HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Thursday, October 18, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
NAMES FIVE SENIOR OFFICIALS FOR AFRICA
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security
Council of his intention to appoint three Special Representatives: Ellen
Margrethe Loj of Denmark for Liberia; Alan
Doss of the United Kingdom for the Democratic Republic of the
Congo; and Choi Young-Jin of the Republic
of Korea for Côte d’Ivoire.
A response from the Security Council is expected shortly.
Ms. Loj, who most recently served as Denmark’s Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, will replace Alan Doss.
Mr. Doss, currently the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Liberia, will replace William Lacy Swing of the United
States.
Mr. Choi, who most recently served as Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN, will replace Pierre Schori
of Sweden.
In addition, the Secretary-General has appointed two
Deputy Special Representatives: Ms. Bintou Keita of Guinea for Burundi and Mr.
Bacre Waly Ndiaye of Senegal for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BAN KI-MOON APPOINTS DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL
FOR U.N. GENEVA OFFICE
The Secretary-General has appointed Jan Beagle of New
Zealand as Deputy Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG),
as part of his effort to strengthen the overall management capacity and
coordination among the organizations of the Secretariat in Geneva.
Ms. Beagle, who currently serves as Assistant
Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, has over 30 years of
experience in the United Nations in the political, development, management,
administrative and inter-agency areas of the Organization.
Prior to joining the United Nations, she served in New
Zealand’s diplomatic service.
MYANMAR MUST FULLY ADHERE TO ROADMAP TO
DEMOCRACY
The Secretary-General’s
Special Envoy for Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, in
Jakarta today held talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda. They discussed strategies on
how to ensure quick results to find a long- term solution on
Myanmar by encouraging ASEAN countries to play an important role.
In his remarks to the press following the meetings,
Gambari stressed the three aspects of his mission, adding that the United
Nations and ASEAN share a common objective for stable, peaceful, prosperous
and democratic Myanmar with full respect for Human Rights.
Gambari highlighted that the seven steps and the road map
to democracy need to be followed completely, effectively and to deliver
tangible results, adding that the Secretary-General is asking members of ASEAN
and other neighboring countries to use it so that Tan Sui will actually follow
through on his commitment.
He also said the view of the United Nations and the
International Communities that the process that is needed for national
reconciliation Myanmar should be all inclusive and for those who have
contributed in Myanmar.
Asked what kind of cooperation
Gambari expects to receive when he visits India, the Spokeswoman said that he
is meeting with a range of officials in the countries he visits in order to
achieve the goals of his mission concerning Myanmar. She declined to speculate
on what would be achieved in his different stops until he visits those
countries.
FIVE MILLION PEOPLE LACK SUFFICIENT FOOD
IN MYANMAR
The World Food Programme
said today that
humanitarian assistance presently provided to Myanmar is short of meeting the
needs of the people, and the local Government must undertake immediate
critical reforms for the benefit of the country's desperately poor and needy.
Following last week’s visit to Myanmar, WFP Regional
Director for Asia, Tony Banbury, said that while at least 5 million vulnerable
persons in Myanmar are short of food and far too many people suffer needlessly
from diseases and poverty, WFP can presently only provide food to about 10
percent of them.
Banbury added that humanitarian organizations are faced
with insufficient funding. Only 30 percent of the current WFP operation in
Myanmar is funded but it plans to reach a total of 1.6 million vulnerable
people at a total cost of $51.7 million in 3 years time.
BAN KI-MOON WARNS AGAINST ESCALATION OF
TENSIONS
AT TURKISH BORDER WITH IRAQ
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s reaction to the decision by the Turkish Parliament adopted
on Wednesday, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General was aware of
that decision, which would enable the Turkish armed forces to take cross
border military action in Iraq.
The Secretary-General believes
that any escalation of tension would further complicate the efforts of the
international community, including those by the United Nations, to bring
stability to this volatile region, she said.
Equally, Montas said, the
Secretary-General strongly encourages the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan
Regional Government to take decisive measures to ensure that Iraq's territory
is not used by the PKK to mount cross-border attacks against Turkey.
Asked whether there would be
an official statement by the Secretary-General on this matter, the Spokeswoman
said that, for now, there would not. Asked why no statement had been issued,
Montas noted that diplomatic efforts were continuing to avoid any
confrontation in the border area.
BAN KI-MOON APPEALS FOR CONSOLIDATION
OF IMPROVING AFRICAN GOVERNANCE
The Secretary-General today delivered
remarks to the
General Assembly Plenary Debate on the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD),
the causes of conflict and promotion of peace and development in Africa, and
the Decade to Roll Back Malaria.
The Secretary-General said we must now help consolidate
positive changes in Africa through stronger, more coherent UN support,
including in the areas of governance and institutional capacity-building.
On malaria, he noted that we now have the tools and
increased resources to control the sickness. But every minute we wait, another
two children die needlessly, he said.
INVESTING IN WOMEN’S HEALTH CAN HELP
REDUCE POVERTY
Speaking at a conference on women’s health and women’s
rights in London, Deputy
Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro says that it is time for the world to
deliver for women by increasing investment in women’s health and well-being.
Unless this is done, entire nations will not be able to
lift themselves out of poverty, she warns.
INT'L CRIMINAL COURT TAKES CUSTODY OF
CONGOLESE WARLORD
The International Criminal
Court (ICC) says
that it has taken custody earlier today of Germain Katanga, a former senior
commander of the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Katanga, who is 29-years-old, is suspected of war
crimes and crimes against humanity and is now being held at the ICC’s
detention center in The Hague.
In sealed documents filed in
June 2007, the ICC Prosecutor introduced evidence against Katanga, charging
him with three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes.
Deputy-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement today that Katanga’s name
will forever be associated with the village of Bogoro where in February 2003
Katanga’s fighters slaughtered some 200 people and forced local women into
sexual slavery, among other crimes.
Meanwhile, the UN Mission in
the DRC (MONUC) says that
363 former Congolese soldiers who fought alongside renegade General Laurent
Nkunda have left his ranks and joined the so-called brassage process,
which will lead to their reinsertion into the Government Army.
RWANDAN
CHARGED WITH GENOCIDE IS ARRESTED IN FRANCE
French authorities earlier this week arrested Rwandan
national Dominique Ntawukuriryayo, who has been on the run from the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He was detained by French
police in the town Carcassone, in southern France, and is expected to be
transferred to Paris and then on to the ICTR
in Arusha, Tanzania, in the next few days.
The suspect was a sub-prefect of Gisagara, in the
southern Rwandan province of Butare, during the genocide. The charge sheet
against him, submitted by ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Jallow in 2005, accuses him
of genocide, complicity in genocide and inciting the public to commit
genocide.
FIRE DESTROYS WAREHOUSE IN SYRIA; SETS
BACK IRAQI REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE OPERATION
The UN Refugee Agency
says that a fire
that broke out this morning at its compound in Damascus, Syria, will set back
operations there for some time.
The fire lasted for about six hours, destroying one
warehouse completely, along with thousands of tents and blankets. Other
buildings in the compound were flooded with water and remain full of
smoke. Several hundred refugees, along with about 40 staff members, were
evacuated.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
More than 80,000 Iraqi refugees have been registered at
the center this year.
In
his most
recent report on Iraq, the Secretary-General expressed concern about the
number of Iraqi refugees and displaced persons. He noted that the capacities
of neighbouring host countries, particularly Syria and Jordan, are strained to
extreme levels. He called on the Iraqi Government and the international
community to step up assistance for those in need, and also called for
political dialogue aimed at improving the security situation inside Iraq, in
order to create the conditions for the safe return of refugees and internally
displaced persons.
Asked about the safety
situation in Iraq, the Spokeswoman said that security conditions are assessed
regularly for UN staff. Asked about the Secretary-General’s decision to
increase staffing levels in Baghdad, she said that he would not make such a
decision, if he believed that there was a threat to the lives of staff.
UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS KILLINGS OF IRAQI
JOURNALISTS
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Koïchiro Matsuura
condemned the killing in Iraq of 5 Iraqi reporters – one from the
Washington Post, three from Al Watan and one freelance journalist.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the new
killings bring the number of journalists assassinated in Iraq to at least 54
since the start of the year.
MONEY MIGRANTS SEND HOME SURPASSES AID TO
DEVELOPING NATIONS
Migrants working in industrialized countries sent more
than $300 billion to developing nations in 2006.
That’s according to a
study released today
in Washington, DC, by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) and the Inter-American Development Bank.
According to IFAD, the seemingly
small sums sent home by migrant workers, when added together, actually dwarf
official development assistance.
The study says that, in 2006,
India was the top destination for remittances, having received nearly $25
billion. It was followed by Mexico, China, the Philippines and Russia.
UNITED NATIONS
CORRECTS INTERPRETATION MISTAKE
IN SYRIAN DELEGATE’S COMMENTS
There was a technical error in a press release that was
issued on Tuesday about the work of the First Committee, which incorrectly
cited a Syrian representative as mentioning a “nuclear facility” in that
country. In fact, the representative had simply mentioned “what happened on 6
September 2007 against my country,” and had not used the word “nuclear” at all
in that phrase.
The mistake was due to an interpretation error, and a
corrected press release has since been issued. We regret the error, and the
department that deals with General Assembly affairs is looking further into
the incident.
In response to questions, the
Spokeswoman said that the mistake had clearly been one of interpretation, as
anyone who heard the original Arabic would realize.
She confirmed that the Syrian
Mission had discussed the matter with the Department of General Assembly and
Conference Management.
According to the translation services, action will be
taken against that interpreter to the fullest extent of the UN Rules and
Regulations.
PROCUREMENT
OFFICIAL IS DEMOTED IN DISCIPLINARY PROBE
Asked whether
Andrew Toh of the Department of Management had been demoted to director level,
the Spokeswoman said that, after carefully considering the case on the basis
of the report of the Joint Disciplinary Committee, the Secretary-General
reached a decision, involving the imposition of disciplinary measures. The
decision has been conveyed to the staff member.
The
Secretary-General, Montas said, stresses the importance he attaches to the
accountability of UN staff members, as he noted in his recent press stakeout,
and to that of senior managers in particular. The disciplinary measures
imposed reflect the seriousness with which he views the matter.
She added that
this is an internal, confidential matter between the Organization and a staff
member, and declined to provide any further comment.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNITED NATIONS READIES EMERGENCY AID FOR POSSIBLE
VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN EAST JAVA: The Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the
U.N. office in Indonesia is closely monitoring the situation in East Java, after
government experts said the eruption of the Mount Kelud volcano is imminent.
U.N. agencies are taking part in assessment missions, and the World Health
Organization is already mobilizing emergency medical supplies and health staff.
UNITED KINGDOM PLEDGES LARGE DONATION TO POPULATION
FUND: The UN Population Fund has
received a pledge from
the United Kingdom of 100 million pounds over five years, to achieve universal
access to reproductive health. The announcement in London came on the first day
of the Women Deliver conference, where leaders have gathered to discuss ways to
reduce maternal deaths.
SECRETARIAT NOT TOLD OF
BUDGETARY COMMITTEE'S REPORTED POSITION ON A U.N PUBLICATION:
Asked whether the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
(ACABQ) had informed the Secretariat that it considered one UN publication sold
in the bookstore as “useless”, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretariat had not
received that information.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
Back to the Spokesperson's Page
