HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, 15 August 2006
LEBANON CALM ON SECOND DAY OF CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says the situation on the ground is generally quiet.
UNIFIL carried out intensive patrolling during the night and this morning throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities.
There were no reports of incidents or breaches of the agreement in the UNIFIL area of operations until 1300 hours today.
UNIFIL has continued contact with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army with the aim of facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south.
The UN Force also made initial assessments of the damage to the civilian infrastructure in the eastern part of the central sector of its area of operation.
Asked for an update on troop contributions for the expanded UNIFIL operation, the Spokesman said no formal offers had yet been received but the United Nations continues holding technical meetings with military advisors from Member States.
He added that 17 Member States attended a meeting yesterday and 28 attended a meeting on Saturday.
“We hope to have a more formal meeting with the troop contributors on Thursday,” Dujarric said, adding that no budget for the expanded UNIFIL has yet been set.
Asked which Member States have been involved in the meetings, the Spokesman said they represented a wide cross-section of the United Nations’ membership. Asked if the same countries attended the meetings, the Spokesman said they were different countries.
Asked if the Secretary-General was surprised and concerned that 96 hours after the Security Council passed resolution 1701 there has yet to be a formal commitment from Member States on contributing troops to UNIFIL, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General would like a formal commitment to happen as soon as possible.
“We do expect a more formal meeting on Thursday at which point hopefully we will get those offers,” Dujarric said.
Asked how soon the new troops will be on the ground with UNIFIL, the Spokesman said a better idea of the timeline for deployment will be available when the United Nations receives firm commitments about troop contributions from Member States.
The Spokesman denied there would be a vacuum on the ground until more peacekeepers arrive as UNIFIL already has a presence on the ground, and UNIFIL commander General Pellegrini has been in contact with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts and will be meeting them again tomorrow.
Asked if the Lebanese Government has told the United Nations that it is prepared to disarm militias, the Spokesman said that the relevant resolution says that the disarming of militias will be the responsibility of the Lebanese Government. The UN will assist the government of Lebanon in asserting its authority over all of southern Lebanon.
“We will be there to provide that strong support,” Dujarric said. “Especially as soon as we get some more troops on the ground.”
Asked if UNIFIL has any means of ensuring that convoys bringing returnees to southern Lebanon from Syria do not also contain arms, the Spokesman said the implementation of resolution 1559 is aimed at resulting extending the authority of the Lebanese Government and UNIFIL will help the government, but the operational details of that support would have to be worked out once UNIFIL’s troop strength increases.
Asked if the new mandate for UNIFIL applied to the 2,000 troops already on the ground with UNIFIL, the Spokesman said it does apply to the 2,000.
Asked if doubts over who would lead the expanded UNIFIL force are causing delays in assembling the expanded force, the Spokesman said there is a force commander already in place, although it is envisaged that one country would provide a strong military core and that one country coming forward could impact positively on other countries coming forward. The Spokesman added that the United Nations is dependent, as it always is in force-generating activities, on Member States to come forward with firm offers.
U.N. HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES ARRIVE IN TYRE
Regarding the United Nations’ humanitarian activities in Lebanon, the two UN humanitarian convoys dispatched to Tyre immediately after the cessation of hostilities yesterday have arrived.
Seven of the 24 trucks have already distributed food and water in Tyre and nearby villages, while 14 are proceeding to the villages of Rmeish and Debel today.
In addition to the trucks, two UN-chartered ships are off-loading supplies in Beirut today. Also, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that 50,000 tents, 230,000 mattresses and 172,000 blankets are currently en route to Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a World Health Organization (WHO) team is in southern Lebanon to evaluate damages caused to sanitation infrastructure. WHO also reports that, together with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) it has transported 60 tons of fuel to South Lebanon for 18 hospitals to cover their operational needs for the next ten days.
In response to the threat of unexploded ordnance and landmines to returnees to south Lebanon, UNICEF has launched an information campaign to raise awareness of this danger. For its part, a UNIFIL de-mining team has conducted controlled explosions of 36 unexploded ordnance.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), meanwhile, reports that with thousands of displaced Lebanese both within Lebanon and from Syria streaming back to their homes, it has teams monitoring these returns 24 hours a day at the four border points from Syria. Inside Lebanon, UNHCR is handing out plastic sheeting, mattresses, water and other supplies to returnees. UNHCR is also prepared to assist up to 50,000 Lebanese who may delay their return from Syria. The agency also reports that one of its charter planes landed today in Beirut from Jordan loaded with family-sized tents and mattresses. Two more flights to Beirut are scheduled on Wednesday.
Asked about access to Lebanon’s international airport, the Spokesman said that a number of aid planes had managed to land there, but that those were C-130 aircraft which can land on shortened runways and the airport runway still could not be used by larger aircraft.
ANNAN SADDENED BY LOSS OF LIFE, DAMAGE IN ETHIOPIAN FLOOD
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply saddened over the loss of life and damage caused by the recent flooding in Dire Dawa and South Omo, Ethiopia, which has led to more than 350 deaths and displaced nearly 20,000 people.
The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of the victims and to the survivors. He commends the Government of Ethiopia on its rapid rescue operation of thousands of people marooned by the floods, and reaffirms that the United Nations humanitarian and development agencies will continue to assist the national response to this disaster.
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN HAITI
The Security Council helding two open meetings this morning. The first was on the Secretary-General’s latest report on Timor-Leste, on which the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Timor-Leste, Ian Martin.
He said the request for the Council to mandate a larger UN Office in Timor-Leste should not be seen as a reversion to an earlier stage of UN engagement with Timor-Leste.
Martin pointed out that Timor-Leste is today a sovereign state which struggled hard for its right to self-determination and its independence.
He also noted that the international community’s support for Timor-Leste has achieved a great deal, and he urged the Council to support the Secretary-General’s recommendations.
The second meeting was on Haiti, and in that meeting the Council adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti until 15 February 2007.
U.N. ENVOY VISITS CAMP FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED IN TIMOR-LESTE
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, today visited two district capitals in the east of the country to check on conditions outside the capital.
In Baucau, some 75 miles west of Dili, Hasegawa conferred with the district administrator and exchanged views with the local bishop before visiting a camp for internally displaced persons.
In the town of Viqueque, Hasegawa visited the local district headquarters and spoke with National Police officers on how the United Nations could help improve their performance in the future.
U.N. OFFICIALS CONDEMN VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN SRI LANKA
The bombing on Monday that reportedly killed dozens of girls and wounded many more is a shocking result of the rising violence in Sri Lanka, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today.
“These children are innocent victims of violence,” said Ann Veneman, head of UNICEF. “We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure children and the places where they live, study and play are protected from harm,” she said.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, also expressed her dismay, saying that, “The latest shocking developments show once again that children continue to bear the brunt of this conflict.” She called on all parties in Sri Lanka to cease all hostilities and return to the negotiating table.
U.N. AGENCIES TO DISPATCH ASSESSMENT MISSION TO SRI LANKA
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that it has joined other UN agencies in preparing an assessment mission to northern Sri Lanka, to see exactly what people’s needs are, following recent unrest. The agency stands ready to hand out emergency supplies if needed.
UNHCR also reports that it is “greatly encouraged” by Kazakhstan’s decision today to release into the agency’s care an Uzbek refugee who was the subject of an extradition request by Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres today started a six-day mission to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
$11 MILLION GIVEN FOR AFGHAN DROUGHT, FOOD AID DELIVERED TO ETHIOPIAN FLOOD VICTIMS
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that it has allocated $11 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for drought-stricken Afghanistan.
The World Food Programme says that it has begun emergency food distributions in Ethiopia that will reach 10,000 survivors of flash floods in the eastern part of that country.
ANNAN TO DISCUSS MIDDLE EAST WITH ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER
Asked about the Wednesday meeting between the Secretary-General and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, the Spokesman said the Israelis had requested the meeting.
Asked who the Secretary-General has had contacts with in neighbouring countries over the situation in Lebanon, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General had spoken with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and had told them that the international community has come up with a plan to support the Lebanese Government and that all those who have an influence should assert that influence positively.
Asked if the United Nations had considered appealing – with the support of Iran – to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General has, in his contacts with neighbouring countries, pushed for all of those countries which have an influence to help the Lebanese Government implement resolution 1701.
Asked if the Secretary-General had had any direct contact with Nasrallah, the Spokesman said he had not.
Asked if the Secretary-General believes Israel and Hezbollah should have some form of contact in order to bring an end to the conflict, the Spokesman said that the contacts held so far under the auspices of the United Nations have been via the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Defense Forces.
“I think one of the overall lessons learnt from this particular conflict is that there needs to be a political settlement,” Dujarric added.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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