Noon briefing of 16 February 2010

MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

SECRETARY-GENERAL, SPECIAL ENVOY CLINTON TO LAUNCH REVISED HAITI FLASH APPEAL THURSDAY

• The Secretary-General together with his Special Envoy for Haiti, Bill Clinton, and the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, will launch a revised Flash Appeal for Haiti, this Thursday at 3 p.m.
  

• A memorial service in honour of UN staff who died in the Haiti earthquake will take place on Tuesday, 9 March, at 4 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall.
  

• In Haiti, an emergency feeding programme is being launched by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
  

• Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, infants and children under five years old living in makeshift shelters across Port-au-Prince will receive high-energy food supplements. With this programme, United Nations agencies hope to reach more than 16,000 women and 53,000 children within the next three weeks.
  

• Meanwhile, the World Food Programme says it will work to provide a fuller food basket to people in the greater Port-au-Prince area, following its distribution of two-week rice rations through its systematic distribution system.
  

• Outside the capital, WFP says it has reached more than half a million people with food assistance since the earthquake struck and that it continues to scale up these distributions.
  

• The United Nations in Haiti says that, increasingly, aid efforts are looking beyond Port-au-Prince and that it is assessing how more assistance can be provided to those who have moved out of the affected areas.

IRAQ: SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON IMPENDING VOTE

• Ad Melkert, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, briefed Security Council members on Iraq this morning, saying that the 7 March elections will mark the transition from the first full term of a democratically-elected parliament to a new term.
  

• He discussed the de-Baathification process, and said that the UN Mission in Iraq has consistently emphasized the due process requirements and refrained from judging the outcomes. What eventually will matter most, he said, is the acceptance by the Iraqi people of the election result. He also detailed the UN’s support for the elections.
  

• Afterward, the Security Council President read a statement to the press affirming the Council’s support for the work of the UN Mission in Iraq.

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES CALM IN COTE D’IVOIRE

• The Spokesperson read a statement, released on Monday, in which the Secretary-General said he was, with his Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, closely following the evolution of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire and keeps consulting with stakeholders after the public announcement, made on Friday, that the Government and the Independent electoral Commission have been dissolved.
  

• The Secretary-General urges the Ivorian people to remain calm and avoid resorting to any action that could cause renewed violence. He also calls on the Ivorian political leaders and other national stakeholders to exercise restraint, avoid measures that could return the country to instability, and resolve the current challenges related to the already repeatedly delayed elections through dialogue, within the framework of the Ouagadougou Peace Agreements.
  

• On Monday in Côte d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Choi Young-Jin, met with Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. Speaking to journalists after that meeting, Choi stressed the need to preserve the achievements made in the electoral process “during this delicate and sensitive moment.”
  

• He added that these achievements included the provisional electoral list and said that a final electoral list must be established as soon as possible.

U.N. MISSION IN DARFUR CALLS FOR RESTRAINT IN WAKE OF DEADLY VIOLENCE

• UNAMID, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, is calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint following recent clashes in South Darfur and West Darfur.
  

• The violence over the past few days has left many people dead and caused thousands to flee their homes. The Joint AU-UN Special Representative, Ibrahim Gambari, warns that such confrontations may negatively affect the ongoing peace process.
  

• In response, UNAMID’s peacekeeping forces are increasing their security presence in and around the region, to prevent a further escalation in the violence. The Mission is also collaborating closely with aid agencies to urgently meet the humanitarian needs of the newly displaced peoples.

ETHIOPIA DELIVERS TACTICAL HELICOPTERS TO MISSION IN DARFUR

• The Mission in Darfur confirmed today that it has received five MI-35 tactical helicopters from Ethiopia. The helicopters arrived in Nyala, South Darfur, with 15 pilots and crew members onboard. They will join a 185-member advance team, including pilots, technicians and protection force, which arrived last month.
  

• Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari has expressed his gratitude to the Ethiopian government. UNAMID, meanwhile, still requires 18 utility helicopters and two transport units.

U.N. GRAVELY CONCERNED AT HIGH DEATH TOLL, DISPLACEMENT OF CIVILIANS IN SOMALIA CLASHES

• The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, has expressed grave concern at the high casualties number among civilians and the massive displacement of Mogadishu residents amid fighting between Government troops and insurgents. More than 80 civilians have been killed and some 8,000 were displaced, according to the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
  

• Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that it has opened a new camp for Somali refugees in Ethiopia. UNHCR staff has begun relocating refugees to the new Melkadida, near the Somali border.

AFGHANISTAN: AID COMMUNITY CALLS FOR RESPECT OF HUMANITARIAN WORKERS AND GOODS

• The United Nations and the humanitarian community call for respect of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian aid as increasing numbers of displaced people arrive in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan.
  

• Operation Mushtarak, now underway in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, has led to a movement of civilians into the provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah. The humanitarian community has been mobilised to provide assistance to the displaced families.
  

• The United Nations, as well as national and international NGOs, has increased emergency capacity in the conflict area to provide non-food items, shelter and food supplies to the displaced population. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is facilitating dialogue with the military on issues relevant to the humanitarian response.
  

• Today there are 6,000 non-food kits already in place. In addition, health emergency kits, emergency school kits, as well as water and sanitation equipment, are also on standby and in a position to be mobilized quickly.

REFUGEE AGENCY “ENCOURAGED” BY YEMEN CEASEFIRE

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is encouraged by the first ceasefire between Yemeni troops and the Al Houti movement in northern Yemen since August 2009, which is still holding. The ceasefire came into effect late last Thursday, and the first phase of implementation has begun.
  

• UNHCR today renewed its call for access to Sa'ada province, enabling aid agencies to deliver much needed help to the civilian population. Coordination meetings have started in that regard.
  

• The Refugee Agency is preparing for a potential shift in its operations as many internally displaced people, following the news about the ceasefire, say they want to go back to their homes in the north of the country. UNHCR hopes that a joint Government-UN mission will be able to visit Sa'ada province as soon as possible. The mission would assess the situation and immediate humanitarian needs.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR END TO FIGHTING BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND KAREN FORCES: Asked about reports of violence against ethic Karen in Myanmar, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General is aware of these latest reports. She said that the Secretary-General remains especially concerned in regard to the fate of innocent civilians and underscores the obligations of all concerned in this regard. As he has said repeatedly, including publicly in Myanmar, he calls for an immediate cessation of any hostilities and urges all concerned to work towards peaceful resolution.

UNICEF OFFICIAL EXPELLED FROM THE GAMBIA: Asked about reports that a UNICEF official has been expelled from the Gambia, the Spokesperson said that UNICEF has confirmed the expulsion but has no further details yet.

SECRETARY-GENERAL A STRONG SUPPORTER OF PRESS FREEDOM: Asked about a call from the Committee to Protect Journalists for the Secretary-General to be more vocal in his support of press freedom, the Spokesperson said the Committee, according to its members’ comments, was considering bringing this matter directly to the Secretary-General. Okabe noted that the Secretary-General has issued many strong statements in support of journalists’ rights, including his message last year on World Press Freedom Day.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER TO VISIT CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will visit the Central African Republic on 18 February. She will seek to strengthen cooperation between the Government and her office in the wake of the involvement last year of the Central African Republic in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.