HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
GAZA: GROWING CONCERN AS BLOCKADE HITS TWO-YEAR MARK
Forty-one UN bodies and humanitarian non-governmental
organizations today expressed their deepening concern over Israel’s
continued blockade of the
Gaza Strip, which has now been in force for two years.
The groups, in a joint statement, say that the amount
of goods allowed into Gaza under the blockade is one quarter of the
pre-blockade flow. They warn that the suffocation of Gaza's economy has led
to unprecedented unemployment and poverty rates and almost total aid
dependency.
The groups call for free and uninhibited access for all
humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the international agreements and
universally recognised international human rights and humanitarian law
standards. They also call for a return to normalized trade to enable the
poverty and unemployment rates to decrease.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s contacts with the Israeli Government on the question of opening the crossing points, the Spokeswoman noted that the Secretary-General has raised the issue with a number of Israeli officials who have visited the United Nations in recent weeks. They include Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
BAN KI-MOON LAUNCHES NEW ADVISORY GROUP ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is launching today a
high-level Energy and Climate Change Advisory Group.
The Group brings together business leaders, experts and
energy practitioners to help the Secretary-General make timely and
appropriate policy contributions to the climate and energy challenges.
The Group will provide expert advice of direct
relevance to the climate change negotiations. It will identify key issues in
the run-up to the Copenhagen Conference, particularly regarding the critical
role that energy efficiency can play in addressing climate change.
The Advisory Group, meeting today for the first time, is chaired by Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO and UN Energy Chairman.
BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR FURTHER EFFORTS TO PROTECT CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICT
The latest
report of the Secretary-General on the protection of civilians in armed
conflict is out on the racks today.
In it, he notes that 2009 marks the tenth anniversary
of the consideration by the Security Council of the protection of civilians
in armed conflict as a thematic issue. He says that the protection of
civilians has come to occupy a prominent place on the Council’s agenda and
has resulted in concrete proposals and decisions intended to improve the
situation of countless men, women, girls and boys affected by the horrors
and indignities of war.
But the Secretary-General adds that further efforts to
strengthen the protection of civilians remain crucial. He says that actions
on the ground have not yet matched the progress in words and the development
of international norms and standards.
The Secretary-General calls for determined action to meet five core challenges: enhancing compliance by parties to conflict with international law; enhancing compliance with the law by non State armed groups; enhancing protection through more effective and better resourced peacekeeping and other relevant missions; enhancing humanitarian access; and enhancing accountability for violations of the law.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS KOSOVO THIS AFTERNOON
The
Security Council has scheduled an open meeting at 3:00 p.m. today on
Kosovo. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Lamberto
Zannier, will brief the Council on developments there and on the
Secretary-General’s latest
report.
In that report, the Secretary-General welcomes the assumption of full operational capability by European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and says that he is encouraged by the level of cooperation between the UN Mission (UNMIK) and EULEX on the ground.
IRAQ: U.N. ORGANIZES MEETING ON HYDROCARBON REVENUE AND WATER SHARING
The Iraqi Council of
Representatives and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
organized a two-day conference in Baghdad this week that was dedicated to a
discussion of hydrocarbon revenue and water sharing.
The participants stressed the
existing broad agreement between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan
Regional Government on the principle of revenue sharing, including automatic
transfers.
At the end of the conference on Monday, the participants expressed a firm commitment to work towards resolving outstanding issues in the hydrocarbons file. They commended the United Nations’ consistent efforts in supporting constitutional dialogue in Iraq.
U.N. CALLS FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO ASSIST CIVILIANS IN EASTERN DRC
Humanitarian agencies in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo are urgently
appealing for $38 million to provide life-saving assistance to some one
million civilians affected by violence and insecurity in the east.
A statement issued by the UN’s Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA),
says the new funds would be used in the provinces of North and South Kivu,
where 800,000 people – especially women and children – are affected by armed
attacks and military operations.
Weeks of fighting have left many civilians in very dire
and poor humanitarian conditions. The situation has been characterized by
massive displacement, killings and acts of sexual violence.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the DR Congo, Ross Mountain, warns that the coming months will be trying times for thousands of men, women and children.
A.U.-U.N. DEPUTY HEAD MEETS WITH RETURNEES IN WEST DARFUR
The Deputy Joint Special Representative for Darfur,
Henry Anyidoho,
traveled to West Darfur yesterday and met with people who have recently
voluntarily returned to their villages.
Meanwhile, the African Union Panel on Darfur, which is led by the former South African President Thabo Mbeki, and includes two other former heads of state, Burundi's Pierre Buyoya and Nigeria's Abdulsalami Abubakar, was in North Darfur yesterday. They met with the commanders of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Abdul Wahid faction.
ATTACKS AGAINST U.N. AID OPERATIONS IN SOMALIA PUTTING LIFE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN AT RISK
A new wave of aggression and hostilities against
humanitarian operations in Somalia is putting at risk the lives of Somali
children and women, according to the UN children’s agency,
UNICEF.
The acting UNICEF Representative to Somalia, Hannan
Suleiman, cites specifically, the take-over and continuing occupation of
UNICEF’s compound in Jowhar in Central Somalia by militiamen after the town
came under the control of the Al-Shabaab group last month. The Jowhar
compound is the biggest operational hub for UNICEF’s support to about 200
feeding centres, and the subsequent looting and destruction of vital
humanitarian items have seriously affected UNICEF’s ability to assist the
most vulnerable children and women.
UNICEF is demanding that its facilities in Jowhar town be vacated by the militiamen and that all of its looted supplies and equipment be returned.
ON WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION, BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR GLOBAL RESPONSE
Today is the World Day to combat Desertification and
Drought. This year’s observance highlights the growing threat to national
and regional stability posed by desertification.
In a
message to mark this occasion, the Secretary-General notes that nearly
one-third of the world’s cropland has become unproductive and has been
abandoned in the past 40 years. Almost three-quarters of rangelands show
various symptoms of desertification.
Let us recognize the security risks of letting
desertification advance unchecked, he says – adding that, as usual, the poor
will be the first victims and the last to recover.
Calling for a global response to this problem, the Secretary-General says that sealing the deal on climate change can help reverse desertification, increase agricultural productivity, alleviate poverty and enhance global security.
BAN KI-MOON TO RECEIVE GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Tonight, the Secretary-General will receive the Foreign
Policy Association’s Global Humanitarian Award.
In his acceptance speech, the Secretary-General is
expected to highlight the humanitarian work the United Nations is carrying
out worldwide—adding that he speaks for the powerless in the councils of
power.
He will also highlight the growing demands on the
United Nations. He’ll underline the Organization’s essential role as the
only universal multilateral forum for tackling the great challenges of this
generation, including climate change.
The Secretary-General will stress that these challenges demand a new multilateralism – with all nations working in full collaboration.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW LAND ANTI-EROSION TECHNIQUES SHOW PROMISE: The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) $10 million Desert Margins Programme (DMP) provides promising new anti-erosion techniques. UNEP says that land degradation and desertification is threatening a billion people in some 100 countries and a third of the world’s lands. So far, the programme has been a success as it has improved livelihoods and produced better managed drylands. The UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, says that land degradation and desertification is not inevitable and the multiple inspiring solutions from the programme underscores this confidence.
AGRICULTURE SHOWS RESILIENCE IN GLOBAL CRISIS BUT PRICES REMAIN HIGH: As long as world economic recovery begins within two to three years, falls in agricultural prices are likely to be moderate, according to a report jointly launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Because food is a basic necessity, agriculture is showing more resilience than other industries vis-à-vis the current global economic crisis. Food prices have come down from the record peaks of early 2008 but they remain high in many poor countries. The report warns that over the coming decade prices for all farm commodities are unlikely to fall back to their levels before the economic crisis. The report calls on more effective international aid, targeted policies such as infrastructure investment, research and development systems, and incentives for the sustainable use of soil and water.
U.N.D.P. ADMINISTRATOR WRAPS UP TRIP TO DR CONGO: The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark, ended a three-day trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She visited the capital Kinshasa and the eastern town of Goma in North Kivu province where she visited the camp for internally displaced people at Kiwanja. During her talks, including with the Congolese Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito and several members of his cabinet, Clark stressed that the United Nations takes very seriously the insecurity in the east of the country. She said that the UN wants to see an end to impunity and want women to be better protected. She also discussed the support to the electoral process and indicated that she was «pleasantly impressed » with the participation of the Congolese population. She also called for greater participation of Congolese women in their country’s political life.
**** The guest at the Noon Briefing today was Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO and UN Energy Chairman, who also chairs the Secretary-General’s new Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change.
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