Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 23 October 2007

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

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

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

BAN KI-MOON URGES GREATER DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
FOR LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES

  • Addressing the General Assembly’s High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development this morning, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was mixed, with sub-Saharan Africa clearly not on track.
  • Official Development Assistance, which had been rising since 2002, has fallen off since last year. The Secretary-General called for further debt relief for low-income countries, as well as increased participation for those countries in international financial institutions. He added that much more must be done to increase stable capital flows to low-income countries and enhance their development impact, and called for a hastened conclusion to the Doha trade negotiations.
  • Asked whether the Secretary-General has conceded that it is impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goals in sub-Saharan Africa, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations continues to push for efforts to achieve the Goals by the current deadline.

MUCH WORK REMAINS IN INCLUDING WOMEN IN PEACE EFFORTS

  • The Secretary-General noted the progress made in recent years in including women in peace efforts, but he added that there is much left to do, in comments he made to the Security Council’s open meeting on women, peace and security.
  • He said that, more and more, women participate in mediating and negotiating peace, in searching for justice and in fostering reconciliation, while the Security Council ensures that peace processes empower women and advance gender equality.
  • The Secretary-General added that violence against women has reached hideous and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict. He reiterated his call to the Security Council to establish a mechanism dedicated to monitoring violence against women and girls.
  • Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and Special Adviser on Gender Issues, Rachel Mayanja, also addressed the Council.

U.N. ENVOY EXPECTED TO VISIT MYANMAR IN EARLY NOVEMBER

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, expects to visit Myanmar in the first week of November, as the Myanmar Government agreed to bring forward his standing invitation to the country.
  • While the exact travel dates have yet to be arranged, Gambari would be going to Myanmar directly from the region, continuing his consultations with key regional countries in the interim.
  • Gambari has now completed his consultations in New Delhi and is on his way to Beijing, where he is scheduled to meet with senior officials before going on to Tokyo for consultations with Japanese counterparts.
  • In New Delhi today, he met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to whom he delivered a personal message from the Secretary-General. He had detailed and substantive discussions with his interlocutors on the UN’s efforts in Myanmar and India’s support in this regard.
  • Gambari has been urging India and other regional countries to actively encourage the Government of Myanmar to continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General’s good offices efforts, including by addressing continuing human rights concerns and by encouraging Myanmar to receive Mr. Gambari as early as possible in order to kick-start a dialogue with the opposition.

NEW HEAD OF U.N. MISSION ARRIVES IN SUDAN

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Ashraf Jahangir Qazi, has arrived in Khartoum to assume his functions as head of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
  • Qazi is expected to meet over the next few days with Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, First Vice President and President of the Government of Southern Sudan Salva Kiir, and senior officials of the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan.
  • His activities during the coming days include a series of internal meetings with UN officials. He will also represent the United Nations during the celebration of United Nations Day, to be held tomorrow.

SOMALIA: WFP WELCOMES RELEASE OF ITS OFFICER-IN-CHARGE

  • The World Food Programme has welcomed the release from government custody of Idris Osman, the agency’s officer-in-charge for Mogadishu, who was detained without charge for close to a week. He was arrested by state security agents in a raid on the UN compound, which was condemned by the Secretary-General as a violation of the 1946 Convention on Privileges and Immunity.
  • In a telephone conversation last Friday with President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed of Somalia, the Secretary General had expressed his strong objections to the arrest and detention of Idris Osman. He called for his immediate and unconditional release and registered his protest over the forceful and illegal entry of armed men into the UN compound last Wednesday. The President of Somalia had agreed on a joint investigation into the incident.
  • Asked why Osman had been detained, the Spokeswoman said that he was now back at work at the UN office in Mogadishu, upon a decision by the President, with no charges laid against him. WFP and the Transitional Federal Government will shortly launch a joint fact-finding mission looking into the circumstances of his detention.
  • Asked about WFP food distribution through mosques in Mogadishu, Montas later added that food distributions had been interrupted after Somali National Security Service officers entered the UN compound in Mogadishu on 17 October. They will resume in Mogadishu as soon as possible with the agreement of the Transitional Federal Government.
  • Asked whether distributions will resume through mosques, Montas said that WFP had announced that it would distribute food in the most effective way to reach the people in need, including through the mosques.

LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY REBEL COMMANDER SURRENDERS

  • The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has confirmed the surrender of a commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group that also roams the northeastern region of the DRC.
  • Patrick Opiyo Makasi, who is believed to be the LRA’s operations and logistics commander, and his wife gave themselves up, along with their weapons and ammunitions, to Congolese border police and were transferred to Kinshasa on October 14th.
  • The LRA rebel, against whom no known criminal charges are pending, is expected to be handed over to UN peacekeepers for his integration into the disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion programme and a possible repatriation to Uganda.
  • Yesterday in The Hague, suspected Congolese war criminal Germain Katanga appeared before the judges of the International Criminal Court to hear the charges against him. The Court now plans to confirm the charges against Katanga at a hearing in February next year.
  • Asked about the reintegration of Makasi, the surrendered LRA official, the Spokeswoman said the plan is to send him back to Uganda. She added, in response to a further question, that at this point no known criminal charges are pending against him and currently, she said, the International Criminal Court did not regard him as a “person of interest”.

THOUSANDS OF CONGOLESE REFUGEES FLEE INTO UGANDA

  • The latest escalation in fighting in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced thousands more people to flee southwards towards Goma and across the border into Uganda, according to the UN refugee agency. An estimated 8,000 Congolese refugees who fled to Bunagana in Uganda over the weekend were still there on Tuesday morning.
  • UN humanitarian agencies are providing assistance to civilians displaced by the latest upsurge of violence in North Kivu. The World Food Programme (WFP) is feeding some 4,500 displaced families, while UNICEF has distributed relief supplies to an additional 200 families. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is completing an assessment of the region around Mweso, which had earlier been inaccessible due to widespread insecurity.

BAN KI-MOON URGES SUBSTANTIVE NEGOTIATIONS ON WESTERN SAHARA

  • In his latest report on Western Sahara, the Secretary-General expresses satisfaction with the talks held here in New York in June and August, but notes that they can hardly be characterized as “negotiations”, since each side mainly rejected the views of the other.
  • He notes that a mutually acceptable date for resuming talks has not been chosen, adding that further guidance from the Security Council is needed before the parties can undertake substantive negotiations. He notes that the proposals by both Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO are on the agenda and must be discussed.
  • He expresses concern about restrictions on the freedom of movement of UN military observers, and the continuing presence of land mines. He also urges the donor community to contribute generously to confidence-building measures, such as family visits between the Territory and refugee camps in the Tindouf area.
  • The Secretary-General recommends that the Council extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another six months.

IRAQ: U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY IS WORRIED ABOUT MORE DISPLACEMENTS

  • The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is closely watching developments at the Iraq-Turkey border. At the end of September, the shelling of Iraqi towns on the Iranian border displaced at least 340 families, and UNHCR is worried about ongoing instability that could lead to further displacement.
  • Meanwhile, the Agency says, Iraqi refugees continue to arrive in Syria, although in much smaller numbers than before. UNHCR field officers who visited the Syria-Iraq border on Monday estimated that around 300 people were able to enter. The majority of them had applied for their visas in Baghdad.
  • More than 2.3 million Iraqis are presently displaced inside the country, while more than 2.4 million Iraqis have fled to neighbouring countries.

NEPAL: SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES PROGRESS IN PEACE PROCESS

  • In his latest report to the Security Council on the request of Nepal for UN assistance in support of its peace process, the Secretary-General highlighted that Nepal’s peace process now stands at a crossroads and significant strides have been made by the political parties, but at the same time, it is facing serious difficulties.
  • He added that the second postponement of the Constituent Assembly election has been a major disappointment for the Nepalese people and the international community.
  • The Secretary-General urges the seven political parties to set aside their differences and maintain their unity in the interest of the common national agenda.
  • Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal welcomes the decision taken in last week’s cabinet meeting to institute quotas for recruiting women and members of marginalized groups to fill vacant posts in their local police and armed police forces.
  • The human rights office has long urged the police forces and other government institutions to take steps to make their work forces more inclusive. It suggests that the quotas be applied across the ranks of the police forces, ensuring representation of women and marginalized groups in the officer ranks.
  • Also on Nepal, the U.N. Development Assistance Framework for Nepal for 2008 to 2010, aimed at consolidating the U.N. system’s common strategy on how to best support development needs in Nepal, was released today.

U.N. TEAM ARRIVES TO MONITOR REFERENDUM IN TOKELAU

  • A UN observer team arrived yesterday in Tokelau, a set of islands in the Pacific Ocean, to monitor the holding of its second referendum on self-government in free association with New Zealand.
  • That referendum continued today on the first of the country's three atolls, following voting by 195 people yesterday. Voting at two out of four polling stations is now complete.
  • Voting in Tokelau will conclude tomorrow, and the referendum result is expected to be announced later that evening.

U.N. AGENCIES PROVIDE AID TO FLOOD VICTIMS IN DPRK

  • In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says several U.N. agencies are providing assistance, in cooperation with the Government, to people affected by flooding in August and September.
  • The World Health Organization is providing emergency kits; the UN Population Fund is delivering reproductive health kits; the World Food Programme is distributing nearly five thousand tons of cereals; and the Food and Agriculture Organization is procuring seeds, fertilizer and plastic sheeting.
  • Disbursements from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) have been instrumental in all of these projects.

EXPERTS GATHER TO EXPLORE WAYS TO IMPROVE INJECTION SAFETY

  • According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year, 6 billion injections are given globally with non-sterilized syringes or needles, causing some 1.3 million deaths around the world.
  • Therefore, in an effort to improve injection safety across the globe, WHO began a three-day meeting in Geneva today, bringing together UN agencies, experts and donors, to examine how best to promote the use of safer needles. It will also explore ways to encourage manufacturers to lower the price of such products.
  • In fact, since 1999, with the launching of the Safe Injection Global Network (SIGN), WHO has been urging its Member States to use needles with safety features. However, these cost five times as much as ordinary needles, which are widely used in poorer countries.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO OPEN EXHIBIT ON WATER: At the UN Headquarters, a special exhibit dubbed ‘Water’ opens today, presented by the American Museum of Natural History. The photographic exhibition will display the sobering reality of our planet’s water supplies and the effect it has on the world’s stability. In his congratulatory message, the Secretary-General is expected to commend the American Museum of Natural History for its initiative to educate the public on the importance of water through this exhibition.

U.N. POLICE OFFICER TO TESTIFY BEFORE TIMORESE COURT: A UN police officer in Timor-Leste was expected to testify today at the Dili District Court trial, concerning the shooting deaths of eight Timorese police officers on 25 May of last year. The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) remains committed to strengthening the rule of law in Timor-Leste. The granting of the waiver of immunity, which allows the testimony, is yet another expression of this commitment.