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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, December 14, 2006
[The following summary substitutes for the daily noon briefing summary, which did not take place as Secretary-General Designate Ban Ki-moon gave a press conference at noon.]
BAN KI-MOON
SWORN IN AS NEXT SECRETARY-GENERAL,
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PAYS TRIBUTE TO KOFI ANNAN
Ban Ki-moon
was sworn in today to serve as the next Secretary-General, effective on 1
January. He took the oath of office on a day in which the General Assembly
paid tribute to the departing Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan, adopting
a resolution honouring his accomplishments during his ten years in office and
also giving him a standing ovation.
Ban took the oath of office, and said afterward of that
oath, “Loyalty, discretion and conscience – these, together with the Charter,
will be my watchwords as I carry out my duties as Secretary-General.”
He said it was an honour to follow in Kofi Annan’s
“revered footsteps”, saying to him, “Your courage and vision have inspired the
world.”
Ban said that one of his core tasks will be “to breathe
new life and inject renewed confidence into the sometimes weary Secretariat”
while seeking the highest ethical standard at the organization. And he
promised, “I will seek to act as a harmonizer and a bridge-builder.”
Secretary-General Annan
thanked the
Assembly for their tribute to him, saying that “it is humbling to be
recognised for simply doing what you love to do.”
He said that, despite difficulties and setbacks, the United Nations has achieved many things in the past 10 years, having remoulded and reoriented itself, becoming more transparent, accountable and responsive. “I depart convinced that today’s UN does more than ever before, and does it better than ever before.”
UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES HUMANITARIAN PLAN FOR SUDAN
The UN Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS)
reports that the security situation in Darfur has
been relatively quiet since yesterday, although Arab militias were seen moving
towards El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, yesterday morning in more than
70 vehicles. In the West Darfur town of El Geneina, a vehicle belonging to an
international non-governmental organization (NGO) was seized at gunpoint, an
incident that left two NGO workers injured.
Also
yesterday, the Mission’s Officer-in-Charge, Taye-Brook Zerihoun, yesterday met
with Pekka Haavisto, Special Representative of the European Union to Sudan.
They agreed on the need for and priority of a re-energized the Darfur
political process, and making the ceasefire mechanisms operational and
effective.
Today in Geneva,
the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Sudan,
Manuel Aranda da Silva, and the Sudanese Minister for International
Cooperation launched the Sudan Work Plan 2007, according to which $1.8 billion
would be needed to fund humanitarian, recovery and development projects in
Sudan in 2007. The vast majority of the funds – some $1.26 billion – will go
to fund humanitarian activities for large numbers of the population still in
considerable need, with nearly half the amount dedicated to Darfur. Some $563
million is required to fund recovery and development activities. Sudan’s
humanitarian operation represents the largest slice of the $3.7 billion
appealed for by the Secretary-General for humanitarian assistance worldwide in
2007.
Meanwhile, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Omar Abdi ended a week-long visit to Sudan earlier today by voicing deep concerns at the impact of the Darfur conflict on children and women and the safety of humanitarian workers.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS SUDAN, CYPRUS
Starting at 3:00 this afternoon, the Security Council
will hold consultations to discuss a draft resolution on the extension of the
mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
After that, the Council will hold an open meeting, followed by a closed meeting, to hear from Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, about the status of his nearly-completed investigation on the admissibility of the Darfur case and his next steps in dealing with that case. He will speak to reporters afterward.
ANNAN ENCOURAGED BY GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE
The Secretary-General, in a
message delivered
by his Special Adviser on Africa, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, welcomed the start
in Nairobi today of the second summit of the International Conference for the
Great Lakes Region.
The Secretary-General, in his message, acknowledged that
the Great Lakes region has witnessed some of the world’s bloodiest wars, but
he also noted the positive major developments that have taken place recently,
including the elections in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He said that the Pact on Security, Stability and Development that is to be adopted in Nairobi is a notable accomplishment, but added that a more challenging phase will now begin, in implementing that Pact.
COTE D’IVOIRE: U.N. AGENCY FINALIZES PLAN FOR DEALING WITH TOXIC WASTE
An international
mission to support Cote d’Ivoire finalize a strategic plan for dealing with
toxic waste dumped in the country was launched today, it was announced by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The move is in
direct response to a decision taken by Governments at an international
hazardous waste meeting earlier this month and follows the dumping in August
of toxic materials in and around Abidjan — the Cote d’Ivoire capital — with
serious and ongoing public health and environmental impacts.
The Government of Cote d’Ivoire has been struggling to cope with the multi-million dollar financial costs of collecting and dispatching the toxic wastes to France for decontamination.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE U.N. SYSTEM
U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR END TO FIGHTING IN SOMALIA: The Secretary-General’s Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Kjell Magne Bondevik, today called on the conflicting parties in Somalia, and their respective supporters, to put aside their differences for the greater good of the Somali people. “On humanitarian grounds, I plead for reason, moderation and a spirit of compromise to prevail even in the current very difficult circumstances,” Bondevik said. “There is no other path to coexistence, sustainable peace and human development,” he added.
REFUGEE AGENCY ALARMED BY ATTACK ON PALESTINIANS IN BAGHDAD: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is alarmed by a violent attack by armed militia on a Palestinian neighbourhood in Baghdad which left at least nine people dead, and is appealing to countries to provide a humanitarian solution for Palestinians attempting to flee Iraq.
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