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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

During August, the Spokesperson's noon briefings will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Developments within the UN system will be posted on the website daily during this time.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

IRAQ: U.N. ENVOY PAYS TRIBUTE TO ABDUL AZIZ AL-HAKIM

Ad Melkert, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, extended his deepest condolences to the family of Abdul Aziz Al Hakim as well as to the Iraqi people.
Melkert said that with the death of Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, "Iraq lost an important leader at a critical juncture." He said that Hakim played an important role in helping Iraq stabilize and chart a path from conflict to reconciliation and the United Nations appreciates the support that he had extended to it over the past few years.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF LEBANON MISSION, RECEIVES BRIEFING ON IRAQ FUND

The Security Council voted unanimously today to extend the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by twelve months.
The Council then went into consultations to receive a briefing on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the Development Fund for Iraq. Council members were briefed by UN Controller Jun Yamazaki. Afterwards, in a press statement, Council members expressed some concern that more steps needed to be taken to improve the internal controls of the Fund and that Iraq needs to be given greater control over its resources.
On Wednesday evening, the Security Council President, Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, issued a press statement, saying that Council members condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that took place on Tuesday in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Council members underlined the need to bring those responsible to justice.

U.N. FINDS DESTROYED HEALTH FACILITIES IN NORTHWEST PAKISTAN

The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja, recently led a UN inter-agency mission to assess the situation in Pakistan’s Swat District. The mission met district authorities and representatives of national and international non-governmental organizations. It decided that early recovery had to start as soon as possible.
The mission found that public sector infrastructure and facilities, such as telecommunications, electricity, water supply systems, schools and health facilities are functional but dilapidated.
According to the World Health Organization’s Assistant Director-General, Dr. Eric Laroche, “The good news is more than 1.5 million people have gone back to their area of origin…The bad news in a sense is that many of the health facilities and resources have been depleted, looted and destroyed in these areas.”
There is also a need for food aid, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as Swat’s population has lost over 85 percent of the last harvest’s crops.

NEW GUIDELINES TO HELP PROTECT CHILDREN AGAINST H.I.V., UNINTENDED PREGNANCY & SEXUAL ABUSE

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its partners have developed new guidelines for sexuality education. The goal of the guidelines is to give educators the tools to teach children how to protect themselves from coercion, abuse and exploitation, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
According to UNESCO, reducing HIV infection in young people and improving their sexual and reproductive health require effective education programmes, which are still not available in many parts of the world.
According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, more than five million young people are living with HIV worldwide, and 45 percent of all new infections occur among young people between the ages of 15 and 24.

H1N1 FLU DETECTED IN TURKEYS AT CHILEAN FARMS

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reports that an H1N1 virus has been detected in turkeys in Chile. This virus is identical to the H1N1 virus that is currently circulating among human populations and is raising concerns for poultry farms around the world.
However, this virus does not pose any immediate threat to human health and FAO reports that turkey meat will continue to be sold commercially following veterinary inspection and hygienic processing.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

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