to ensure that mission leadership is fully empowered to take forward this complex mandated task on the international communitys behalf, said Mr. Ban.

The other key challenges the Council must address are increased compliance by non-State armed groups with international law, and ensuring accountability. More must be done to increase the expectation that violators will have to face the consequences of their actions, the Secretary-General stated.

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The maximum melamine allowed in baby formula was set at one milligram (mg) per kilogramme (kg) and 2.5 mg/kg in other foods and animal feed, according to a news release issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), which along with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) jointly runs the UN Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Melamine is a chemical used in a variety of industrial processes, including the manufacture of plastics used for dishware, kitchenware and can coatings. Traces of it unavoidably get into food by contact without causing health problems, but the substance is toxic at high concentrations.

Establishment of maximum levels will help governments differentiate between low levels of unavoidable melamine occurrence that do not cause health problems, and deliberate adulteration thereby protecting public health without unnecessary impediments to international trade, said Martijn Weijtens, chair of the Commissions committee on contaminants in foods.

While not legally binding the new levels allow countries to refuse to allow the importation of products with excessive levels of melamine.

The Commission, whose 33rd session in Geneva is being attended by 500 delegates from about 130 countries, also came up with new hygienic measures for safer fresh salads and seafood.

The new measures provide specific guidance for production, harvesting, packing, processing, storage, distribution, marketing and consumer education to reduce food safety risks associated with these products. Guidance covers such aspects as the control of irrigation waters, cooling and storage and correct washing of hands by consumers.

The Commission also gave specific advice on how to control bacteria in seafood throughout the food chain. In recent years, there has been an increase in reported outbreaks of food-borne disease caused by bacterial species called Vibrio, which are typically associated with the consumption of seafood especially oysters that are often eaten raw. The new measures will help to minimize the risks.

On aflatoxins, the Commission set maximum levels of 10 micrograms/kg for Brazil nuts and 15 micrograms/kg for shelled Brazil nuts, which are intended for further processing, while it also adopted a code of practice to prevent this contamination.

Aflatoxins are carcinogenic fungal toxins that can contaminate corn, peanuts and other food crops such as tree nuts under certain conditions.

The Commission also adopted new measures on sampling food for inspection and control analysis.

The new guidelines will make it possible to run tests to determine if foods are derived from modern biotechnology, to authenticate food varieties such as fish species and to establish the presence of allergens.

Agreement on the guidelines marks an important international consensus in the area of biotechnology where the commission has already developed a number of guidelines related to food safety assessments for foods derived from modern biotechnology.

The 47-year-old Commission sets international food standards to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade. The results of its work form the Codex Alimentarius (Latin for food code), a set of international food safety and quality standards.

The standards, when introduced in national legislation, contribute to the safety of foods and to help guide international food trade.

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