HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday,
March 8, 2007
UNITED NATIONS
OBSERVES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Today is
International
Women’s Day. At UN Headquarters and all across the UN system and around
the world, the
occasion is being marked with various events and activities.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spoke at Headquarters
at an inter-agency event on ending impunity for violence against women and
girls. He said
that International Women’s Day is an occasion for all of us -- men and women
alike -- to unite in defense of women and girls who live with violence, or the
threat of violence. “Violence against women and girls,” he said, “makes its
hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture. It doesn’t care about
your income, class, race or ethnic background.”
Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
said that violence against women is the most common but least punished
crime in the world. She noted that less than 5 per cent of rape prosecutions
lead to convictions globally and that 130 million girls and women alive today
have undergone female genital mutilation.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migoro also delivered
a speech at Headquarters at an event titled “Breaking Barriers: Achieving
Balance in Numbers and Work-Life.” In her remarks, the
Deputy-Secretary-General is expected to say that “resolution after resolution
of the General Assembly has called for 50-50 gender balance in the staff of
the United Nations system. But so far, we have failed to make it a reality.”
On the same theme, the International Labour Organisation
(ILO)
says in a report released today that more women than ever before hold
jobs, but a persistent gap in status, job security, wages and education
between women and men is contributing to what the ILO calls the "feminization
of working poverty."
NUCLEAR WATCHDOG SUSPENDS ASSISTANCE
PROJECTS IN IRAN
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) earlier today singled out 22 technical assistance projects in
Iran and decided by consensus to suspend them in order to meet the
requirements of Security Council resolution 1737.
That resolution required, among others, that Iran suspend
all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and discontinue work on all
heavy water-related projects. The resolution also required Iran to allow the
IAEA to verify that it had complied, something the IAEA Director-General
recently reported that Iran has not done.
Asked if the Secretary-General
had any position on the severity of sanctions the Security Council should
impose on Iran for failing to comply with its resolutions, the Spokesperson
said that the matter was with the Security Council and it is the Council's
decision on how to deal with this.
Asked how the
Secretary-General viewed the whole issue, Montas said that, from the very
beginning, the Secretary-General has appealed to Iran to comply and be more
transparent on its nuclear energy projects.
KOSOVO: PARTIES TO HOLD FINAL MEETING ON
STATUS PROPOSAL THIS WEEKEND
Regarding the
Kosovo status process,
the parties are currently considering Special Envoy Martti Ahrtisaari’s
revised status proposal. The next step will be a high-level meeting in Vienna
this Saturday, to which Ahtisaari has invited representatives from both
parties, the Kosovo Contact Group, the European Union, NATO and the UN Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Currently, there are no plans for any further meetings
following the one on Saturday. Ahtisaari has already made it clear that his
intention, after the Saturday meeting, is to finalize his proposal and send it
to New York, in order for the Security Council to receive it before the end of
March.
HUMANITARIAN WORK SUSPENDED IN WEST
DARFUR CAMP FOLLOWING ATTACK
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
reports fighting between tribes in South Darfur and an attack by militiamen in
West Darfur. In the latter, some 250 militiamen surrounded Ardamata camp
housing displaced persons demanding a meeting with community leaders.
Humanitarian operations in the camp have been temporarily suspended.
The Mission also says that is has been facilitating in
Wau, in southern Sudan, a 10-day Peace, Reconciliation and Justice Conference
aimed at diffusing tensions between the communities arising from militia
activity and a high influx of refugees coming from Darfur.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs reports that food security in southern Sudan will improve
in 2007. But the World Food Programme estimates that more than 100,000 tons of
food aid will be required by 1.3 million people this year, including displaced
persons and refugees returning home.
U.N. AGENCIES PROVIDE FOOD & SUPPLIES IN
SOUTHERN AFRICA
The World Food Programme (WFP) has
expressed deep
concern over erratic weather patterns in southern Africa, which have
devastated harvest prospects for millions of people, and could mean yet
another year of widespread food shortages.
Even without these additional challenges, WFP already
faces a funding shortfall of nearly $100 million for its current operations in
that region.
Regarding Mozambique specifically, which has recently
been hit by floods and a cyclone, WFP has distributed 520 tons of food to more
than 95,000 flood survivors. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO)
has made bed nets available, and the UN Population Fund has locally procured
the contents for 4,000 hygiene kits.
UNICEF is helping to immunize children against measles
and has been working to distribute kits for students, teachers and schools, as
well as school tents.
Regarding the cyclone, WFP has provided over 120 tons of
food to more than 15,000 survivors with the help of two helicopters. And
UNICEF has supported more than 30,000 people with roofing materials.
JAPANESE DONATION BOLSTERS U.N.
DEMOCRACY FUND
The UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF)
received a $10 million contribution from the Government of Japan yesterday.
That makes Japan one of the largest contributors to the Fund, along with the
United States, India and Qatar.
The UN Democracy Fund is currently financing more than a
hundred projects around the world aimed at strengthening democratic
institutions and supporting democratic civil society organizations.
Japan’s donation adds to the Fund's current capacity of
$65 million, and will be used to finance a new round of projects, expected to
be advertised in the spring.
ASIA NEEDS TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Kim Hak-Su, today
stressed that
sustainable development strategy was critical to the long-term well-being of
the Asian region.
Speaking at the opening of a workshop on developing
sustainability strategies in Asia, in Bangkok, Kim said it is a shared
challenge for governments, and sustainable development strategy must be the
core of every country’s economic growth plan.
Kim also warned that while developing economies in Asia
and the Pacific are projected to grow by an impressive 7.3 per cent in 2007,
such growth is driven by high resources consumption and can not be sustained
in the long run.
Therefore, countries in the region must move away from
the current ‘grow first, clean up later’ mentality and embrace a ‘Green
Growth’ model.
UNITED NATIONS HAS BEEN COOPERATING WITH
U.S. AUTHORITIES
IN CASE OF FORMER CHAIR OF U.N. BUDGETARY COMMITTEE
JUDGES DISCUSS DELAYS IN KHMER ROUGE
TRIAL PROCESS
In Cambodia this week, a Review Committee of
international and national judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts
of Cambodia (ECCC) are meeting to discuss the outstanding issues which have so
far held up the adoption of the Internal Rules for the Conduct of the Khmer
Rouge Trials.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is
part of the Cambodian court system, using both Cambodian and international
law. The ECCC is supported by the United Nations.
At the previous Plenary session, held in November 2006,
disagreements over how to incorporate international standards and Cambodian
law made it impossible to adopt the draft internal rules as had been planned.
Since that time, an ECCC review committee made up of national and
international judges has been attempting to find common ground while
maintaining international standards.
The meeting is scheduled to conclude on 16 March, at
which time it is hoped a date for the next full Plenary, and for the official
adoption of the courts internal rules can be announced.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NORTH KOREA HAS NOT INFORMED U.N. OF AUDITING DECISION:
Asked for a reaction to information alleging that the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has announced its intention to deny
entry visas to UN auditors looking into alleged mismanagement at the UNDP
in-country operations, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations has not
officially been informed of such decision by the DPRK authorities. Asked
for the reasons behind an apparent delay between the 28 February dateline of a
recent DPRK letter to the Secretary-General and the 6 March announcement by the
Spokesperson of its receipt, Montas said there were no particular reasons for
that delay.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
