Noon briefing of 10 September 2009

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, September 10, 2009

BAN KI-MOON REGRETS DELAYS IN FORMING NEW LEBANESE GOVERNMENT

• In response to a question about the reported resignation of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, the Deputy Spokesperson said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regrets that at the moment it has proven impossible to form a new government in Lebanon.
  

• The Secretary-General hopes that the consultations that President Michel Sleiman will hold with all parties will be successful and that the Lebanese continue working towards the goal of a unity government.
  

• The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, will continue to talk to all of the parties and encourage them to work in this direction.

UNITED NATIONS IS EXTREMELY CONCERNED AT SRI LANKA’S DETENTION OF TWO STAFF MEMBERS

• Asked about reports that two UN staff may have been tortured in Sri Lanka, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations has been and is extremely concerned about the continuing case of two national UN staff members detained by the Sri Lankan authorities in June.
  

• The two men were detained while deployed to Vavuniya by the United Nations without any notice to the Organisation. Okabe said that the United Nations was immediately concerned about the ‘disappearance’ of the staff, and protested strongly the manner of their detention, once discovered, with the Sri Lankan authorities, at many levels.
  

• The UN has been particularly concerned about suggestions that the two staff members may have been mistreated in the first days of their detention, she said. If these allegations are validated, this would be a violation of Sri Lankan and international law.
  

• The allegations, the Spokeswoman said, were raised with the Government both orally and in writing, and the United Nations has assisted the two staff members to seek redress through the Sri Lankan legal system.
  

• Okabe said that the United Nations has called for due process to be swiftly applied. The Government should either notify the Secretary-General of the case and any charges against the two men and request for their immunity as UN staff to be waived, or they should be released.
  

• She noted that the Secretary-General had raised the issue with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when the two met at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
  

• The Secretary-General intends to raise the issue of the two detained staff members again when he speaks by phone with President Rajapaksa and will raise his serious concern over their mistreatment.

BAN KI-MOON: INT’L CRIMINAL COURT WORK “CLOSELY LINKED” TO UN GOALS

• Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Patricia O’Brien delivered a message on the Secretary-General’s behalf to the Consultative Conference on International Criminal Justice.
  

• In it, the Secretary-General says that the establishment of the International Criminal Court was a landmark in the efforts of the international community to enforce the applicability of international humanitarian law, and to advance the cause of justice and the rule of law on a universal scale.
  

• The UN’s efforts to promote peace, development and human rights are closely linked to the ICC’s work, he adds.
  

• The Secretary-General says he attaches great importance to improving cooperation between the two institutions in ways that take into account the legitimate interests of both partners. With full respect for its independent character, the United Nations will continue to support and assist the Court.

COHESIVE APPROACH IS NEEDED TO FIGHT PIRACY OFF SOMALIA

• The continued increase in the total number of piracy-related incidents off the Coast of Somalia and their evolving sophistication underscores the limits of an exclusively sea-based approach. That’s according to the Director of the Africa One Division of the UN’s Department of Political Affairs, Joao Honwana, who was speaking at UN Headquarter today, during a Contact Group meeting on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
  

• Honwana added that the situation highlighted the need for the international community to deal with the issue of piracy in a comprehensive, cohesive and broad-based manner.
  

• He said that the U.N. has been strengthening the capacities of States to ensure that suspected pirates are prosecuted through harmonizing national legislation with the international legal regime. Additionally, the UN is assisting to get more states to share the burden of prosecution and imprisonment of pirates.

NO FUNDING RECEIVED FOR HUMANITARIAN APPEAL ON YEMEN

• The Director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Rashid Khalikov, is leaving today for a four day fact-finding mission to Yemen.
  

• During his mission, Khalikov will visit areas where internally displaced people (IDPs) have settled, and meet with government officials and humanitarian actors in order to gain a better understanding of the crisis and challenges to providing assistance.
  

• Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from Sa'ada and Amran Governorates, in the north of the country, as a result of the conflict, bringing the total number of IDPs to around 150,000 so far, says OCHA. Their most urgent needs are food, water and sanitation, essential domestic items and health care.
  

• On 2 September, the humanitarian community launched a Flash Appeal for $23.7 million for a period of four months but it has not received any funding to date. OCHA says it urgently needs the international community's support to prevent the situation from further deteriorating.

AID APPEAL IMMINENT FOR DROUGHT-STRICKEN GUATEMALA

• In Guatemala, the Resident Coordinator in the country has informed the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the country team's decision to issue a Flash Appeal in the coming days, to respond to the current humanitarian situation.
  

• Severe droughts in the country have caused food shortages – a situation exacerbated by previous crop losses, low food stocks, and declining remittances, exports, foreign investment due to the global economic crisis, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
  

• In what is known has Guatemala’s “Dry Corridor,” the number of children affected by severe acute undernutrition is three times higher than last year at the same time, adds WFP. It also says that the food shortage is likely to deteriorate, due to the period of irregular rainfalls in the country: 60 to 80% of the up-coming harvest could be lost in some of the provinces, which would put even more households at very high risk of becoming food insecure.
  

• WFP, in coordination with UN agencies, has allocated as an immediate response, a total of 20 metric tons of High Energy Biscuits (HEB) and 200 metric tons of other food commodities to assist some 75,000 families.

HAITI ENVOY PRESSES FOR FASTER DELIVERY OF PROMISED FUNDS

• The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Haiti, former US President Bill Clinton, told the Security Council yesterday afternoon that Haiti has a historic opportunity to consolidate its political stability. He said, “I am convinced that Haiti has a remarkable opportunity to escape its past.”
  

• The Haitian Government was committed to building a modern State, he said, while international donors had pledged substantial aid to help build a modern, sustainable society. But of the amount pledged, Clinton warned, only $21 million had been disbursed so far. Anything that could help expedite the distribution of aid would have a positive impact on the daily lives of Haitians.
  

• Hédi Annabi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, also spoke, introducing the Secretary-General’s report about the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Annabi stressed that political dialogue lay at the heart of the stabilization process, and lauded the improvement of collaboration between the executive and legislative branches of Government.
  

• With regard to security, he said that there had been progress in many areas, with support from MINUSTAH and its bilateral partners, including the continued strengthening of the Haitian National Police that now comprised nearly 10,000 officers.
  

• Serious threats continued, however, including a potential for resumed activity by gangs, criminals and other armed groups; corruption and violence associated with illegal trafficking; and the risk of civil unrest. To counter such threats, Annabi said that the continued presence of international troops and police remained indispensable.

UNICEF REPORTS PROGRESS IN FIGHT AGAINST CHILD MORTALITY

• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today released new figures showing that the rate of deaths of children under five continued to drop in 2008.
  

• According to these estimates, child deaths in 2008 declined to an estimated 8.8 million from 12.5 million in 1990, the base line year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
  

• “Compared to 1990, 10,000 fewer children are dying every day,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman – adding that, despite progress it was still unacceptable that, each year, 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday.
  

• UNICEF also says that the global rate of improvement is still insufficient to reach the MDG. Africa and Asia combined still account for 93 per cent of all under-five deaths that occur each year in the developing world.

ISRAEL SHOULD LIFT CURBS ON GAZA CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO SCHOOL MATERIALS

• As the school year begins, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is once more raising attention to the need for Palestinian children to have access to educational materials.
  

• There is a long history of UNRWA experiencing obstacles with the Israeli authorities in getting educational materials, such as paper and books, into Gaza. This is particularly hard to understand, as UNRWA's education programmes, including subjects such as human rights and the Universal Declaration, are underpinned by universal values which are informed by tolerance and the need to resolve conflict peacefully.
  

• It is in the interests of everyone who believes in peace that the blockade of Gaza should be lifted especially for educational materials, the Agency says.

PAKISTAN: SCORES OF SCHOOLS DAMAGED IN NORTHWEST CONFLICT

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that insecurity in the Malakand Division of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province has led to major challenges in providing quality education to children. In the areas that were affected by fighting, many children will find that their former schools have been damaged or destroyed. Nearly 550 primary and secondary schools have been damaged or destroyed in these areas, including 147 girls’ schools that were destroyed.
  

• Also, in the host communities where internally displaced people (IDPs) took refuge, more than 4,800 schools were converted to shelters. These schools must be repaired and rehabilitated to provide adequate and healthy environments for children to learn.
  

• UNICEF has dispatched 100 school tents to Swat and Buner so that formerly displaced children who are returning home don’t miss out on education. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 schools that had been serving as shelters have been rehabilitated to date, and work is currently underway on nearly 900 schools. An estimated 543,000 children will benefit from that effort.
  

• In addition, mass education on unexploded ordnance and mines is urgently needed to prevent loss of lives and injuries, as well as to make children and teachers safe to commute to and from schools. Some organizations have started work on this front, but it has to be sufficiently funded and scaled up.
  

• OCHA warns that, to date, only 17 percent of all educational activities are currently funded, and nearly $20 million are still required to cover the educational needs of children affected by this conflict.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME IS SET TO RESUME WORK IN RESTIVE MYANMAR-CHINA BORDER AREA

• Responding to an earlier question, the Spokeswoman said that the World Food Programme did suspend operations in the area on 25 August, in view of the growing insecurity in the region, and brought staff back from deep field positions to Laukkai temporarily.
  

• After fighting escalated in the vicinity of the town of Laukkai, WFP requested safe passage out for its staff to Lashio. This was not possible for a period of four days, because of fighting in and around the three roads in and out of Laukkai.
  

• It is not correct to suggest they were kept there so as not to report on what was going on; in fact, WFP had continual updates on developments from the team throughout the fighting. WFP now has a new team on the ground and are in the process of re-starting its activities along with its NGO partners. The situation remains stable and normal economic activity is returning to the town.

UNITED NATIONS UPDATES EMERGENCY PROCEDURE AMID STAFF RELOCATION TO NEW SITES ACROSS NEW YORK

• Asked about a change in emergency procedure, in which UN staff are to call 911 first in an emergency, the Spokeswoman said that this is only a change for the UN Secretariat building. The procedure to call 911 first has always been the case for UN workplaces other than the Secretariat building.
  

• The reason for the current change, Okabe said, is the ongoing move of staff out of the Secretariat, including the imminent move of UN medical services to a Capital Master Plan swing space location where it will be no longer co-located with the majority of UN staff. It is obvious that an expectation for medical staff to respond on foot to emergencies scattered across the various swing space buildings is untenable, and would only waste time.
  

• Further, she said, any emergency procedure should be valid for all times and circumstances. The UN Fire and Safety Unit is manned 24 hours per day, and after calling 911, it is the appropriate party to know of an emergency; they are responsible to ensure site access for 911 responders. If it is appropriate for the location and circumstances of the incident, the Fire and Safety Unit will also activate a medical services response, for which UN medical staff is equipped and ready, Okabe added.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

LEBANON: NUCLEAR WATCHDOG REMOVES RADIOACTIVE SOURCES: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has safely removed powerful radioactive sources out of Lebanon, including Cobalt-60, a single source of which is enough to kill a person within minutes if directly exposed. The mission was completed on 30 August, after a plane carrying the high-activity cargo safely touched down in Russia, where the sources are now securely and safely stored, the IAEA said.

CYPRUS LEADERS DISCUSS EXECUTIVE GOVERNANCE ISSUES: 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 had discussed bridging proposals concerning the issue of executive governance -- in relation to the election of the President and Vice-President of the Republic of the United Republic. He added that both sides had put forward new bridging proposals and that the leaders would continue discussing this subject next Thursday, September 17.

NEW DARFUR FORCE COMMANDER FACED COMPETITIVE HIRING PROCESS: Asked about the selection of a Rwandan general to be the new Force Commander for the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the Spokeswoman said the general was selected through a competitive process in which the United Nations and the African Union worked together.

KENYA READIES CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR EXPECTED HEAVY RAINS: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA), and the Government of Kenya are making contingency plans to respond to any humanitarian emergency that could result from anticipated heavy rainfall between October and December this year. The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned that the El Nino weather pattern could cause unusually heavy rainfall in Kenya. In the past, El Nino rainfall in Kenya resulted in the disruption of livelihoods, population displacement, loss of property and assets, damage to infrastructure and death of people and livestock. OCHA and the Kenya’s Ministry of State for Special Programmes will co-chair a consultative workshop next week to prepare for the anticipated heavy rainfall.

BURKINA FASO: CONDITIONS REMAIN TOUGH FOR FLOOD SURVIVORS: Some 48,000 people in flood-hit Burkina Faso have found shelter in schools, churches and other public buildings, but the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that sanitation and other conditions at these facilities are now under strain. UN agencies are out to provide emergency relief, including food, medical supplies, shelter material, hygiene kits and much more. The flooding has been particularly severe in and around the capital, Ouagadougou, where host families are helping another 40,000 flood survivors. OCHA is now finalizing a Flash Appeal for this humanitarian emergency in Burkina Faso.

**The guests today were Werner Obermeyer from the World Health Organization and Brian Mishara from the International Association for Suicide Prevention who are here to brief you on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

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