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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

Monday, October 15, 2007

U.N. ENVOY
VISITS THAILAND, VOICES CONCERN AT REPORTED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN MYANMAR

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, Ibrahim Gambari,
    met today with the Prime Minister of Thailand, General Surayud Chulanont, in
    Bangkok, where Gambari is at the start of a regional tour. He delivered a
    special written message of the Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, and
    discussed with him the situation in Myanmar.

  • Earlier, Gambari met the Foreign Minister and

    spoke to the press
    afterward.

  • He said that he intended to raise with Myanmar's
    neighbours and regional partners the UN's serious concerns at the continuing
    reports of human rights violations in the wake of the recent demonstrations.

  • He asserted that “the reports
    of arrests of the remaining student leaders, interrogations and acts of
    intimidation are extremely disturbing and run counter to the spirit of mutual
    engagement between the United Nations and Myanmar. These actions must stop at
    once.” He called on the Myanmar authorities to release all political
    detainees.

  • Gambari added that other objectives of his trip were to
    consult with and seek the active support of regional partners on the next
    steps in the implementation of the Secretary-General's good offices, with a
    view to returning to Myanmar as soon as possible, and to discuss and
    coordinate with regional partners any efforts or initiatives complementary to
    those of the UN.

  • Asked whether the authorities in Myanmar were acting in
    good faith, Gambari welcomed the fact that they have
    appointed a liaison officer to start dialogue, and he also welcomed the
    reduced visibility of the military on the streets. But he warned, “Certainly
    all these will be damaged by all the continued reports of actions that are
    detrimental to national reconciliation and to overall long-lasting peace and
    prosperity in Myanmar.”

  • Gambari travels to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. He
    will also visit Indonesia, India, China and Japan.

  • Asked when Gambari returns to
    New York, and whether he would visit Myanmar before returning to New York, the
    Spokeswoman said that his schedule would depend on the results of his
    discussions with different governments.

  • Asked whether a trip to Myanmar
    by mid-November was early enough, Montas said that the Secretary-General had
    hoped that the visit could be earlier. Gambari, she noted, has an invitation
    from the Myanmar Government to visit in mid-November, but he is trying to
    arrange a visit that would be earlier than that.


SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES ALL SUDANESE PARTIES TO ADHERE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE
PEACE AGREEMENT

  • In a
    statement issued
    over the weekend, the Secretary-General expressed his concern about the
    decision by the

    Sudan
    People's Liberation Movement to suspend its participation in the
    Government of National Unity.

  • The Secretary-General called on both parties to the
    Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to resolve the situation in a manner that
    preserves the integrity of the Agreement.

  • The Secretary-General urges the parties, in particular
    the National Congress Party, to urgently take the necessary steps to address
    the outstanding issues related to the implementation of the CPA.

  • The United Nations stands ready to assist the parties to
    accelerate progress on these matters, restore the necessary trust between them
    and keep implementation of the CPA on track.

  • The acting Special Representative for the
    Secretary-General, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, meanwhile, has traveled to Juba where
    he held two meetings, one with the Secretary-General of the SPLM, Pagan Amum,
    and another with the President and Vice President of the Government of
    Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar.

  • The UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
    says that Zerihoun was encouraged by his interlocutors' assurances that they
    will remain engaged in discussions and consultations with their National
    Congress Party partners.

U.N. AND A.U.
PROVIDE AIRLIFT SUPPORT FOR DARFUR REBELS

  • The United Nations and the African Union have provided
    the airlift support for the

    Darfur
    rebel movements who have gathered in Juba in southern Sudan at a
    conference hosted by the SPLM in preparation for the Darfur talks in Sirte,
    Libya.

  • Staff from the AU-UN Joint Mediation Support Team are
    attending this conference and are holding meetings on the sidelines with the
    movements to discuss their preparedness for the Sirte talks.

SUDAN-UNAMID
LOGISTICS CONTRACT SIGNED TODAY

  • The United Nations has awarded Pacific Architect
    Engineers, Inc. (PAE) a contract for the initial Multi Function Logistics
    Services in Darfur for a period of six months in support of the UN-African
    Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The contract was signed today in New York.

  • The contract, which is for a not-to-exceed amount of $250
    million, covers the establishment of new camps in El Fasher, Nyala, El Geneina,
    Zalingei in Darfur and El Obeid for up to a total of 4,100 military and
    civilian personnel and the provision of camp services including catering,
    medical, janitorial, welfare, and upkeep.

  • The nature and complexity of the requirements, along with
    the challenging timeline mandated by the Security Council, necessitated a
    contractor with considerable experience in the Darfur environment. The search
    for a suitable short-term solution has led to this contractor, which has been
    in Darfur since 2004, constructing and maintaining all logistical services to
    the existing 34 African Union camps.

  • Asked about how the contract to
    PAE was awarded, the Spokeswoman said that it was a sole source contract, in
    accordance with financial regulation 105.16, which provides for an exception
    to the formal methods of solicitation when the United Nations is faced with an
    exigent requirement. The nature and the complexity of the requirement, coupled
    with the challenging timeline mandated by the Security Council, made it so
    that the PAE was the only contractor which could be selected.

  • However, the negotiations on
    the contract were completed by the Procurement Service, and the Contract was
    subsequently reviewed by the Headquarters Committee on Contracts, the
    Spokeswoman later added. Montas noted the firm’s past experience in building
    camps in the same environment.

VIOLENCE LEVEL
IN AFGHANISTAN INCREASED BY 30 PER CENT

  • Tom Koenigs, the Secretary-General’s Special
    Representative for Afghanistan, told
    the Security Council that the level
    of violent incidents in that country is up by roughly 30 percent from the
    comparable level last year. The sad result, he said, is that at least 1,200
    Afghans have been killed since this January.

  • Koenigs said that it is imperative that the protection of
    civilians remain at the forefront of efforts in Afghanistan, and he noted with
    pleasure the concrete steps taken by the International Security and Assistance
    Force and Operation Enduring Freedom on the issue of civilian casualties.

  • The Security Council began its work today by unanimously
    adopting two resolutions extending UN peacekeeping missions. The
    UN Mission in Haiti
    was extended by one year, while the one in
    Georgia was
    extended by six months.


SECRETARY-GENERAL’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE MEETS PRESIDENT OF DR CONGO

  • The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
    the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Lacy Swing, and the UN Force
    Commander there, General Boubacar Gueye, met earlier today with Congolese
    President Joseph Kabila in Goma, in northeastern DRC. They discussed the
    security situation in the North Kivu province, where a military stand-off
    between Government forces and dissident soldiers, led by renegade General
    Laurent Nkunda, continues.

  • The UN Mission in the DRC this weekend issued a
    statement in which
    it reiterated its firm support for the Congolese Army, in accordance with its
    mandate to assist the Government in restoring and extending state authority
    throughout the country. The Mission urged all dissident troops to rejoin the
    Army immediately, a move for which the necessary arrangements, including
    reception sites and transportation, have already been made.

  • Speaking on the Mission’s assistance to the Army, Force
    Commander General Gueye confirmed that UN peacekeepers have taken up the
    medical evacuation of the Congolese Army’s wounded and
    the transportation of their reinforcements and ammunition. General Gueye also
    said that UN peacekeepers are coordinating with humanitarian agencies on the
    ground. Finding a solution to the crisis, he added, remains the peacekeepers’
    top priority.

SECRETARIAT
ADDRESSES CRIMINAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN SIXTH COMMITTEE

  • In a statement today in the Sixth Committee on criminal
    accountability of U.N. officials, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal
    Affairs, Nicolas Michel, stressed
    that the Secretariat does not and cannot condone criminal conduct by its
    officials and experts on mission.

  • He stressed that failure to prosecute offenders brings on
    a perception of impunity, which would aggravate the negative effects that such
    incidents generate. He highlighted the need for the international community to
    act resolutely and take serious efforts to address the problem of criminal
    accountability of UN officials and experts on mission, in a timely and
    efficient manner.

  • The Under-Secretary-General also noted the Secretariat
    supports the recommendation of the Group of Legal Experts for an international
    convention to be developed to address the current jurisdictional gaps,
    especially for crimes committed in the context of peacekeeping operations,
    adding that the adoption of such convention is a long-term measure to address
    the problem.

U.N. MISSION IN
HAITI ACTIVE ON EMERGENCY FLOOD AID

  • Joel Boutroue, the Deputy Special Representative of the
    Secretary-General and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, this weekend
    accompanied Haitian Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis to the town of
    Cabaret to assess damages from the massive rainfall that flooded the region,
    causing serious destruction of property and livelihoods.

  • The UN Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH)
    says that it is actively involved in coordinating the emergency aid coming to
    Haiti in response to the flood. The Mission provided logistical support to the
    authorities and, together with Haitian Police, helped relocate families
    affected by the recent floods.

MATERNAL
MORTALITY REDUCTION TOO SLOW TO MEET MILLENNIUM GOAL

  • Several U.N. agencies have

    released
    figures showing that the maternal mortality rate is declining too
    slowly to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
    of reducing the number of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth by
    three-quarters by 2015.

  • To achieve that goal, an annual decline of more than 5
    percent is required, but the figure is currently dropping by less than one
    percent a year.  In 2005, more than half a million women died of maternal
    causes, and 99 percent of those deaths were in developing countries, with more
    than half in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • The Deputy Secretary-General, who addressed the
    challenges facing Africa, in Oslo today also cited the current maternal
    mortality rates and described them as “shockingly high.” A woman in Africa has
    a one in 16 chance to die in childbirth or from complications of pregnancy,
    compared with a likelihood of one in 3,800 in the developed world, she said.

WORLD HEALTH
AGENCY WARNS OF RISK OF CHOLERA IN SOMALIA

  • The World Health Organization (WHO)
    is warning about an imminent risk of cholera in southern Somalia.  Seven new
    cases have been confirmed so far.

  • This comes after an outbreak of the disease three months
    ago, during which more than 1,100 people died. 
    UNICEF has begun delivering cholera kits
    and Oral Dehydration Therapy supplies to the area.

U.N., AID
GROUPS OPEN NEW BASE IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

  • In the Central African Republic, the U.N. and several
    non-governmental organizations have opened a new base of operations in Paoua.

  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
    says the new presence in the country’s northwest will help improve the
    effectiveness of humanitarian assistance there.

  • At present, the majority of the population is unable to
    access essential goods and receive adequate protection, OCHA says.

U.N. HUMAN
RIGHTS COMMISSIONER WRAPS UP VISIT TO SRI LANKA

  • UN High Commissioner for Human
    Rights Louise Arbour wrapped up her visit to Sri Lanka over the weekend.  In a

    statement
    at the conclusion of her trip, she expressed alarm about the
    large number of reported unresolved killings, abductions and disappearances.

  • She called for independent
    information gathering and public reporting on allegations of human rights
    abuses, noting that the absence of reliable information on that subject is one
    of the country’s major human rights shortcomings.

  • She added that the Sri Lanka
    Human Rights Commission’s failure to appoint relevant commissioners, and to
    systematically conduct public inquiries and issue timely reports, had created
    a crisis of confidence.  She offered the support of her office, and stressed
    the urgent need to create a productive relationship between her office and the
    Sri Lankan Government. 


SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS

  • The Secretary-General, before he ended his brief trip to
    Washington last week, gave a brief
    press encounter
    on Friday in which he expressed his delight at the
    news that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 was awarded to former US
    Vice-President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

  • He said that the award shows
    clear recognition of the urgency and significance of addressing global
    warming. He said that Gore has provided a good example of how individuals can
    make a difference in raising the awareness of this important global challenge.

  • “This is a global challenge
    that requires global action,” the Secretary-General said, adding, “I will
    continuously be engaged in this fight.”

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
    said that the award is
    a “remarkable testament to the dedication and commitment of the thousands of
    experts and participants who have produced the Panel's rigorous and
    comprehensive assessments of climate change research”.

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