HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, July 29, 2010
BY
MARTIN NESIRKY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEET EHUD BARAK IN NEW YORK, FOLLOWING CALLS TO SEVERAL LEADERS IN THE REGION
The
Secretary-General will meet on Friday with Israeli Deputy Prime
Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He expects to discuss a
range of issues with him, including the situation in Gaza and the
need to continue Israel's freeze on settlement activity.
The
Secretary-General also made a number of calls to senior leaders in
the region yesterday, in his continuing efforts to encourage the
parties in the
Middle East peace process to move forward in the peace process.
He spoke by telephone separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas, with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and with
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, underscoring his
support for proceeding towards meaningful direct talks.
Asked about the League of Arab States’
agreement in principle to direct talks, the Spokesperson noted that
the Arab League Secretary-General was one of the people whom the
Secretary-General had contacted by phone on Wednesday.
He said that the Secretary-General has been playing a very important role in moving the process forward and communicating with the parties. Recently, Nesirky noted, the Secretary-General had also spoken about the peace process with the US envoy, George Mitchell.
EAST JERUSALEM: U.N. SPECIAL COORDINATOR DEPLORES TAKEOVER OF PALESTINIAN HOUSE BY ISRAELI SETTLERS
Robert Serry, the
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, issued
a statement today deploring what he called an “unacceptable
action” by armed Israeli settlers who forcibly took over a building,
which is home to nine Palestinian families, in the Muslim Quarter of
the Old City in East Jerusalem.
Serry called on the Israeli authorities to remove the settlers from the property and restore the previous status quo.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT KALMA CAMP SITUATION IN DARFUR
The Secretary-General is
concerned about the situation in Kalma camp between internally
displaced persons (IDPs) supporting the Darfur Peace Process in Doha
and others.
The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to
address their differences through political dialogue and to refrain
from any action that could incite violence.
The AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator and the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) are doing all they can to defuse the situation and facilitate reconciliation.
UNITED NATIONS IS CONCERNED ABOUT WELFARE OF PILOT MISSING IN DARFUR
Asked about a pilot seized from a UN helicopter
in Darfur, the Spokesperson said that the pilot is still unaccounted
for. Three days after the initial incident, the United Nations
remains deeply concerned about his welfare.
UNAMID is working with the Government of Sudan to locate him.
On 26 July, Nesirky recalled, UNAMID lost
contact with one of its helicopters in the area of Oum Sader,
located roughly 55 kilometers north of Nyala, South Darfur.
The UTair Russian company aircraft, working
under contract for UNAMID, had been in the process of picking up
representatives of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), who
were to be taken to Doha, Qatar, to participate in the ongoing peace
negotiations. Four Russian crew members, three LJM delegates, and
one international UNAMID civilian staff were on board the
helicopter.
The assailants robbed the passengers and beat
up several of the passengers and the pilot of the aircraft. Sudanese
authorities arrived at the scene from where the group, with the
exception of the pilot, was taken to a nearby Government military
camp and remained overnight.
The passengers, the remaining crew and the
aircraft arrived back at UNAMID’s base in Nyala on 27 July.
Asked who was responsible, the Spokesperson said that, at this time, it is not clear who was responsible for the beatings or the abduction. The United Nations is investigating this incident, together with the Government.
GUN BATTLE AT DARFUR CAMP FOR DISPLACED LEAVES THREE DEAD
The UN/AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
says that three individuals close to the Liberation and Justice
Movement (LJM), which just signed a ceasefire agreement with the
Sudanese Government, were killed on Wednesday.
The killings took place during a gun battle at
the Hamadiya camp for the internally displaced, in West Darfur. As a
result, all humanitarian assistance to the camp has been suspended
until security conditions improve.
The Mission says that the three individuals
were killed during fighting between Liberation and Justice Movement
supporters and supporters of the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW)
faction. A number of houses belonging to Liberation and Justice
Movement supporters were also burnt down.
The fighting has now stopped, the Mission says,
and Sudanese police have arrested four suspects and seized a number
of weapons. The Mission says that it, too, is investigating the
incident and closely monitoring its aftermath.
Meanwhile, the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) says that peacekeepers on a short-range patrol in
Western Darfur were ambushed earlier today by a group of
unidentified armed individuals.
The peacekeepers returned fire on their attackers, who later fled the scene. Seven peacekeepers were wounded during the attack, and UNAMID immediately sent reinforcement troops to the scene. All peacekeepers later returned to their base, where the wounded are now receiving medical treatment.
SUDAN: SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS FORTHCOMING REFERENDA WILL REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
Alain Le Roy, the Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, briefed the Security Council this morning
on the Secretary-General’s
recent report on the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
In it, the Secretary-General says that, despite
operational challenges and shortcomings, the successful conduct of
the national elections marked a critical milestone in the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and provided for
the expansion of the political space available for democratic
change. He noted that, given the absence of elections during the
past 24 years, the process of democratization is still fragile and
slow to take root.
The Secretary-General added that the forthcoming referenda in Sudan will require significant international support if they are to be viewed as credible. He urges the parties to take full advantage of UNMIS and other international partners’ offers of material, technical, logistical and “good offices” assistance.
SECRETARY-GENERAL, SERBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS KOSOVO, DISARMAMENT MEETING
The Secretary-General held a meeting at UN
Headquarters today with Vuk Jeremic, the Foreign Minister of the
Republic of Serbia. They discussed questions related to
Kosovo and a planned high-level meeting on disarmament.
On Kosovo, the Secretary-General said he
planned to closely coordinate next steps with the European Union,
which has offered to facilitate a process of dialogue between
Pristina and Belgrade. The Secretary-General and the Minister also
discussed a Serbian draft General Assembly resolution on this
subject.
The Secretary-General said he continued to
appeal to all sides to support constructive dialogue and the
settlement of all remaining concerns, while encouraging political
stability and discouraging provocations.
On disarmament, the Secretary-General noted he was convening a high-level session of the Conference on Disarmament in New York on 24 September. He said he hoped Minister Jeremic would attend.
LOSS OF LIFE AND WIDESPREAD DISPLACEMENT AFTER FLOODS IN PAKISTAN
The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that, in Pakistan, heavy rains in the past few days have
triggered floods in several parts of the country, resulting in a
loss of life and widespread displacement. Thousands of people have
lost their homes and livelihoods.
The humanitarian
community is working on getting assessment missions to the affected
areas. However, continued rains and damaged infrastructure make the
roads impassable and complicated the task of assessing damage.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Secretary-General said he was deeply saddened by the tragic air crash near Islamabad in which many people lost their lives. He has written to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to express the sincere sympathy of the United Nations with Pakistan at this painful time.
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS REMOVED FROM ENDANGERED WORLD HERITAGE LIST, SITES IN UGANDA AND GEORGIA ADDED
The World Heritage
Committee has decided to remove the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
from the List of sites of World Heritage in Danger. The Islands were
inscribed in 2007 because of threats posed by invasive species,
unbridled tourism and over-fishing, but the Committee found that
Ecuador had made significant progress in addressing these problems.
The Committee also inscribed
the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Uganda) and the site of
Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) on the List of
World Heritage in Danger. Last March, fire almost completely
destroyed the main structure at the Tombs site which contained four
royal Buganda tombs. As for the Cathedral and Monastery, the
Committee expressed its serious concern about irreversible
interventions carried out on the site as part of a major
reconstruction project.
The List of World Heritage in Danger aims to raise international support for the conservation of World Heritage Properties.
HEAD OF W.F.P. WRAPS UP FOUR-NATION AFRICAN TOUR, SEES REVOLUTION IN FIGHTING HUNGER
The Executive Director of
the World Food Programme (WFP),
Josette Sheeran, ended a four-nation tour in Kigali, Rwanda’s
capital. She said she was struck by the enthusiasm and commitment
for change she heard from almost everyone, ranging from African
Union leaders at a summit to victims of violence and poverty.
WFP says that people in many
African countries can recover from conflict faster and even have
their lives transformed through a revolution in the fight against
hunger including greater opportunities to harness the power of
markets. Sheeran said WFP was building on peace in many places,
because no one wanted to be dependent.
She added that this overall
revolution in how and what assistance was delivered was empowering
people to overcome hunger while helping to defeat hunger in Africa.
At the same time, however, she appealed for more funds to help millions of people in drought-stricken Niger.
CYPRUS: LAUNCH OF A BI-COMMUNAL INITIATIVE ON CRIMES
In support of
efforts to combat crime across Cyprus, the United Nations-backed
Technical Committee on Crime and Criminal Matters (TCCCM) today
launched the ‘Joint Communications Room’ (JCR), a bi-communal
initiative set up to exchange information between the island’s two
communities on crimes and crime-related matters.
Delivering remarks at today’s launch, Alexander Downer, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, said the Committee was “a very good example of the two communities in Cyprus successfully working together.”
BRAZIL AND U.N.D.P. AGREE ON JOINT PROJECT TO SUPPORT HAITI PUBLIC HEALTH
The chief of the UN
Development Programme (UNDP),
Helen Clark, and the Brazilian Government on Wednesday signed an
agreement for a joint project to strengthen public health and
tracking of infectious disease in Haiti. The Memorandum of
Understanding, signed in Brasília on the first day of Helen Clark’s
visit, will help reinforce Haiti’s public health infrastructure and
increase monitoring of diseases in the Caribbean country.
The partners will work together to foster knowledge exchange, build capacity and cooperate in other initiatives inside Haiti’s Ministry of Health and other governmental and non-governmental national institutions. Brazil has designated around 170,000 Brazilian reais (US$100,000) for these activities.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW HEAD OF INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES TO START IN SEPTEMBER: Asked about the leak of a document from the former head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the Spokesperson said that the United Nations is now focused on looking forward, following the General Assembly’s approval on Wednesday of the appointment of a new OIOS head, Carman Lapointe-Young. He said that Lapointe will start work in September and has a lot of work to do in leading a crucially important office.
HEAD OF PEACEKEEPING TO BRIEF NEXT WEDNESDAY: The Spokesperson, in response to a question, said that Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy will give a press conference next Wednesday, 4 August.
CHILDREN AT GAZA SUMMER GAMES MAY BREAK KITE-FLYING RECORD: Thousands of children in Gaza attending Summer Games organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) appear to have doubled their own world record for the number of kites flown simultaneously. The world record breaker took place on a beach in northern Gaza in the same location where they set the world record just one year ago. UNRWA sources say the unofficial figure for the number of kites flown is over seven thousand two hundred.
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