HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, May
29,
2007
BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS WEEKEND ATTACKS IN DARFUR
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly
condemns the
killing on 25 May of a UN officer from Egypt, who was deployed in El Fasher in
support of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
He also deplores the armed hijacking of a UN
convoy in El Fasher on 28 May, in which three vehicles were stolen and the
passengers robbed. It is unacceptable that those working to bring stability and
life-saving humanitarian assistance to
Darfur continue to be targeted.
All parties must urgently adhere to the ceasefire
and support the activities of the United Nations and the African Union in this
beleaguered region of Sudan.
The Secretary-General
urges the Government of Sudan to facilitate the immediate deployment of the
Heavy Support Package to AMIS, and agree to the UN-AU Hybrid Operation without
delay.
The Secretary-General
urges all stakeholders to support the efforts of Special Envoys Jan Eliasson
and Salim Ahmed Salim. Lasting peace in Darfur can only be achieved through
an inclusive and comprehensive peace process reinforced by a strong
peacekeeping presence.
Asked to elaborate on the
Secretary-General's stated preference for the "soft power" of diplomacy and
whether it stood in line with the Security Council's ongoing consideration of
tighter sanctions on Sudan over Darfur, the Spokeswoman said that Ban Ki-moon
had asked in some instances for more time and for more political space in
order to be more effective in his contacts with different heads of states.
In response to a further
question, Montas said Ban Ki-moon's approach has been to engage regional
leaders and other actors in the political field in seeking solutions to
crises. "To him," Montas emphasized, "a political solution is of the utmost
importance in conflict resolution."
SECURITY
COUNCIL WELCOMES REPORT
ON HYBRID OPERATION IN DARFUR
The Security Council has
welcomed
the transmission of the report of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of
the African Union Commission on the AU-UN hybrid operation in Darfur.
In a presidential
statement read out on Friday afternoon, the Council noted that the agreement
is an important development in the comprehensive approach to the peace process
in Darfur, which also includes re-energizing the political process,
strengthening the ceasefire and implementing the three-phase approach to
peacekeeping, culminating in an African Union-United Nations hybrid operation.
INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS
MARKED AT HEADQUARTERS AND AROUND THE WORLD
Today is the International
Day of United Nations
Peacekeepers, and from Timor-Leste and Lebanon to the Democratic Republic
of the Congo and Haiti, UN Missions are celebrating this annual landmark.
Various UN missions are
honoring the selfless contributions of Blue Helmets past and present.
At Headquarters, the
Secretary-General laid a wreath in the Visitor’s Lobby to commemorate the
sacrifice of the 100 peacekeepers killed on the job in 2006, and the fallen
colleagues of previous years, and also to celebrate the dedication of those
serving in UN missions around the world.
After observing a minute
of silence, the Secretary-General delivered prepared
remarks in which
he said that while UN peacekeeping is a model of burden-sharing among
countries, one should never forget that the brunt of this burden is borne by
individuals.
Recalling Friday’s brutal
killing of an Egyptian peacekeeper in Sudan and the bombing of the UN Baghdad
Headquarters, the Secretary-General said that the UN family is that much more
determined to honour their selfless dedication and courage, by continuing to
work for peace and security in the world’s most troubled regions.
With UN deployment at a
record high, the Secretary-General vowed to do everything possible to
safeguard the security and safety of UN personnel in the field, from
advocating robust mandates to ensuring they have the equipment they need to
carry them out.
The Secretary-General also
spoke to reporters.
NEW SPECIAL ADVISER FOR PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE IS
NAMED
The Secretary-General has
appointed Francis Deng of Sudan as his new Special Adviser for the Prevention
of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, succeeding Juan Mendez of Argentina.
Deng is currently Director
of the Sudan Peace Support Project based at the United States Institute of
Peace. He served as the Secretary-General’s Representative on Internally
Displaced Persons from 1992 to 2004.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
TO TAKE PART
IN MIDDLE EAST QUARTET MEETING
The Secretary-General is
leaving for Berlin tonight.
He is looking forward to
meeting with the other Middle East Quartet Principals in Berlin tomorrow.
The Quartet meeting comes
at a timely juncture to review recent developments in Gaza and in Israel. The
Secretary-General hopes that this meeting will also be an opportunity to
discuss the way ahead for the definition of a political horizon in the Middle
East peace process.
SECURITY
COUNCIL DISCUSSES
DRAFT RESOLUTION ON TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON
Security
Council members held consultations
this morning on the situation in the Middle East during which they discussed a
draft resolution on the establishment of a tribunal of an international
character for Lebanon.
This afternoon, Council
members will reconvene in closed-door consultations to hear a briefing by
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Hedi Annabi on
Eritrea and Ethiopia. After that they are expected to take up other matters.
BORDER
ASSESSMENT TEAM BEGINS ITS WORK IN LEBANON
The Lebanon Independent
Border Assessment Team began its work yesterday in
Lebanon. The team is tasked with fully evaluating security arrangements
along Lebanon's border with Syria and to do so in close coordination with
relevant Lebanese authorities and other bilateral partners already providing
border security assistance to Lebanon.
Led by
Lasse Christensen of Denmark, the assessment team includes experts from
Algeria, Germany, Jamaica and Switzerland. It is expected to make specific
recommendations on measures and assistance strategies to improve Lebanon’s
management of its border capacities.
Meanwhile, the UN Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) says that it has set up a
Lebanon Emergency website on
its main English-language portal to update the public on the situation in the
Nahr El Bared camp for Palestinian refugees where a standoff continues between
the Lebanese Army and Islamist militants.
Meanwhile UNICEF has
joined with UNRWA and local NGO partners in advocating the safety of the
children and their families among the estimated 10,000 who remain in
beleaguered camp. UNICEF is providing medical supplies, including rehydration
salts, essential drugs and hygiene kits and drinking water; the agency is also
ready to provide counseling to children emotionally affected by the situation.
WORKERS'
CONDITIONS WORSEN DRAMATICALLY
IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES
The situation of workers
in the occupied Arab territories has
worsened dramatically over the past year, according to the International
Labour Organization’s (ILO) annual report.
The ILO found that seven
in ten households are living below the poverty line. It says the situation
has become especially dire in the past year because of the non-payment of
wages for public employees and mounting obstacles to the movement of goods and
people.
UNITED
NATIONS TRAINS IRAQI ELECTORAL COMMISSIONERS
The United Nations,
building upon its previous support for the holding of democratic elections in
Iraq, today began a week of intensive training for the nine new members of the
Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC).
“Electoral assistance
continues to be one of the very important ways that the United Nations is
contributing in Iraq, helping Iraqis to build a more peaceful and democratic
future,” according to B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs.
The training, carried out
in New Dehli, India, by staff of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and
DPA’s Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) will extend from 29 May through 8
June. The invitation to hold the seminar in India was kindly extended by the
Government and Election Commission of India, whose members will also share
their experiences with the Iraqi commissioners.
The training should help
the new commissioners to become more knowledgeable in all aspects of the
management of electoral processes with transparency and political
independence. It should also provide them with an opportunity to build their
working relationship as a commission.
AFGHANISTAN:
INNOCENT CIVILIANS NEED TO BE PROTECTED IN FIGHTING
The UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has
called for all parties fighting in Afghanistan to increase efforts to
ensure the protection of innocent civilians.
In particular, the mission
says, all parties shall avoid, by all necessary means, combat in populated
areas, which result in higher civilian casualties.
UNAMA called on the
extremist Taliban and other terrorist groups to stop attacks affecting
civilians, including suicide bombings, improvised-explosive devices and
executions in which hundreds of civilians have been killed in recent months
and thousands of others affected.
UNAMA also highlights the
need for better coordination between and among Afghan and international
military forces to minimize the impact of their operations on civilians,
particularly in highly populated areas.
UGANDA:
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME DRIVER KILLED IN AMBUSH
The World Food Programme
(WFP) says
that gunmen ambushed a WFP
convoy in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, killing a WFP driver and
forcing the agency to suspend temporarily its operations in support of half a
million drought affected people in the region.
Richard Achuka, 41, was
shot in the neck and shoulder and died yesterday when the gunmen attacked a
convoy of four WFP trucks as they returned from delivering food to schools and
other sites.
The attackers fled as the
escorting soldiers and three other trucks arrived at the ambush site.
“WFP condemns this vicious
attack on a clearly marked WFP humanitarian convoy in the strongest terms and
demands that the killers be pursued and brought to justice,” according to a
press release issued by the agency in Kampala.
REFUGEE
AGENCY EXPRESSES CONCERN
OVER VIOLENCE AT REFUGEE CAMPS IN NEPAL
The United Nations Refugee
Agency (UNHCR)
expressed grave concern over the death of one refugee minor and several
injured refugees and policemen, during a clash in a refugee camp in the Jhapa
district of eastern Nepal on Sunday.
The situation continues to
be tense in the camp, which has also influenced the security situation in
other refugee compounds in the region.
UNHCR’s representative in
Nepal said the agency is grateful to the government of Nepal for working
towards restoring law and order in the face of the highly charged security
situation in the camps.
UNHCR is appealing to the
refugees to abide by the laws of the country.
WORLD
HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR SMOKE-FREE
INDOOR PUBLIC SPACES AND WORKPLACES
The World Health
Organization (WHO) is urgently
calling on countries to make all indoor public places and workplaces 100
per cent smoke-free. The message is part of WHO’s new policy recommendations
– timed for World No Tobacco Day, which is Thursday.
WHO Director-General Dr.
Margaret Chan stresses that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand
tobacco smoke. The only guarantee of protection is creating 100 percent
smoke-free environments.
WHO estimates that 200,000
workers die each year due to exposure to smoke at work. And almost half of
the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke, particularly at
home.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. TIMOR-LESTE MISSION
WELCOMES SIGNING OF POLITICAL ACCORD:
The head of the UN Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
has welcomed the signing of a political accord by the country’s 16 political
parties. They are promising that next month’s elections will be free and fair,
and that they will continue to respect the democratic process after the
elections.
UP TO MEMBER STATES TO
ADDRESS CYBER ATTACKS: Asked for a
Secretary-General reaction to a reported massive cyber-attack that crippled much
of Estonia's computer and Internet networks, the Spokeswoman said this type of
incidents should be of serious concern to anyone living in these
electronic-dominated age. Such attacks, which happen more frequently than not,
could affect industrial complexes and other key entities or infrastructures, she
noted. "It is up to the Member States to bring this situation to the attention
of the General Assembly or the Security Council," Montas added.
**The guest at noon was Mr.
Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, who
briefed on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
