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.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
