HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday,
September 15, 2009
BAN KI-MOON IS BRIEFED ON GAZA FACT-FINDING MISSION REPORT
The United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict
released its
findings today in New York.
The Mission, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, was
mandated by the Human Rights Council to "investigate all violations of
international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might
have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations
that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December 2008 and 18
January 2009, whether before, during or after."
Since its establishment, the Secretary-General has
encouraged and supported the mission and called on all parties to cooperate
fully in its work. He believes that accountability for violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law is essential both to the
protection of human dignity, and to the quest for sustainable peace.
The Mission will formally present its report to the
Human Rights Council on 29 September. Earlier today, Justice Goldstone had a
telephone conversation with the Secretary-General to inform him of its broad
contents and of his intention to release the report.
The Secretary-General commended Justice Goldstone for his leadership and independence.
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES RESOLUTION ON COHERENCE ACROSS U.N. SYSTEM
The Secretary-General
welcomes the adoption by the 63rd General Assembly of the
resolution on System-wide coherence. The Secretary-General notes that
with this resolution an important step has been made in strengthening the
United Nations’ work in the area of gender equality and empowerment of women
as well as in ensuring the effective delivery of its operational activities
for development, which constitutes the other key components of the
resolution.
The Secretary-General is particularly gratified that
Member States have agreed to his proposal to consolidate all four
women-specific entities into a stronger composite entity for a more robust
promotion of the rights and well-being of women around the world.
For his part the Secretary-General has appointed more
women to senior posts than at any time in United Nations history. This
includes 9 women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General, and overall the
number of women in senior posts has increased by 40 percent under his
tenure.
The Secretary-General is committed to provide expeditiously the General Assembly with a comprehensive proposal concerning the mission statement, the organizational arrangements, the funding and the oversight for the new entity in order to allow the launching of the composite entity without further delay.
BAN KI-MOON LAUDS GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S FIRST RESOLUTION ON RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
The following
statement was issued yesterday following the General Assembly’s adoption
by consensus of its first resolution on the responsibility to protect:
The Secretary-General welcomed the adoption of the
resolution as an important step as we chart a common path towards meeting
the commitment made at the 2005 World Summit to protect the world's peoples
from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
The Secretary-General now looks forward to further deepening the dialogue on how best to implement the responsibility to protect, building on the important debate the General Assembly held in late July. He has asked his Special Adviser, Professor Edward Luck, together with the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Professor Francis Deng, to continue their wide-ranging consultations on the many implementation questions still before us.
NO COUNTRY IN THE WORLD CAN CLAIM TO BE FREE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
This morning in Geneva, High Commissioner for Human
Rights Navi Pillay
addressed the autumn session of the Human Rights Council.
In her remarks, she said that discrimination remains a
“scourge” that affects every country, and that combating it had become one
of her office’s top priorities -- along with tackling impunity for attacks
on civilians during armed conflict and other human rights violations.
Pillay added that there are “huge gaps” between the
“lofty pledges” made by States and the realities of daily life for many of
their inhabitants. She noted that “no country in the world can claim to be
free of human rights violations.”
Pillay also told the Human Rights Council this morning
that it is a breach of international law for state authorities and ship
owners to reject or ignore the pleas of migrants stranded at sea. She said
the fate of people who brave life-threatening risks to cross international
boundaries in search of a better life present one of the most serious human
rights problems in the world today.
Pillay has just completed her first year at the helm of the UN human rights office.
A TERRIBLE YEAR FOR CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy,
reported to the Human Rights Council today on the plight of children
affected by war.
She said that it had been a terrible year for children
living in situations of armed conflict around the world, as conflicts in
Gaza, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and
Afghanistan led to high casualty rates and the displacement of a large
number of people, especially children. She stressed the need to address
protection concerns for children displaced as a result of conflict.
The Special Representative said that in order to halt grave violations against children, addressing impunity and holding perpetrators accountable must remain a priority of the international community.
DEATH TOLL RISES FOR AFRICANS TRYING TO CROSS GULF OF ADEN
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) has
reported that 16 African migrants have died while attempting to reach
Yemen from the Horn of Africa region. Another 49 are missing and presumed
dead. The migrants are believed to have died in three separate incidents
involving smuggling boats over the past two days.
Survivors told UNHCR that some migrants were beaten to
death by smugglers, while others suffocated in the overcrowded engine rooms
of the smuggling vessels.
Close to 300 Africans are reported to have perished trying to cross the Gulf of Aden since the start of the year.
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATES FOR LIBERIA AND SIERRA LEONE OPERATIONS
The
Security Council this morning voted unanimously to extend the mandates
of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
and of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Support Office in Sierra Leone
(UNIPSIL), both for an additional year.
Council members then heard a briefing on the work of the Sanctions Committee for Sudan in their closed consultations, by the chair of that committee, Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting of Austria.
TIMOR-LESTE: PROGRESS SEEN IN KEY HUMAN RIGHTS AREAS
A public report released today by the United Nations
Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
shows that progress has been made in key human rights areas over the
past year in Timor-Leste, including strengthening of the judicial system and
enactment of important legislation.
Launched 10 years after the popular consultation that paved the way for Timor-Leste’s independence, the UNMIT report, covering the period July 2008 to June 2009, focuses on key developments in relation to accountability and combating impunity for past and present human rights violations.
INCIDENTS TARGETING AID WORKERS RISE IN D.R. CONGO
Incidents targeting
humanitarian workers in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo have increased by 26 percent in the first six months of 2009,
compared to the same period in 2008. That is according to a report based on
data collected by Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA).
The city of Goma, for
example, has seen a staggering 44 percent rise in reported incidents
targeting aid workers during the same period. These incidents are
increasingly violent and there is more and more evidence attributing a
majority of them to local armed groups.
OCHA also notes that the non-governmental aid community has been most affected, more so than UN agency staff. And that’s partly because non-governmental organization aid workers have a greater physical presence across the region.
CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD REMAIN FORMIDABLE AND NUMEROUS
Today is the International Day of Democracy.
In a
message to mark this occasion, the Secretary-General says that the
challenges to consolidating democracy around the world remain formidable and
numerous. He adds that the primary responsibility for democratic change
lies within national societies but that the international community can play
a vital supportive role.
The Secretary-General notes that demand for UN
assistance with institution-building, elections, the rule of law, the
strengthening of civil society and other key aspects of democracy has grown
considerably and that this trend is likely to continue.
To ensure that UN assistance truly helps to build
national capacities and nurture democratic cultures, he adds that he has
circulated a Guidance Note on Democracy to all parts of the United Nations,
including field presences.
AFGHANISTAN DEPUTY REMAINS AN INTEGRAL PART OF MISSION LEADERSHIP
Asked whether
the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Peter
Galbraith, has left the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),
the Spokeswoman said Galbraith is currently on mission and he will join the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Kai Eide, later this month in
New York at the briefing of the UN Security Council.
She said that Galbraith remains an integral part of the mission leadership. With any hotly contested election there are bound to be differences in opinions; that is to be expected, she said. However, Okabe added, the leadership of UNAMA remains committed to supporting a credible election outcome that is accepted by voters.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNICEF HIGHLIGHTS “SCHOOL FOR AFRICA” CAMPAIGN: UNICEF’s “School for Africa” campaign will expand to help millions of more of children. The initiative has raised more than US$50 million, exceeding its initial target, says UNICEF. The “School for Africa” Campaign is a partnership to raise money in order to help over four million children in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
REFUGEE AGENCY AWARD GOES TO LATE U.S. SENATOR: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced that its annual Nansen Refugee Award is going to the late Senator Edward Kennedy. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres says that “Senator Kennedy stood out as a forceful advocate for those who suddenly found themselves with no voice and no rights.”
The Award Ceremony is going to take place on October 28th in Washington D.C.
*** The guests at the noon briefing today were Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and Susanna Malcorra, Head of the Department of Field Support.
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