HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday,
January 19, 2007
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES PLANNED SIX-PARTY TALKS ON
NORTH KOREA
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon welcomes
reports of active preparations for the next round of the six-party talks on
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
He is
encouraged in
particular by the recent positive discussions in Berlin between the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and United States negotiators.
As consultations continue
with other countries participating in the six-party talks, the
Secretary-General calls on all involved to redouble their efforts toward
implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005.
BAN KI-MOON PROMOTES MOBILITY IN HIS EXECUTIVE OFFICE
In a letter to the staff,
published on I-seek, our internal web portal, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
will be circulating a number of positions in his own office to promote
mobility in the UN system. Twelve positions are being circulated from the P-2
to the D-2 level, and UN staff members can, during a 10-day period, express
their interest for any of these positions.
In his letter to the
staff, the Secretary-General writes, “As I undertake these efforts to lead by
example, I look to all senior managers to follow suit and promote mobility
among their staff, beyond the requirements of managed mobility."
BAN
KI-MOON CALLS FOR URGENT INQUIRY INTO THE WORK
OF U.N. FUNDS AND PROGRAMMES
Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon met today with Under-Secretary-General Ad Melkert, the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) Associate Administrator, on
the issue of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The Secretary-General will
call for an
urgent, system wide and external inquiry into all activities done around the
globe by the UN funds and programmes.
The Spokeswoman clarified, in response to questions, that
the Secretary-General was calling for an external audit that would apply to
all agencies, funds and programmes. She noted that such work would not take
place overnight.
Asked about the guidelines by which UNDP shares audit
information, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General would not comment on
different agencies’ operating procedures.
U.N. OFFICIAL AT KEY AFRICAN UNION MEETING
ON PROPOSED PEACEKEEPING FORCE FOR SOMALIA
The Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Francois Lonsény Fall, is today taking
part in a meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council in Addis
Ababa.
The Council is expected to
consider the situation in Somalia and discuss the implementation of UN
Security Council
resolution 1725, which authorizes the creation of a protection force and
training mission to help protect Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions.
The new force is to be set
up by the African Union (AU) and
the East African regional bloc IGAD.
U.N.
CHIEF FOR WEST AFRICA AT REGIONAL SUMMIT ON COTE D’IVOIRE
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, is today in
Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to take part in a one-day summit on
the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire.
The summit was called by
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
to study ways to move forward the peace process in Cote d’Ivoire and the
implementation of Security Council resolutions concerning that country.
U.N.
OFFICE IN BURUNDI WELCOMES THE RELEASE OF ACCUSED COUP PLOTTERS
The UN Integrated Office
in Burundi today welcomed the recent Supreme Court ruling acquitting former
president Domitien Ndayizeye and four other high-ranking officials of an
attempted coup d’état.
The Court ruling also
requested the immediate release from prison of the five accused, some of whom
have been held since August 2006.
SECURITY
COUNCIL APPOINTS HEADS OF ITS SUBSIDIARY BODIES
The Security Council has
agreed on which members will serve as the chairman and the vice chairmen of
its subsidiary bodies, including its
sanctions committees, for 2007.
he full list of the heads
of Council subsidiary bodies is out on the racks today, as a note by the
President of the Security Council.
UNITED
NATIONS OPENS PROBE INTO
ALLEGED SEXUAL OFFENSES BY ITS LIBERIA STAFF
The
UN Mission in Liberia has requested the
Office of Internal Oversight Services to conduct an immediate investigation,
following UNMIL’s receipt of information suggesting that some of its personnel
have been involved in sexual exploitation and abuse.
The United Nations is
deeply concerned by this development and wishes to reiterate its determination
to take action against any of its personnel who is found to have committed any
act of sexual exploitation and abuse.
HUMAN
RIGHTS CHIEF IN OFFICIAL VISIT TO SUPPORT NEPAL PEACE PROCESS
The High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Louise Arbour, today
arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. This is her second visit to the country, and
she is there to show support for the peace process. She affirmed that her
office will continue to work with all the people of Nepal to ensure that the
protection and promotion of human rights remains at the centre of that
process.
Arbour will make two trips
outside Kathmandu before 25 January, at which point she will head to Japan.
REFUGEE
AGENCY CONCERNED ABOUT CIVILIANS
IN RESTIVE SRI LANKA REGION
The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
reports that
several thousand Sri Lankans in Vaharai, a pocket of rebel-held land on Sri
Lanka’s east coast, have started to move south towards government-controlled
areas. They are reportedly fleeing intensified fighting as government forces
advance on rebel positions.
UNHCR has expressed
concerned about the safety of any civilians remaining in Vaharai, as well as
those in other conflict-ridden areas. The agency calls on both sides to
respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians
and their freedom of movement.
The United Nations,
meanwhile, is undertaking a number of initiatives to support the Government of
Sri Lanka in response to recent flooding and landslides that have struck the
southern and eastern slopes and central hills of the country.
UNICEF has handed over
basic supplies worth more than $64,000 to the Government, and has sent relief
items to 2,000 families hit by floods.
The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) donated 100 tents for flood assistance to
the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights.
FOOD
AGENCY CONCERNED AT DWINDLING ASSISTANCE SUPPLY
TO CAMBODIA’S POOR AND SICK
The World Food Programme
(WFP) will begin distributing emergency aid this week to around 100,000 people
in food-insecure and drought-hit parts of southern Madagascar, following a
donation from the United States Government.
In Cambodia, however,
WFP is
warning that,
beginning next month, more than 700,000 hungry Cambodians – mostly young
children and HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients – will not receive essential
food aid. And the situation is likely to worsen unless new donations are
received soon.
Meanwhile, American
football star Reggie Bush is helping WFP to raise America’s awareness about
global hunger. In a new public service announcement and print advertisement,
Bush proceeds to cook his perfect meal – “pigskin” on a plate – closing the
spot with the statement: “Unfortunately, not everyone can live off football --
help those who can’t.”
MEASLES
DEATHS DOWN 60 PERCENT: CHILDREN’S FUND
Measles deaths have
fallen by 60% worldwide since 1999 – a major public health success. This
exceeds the UN’s goal of cutting measles-related deaths by half between 1999
and 2005, and is largely due to an unprecedented decline in measles deaths in
Africa.
The progress was announced
today by partners in the Measles Initiative, including UNICEF, the World
Health Organization and the UN Foundation.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECRETARY-GENERAL TAKES NOTE OF REPORTS OF CHINESE MISSILE SHOOTING:
Asked about reports of the shooting of a Chinese missile into outer space, the
Spokeswoman said that Secretary-General has taken note of news reports of this
development. However, she said, although the United Nations supported the 1967
"Outer Space Treaty" (which is officially known as the Treaty on Principles
Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,
including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies) and although the United Nations
was a forum of discussion leading to its adoption, the Secretary-General is not
the depository of that treaty. As such, Montas said, this matter should be taken
up by the depositories, which in this case are the Russian Federation, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
UNDOF FORCE COMMANDER IS
NEPALESE, NOT INDIAN: Contrary to what
she had announced yesterday at noon, the outgoing Force Commander for the UN
Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF), Major General Bala
Nanda Sharma, came from India. He is from Nepal.
NO DECISIONS YET MADE ON RESTRUCTURING: Asked
whether a merger of the Departments for Disarmament Affairs and for Political
Affairs had been dropped, the Spokeswoman said that the initial restructuring
project has not been abandoned. Consultations continue with the Non-Aligned
Movement and other Member States on restructuring, which is still part of the
agenda. No decisions have been taken yet, Montas said. Asked when new senior
level appointments would be announced, the Spokeswoman said that restructuring
would have to be settled first. She said that the announcements could take place
sometime in February.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO DISCUSS LEBANESE POLITICS AND RECONSTRUCTION NEXT
WEEK: Asked whether the Secretary-General will work to reconcile Lebanese
political parties, the Spokeswoman said that he would discuss issues of Lebanese
politics and reconstruction at the donors’ conference in Paris next week. She
noted that his representative in Lebanon, Geir Pedersen, was holding
consultations with the parties and would also be present in Paris.
UN ENVOY ON KOSOVO TO PRESENT PROPOSALS AFTER JANUARY 23: Asked when
Martti Ahtissari would present the proposals on the status of Kosovo, the
Spokeswoman reiterated that it would be after the 23 January Serbian elections.
She noted that the Secretary-General would meet Ahtisaari in Paris.
DIALOGUE ON IRAN SHOULD CONTINUE: Asked about the Secretary-General’s
views on Iran’s nuclear programme, the Spokeswoman said that the
Secretary-General believes that dialogue on that issue should continue. She
added that the United Nations had not officially received any protest from Iran
regarding the Secretary-General’s comments on the issue.
UNITED NATIONS BOOSTS BANGLADESH RESPONSE
TO COLD WAVE: UN agencies are helping
the Government of Bangladesh to respond to a recent cold wave that has hit that
country. For its part, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) has released a cash grant of $50,000, to provide warm clothes in the
affected areas.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, January 20
The Director-General of the UN Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh Yumkella, will visit Bahrain from 20 to
22 January.
Sunday, January 21
UNESCO and the Indonesian Government will bring
together media, NGO and government representatives in Bali, from 21 to 23
January, to work on the Understanding World Network, which will promote dialogue
and mutual understanding by linking traditional and electronic
media.
Monday, January 22
This year's session of the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organisations opens today in Conference Room 1. During this
session, which lasts until 2 February, the Committee will consider applications
for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
The 37th session of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women will continue its examination of
State party reports this week in Conference Room 3.
The World Health Organization’s Executive Council
will meet from 22 to 30 January at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
Yakin Ertürk, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, will conduct a fact-finding mission to Algeria from 22
January to 1 February.
Tuesday, January 23
The Security Council is
scheduled to hold consultations this morning on the Peacebuilding Commission.
The Secretary-General will
attend the monthly Security Council luncheon today.
Wednesday, January 24
The Secretary-General’s trip
to Europe and Africa starts. This week he will be in: Brussels; Paris, for a
conference on reconstruction in Lebanon; and Kinshasa and Kisangani, in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Security Council is
scheduled to hold consultations this morning on Georgia.
High Commissioner for Human
Rights Louise Arbour leaves Nepal.
Thursday, January 25
The Security Council is
scheduled to hold this morning a briefing followed by consultations on the
Middle East.
High Commissioner for Human
Rights Louise Arbour arrives in Japan.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
