HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, June
28, 2007
HEAD OF SOMALIA’S GOVERNMENT BRIEFS SECURITY
COUNCIL, MEETS WITH SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Security Council heard from the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia, Ali Mohamed Gedi, in a closed meeting this morning.
The Security Council then began consultations, with a view to a formal
meeting, on the Special Court for Sierra
Leone.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Gedi, and
was encouraged by the Prime Minister’s assurances that plans are on track to
begin the National Reconciliation Congress next month.
The Secretary-General said it was important for the government to reach out in
an effort to ensure that the Congress is inclusive.
The Secretary-General pledged to do his part to encourage troop contributions
and other support to the African Union mission, AMISOM, which has a critical
role to play in establishing security in the country. He also expressed
concern about the humanitarian situation and urged greater cooperation with
the humanitarian community working in Somalia.
SECURITY
SITUATION IN SOMALIA REMAINS VOLATILE
In the Secretary-General’s latest
report on
Somalia, he gives an update on the UN role in support of the intra-Somali
negotiations to convene a national reconciliation congress, which is now
planned for July 15.
He also notes that efforts by the Transitional Federal
Government to secure and establish key state institutions in the capital,
Mogadishu, continue to face significant resistance from remnants of the
deposed Union of Islamic Courts and various subclans of Mogadishu’s dominant
Hawiye clan. Security in the rest of the country, meanwhile, remains volatile
due to widespread banditry, lawlessness and intra-clan violence, a situation
made even more volatile by the eruption in April of tensions between the
Puntland and Somaliland regions.
The Secretary-General also reports on the work of the
African Union peace support mission and contingency planning for a possible UN
peacekeeping deployment. “In view of the enormous needs of Somalia, a UN
peacekeeping operation would have to be multidimensional,” the
Secretary-General says, citing some of the recommendations of a technical
assessment mission conducted by UN experts in March.
Condemning the deadly attacks against AU peacekeepers in
Somalia, the Secretary-General deplores the continued deterioration of both
the security and humanitarian conditions, which has led some 400,000 people
between February and late April to flee Mogadishu and the south-central
regions.
Increased insecurity, meanwhile, has caused another 3,500
people to flee the capital this month, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR),
which says that
another 10,000 people are also reported to have fled the town of Kismayu due
to violence between rival clans.
SUDAN: TROOP
CONTRIBUTORS FOR HYBRID FORCE TO MEET FRIDAY
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Hédi Annabi on
Wednesday told reporters, after his briefing to the Security Council, that a
troop contributors’ meeting has been scheduled for Friday to discuss the
African Union-United Nations hybrid operation for
Darfur.
He emphasized that despite the challenges the new hybrid
operation could face, the UN and the AU are committed to working together to
coordinate their work so that the operation can work as smoothly as possible.
Annabi also indicated that the current focus is on
expediting the deployment of the heavy support package.
The Security Council President, meanwhile, said that a
draft resolution authorizing the hybrid force was expected to be introduced in
the days to come.
In other developments, the UN
Mission in Sudan
reports a new influx of internally displaced persons at a camp in South Darfur
and a grenade explosion in a camp in West Darfur, which killed a six-year-old
boy and severely injured at least four other people.
UN RELIEF AGENCY WELCOMES OPENING OF CROSSING INTO
GAZA
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
welcomed the opening today of the Karni crossing point between Israel and the
Gaza Strip, which allowed 5,000 tonnes of wheat to pass through.
The Agency said that it is crucial that Karni remains open on a permanent
basis, and continues to be fully functional. UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness
said, “If we are to avoid total aid dependency for Gaza, we need to get
commercial imports and exports moving.”
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
the UN agencies are meeting the basic needs of the Palestinian residents of
the Gaza Strip at present. As of today, they are getting an average 80 to 90
trucks of relief supplies into the territory daily.
Meanwhile, UNRWA says its summer programme for children in Gaza is well
underway. Nearly two hundred thousand children are expected to participate in
a broad range of recreational and educational activities as part of UNRWA’s
“Summer Games”.
Asked about the lack of a statement from the Secretary-General on the recent
Israeli incursion into Gaza, the Spokeswoman said that the issue was one that
is being followed closely. She noted that the United Nations is present in the
area and has been reporting periodically on conditions there.
Montas asserted that the Secretary-General’s concerns are obvious, as seen by
his daily phone contacts with leaders on the Middle East.
Asked whether the Secretary-General favours isolating Hamas, the Spokeswoman
said he favours a two-state solution, with an Israeli and a Palestinian state.
Asked whether the Secretary-General encourages dialogue between Fatah and
Hamas, Montas said that he did.
U.N. LEBANON FORCE COMMANDER MEETS WITH LOCAL
AUTHORITIES
The Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
Major-General Claudio Graziano, today held an open meeting with local
authorities from the towns and villages in the eastern sector of UNIFIL’s area
of operations, with the aim of strengthening relations with the local
communities.
Graziano said that it is essential that the relations between the UN Mission
and the local communities are characterised by trust, confidence and mutual
respect.
He
added that the recent terrorist attack against UNIFIL peacekeepers would not
deter them from carrying out their mission, adding that all UNIFIL troops
remain committed more than ever to their mission.
BRAMMERTZ TO HEAD LEBANON INVESTIGATION THROUGH
2007
Asked about reports that Serge Brammerz might replace Carla Del Ponte as
prosecutor for the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Spokeswoman said that Brammertz’s
contract was recently extended until 31 December and until then, he will be
heading the International Independent Investigation Commission for Lebanon.
She added that Del Ponte’s current contract is due to expire on 15 September.
The selection of her replacement will be decided by the Security Council, upon
recommendations by the Secretary-General. As of today, the Council has not
taken any such decision, and neither has it been seized of the matter. Montas
added that she could not confirm media reports on the matter.
U.N. IRAQ ENVOY MEETS WITH TOP IRAQI OFFICIALS
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, today
met the Chair and Deputy Chair of Iraq’s Constitutional Review Committee to
discuss the progress of the constitutional review process.
Qazi reaffirmed the willingness of the United Nations to continue assisting
the Committee in reviewing outstanding technical issues, drawing on its
international experience and knowledge of best practice in comparable
situations. He added that the UN’s technical and advisory role is always
carried out at the request of the Government.
COMPENDIUM OF IRAQ’S WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
PUBLISHED
The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) published
on its website its
Compendium
of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programmes.
It’s a more than 1,000-page document that provides a detailed account of
Iraq’s chemical and biological warfare programmes and associated delivery
systems, as well as UN efforts to map and verify the true extent and nature of
Iraq’s activities.
The Lessons Learned chapter of this Compendium represents the views of the
inspectors themselves and highlights the difficulties faced by inspectors and
many of the strengths and weaknesses of the UN inspection system.
Asked whether the UNMOVIC compendium was a justification for the war in Iraq,
the Spokeswoman said it was not, and she described it as a normal follow up to
the Commission’s work.
BALLOT DISTRIBUTION BEGINS AHEAD OF TIMOR-LESTE ELECTIONS
The UN Integrated Mission in
Timor-Leste (UNMIT) says that the
distribution of ballot papers for this weekend’s parliamentary elections has
begun in both the capital Dili and the main town of the country’s 13
districts. This is being done by the UN in cooperation with the Timorese
Secretariat for Electoral Administration.
The Mission says that the ballot papers will be transported from Dili and
other district capitals to the 708 polling stations and 520 polling centers by
helicopters, vehicles and horses with porters on 29 June. A total of 652,000
ballot papers will be distributed throughout the country and a reserve will be
stored in all districts to deal with emergencies contingencies.
SECRETARY-GENERAL COMMITTED TO ACTION AGAINST
GENOCIDE
Asked about a letter sent to the Secretary-General by two members of the
three-member Bosnian Presidency, the Spokeswoman noted that the
Secretary-General would respond to a letter signed by all three members.
Asked whether the lack of reaction to the letter was linked to the lawsuit
brought about by the Mothers of Srebrenica, Montas said that the issues were
not connected.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has done enough to apply the lessons of
Srebrenica and Rwanda, she said that the Secretary-General has a clear
position on acts of genocide. Montas said he would do anything in his own
power so that decisions taken on those matters by International Courts would
be enforced.
REPORT:
DESERTIFICATION A THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL STABILITY
In a new
report,
the United Nations University calls desertification – exacerbated by climate
change – an imminent threat to international stability.
According to the study, within the next 10 years, 50
million people could be at risk of displacement due to severe desertification.
The report calls on governments to overhaul their agriculture and other land
use policies.
U.N. REPRESENTATIVE ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT TO
CONCLUDE VISIT TO MYANMAR
The
Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy,
will conclude her five-day visit to Myanmar on Friday.
During
her visit to Myanmar, the Special Representative met with the acting Prime
Minister as well as other ministers and senior officials. She said that the
Government responded favorably to engaging in an ongoing dialogue with the UN.
UNESCO DELETES SITE FROM WORLD HERITAGE LIST
For the
first time ever, the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) has decided to
remove a site from its World Heritage List.
The
Arabian Oryx Sanctuary – which is home to rare antelope – has been deleted
from the list because of Oman’s decision to reduce the size of the protected
area by 90% and proceed to hydrocarbon prospecting. The World Heritage
Committee sees this as destroying the outstanding universal value of the site
which was inscribed in 1994.
The
World Heritage Committee – which is meeting this week in New Zealand—also
added more than a dozen sites to its list today, such as the Sydney Opera
House and the Old Town of Corfu.
CHINA SET TO
BECOME THIRD MOST POPULAR TOURIST DESTINATION
According to the UN World Tourism Organization (WTO),
China is expected to become the world’s third most popular tourist destination
by 2008. China attracted 49.6 million tourists last year.
The WTO says that France, Spain and the United States are
currently the world’s top three tourist destinations but that China was
neck-and-neck with the US last year.
SERGIO VIEIRA
DE MELLO HONORED AT CEREMONY IN GENEVA
A ceremony is taking place tonight in Geneva to honor
former top UN envoy in Iraq and High
Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello. He was killed, along
with 21 colleagues, in a bombing of the UN’s Baghdad Headquarters in August
2003.
During tonight’s ceremony outside the Palais Wilson, a
bust of Vieira de Mello will be unveiled. The bronze likeness rests on a
plinth which carries the names of the others who lost their lives that day.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECRETARY-GENERAL READY TO WORK WITH ALL MEMBERS OF NEW UK GOVERNMENT:
Asked about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the appointment of former Deputy
Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown to a position in the UK Cabinet, the
Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General would work with Malloch Brown and
with all members of the new government. She noted that the Secretary-General
would visit London in the next two weeks.
U.N. FOLLOWING RIO KILLINGS: Asked about
the killings that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Spokeswoman said
that it was a national issue, but one that was being followed by the United
Nations.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO RESPOND ONCE GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTES ON PEACEKEEPING REFORM:
Asked about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the recent
vote in
the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee on UN peacekeeping reform, the
Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General would respond once the General
Assembly votes on the matter, which it is expected to do on Friday.
**The guest at noon was
Anwarul Chowdhury, Under-Secretary-General and High
Representative
for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small
Island Developing States, who launched the Climate Change Report 2007.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
