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”.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
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