HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, May
22,
2007
LEBANON:
BAN KI-MOON DEMANDS IMMEDIATE HALT TO ATTACKS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplores the
criminal attacks carried out over the past several days against the Lebanese
Army and security forces. These actions constitute an assault on Lebanon’s
stability and sovereignty, and have seriously endangered civilians. They must
halt immediately.
The Secretary-General also
deplores today’s attack on the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA)
humanitarian supply convoy, and expressed his grave concern about the
conditions for Palestinians living in Nahr el-Bared refugee camp. He calls for
the immediate establishment of safe corridors to allow medical staff to assist
and evacuate those in need.
He is deeply saddened by
the civilian casualties that have resulted and appeals to all concerned to do
their utmost to avoid further bloodshed.
The Secretary-General also
strongly condemns the second terrorist bombing that took place yesterday in
the Verdun district of Beirut. He appeals to the Lebanese people to unite in
confronting the challenges facing their country.
The Secretary-General is
continuing to monitor the situation very closely and is in contact with Prime
Minister Siniora and other regional leaders to help alleviate the situation.
The Lebanon
Director for UNRWA, Richard Cook, has expressed deep concern about the
worsening humanitarian situation and the losses of civilian lives in the Nahr
El Bared camp. Working in close cooperation with the Lebanese Army, the
Lebanese Red Cross, UN agencies and other parties, Cook said that UNRWA is
attempting to provide essential care, food and water to the camp residents and
to evacuate the injured and the dead.
An estimated 31,000 people
live in the camp. UNRWA provides basic services, including primary health
care, at a clinic where, under normal circumstances, UN doctors examine some
500 patients daily.
U.N.
ENVOY HEADS TO THE MIDDLE EAST
The Secretary-General is
dispatching his
new Middle
East envoy, Michael Williams, to the region for consultations.
Williams is en route and
is expected to begin holding meetings on Thursday with senior Israeli and
Palestinian officials.
He plans to travel from
there to Cairo for further consultations.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
DESIGNATES SPECIAL ADVISER
TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN MYANMAR
The Secretary-General has
designated his
Special Adviser on the International
Compact with Iraq and Other Issues, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, to continue to
pursue the good offices mandate on Myanmar entrusted to the Secretary-General
by the General Assembly, effective
immediately.
In the discharge of his
functions, Gambari will work in coordination with relevant parts of the UN
system in order to support Myanmar’s efforts in implementing relevant General
Assembly resolutions.
The Secretary-General
looks forward to the continued cooperation of the Government of Myanmar and
all relevant parties to the national reconciliation process, with a view to
making tangible progress towards the restoration of democracy and the
protection of human rights in Myanmar.
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION
INTO ALLEGED ABUSES IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Office of the
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) this morning
announced
that the Prosecutor has decided to start an investigation in the Central
African Republic.
After a review of the
available information, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says he believes
that grave crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Court were committed
between 2002 and 2003 in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.). Civilians
were killed and raped, and homes and stores were looted in the context of an
armed conflict between the Government and rebel forces, he says.
This is the first time
that the ICC is opening an investigation in which allegations of sexual crimes
far outnumber alleged killings.
UNITED
NATIONS APPEALS FOR RELEASE OF CAPTURED HEALTH WORKERS
IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The United Nations has
firmly condemned the capture of two international health workers in the
northwestern Central African Republic (C.A.R.) and is urging their captors to
free them.
The United Nations is
highly concerned by the recent decline in the security situation in the
northwest, which is threatening humanitarian work.
Meanwhile, the Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that the humanitarian crisis in the northeast and center of the
country persists and has even worsened, with more internally displaced persons
than before. At the same time, however, the humanitarian response is
improving, with 18 NGOs now operating in the region, as opposed to just six
back in November 2006.
UN
MISSION IN SUDAN: ATTACKS SPAWN POPULATION
DISPLACEMENTS IN DARFUR
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
reports today that the efforts of the humanitarian community to increase its
outreach to the conflict-affected populations in North Darfur have received a
serious blow due to recent carjacking and other incidents.
And in South Darfur, large
population displacements have been reported by various sources as a result of
reported Government of Sudan and militia attacks, including alleged aerial
bombardments against rebel forces in Buram locality this week, the mission
reports. The United Nations is visiting the village of Korshaman and Antikina
to verify these reports of large displacements and to assess humanitarian
needs.
SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED BY CHAIRS OF ITS SUBSIDIARY BODIES
Today the Security Council
held an open
meeting to hear briefings by the Chairmen of the Council’s subsidiary
bodies.
Panama chairs the
Counter-Terrorism Committee, Belgium heads the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions
Committee, and Slovakia chairs the so-called 1540 Committee, which deals with
the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
MALDIVES
APPEALS FOR AID AFTER WAVE SWELLS AND FLOODING
The Government of the
Maldives has appealed for international aid following a series of wave swells
that hit at least 35 islands in 13 atolls in the country.
Except for the 2004
tsunami, the Maldives has never before faced such widespread and simultaneous
flooding of so many islands, according to Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes.
UNICEF is providing water tanks and
rain-water harvesting kits to the hardest-hit atoll. Meanwhile, the World
Health Organization (WHO) has been
coordinating with the Ministry of Health on possible assistance that may be
required, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)
is providing support in the areas of livelihoods recovery and coordination.
U.N.
REFUGEE CHIEF VISITS NEPAL TO DISCUSS SITUATION
OF REFUGEES FROM BHUTAN
High
Commissioner for Refugees António
Guterres has arrived in Nepal. He’s on a four-day mission to the region to
focus on the plight of more than 100,000 refugees from Bhutan who have been
living in camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990's.
Guterres is expected to
visit one of the camps, as well as meet with Nepalese officials, UN agencies
and donors.
On Thursday, he heads to
Bhutan for discussions with government officials there.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
CALLS FOR GREATER EFFORTS TO ADDRESS
LOSS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Today is the International
Day for Biological Diversity. In a
message to mark
the occasion, the Secretary-General noted that biodiversity is being lost at
an unprecedented rate and called for greater global efforts to address the
causes – climate change and shifting land use patterns.
Meanwhile, the UN
Environment Programme
says it has completed – seven months ahead of schedule – its one-year
global campaign for promises to plant one billion trees. The campaign now
shifts to turning those pledges into plantings by the end of the year.
BAN
KI-MOON WILL HELP FIGHT STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH AIDS
The Secretary-General
yesterday met with a group of UN staff living with HIV from across regions and
UN agencies.
Afterwards, he described
the meeting as one of the most moving experiences in his life.
He told colleagues that he
has met many people in his life -- presidents, kings, diplomats – but this was
one of the most important events of his life. He said that he was very touched
by their courage and, more, by their directness in talking about their lives.
The Secretary-General
spoke about the discrimination those with HIV often face in many parts of the
world, including in Asia and his own country, Korea. “I felt ashamed on their
behalf," he said.
He said that on his next
trip to the region, he would make a point of visiting an AIDS clinic or
similar facility, the better to speak up for those living with HIV and help
fight the stigma so often associated with the disease.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECURITY COUNCIL REMAINS
SEIZED OF IRAN NUCLEAR MATTER:
Asked for a comment by the Secretary-General on the fact that Iran has not
suspended its nuclear activities as requested by the latest Security Council
Resolution on nonproliferation, Montas said that the situation did not warrant a
Secretary-General comment as the Security Council is fully seized of the matter.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
