HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday,
January 9, 2007
CONGOLESE ELECTIONS ARE A SOURCE OF
PRIDE
The Security Council this morning heard a briefing in an
open meeting
on the work done by the European Force (EUFOR) in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC); that briefing was given by
Javier Solana, the European Union’s High Representative for a Common Foreign
and Security Policy.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean
Marie Guéhenno, who spoke afterwards, told the Security Council that EUFOR’s
work in that country was a rewarding experience, with the presence of the
European peacekeepers of great value during the Congolese elections.
He added that in Ituri, a new cease-fire has been agreed
between the Congolese Armed Forces and the National Integrationist Front
following fighting near the town of Fataki in December, although the situation
remains tense.
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim
Gambari also addressed the Security Council, telling them that the Congolese
elections have resulted in the establishment of the first democratically
elected national institutions in over four decades, and of this we can be
justly proud. However, he added, much still remains to be done.
The Security Council followed its open meeting with
consultations on Cote
d’Ivoire, to discuss a draft resolution on extending the mandate of the UN
Mission in that country.
Tomorrow, the Security Council expects to hold
consultations on Somalia, as well as
on the recent
report
concerning the work of the UN team that visited Chad and the Central African
Republic.
INVESTIGATIVE TEAM TO LOOK INTO HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES
IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
reports that the inauguration of the country’s first democratically-elected
National Assembly in more than 40 years took place in Kinshasa today in the
presence of William Lacy Swing, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General and other members of the international community.
Meanwhile, the Mission says that an investigative team
arrived in the eastern Ituri province on 5 January to look into human rights
abuses, including the execution of some 24 civilians near Bunia in late
December and the torching of civilian homes near Fataki just last week.
BAN KI-MOON’S
ENVOY ARRIVES IN SUDAN FOR DARFUR TALKS
Jan Eliasson, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for
Darfur, has arrived in Khartoum and is meeting with the senior leadership
of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). This
is the second leg of his trip in the region to discuss steps required to
arrive at a durable solution to the situation in Darfur on the basis of the
Darfur Peace Agreement.
Also today, the UN Mission today congratulated the people
of the Sudan on the occasion of the second anniversary of the signing of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan. The UN
Mission reiterated its commitment to assisting the Parties to the CPA and the
people of Sudan in meeting these challenges.
Meanwhile, the UN Mission continues to report attacks in
Darfur.
And the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
says it remains extremely
concerned about
the security situation in eastern Chad near the Darfur border, where there are
more than 220,000 Darfur refugees and now over 100,000 internally displaced
Chadians – 20,000 of them uprooted within the past three weeks. While there
has been a decrease in fighting between the Chadian army and opposition
forces, inter-communal conflict continues in south-eastern parts of the
country near the border with Sudan's Darfur region.
UNITED NATIONS SEEKING MORE INFORMATION
ON REPORTED MILITARY ACTION IN SOMALIA
The United Nations is planning to send an assessment team
to the Kenya-Somalia border on Thursday. The team will look into the
possibility of re-starting humanitarian deliveries into Somalia and examine
recent population movements in and around the border.
According to the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 4,700 internally displaced persons at
the border have no access to humanitarian aid and are in critical need of
food, shelter, medicine and basic supplies.
Over the weekend, the World Food Programme distributed
food to nearly 19,000 Somali flood survivors.
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s reaction to a reported U.S. attack in Somalia, the
Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is still trying to gather more
information about the reported military action in southern Somalia, including
through the office in Nairobi of the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall. For now, she said, the
United Nations does not have detailed information beyond what has been
reported in the media.
Notwithstanding the motives for
this reported military action, the Spokeswoman said, the Secretary-General is
concerned about the new dimension this kind of action could introduce to the
conflict and the possible escalation of hostilities that may result.
He is also concerned about the
impact this would have on the civilian population in southern Somalia, and
regrets the reported loss of civilian lives.
Regarding the latest U.S. air
strikes, Montas said that humanitarian operations were suspended in that area
and international staff was evacuated when the recent fighting started last
month. Currently, humanitarian operations have not resumed and there is no
international humanitarian staff in that area.
Asked whether the United
Nations had received prior notification of the U.S. attack, the Spokeswoman
said she was not aware of any.
Asked whether the U.S.
intervention in Somalia is legal, the Spokeswoman noted that the Security
Council would discuss Somalia in its consultations on Wednesday.
UNICEF STAFFER KILLED IN IRAQ
UNICEF today
confirmed that one
of its national staff members in Iraq, Janan Jabero, has been killed in
Baghdad. Initial reports from local authorities indicate that Mr. Jabero, a 52
year-old Iraqi national, was shot while driving his car in Baghdad.
Jabero was described as a brilliant engineer, who had
been a key part of UNICEF’s school rehabilitation programme in Iraq since
1999. “His death has cost Iraq’s children a staunch advocate and we deeply
mourn his loss,” said Roger Wright, the UNICEF Representative for Iraq.
HEALTH AGENCY GETS NEW DEPUTY CHIEF
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that although
more than 12 million people each year are bitten by dogs or snakes, or stung
by scorpions, the world’s capacity to treat them is inadequate because the
appropriate medicines are often unavailable or unaffordable in the countries
where they are most needed. In that context, top health experts will meet
tomorrow at WHO Headquarters in Geneva to agree on a global five-year action
plan to boost production of such medicines in developing countries.
In other WHO-related news, WHO today sent a specialized
team to northwestern Kenya, to bolster its presence on the ground and help
control the recent outbreak of rift valley fever in the area.
Meanwhile, the head of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, today
named Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah of Ghana as the agency’s Deputy-Director
General.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE THURSDAY:
Regarding the Secretary-General’s upcoming press conference, there has been a
change, to accommodate journalists’ desire for an earlier time. It will now be
held this Thursday at 11:00 a.m. in Conference Room 1.
HAITI MISSION TO GET NEW FORCE COMMANDER: The
Secretary-General has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint
Major-General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as Force Commander of the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Maj-Gen. dos Santos Cruz will succeed Lieutenant General José Elito Siqueira
Carvalho, also from Brazil.
BAN KI-MOON PUTS CLIMATE
CHANGE HIGH ON AGENDA: Asked whether the
Secretary-General would be willing to convene a summit to deal with climate
change, the Spokeswoman, while noting that she had nothing specific to announce
on that, said that the Secretary-General is putting climate change at the top of
his agenda and considers it to be very important.
SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVES NOT
ASKED FOR RESIGNATIONS: Asked whether the
Secretary-General’s Special Representatives in the field had to turn in their
resignations, as other Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant
Secretaries-General have done, the Spokeswoman said that they did not, although
their status may be reviewed later. Currently, she said, 58 people are affected,
most of them based at UN Headquarters.
REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED BY HARSH CONDITIONS IN SRI
LANKA: More than 20,000 people have
fled fighting and
harsh conditions in the eastern Sri Lankan coastal strip of Vaharai in the past
three weeks. But despite reaching relative safety they still face many problems
and an uncertain future, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
