Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 18 August 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, 18 August 2006

U.N. APPEALS TO EUROPE TO STRENGTHEN POTENTIAL COMMITMENTS TO EXPANDED LEBANON FORCE

  • The Deputy Secretary-General appealed today for Europe to harden up potential troop commitments so that the expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has the right balance of forces to deploy to be legitimate and politically effective.

  • Speaking with the press this morning, he said that Finland, Italy and Germany had already given indications that they would be in a position to contribute although details in some cases had yet to be finalized.

  • He also appealed to Member States to provide “force enablers” for the expanded UNIFIL – i.e. units such as logistics, medical and engineering units – which would help open up roads for the transport of humanitarian relief, as well as allow the deployment of UN troops to take up their monitoring role on the ground.

  • In response to a question, the Deputy Secretary-General said there would be more meetings to follow up on possible troop commitments – as is normal practice.

  • In response to another question, the Deputy Secretary-General said that the Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on would be finalized later today, and it will describe progress on the political, humanitarian and peacekeeping fronts.

  • Asked how many countries have committed to sending troops to the new, enhanced UN interim Force in Lebanon, the Spokesman said that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations would have further bilateral meetings with potential troop contributing countries before drawing a final list. However, yesterday’s meeting with the potential troops contributing countries, resulted in firm troop commitments by Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Nepal and indications of commitment by Finland, Germany Italy and the United Kingdom.

  • Asked how many troops the UN needs for the new UNIFIL, Dujarric said that in order to do its work the UN would like to have all 15,000 troops as mandated by Security Council Resolution 1701. He said that the UN was working toward obtaining an immediate 3500 troops within 10 days to make sure that the cessation of hostilities, which has been holding well, continues to hold.

  • Asked if, in the view of the UN, Israel’s approval was mandatory to allow peacekeeping troops deployment by contributing countries, the Spokesman said the UN was responsible for determining who gets deployed. He added that for the military and political effectiveness of the deployment, the UN would like to see a force that represents its ideals by combining European and Moslem forces in addition to being up to the task at hand. He noted that an African contingent was already active in UNIFIL.

CESSATION OF HOSITILITIES STILL HOLDING IN MIDDLE EAST, U.N. MISSION CONFIRMS

  • The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that the cessation of hostilities was generally maintained and there were no significant incidents or breaches of the agreement.

  • The Israeli Army continued to withdraw from Lebanese territory, and Lebanese troops deployed further south of the Litani River in the areas vacated by the IDF. The UN Force, which controls the buffer zone to the south between the IDF and the Lebanese Army, is closely coordinating and monitoring these operations. The UN Force says these operations will continue along the plan and timeline adopted at a trilateral meeting of the Force Commander with senior representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli Armies.

  • The UNIFIL Chinese de-mining team, meanwhile, carried out operations to clear unexploded ordnance in the area of Al-Qantarah. UNIFIL also provided water and food to villages of Ayta Achaab and Al Bustan as large numbers of internally displaced people returned to their villages in the UNIFIL area of operation.

LEBANON STILL IN NEED OF FUEL AND WATER

  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that four UN humanitarian convoys were dispatched today with supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and the UN refugee agency. Two additional convoys – which will carry urgently needed bottled water from UNICEF and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) – are scheduled to leave on Saturday.

  • Meanwhile, a UN assessment mission, which visited 10 major population centers in the area of Tyre, found that, apart from two large bomb craters, roads are mainly intact. Nevertheless, there is still an urgent need for fuel – for generators, cooking and water pumps.

  • The mission that assessed the Sidon area found that fuel and clean drinking water are urgently needed. Electricity is still being rationed there, which is affecting the water supply.

SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES ONE-WEEK EXTENSION OF U.N. OFFICE IN TIMOR-LESTE

  • The Security Council held consultations this morning on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, with Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Margareta Wahlstrom briefing.

  • Following that, it held consultations on Timor-Leste and other matters, before moving into the formal chamber to approve a one-week technical rollover for the UN Office in Timor-Leste, until 25 August.

  • The Security Council also held a minute of silence for those who died in the bombing of the UN office in Baghdad on 19 August 2003.

LEBANON CONFLICT HAS HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES FOR GAZA

  • The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports that nearly 300 containers with emergency food for Gaza are stuck on ships in the port of Ashdod, Israel. That backlog is connected to the large scale redirection of goods from Haifa to Ashdod as a result of the Lebanon conflict. Currently, some 830,000 people rely on UNRWA's Gaza food distributions.
    Meanwhile, the UNRWA School at Rafah is still providing shelter for 340 internally displaced Palestinians who fled Israeli shelling in southern Gaza.
    For its part, UNICEF has secured vaccines for Palestinian children through 2007, as well as education supplies for its back-to-school campaign. UNICEF has also provided 8 generators and 5 water tankers to its humanitarian partners in Gaza, and stepped up its mine-awareness education and psychosocial assistance programmes.

U.N. WORRIED BY DETERIORATING CONDITIONS IN DARFUR

  • There is an issue which has unfortunately been overshadowed by events in the Middle East – Darfur.

  • When speaking to the press this morning, the Deputy Secretary-General said the United Nations is extremely worried about the deterioration in the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur and the lack of a clear political path for the deployment of a UN force there.

  • “Something very ugly is brewing there,” the Deputy Secretary-General said. He also appealed to the members of the press not to forget this issue.

  • Asked what the next steps would be in the UN’s approach in the face of continued Sudanese resistance to the deployment of UN force in Darfur, Dujarric said that the situation in Darfur remained of great concern to the UN, especially now that the African Union (AU) mission there is running out of funds. He said that the UN was working with the AU on a transition and on bolstering the AU force both financially and with equipment while the force remains in Darfur.

  • The Spokesman added that the Secretary-General’s message to the Security Council members is that Council members and UN member states with influence on Sudan need to reengage with the Sudanese authorities through the difficulties they perceive in having a UN force on the ground. The humanitarian and security situations, Dujarric added, remained critical.

D.R. CONGO: U.N. MISSION ON HIGH ALERT FOR ELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT

  • The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports that UN troops will be on high alert this weekend as the Independent Electoral Commission prepares to announce provisional results of the presidential election. Speaking on the security arrangements, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, William Lacy Swing, said the Mission troops will be on maximum alert but will be only minimally visible on the streets of Congolese towns and villages.

  • The Mission, meanwhile, says that as, of last evening, 99% had been compiled in the presidential poll while some 60% of ballot cast in the parliamentary elections have been processed so far. The Mission says that, following the official announcement of the results, candidates will have three days to record their objections or grievances with the Supreme Court of Justice, which will then have 5 days to examine these objections and validate or invalidate them. It will then announce the certified, official results of the Presidential elections.

  • If no candidates can garner a 51% majority, a second round between the two first front-runners will be held on 29 October.

ANNAN MARKS 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF U.N. BAGHDAD BOMBING

  • Tomorrow will mark the 3rd anniversary of one of darkest days in the history of the United Nations, namely the 19 August 2003 bombing of the UN Baghdad Headquarters, which claimed the lives of 22 UN staff members. Earlier today, the UN Secretariat observed a minute of silence in the course of a formal ceremony held in the General Assembly building to honour the memory of our fallen colleagues.

  • In his message to the staff, the Secretary-General said the tragic event of 19 August 2003 marked “the UN’s loss of innocence.” He added, “Were they with us today, our murdered colleagues would be immensely proud that, despite the dangers, the difficulties, and the near unbearable grief, our work for peace continues, undeterred and undiminished, whether in Lebanon, in Darfur, in Timor-Leste, Haiti or Iraq. This is our answer to their loss. This is our living tribute to fallen friends.”

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO CONFIRMED TRAVEL PLANS FOR ANNAN: Asked if the Secretary-General planned to travel to the Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Iran next week, the Spokesman said that he could not confirm such travel plan at this time.

Asked if the Secretary-General intends to speak directly with Hezbollah, the Spokesman replied that UN officials in Lebanon are in contact with the Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is part.

U.N. AGENCY TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD AID TO NORTH KOREAN FLOOD SURVIVORS: The World Food Programme said today that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had agreed to accept assistance for flood survivors. Some 13,000 North Koreans will receive 30-day rations of flour and vegetable oil.

U.N. ALLOCATES MONEY TO UNDER-FUNDED EMERGENCIES: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has made a second round of allocations totalling $43 million for chronically under-funded emergencies from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Six emergencies whose funding status is in the bottom one third of all consolidated appeals will receive a cumulative $33 million in CERF funding: Côte d’Ivoire -- $3 million; Democratic Republic of the Congo -- $21 million; Republic of the Congo -- $1 million; Liberia -- $4 million; Central African Republic -- $2 million; and Burundi -- $2 million.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

19-25 August 2006

Monday, August 21

The guest at the noon briefing today will be Thomas Schindlmayr from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs who will give a short update on progress on the negotiations for a convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

Tuesday, August 22

This morning the Security Council is scheduled to hold an open debate followed by consultations on the Middle East.

Friday, August 25

The Eighth Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities ends today.