HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ, ACTING DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2010 The Secretary-General
addressed this morning’s
Security Council meeting on
Sudan,
saying that he remains concerned by delays in the
preparations for the referenda, partly resulting from
considerable national funding shortfalls. All remaining
obstacles should be removed so that the Referendum Commission
can finance its operations; appoint, train and deploy the
necessary personnel; and take key decisions without delay. He added that the United
Nations is working with both parties on options for a possible
augmentation of additional UN troops, to increase referendum and
post-referendum security as well as UN capacity to verify and
monitor possible cease-fire violations and to protect civilians
throughout the mission area. However, the presence of UN
troops will not be enough to prevent a return to war should
wide-spread hostilities erupt, he said. To this end,
negotiations on post-referendum arrangements are vital in order
to address the apprehensions of the Sudanese population. The Secretary-General
also discussed
Darfur, where there remains an urgent need to reach a
comprehensive and inclusive settlement. He expressed his concern
at the impact of recent hostilities on innocent civilians, which
is completely unacceptable, and stressed again the urgent need
for full access to eastern Jebel Marra, where the humanitarian
situation is reportedly dire. Today’s Council meeting
was at the ministerial level. The Council adopted a Presidential
Statement at the outset on its support for the full and timely
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The Secretary-General
will speak at an informal plenary meeting of the
General Assembly this afternoon, and he will discuss with
them the Group of 20 (G20) Summit that he participated in last
week in Seoul. At the Summit, he tried
to represent the views of the Member States and emphasized the
importance of development and of implementing the
Millennium Development Goals. In Haiti, the UN Mission
in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
deplores the Monday violence in Cap Haitien and Hinche. The Mission confirms
that one demonstrator died in Quartier Morin, in the Nord
Department, after an armed attack against peacekeepers. MINUSTAH
says an investigation was opened to determine the precise
circumstances of the incident. The Mission is also
expressing its concern over a climate of insecurity ahead of the
elections. It reiterates its readiness to assist the Haitian
National Police in maintaining security and order to ensure the
progress of the electoral process and the reconstruction of
Haiti.
Asked further about the
situation on the ground, the Spokesperson said that the
situation in Cap Haitien is now calm, and that calm has returned
to Hinche. Reinforcements were deployed in both Cap Haitien and
Hinche.
Asked about violence before the start of elections, Haq said
that the UN Mission had deplored the violence and was working
with the Haitian authorities to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for
the elections. The Secretary-General
took note of the provisional results of the 7 November 2010
presidential run-off elections in Guinea, which were announced
on Monday by the Independent Electoral Commission. He calls once
again on all Guineans, in the national interest, to accept the
results of the election and to resolve any differences through
legal means. He congratulates the Guinean people for conducting
a peaceful and orderly poll and appeals to them to work for a
peaceful and prosperous Guinea. The Secretary-General
calls on the international community to provide Guinea with
concrete support as the country embarks on a new phase towards
peace consolidation and development. He reaffirms the full
support of the United Nations to Guinea in the post-electoral
period.
Asked about the recent violence in Guinea, the Spokesperson said
that the Secretary-General had commended the people of Guinea
for the patience that they had shown earlier in the electoral
process and encouraged them to respect the electoral process and
maintain calm. His Special Representative for
West Africa, Said Djinnit, had traveled to Conakry to talk
to the parties on the ground and call for calm. The Mission in the
Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT)
has handed over to the Chadian authorities three of its former
offices, along with some equipment. This is part of the
Mission’s completion effort ahead of the end of its mandate on
31 December. The handover of the
third office took place this past Sunday, while the previous two
were given to Chad in July. The Mission says the transfer of
facilities and equipment will strengthen the Chadian
Government’s ability to provide security and protection for
civilians in the east. Meanwhile, the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
has
confirmed that it and the Government of the Central African
Republic have begun the relocation by air of 3,500 Sudanese
refugees. The refugees are being flown from the Sam Ouandja
camp, in the northeast, to the south-central region. That
operation is expected to last at least one month. Despite a relatively
good harvest and slight increase in the food supply, some five
million people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
will continue to face food shortages. This is according to a new
joint
report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and the World Food Programme (WFP)
released today. The country’s cereal
imports this year are more than 500 million tonnes short of what
is needed to feed its people. The report also warned
that children, pregnant women, nursing mothers and the elderly
are among those most vulnerable to food shortages.
KASHMIR REMAINS ON SECURITY
COUNCIL AGENDA:
Asked about media reports suggesting that Kashmir had been removed
from a list of Security Council agenda items, the Spokesperson said
that the authors of the media articles may have only looked at the
most recent addendum to the Summary statement of matters on which
the Security Council is seized, which publishes only the list of
matters which have been considered in a formal meeting since 1 Jan.
2007. They missed in that addendum a paragraph explaining that the
full list appears in Add.9 of Mar. 2010. That list continues to
include the agenda items which the Council has taken up, including
Kashmir, which, by a decision of the Council, remains on the list
for this year.
SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS CALLED
FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN MYANMAR TO BE RELEASED:
Asked about the UN response
to the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Spokesperson said that
the situation is being evaluated. He noted that the
Secretary-General, in his
recent statement,
had called for the release of all political prisoners and further
steps towards democratization by the Myanmar authorities.
SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS ASKED FOR STEPS TO LIMIT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES:
Asked about drone
attacks in Pakistan, the Spokesperson said that the
Secretary-General has in the past made clear his concern about
civilian casualties and has asked for steps to be taken to limit
them.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, SA-1B15
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
