HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
Tuesday, October
27, 2009
BAN KI-MOON TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW
Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon will hold his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters in New
York.
There will be no noon briefing tomorrow.
BAN KI-MOON PLANS TO TRAVEL TO UNITED KINGDOM AND GREECE
The Secretary-General will be traveling to the United
Kingdom and Greece next week.
On November 3, the Secretary-General plans to deliver a
keynote address on the role that faiths can play in tackling climate change
at a unique gathering of religious leaders at Windsor Castle. Hosted by HRH
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, world religions will present their
long term plans to address climate change ahead of the Copenhagen Climate
Change Conference.
The Secretary-General also plans to attend at the
International Maritime Organization an event in London on November 2nd
honoring those who have taken part in international efforts to suppress
piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.
While in London, he is also scheduled to meet with
Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On November 4 and 5, the Secretary-General will be in
Athens, Greece, for an official visit.
While in Athens, he will help open the 3rd Global Forum
on Migration and Development.
He will also meet with Greek Government officials,
including Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou and
President Karolos Papoulias. He is also scheduled to address a special
session of Parliament.
BAN KI-MOON CALLS ON LEBANESE LEADERS TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENT QUICKLY
The
Security Council began its work this morning with consultations to
discuss the Secretary-General’s most recent
report concerning Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1559.
They were briefed on that topic by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy
dealing with that resolution, Terje Roed-Larsen.
The report, which is out as a document today, calls the
June elections another milestone in Lebanon’s transition.
The Secretary-General calls on the Lebanese leaders to
work together and expeditiously complete the formation of a new Government.
He warns of the threats posed by militias that act outside the control of
the State and appeals to all parties to halt all efforts to transfer or
acquire weapons and to build paramilitary capacities outside the State’s
authority.
CÔTE D’IVOIRE NO LONGER A PURELY NORTH-SOUTH FIGHT, NOW A STRUGGLE INVOLVING MANY ACTORS
In addition to the consultations on Lebanon, the
Security Council also held consultations to review the sanctions on Cote
d’Ivoire.
In the final
report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire, which has been issued
as a document of the Security Council, the Group notes that the conflict in
Côte d’Ivoire is no longer purely a north-south confrontation, but a
struggle involving many actors. Some of these actors have much to gain from
the reunification of Côte d’Ivoire but others have much to lose, according
to the experts.
The experts note that Northern Côte d’Ivoire currently
bears more resemblance to a warlord economy than to a functioning government
administration. Largely independent military ‘zone commanders’ of the former
rebel forces, the Force nouvelles, control and exploit natural resources;
providing both motive and means to sustain territorial control in northern
Côte d’Ivoire.
The Group of Experts is particularly concerned by the
systematic transfer of weapons and ammunition from the territory of Burkina
Faso to the Forces nouvelles-controlled north of the country – a situation
which may be linked to cocoa smuggling.
On diamonds, the Group of Experts note that the absence
of effective border controls allows the rough diamond trade in Côte d’Ivoire
to extend, almost seamlessly, into Burkina Faso and Mali. The report also
expresses concern that Ivorian diamonds may be illegally exported through
Guinea and Liberia.
SUDAN: IMPORTANT BENCHMARKS HAVE YET TO BE REACHED
The latest
report of the Secretary-General on the progress of the implementation of
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is
out. It is scheduled to be discussed by the Security Council tomorrow.
The
Secretary-General notes that while some progress has been made on the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, important benchmarks
have not been reached, most notably elections and the referenda.
He also notes
that the apparent targeting of unarmed civilians during the series of tribal
attacks and counter-attacks this year is of grave concern, as are the
reports of widespread proliferation of arms in Southern Sudan. He calls upon
the Government of Southern Sudan to strengthen its efforts to end recurring
violence and to bring those responsible to justice.
And despite the
significant progress in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, the
United Nations faces a significant funding shortfall for the reintegration
of the first caseload of 64,000 participants, he says.
The
Secretary-General concludes by saying that the coming 18 months will pose
enormous challenges for the people of the Sudan, and how those challenges
are met will largely determine the future of the country. But this moment is
also an opportunity for the democratic transformation of the Sudan and, if
the parties are able to overcome the obstacles, the people of the Sudan can
take a critical step towards the realization of political equality, economic
development and human rights.
Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front, the UNICEF Representative in Sudan says that, more than ever, Sudan needs peace. Nils Kastberg told reporters in Khartoum that most of the violence around the world, most of the wars, most of the misuse of state budgets, is caused by men and not by women. Kastberg appealed to all Sudanese men to assume a greater responsibility of understanding how their actions cause harm to women and children.
PEACEKEEPING MISSION EVACUATES WOUNDED DARFURIS FOLLOWING RENEWED ETHNIC VIOLENCE
The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID)
reports that 10 people have been killed from renewed ethnic clashes near
Shangil Tobaiya - some 70 kilometers south of El Fasher, in North Darfur.
The clashes on Monday, between the Zaghawas and Birgids
communities, also left some 11 people injured. Some of the injured were
initially taken to the UNAMID in Shangil Tobaiya. Others have been
evacuated by UNAMID helicopter to El Fasher.
UNAMID is sending a joint assessment mission to the
area tomorrow, 28 October.
Just last week, two persons were killed and six others
were injured when the two communities clashed over the sharing of water
resources in the area.
REFUGEE AGENCY SADDENED BY KILLING OF PARTNER IN EASTERN CHAD
The Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR)
says it is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic killing of one of
its partners in Eastern Chad.
Michel Mitna,
who was head of the “Commission National d’Accueil et de Réinsertion des
réfugiés,” a Chadian refugee body, in Guéréda, was killed in an ambush over
the weekend. He worked daily with UNHCR to protect and assist refugees and
internally displaced persons in the region.
UNHCR notes that
this is the fifty-first armed attack on a humanitarian vehicle in eastern
Chad this year alone. Thirty-one of these attacks have been against UNHCR
and its partners.
Armed banditry
remains the greatest security threat for humanitarian workers in this area
neighbouring the Darfur region of Sudan.
HUMANITARIAN BODY CALLS FOR HALT TO HOUSE DEMOLITIONS IN EAST JERUSALEM
In light of
today’s events in East Jerusalem, in which Israeli authorities demolished
the homes of six Palestinian families, the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated its call for an immediate and
unconditional halt to such actions.
It urged Israel
to protect the civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
from further displacement and dispossession.
Noting that 26
Palestinians, including 10 children, lost their homes today, OCHA added that
it has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions and
demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Such actions run
counter to international law and have a serious and long-term negative
impact on Palestinian families and communities, OCHA said.
In response to a
question, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is aware of the
disturbing report of Amnesty International on the water situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory. She said that Palestinians share the right
to fresh water with all their neighbours and to its equitable distribution.
The issue is being followed by UN officials on the ground, she added.
U.N. AGENCIES HELP QUAKE SURVIVORS IN INDONESIA
The UN system is
continuing to assist the people affected by the two powerful earthquakes
that struck West Sumatra in Indonesia nearly a month ago. The estimated
total of affected people is 1.2 million.
The UN
Population Fund (UNFPA) is currently assisting some 30,000 women and girls
of reproductive age in the worst affected areas, including about 1,656
pregnant women.
Early food and
nutrition assessments reveal that approximately 38,000 households
(comprising some 192,000 people) in the most affected areas are experiencing
temporary shortages of staple foods such as rice.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is targeting children under five years and primary school children, as well as pregnant or lactating mothers. To date, more than 68,000 people have received assistance.
PHILIPPINES: HUMANITARIAN APPEAL REMAINS ONLY 30% FUNDED
Regarding the Philippines, which is still recovering
from recent typhoons and a tropical storm, the Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that its $74 million appeal remains only 30% funded.
In addition, food needs continue to be high. In
response, the World Food Programme (WFP) is continuing to dispatch
locally-purchased rice. It is also working to procure an additional ten
thousand tons of rice to meet upcoming requirements.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
says that as many as 120,000 farming households lost 100% of their produce
and assets. FAO says that what are needed most right now are emergency
supplies of rice, vegetable seeds and fertilizers, as well as urgent repairs
of small-scale irrigation facilities.
And in response to the increased number of cases and
deaths due to water-borne diseases, a team of experts from the Global
Outbreak Alert and Response Network will arrive in Manila this week. That
network works with the World Health Organization.
U.N. AGENCY USES MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY TO AID 1,000 IRAQI REFUGEE FAMILIES IN SYRIA
The World Food
Programme (WFP) has
launched an electronic food voucher project, the first of its kind in
the world to use mobile phone technology, to aid 1,000 Iraqi refugee
families in Syria.
Iraqi refugees
living in Damascus would receive a text message on their phones providing a
code enabling them to cash in all or part of the “virtual voucher” at
selected Government shops.
Each family
would receive one voucher per family member, worth $22 every two months.
WFP is providing
food assistance to 130,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, out of the 1.2 million
Iraqi refugees in Syria.
All of the
refugees needing food aid have mobile phones and WFP is currently providing
information about distributions on mobile phone messages to them.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CYPRUS LEADERS
MEET UNDER U.N. AUSPICES: 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 mainly discussed the competencies of the federal government. They will
meet again next Thursday and Monday to talk about the issue of property.
OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT CAUSE MORE DEATHS THAN UNDERWEIGHT: A new report published today by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that global life expectancy could be increased by nearly five years if five factors are addressed. Those factors are: childhood underweight; unsafe sex; alcohol use; lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene; and high blood pressure. They are responsible for one quarter of the 60 million deaths estimated to occur annually. The report, called “Global Health Risks” also notes that, worldwide, obesity and overweight cause more deaths than underweight.
EVENT FOCUSES ON HEALTH OF WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY: Ending the needless death and suffering of women during pregnancy is one of the greatest moral, human rights and development challenges of our time, more than 150 delegates agreed at a meeting in Addis Ababa yesterday. Facing that challenge requires concrete action to protect and fulfill everyone’s right to sexual and reproductive health, they declared. The one-day event was organized by the Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and was hosted by the Government of Ethiopia.
W.F.P. HAD NOT BEEN AWARE OF LAST WEEK'S MARKETING ACTIVITY BY KFC AT THE U.N.: Asked about a promotional effort by KFC at UN Headquarters last week, the Spokeswoman said that the World Food Programme (WFP) had not been aware of last week's marketing activity by KFC at the United Nations. The appearance was organized by KFC, and was not linked to WFP's partnership with YUM Brands, which raises some $10 million every year to help WFP fight hunger worldwide. Montas added that the incident was a stunt which did not warrant further publicity.
*** The guest at the noon briefing today was Walter Kaelin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
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