HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

 

Friday, 3 September 2010

 

There will be no Spokesperson’s Noon Briefing on Friday. Monday is an official UN holiday, with UN Headquarters closed, and there will be no Spokesperson's Noon Briefing on that day. The regular Spokesperson’s Noon Briefing will resume on Tuesday, 7 September.

 

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS TERRORIST BOMBINGS IN PAKISTAN

• The Secretary-General strongly condemns the terrorist bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Quetta.  These attacks, which deliberately targetted Shiite Muslims and killed or injured scores of civilians, are unacceptable.  

• The Secretary-General extends his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan.  

 

CONCERN GROWING OVER CONDITION OF REFUGEE CAMPS IN PAKISTAN

• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that although flood waters are receding in parts of Pakistan, conditions in the thousands of camps that have sprung up in recent weeks are still desperate.

• Of particular concern is the growing crisis in Balochistan province in the country’s southwest.

• UNHCR says that the province has had scant attention compared to areas closer to the Indus River, with two million people in Balochistan affected by the floods, including 600,000 people who fled neighbouring Sindh province.

• Waterborne diseases, shelter shortages and limited quantities of food for children are persistent threats.

• Thousands of families are also now living on the streets in southern Sindh, lacking water and sanitation, UNHCR says, adding that some 20 per cent of those uprooted by floods are returning to their villages to salvage their belongings and protect their property, according to Pakistani authorities, but others are expected to remain displaced for months.

• The World Food Programme (WFP) says today that it has reached three million people with monthly food rations in August, voicing hope that it will double that number this month. WFP adds that urgent donor support is vital for the agency to accelerate its deliveries of special food for infants and young children, as well as to airlift supplies to hard-to-reach areas in Pakistan.

 

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY OBJECTS TO FORCED RETURNS OF IRRAQI CITIZENS

• The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has objected to the continuing forced returns of Iraqi citizens from Western European countries soon after 61 people were flown back to Baghdad.

• UNHCR is very concerned about the returns. It says the 61 on Wednesday's chartered flight were mainly Iraqis who had been residing in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom. UNHCR has not been able to confirm reports that three Iranians were among those on board.

• UNHCR's guidelines for Iraq ask governments not to forcibly return people originating from the governorates of Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salah Al-din, in view of the serious human rights violations and continuing security incidents in these areas. Its position is that Iraqi asylum applicants originating from these five governorates should benefit from international protection in the form of refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention or an alternative form of protection.

• UNHCR considers that serious risks, including indiscriminate threats to life, physical integrity or freedom resulting from violence or events seriously disturbing public order, are valid reasons for international protection.

 

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY: AT LEAST 22,600 DISPLACEMENTS FROM MOGADISHU IN PAST WEEK

• Following a week in which Mogadishu experienced some of the heaviest fighting this year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that at least 22,600 displacements from Mogadishu were reported in the last 12 days, from 23 August – 3 September.

• UNHCR says the areas most affected are Hawl Wadaag, Hodan, Wardhiigleey, Boondheere and Waaberi districts in the northern part of the city.

• Of those displaced, 13,900 have left Mogadishu with 7,290 having gone to join the more than 366,000 people along the Afgooye Corridor. Some 8,700 others have relocated to relatively safer areas in Wadajir, Hodan and Dharkenely districts in Mogadishu.

• Aid agencies based in Mogadishu have also been affected by the clashes and forced to keeping a low profile within compounds or at home due to the insecurity.

• On 22 August, a World Health Organization (WHO) District Polio Officer was killed by a stray bullet in Mogadishu, while another WHO officer was injured by flying mortar fragments. With this incident, 13 aid workers have been killed in Somalia since 2009.

• On 30 August, one of the few qualified nurses in Mogadishu was reportedly abducted on her way home from work. Her whereabouts remain unknown. This incident brings the total number of aid workers still in captivity to 11 since 2009.

  

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
4-10 September 2010

 

Saturday, 4 September

The Secretary-General will be in Alpbach, Austria, where he will address the European Forum 2010 as well as the Security Council Retreat.

 

Sunday, 5 September

Today and tomorrow the Secretary-General will host the annual retreat for UN Senior Officials in Alpbach, Austria.

 

Monday, 6 September

Today is an official holiday at UN headquarters. There will be no Noon Briefing.

 

Tuesday, 7 September

Today, the Security Council will hear a briefing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Atul Khare, and by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström. The Security Council is then expected to hold consultations on the same subject.

 

At 12:30 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference by the Chairman of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (CTITF), about the report of the CTITF working group. Participants include Jean-Paul Laborde, Chair, Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and Director of the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office; Miroslav Jenča , Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA); and Geoffrey Shaw of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

At 1:30 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium, UNICEF will hold a press conference about the launch of two publications: a new study entitled "Narrowing the Gaps to Meet the Goals", and UNICEF's flagship report entitled "Progress for Children". Participants include Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF, and Carolyn Miles, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Save the Children.

 

Today and tomorrow, the Deputy Secretary-General will visit Tirana, Albania, to have a first-hand look at the implementation of the ‘Delivering as One’ Pilot Programme. She will hold bilateral meetings with Government Officials, as well as conducting a project visit being carried-out by the United Nations Country Team.

 

Today is International Literacy Day. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in Conference Room 1 (NLB), an event to mark the Day will be organized by UNESCO. Mrs. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, and Mrs. Laura Bush, Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade will give keynote addresses.

 

Wednesday, 8 September

Today, the Security Council will hear a briefing and hold consultations on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

 

The Deputy Secretary-General will visit Athens, Greece, until tomorrow to attend a UNESCO Future Forum series on Gender Equality and deliver the keynote address. She will meet with Government Officials, as well as United Nations staff based in Greece.

 

Thursday, 9 September

This morning, the Security Council will meet to fill a vacancy at the International Court of Justice.

 

Friday, 10 September

Today is an official holiday at UN headquarters. There will be no Noon Briefing.

 

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.

 

 

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