Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 5 November 2007

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

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

Monday, November 5, 2007

PAKISTAN: BAN KI-MOON URGES RELEASE OF DETAINEES
AND EARLY RETURN TO DEMOCRATIC RULE

  • The Secretary-General is greatly concerned about the recent developments in Pakistan and the imposition of emergency rule. He expresses his strong dismay at the detention of hundreds of human rights and opposition activists, including the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

  • The Secretary-General urges the Pakistan authorities to immediately release those detained, to lift restrictions on the media and to take early steps for a return to democratic rule. He appeals to the Government of Pakistan to hold the Parliamentary elections as scheduled.

  • High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today said she is alarmed over the suspension of fundamental rights and the imposition of a state of emergency in Pakistan. Arbour added that she’s concerned by reports that leading judges, lawyers and political and human rights activists -- including the UN’s Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Asma Jahangir -- have been detained or placed under house arrest. Arbour called on the Pakistan authorities to clarify the status of those detained and ensure that no one is detained for the peaceful exercise of their political beliefs.

  • Asked whether the Secretary-General would press for a UN envoy to deal with Pakistan, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General continues to follow the situation in Pakistan closely. She noted that no action has been taken yet on sending an envoy.

  • Asked whether the Secretary-General had spoken to President Musharraf since the weekend events, Montas said she was not aware of any phone call.

  • Asked why the statement did not include a strong condemnation, the Spokeswoman defended the strong terms used in the statement. She noted that it included a call for early steps to return to democratic rule.

BAN KI-MOON APPEALS FOR MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING COMMITMENTS
TO FIGHT TERRORISM IN AFGHANISTAN

  • The Secretary-General has followed with concern the recent fighting in Afghanistan, in particular around Kandahar and in Farah provinces, where formed groups of Taliban have attempted to take and hold certain districts.

  • The Secretary-General underlines the crucial role that the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan security forces are playing to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a host for terrorist and extremist groups.

  • He takes this opportunity to thank all those countries who have provided assistance to Afghanistan, and reiterates Security Council Resolution 1776, which expressed its appreciation for “the leadership provided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and for the contributions of many nations to ISAF and the OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) coalition, including its maritime interdiction component.”

  • He expresses particular gratitude to those countries whose citizens have lost their lives in the effort to bring security and stability to Afghanistan.

  • The Secretary-General notes that it is an unfortunate reality that such operations continue to be necessary in Afghanistan, but reaffirms that the hope for lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region, and for a world without terrorism, depends on their success.

  • He appeals to all Governments involved in Afghanistan to maintain their existing commitments in order to ensure the success of the joint effort to rebuild Afghanistan, so that it can offer hope and opportunity to its people, friendship to its neighbours, and an example to the rest of the world.

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES IRAQ’S NEIGHBORS TO ASSIST
IN REGIONAL CONFIDENCE-BUILDING EFFORTS

  • The Secretary-General on Saturday addressed the high-level meeting on Iraq in Istanbul, and he expressed the hope that the effort by Iraq’s neighbours could be valuable in building regional confidence and strengthening cooperation. He urged positive, concrete steps as a follow-up to the meeting.

  • “The objective of our conference is to capitalize on the progress made to date, consider tangible next steps, and establish a mechanism that facilitates communication and helps maintain a coherent direction,” the Secretary-General told the high-level gathering, which met in Istanbul.

  • He noted the exceptionally complex series of overlapping sectarian, political, and ethnic challenges facing Iraq but added that there was also a political opportunity to transform recent developments into a basis for broader national reconciliation.

  • At the conference, the Secretary-General held a series of bilateral meetings, including with the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Iraq, as well as with the Foreign Ministers of France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Syria, and with the U.S. Secretary of State. He also met with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. In addition to Iraq, bilateral discussions focused on related regional issues, the Middle East, Myanmar, Darfur, Lebanon, and Somalia.

SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON POLITICAL SITUATION IN LEBANON

  • The Security Council this morning heard a briefing in its consultations by Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen about the Secretary-General’s recent report on the implementation of resolution 1559, concerning Lebanon.

  • In that report, the Secretary-General says that political dialogue must enable the election of a new president before the constitutional deadline of 24 November.

  • He also expresses his concern at signs that most political parties in Lebanon are apparently preparing for the possible further deterioration of the situation.

U.N. ENVOY MISSION TO MYANMAR IS UNDERWAY

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in Myanmar on Saturday, carrying a specific message for Senior General Than Shwe from the Secretary-General.

  • Gambari met today with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, U Nyan Win, for the second time in two days. They discussed future cooperation between the Government and the UN Country Team. The two first met on Sunday to discuss the Government’s response so far to the expectations of the international community following the recent crisis.

  • Gambari also met on Sunday with U Aung Kyi, Minister for Labour and Minister for Relations. They had an extensive and detailed exchange on the latter’s discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on an agreed framework for meaningful dialogue.

  • Upon arrival, at his request, Gambari met UN Resident Coordinator for Myanmar, Charles Petrie, who briefed him on the UN Country Team’s assessment of the situation, as well as the Country Team’s reaction to the letter from the Government concerning the Resident Coordinator.

  • Gambari conveyed the Secretary-General’s support for the Country Team and the Resident Coordinator and the important work they continue to do to improve the socioeconomic and humanitarian situation.

SUDANESE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE IN LIBYA, SUDAN

  • The UN team in Sirte, Libya reports that discussions on advancing the Darfur peace process are ongoing with the parties. Today the focus was on power-sharing issues, and tomorrow they are expected to start on wealth-sharing.

  • The United Nations also has a team in Juba which is working with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to advance the Darfur peace process.

  • Regarding the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the UN Mission in Sudan reports that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, had met last week in Juba with Sudan’s First Vice-President and President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, and reiterated the readiness of the United Nations to do its utmost to assist in ensuring a successful implementation of that agreement.

  • Salva Kiir is expected to be at UN headquarters tomorrow.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR SUPPORT
FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT

  • Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, in Addis Ababa, appealed for a positive spirit of inter-agency collaboration and partnership in support of the African Union and NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.

  • Speaking at the eighth Regional Consultation Meeting of UN Agencies and Organizations Working in Support of the African Union and NEPAD, the Deputy Secretary-General said, “We must use all possible resources to support Africa’s development.”

  • She went on to say that “When our many assets are brought into an integrated and more effective whole, the United Nations can better support post-conflict reconstruction efforts as well as the efforts of African States to achieve durable peace, sustainable development and human rights for all their people.”

UNITED NATIONS TRANSFERS EX-COMMANDERS
OF ARMED GROUPS TO KINSHASA

  • In a major step in consolidating peace in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The UN Mission in that country (MONUC) this weekend transferred 16 former commanders of Ituri armed groups by special flight to Kinshasa.

  • The former militia fighters include Peter Karim of the Front des Nationalistes Integrationnistes; Cobra Matata of Front de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri; and Mathieu Ngudjolo of Mouvement Revolutionnaire Congolais.

  • The 16 are will receive training in Kinshasa while the majority of their disarmed fighters (about 300 men) will join the so-called brassage process in the town of Kitona. Another 44 Ituri ex-combatants were flown by the Congolese government to the Kitona brassage site on Saturday.

  • Asked about reports that one person was killed in demonstrations outside a MONUC camp, the Spokeswoman said the report was erroneous and that no one had been killed. She said that shots were fired in the air, but added that a report that MONUC personnel had been wounded was also untrue.

UNITED NATIONS TO ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
OF OIL EXPLOITATION IN NIGERIA’S OGONI REGION

  • Today in Abuja, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) are finalizing details of an agreement with the government of Nigeria to start a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of oil exploitation in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta.

  • The assessment will be completed in late 2008. The decision to launch it follows a request by Nigeria and is part of a broader government-led peace and reconciliation process in Ogoniland. The UNEP teams will include both international and Nigerian experts and will be assisted by Ogoni communities in the course of the project.

  • UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner explained in a statement that the project will identify, evaluate and minimize the immediate and long-term impacts of oil contamination on the people and ecosystems of Ogoniland.

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES COUNTRIES TO ACCEDE
TO DISARMAMENT AGREEMENTS

  • In a statement to the 12th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Secretary-General urged all governments that have not yet done so to accede to the Convention without delay.

  • He also stressed that, in an effort to build a world free of cruel weapons, it is equally important for all States Parties to adopt and enhance national implementation measures as required by the Convention.

  • The Secretary-General also congratulated the opening of the First Conference of the High Contracting Parties dealing with the Explosive Remnants of War, which kicked off today in Geneva.

  • In his statement, the Secretary-General said that the existence of explosive remnants of war is of no military benefit and that it is in the interests of all to ensure that their pernicious hazards to people and the environment are minimized and, where possible, eliminated.

UNICEF URGES GOVERNMENTS TO BAN CLUSTER MUNITIONS

  • On this first Global Day of Action on Cluster Munitions, UNICEF has issued an urgent call to Governments, encouraging them to develop a legally binding instrument prohibiting these weapons.

  • The agency notes that children make up a high proportion of casualties caused by cluster munitions. Often unusually shaped and brightly coloured, they can prove fatally attractive to children and their natural curiosity.

  • The terrible impact of such munitions on children both during and after open warfare were most recently demonstrated in Lebanon in 2006, UNICEF notes, but adds that children also continue to fall victim to cluster munitions where they were used years or even decades ago, such as Bosnia, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Serbia and Viet Nam.

MORE THAN ONE MILLION ACRES OF MINES ARE CLEARED IN AFGHANISTAN

  • The UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan says that more than 1.4 million square meters of minefields were cleared in that country last month.

  • The Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan located and destroyed 485 anti-personnel mines, 17 anti-tank mines and more than 7,700 pieces of unexploded ordnance.

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