HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
During August, the Spokesperson's noon briefings will take place on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's.
Developments within the UN system will be posted on the website daily during this time.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
BAN KI-MOON SALUTES MEMORY OF HIROSHIMA ATOM BOMB VICTIMS; CALLS FOR END TO NUCLEAR ARMS RACE
In a
message on the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that nuclear weapons and the
United Nations were born that same year, in 1945. But while atom bombs
offered a so-called peace based on terror and destruction, the United
Nations provided a peace co-created by nations through debate, compromise,
the rule of law, human rights, the pursuit of justice and economic
prosperity.
The Secretary-General saluted the memory of the hibakusha
(victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and their
families.
He also expressed concern about the apparent resumption
of a nuclear arms race among nations, and appealed to “all humanity” to
support the sensible and achievable goal of ending that pursuit and phasing
out existing weapons. “We must never forget not only the horrific effects of
nuclear weapons, but also the human costs of war itself as a means to
resolving disputes,” he said.
The Secretary-General also
had a video message to the Seventh General Conference of
Mayors for Peace held on the margins of the Hiroshima anniversary. He
commended the Conference on raising public awareness about the dangers that
cities, in particular, would face if these destructive weapons were ever
used again. “A world without nuclear weapons may be distant, but it is no
longer just a dream,” he said.
UN General Assembly President Miguel
d’Escoto-Brockman also attended the events in Hiroshima and delivered
remarks on that tragic event as well as prospects for a possible end to
the use of nuclear weapons.
And in Geneva, the head of the UN Conference on Disarmament, Ambassador Caroline Millar of Australia, said that today marked a sober reminder to all of the destruction and devastation of nuclear weapons and of the compelling importance of the Conference resuming its work on nuclear disarmament.
BAN KI-MOON DESCRIBES ARRANGEMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
briefed Member States this morning about the Summit on Climate Change that
he will convene at UN Headquarters next month.
The objective of the Summit, he said, is to create a
broader political vision of the urgency for action, and to mobilise the
political will needed to reach an agreed outcome at the United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.
A clear airing of views on fundamental climate change
issues can provide government negotiators with the political signals and
guidance needed to move the negotiations forward. But this will not be a
negotiation, he added.
The Secretary-General said that the points of
convergence achieved will be captured in a Chair’s Summary which will be the
main outcome of the Summit.
Much of the time will be devoted to interactive
roundtables where leaders can have focused discussions. These roundtables
will be closed and there will be no press.
The Secretary-General noted that the United Nations is working on a background paper that will help to focus the discussions during the roundtables.
SECRETARY-GENERAL BRIEFS GROUP OF FRIENDS ON MYANMAR
The Secretary-General on Wednesday afternoon met with
the Group of Friends on Myanmar, and informed them of his 31 July meeting
with the Permanent Representative of Myanmar.
At the 31 July meeting, the Secretary-General
told reporters afterward, he had underscored his clear expectation and
that of the international community that the Government of Myanmar will give
careful consideration to the implications of any verdict in the trial of Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and use this opportunity to exercise its responsibility to
ensure her immediate release. He also had noted the importance of ensuring
the release all political prisoners so that they could participate in a
credible and inclusive political process.
The Secretary-General said that the members of the Group of Friends agreed to his proposal to convene a second High-Level Meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the margin of the General Assembly in New York in September.
TOP ENVOY FOR SOMALIA WELCOMES MEETING BETWEEN U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE AND SOMALI PRESIDENT
The Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has welcomed today’s
meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, between the US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham
Clinton, and Somalia’s President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Ould-Abdallah, who’s the head of the UN
Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), said the meeting strengthened the
efforts being made to support the Somali government by regional and
international organisations, such as the Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD), the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the
Organisation of Islamic Conference and the European Union.
“This meeting is therefore a strong show
of support for peace and stability in Somalia as promoted in the Djibouti
Agreement,” said Mr. Ould-Abdallah.
“The Government needs strong backing to continue its dialogue with various
parties and to increase security for the people.
Ould-Abdallah further called on other “countries, groups, individuals and especially spoilers” to show more understanding and respect for Somalia and help its people to rebuild their society and their country.
U.N. AGENCY CONCERNED BY POSSIBILITY OF MORE EVICTIONS IN EAST JERUSALEM
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA)
has welcomed the statements this week by the international community which
deplore the evictions of two families from their homes in the Jerusalem
district of Sheikh Jarrah. However, UNRWA remains concerned about the other
refugee families in the area and the possibility of more evictions which
will cause further unacceptable humanitarian suffering. The agency says it
will continue monitor this situation closely.
According to UNRWA, the families, evicted in the early
hours of Sunday from the homes where they have lived for more than half a
century, continue to suffer distress and shock. The children are
particularly traumatized. The lasting humanitarian impact on the 53 people
directly affected including 20 minors cannot be over-estimated. Seeing
settlers being escorted into the houses in which some family members were
born, was particularly distressing for these refugees, the agency adds.
UNRWA notes that, not only were the refugees surrounded
by Israeli police and security personnel at dawn, their homes broken into
and their families thrown onto the streets, but they had to endure the
indignity and humiliation of their personal effects being loaded onto trucks
and dumped in scrub land at the edge of Jerusalem’s Route One. UNRWA has
assisted the families in recovering their belongings and will store them
until the issue is resolved. The agency is raising these cases with the
Israeli authorities as a matter of urgency.
UNRWA states that the evictions violate the rights of the refugees and international law. The agency calls on the Israeli authorities to refrain from taking any further measures to evict other members of the Palestine refugee community in Sheikh Jarrah and to reinstate the evicted families, as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has demanded.
U.N.-RUN DISARMAMENT CENTER OPENS IN SUDAN
The joint UN/Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration Commission in the central Sudanese state of Kordofan has
stepped up operations, with the launch yesterday of a second demobilization
centre.
That’s according to our Mission there (UNMIS),
which also noted that 19 ex-combatants of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army
(SPLA) were processed on the first day of operations at the new centre. In
total, the centre expects to manage the demobilization of some 2,300
ex-combatants.
So far, the Mission has helped disarm and reintegrate into civilian life some 3,200 former combatants from the onetime rebel Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) and the pro-government Popular Defense Forces (PDF). When the project concludes, some 18,000 Sudanese government soldiers, PDF and SPLA ex-fighters would have disarmed.
CYPRUS LEADERS MEET UNDER U.N. AUSPICES, DISCUSS CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish
Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met today under UN auspices in Nicosia.
The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on
Cyprus, Alexander Downer, spoke to the press afterwards. He noted that
the leaders had continued talks on the issue of immigration, asylum and
citizenship and had made “good progress.”
Downer added that the leaders will meet again in September to discuss the issue of governance and in particular the executive. Once they have finished discussing that issue, they will move to the question of property and then other outstanding issues.
SECURITY COUNCIL ENDS DEBATE ON PEACEKEEPING WITH PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT
The
Security Council ended its day-long open meeting on peacekeeping on
Wednesday by adopting a
Presidential Statement, in which it emphasized the need to focus on such
issues as credible and achievable mandates, matched with appropriate
resources; better information-sharing and management; and greater awareness
in the Security Council of the resource and field-support implications of
its decisions, and of the strategic challenges across peacekeeping
operations.
The Council stressed, among other things, the need to
assess regularly, in consultation with other stakeholders, the strength,
mandate and composition of peacekeeping operations, with a view to making
adjustments according to the situation on the ground. It also encouraged
the practice of holding meetings between Council members and the Secretariat
at the level of political-military experts prior to discussions on mandate
renewals. The Council also requested an estimate of resource implications
for a proposed new mission or significant changes to a peacekeeping mandate.
The statement also addressed the need for earlier and more meaningful engagement with troop- and police-contributing countries before the renewal or modification of mandates, and expressed the Council’s intention to increase its interaction with the Secretariat in the early phase of mandate drafting and throughout mission deployment.
COOPERATION BETWEEN FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND UNFPA CRITICAL TO MATERNAL HEALTH
The United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) reports today that it has
concluded the two-day policy round table meeting with more than 40
international faith-based organizations. Its partnership with faith-based
organizations is promoting action against maternal health, ending violence
against women and advocating women’s empowerment.
UNFPA’s Executive Director underlines the importance of the partnership due to the “profound moral authority that religious leaders have, and we are all aware of the face that religious organizations are the oldest social service providers humankind has known.”
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