HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Tuesday, November
6, 2007
BAN KI-MOON STRONGLY CONDEMNS SUICIDE
ATTACK
IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
Secretary-General was deeply
saddened to learn
about the deplorable suicide attack that occurred earlier today in the town of
Baghlan in northern Afghanistan, which has reportedly resulted in more than 40
civilian deaths and an even larger number of injured.
Noting that today’s attack is one of the deadliest
Afghanistan has seen in recent years, the Secretary-General once again
expresses his continuing anxiety regarding the unstable security situation
throughout Afghanistan.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns this
heinous attack and sends his profound condolences to the bereaved families of
the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Afghanistan.
U.N. ENVOY HOLDS DISCUSSIONS WITH SENIOR
OFFICIALS IN MYANMAR
The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser to Myanmar,
Ibrahim Gambari,
continued his consultations today with senior officials in Nay Pyi Taw,
Myanmar’s capital.
This morning, he met with the State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) Authoritative Team, composed of various ministers, including
those of Foreign Affairs, Information, Culture, and Labour.
Gambari and his counterparts had very frank and extensive
exchanges on all of the issues being addressed in the context of the
Secretary-General’s good offices. This includes, in particular, the need for
a dialogue to start without delay between the SPDC leadership and Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, and the lifting of restrictions on all political detainees as the
necessary steps to that end.
In the afternoon, Gambari met with the Minister for
Planning and Economic Development, U Soe Tha, to discuss future cooperation
between the Government and the United Nations Country Team in Myanmar.
He also met with the Minister for Religious Affairs,
Brigadier-General Thura Myint Maung, to discuss the Government response to the
participation of monks in the recent demonstrations.
During the remainder of his visit, Gambari is scheduled
to meet with Prime Minister Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, among others, and
will also brief the diplomatic corps on his mission so far.
In Yangon, he is expected to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
the Central Executive Committee of the National League for Democracy,
officials of the National Unity Party, and other relevant interlocutors, as
well as the U.N. Country Team and the International Committee of the Red
Cross.
HUMAN RIGHTS RAPPORTEUR TO VISIT MYANMAR
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has been invited by the authorities of
Myanmar to visit the country from 11 to 15 November.
Pinheiro
welcomes this invitation and notes that this sends a positive indication
of Myanmar’s willingness to cooperate with his mandate and the Human Rights
Council.
U.N. PARTNERSHIP WITH REGIONAL AND
SUB-REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS STRONGER THAN EVER, BAN KI-MOON TELLS SECURITY
COUNCIL
The Secretary-General
told the
Security Council, in its open meeting
today on regional and sub-regional organizations, that UN partnerships with
such organizations are stronger and more active than ever. He noted the joint
African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force and political mediation in
Darfur, the cooperation with the European Union in the protection of civilians
in Chad and the Central African Republic, as well as the work with ASEAN on
Myanmar, among other partnerships, that have taken place this year.
The United Nations, the Secretary-General added, is
committed to helping build up the capacity of regional and sub-regional
organizations to undertake conflict-prevention, peacemaking and peacekeeping
tasks in their respective regions.
Today’s open meeting is being chaired by Hassan Wirajuda,
the Foreign Minister of Indonesia.
SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TO VISIT
TIMOR-LESTE
The Security Council has decided to send a mission to
Timor-Leste, from
24 to 30 November. The mission will be headed by Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of
South Africa.
It intends to commend the people of Timor-Leste for their
successful elections and to encourage all the groups in the country to
continue to work together and engage in political dialogue.
DARFUR PEACE TALKS FOCUS ON
WEALTH-SHARING
From Sirte, Libya, the site of the Darfur peace
talks, our team reports that
negotiations continue with workshops on wealth-sharing presentations.
Consultations are also continuing in Juba, as well as in
Darfur, with those groups that are not present in Sirte.
Asked about an April letter from the acting head of the
Department of Field Services concerning a sole-source contract for Lockheed,
the Spokeswoman noted that the contract to the company Pacific Architect
Engineers, Inc. (PAE) was a decision taken by the U.N. Procurement
Division, not the Department of
Field Services.
She recalled that the sole-source contract had been
awarded because of the exigencies of the situation, in which, in accordance
with a Security Council resolution, the United Nations would have to start
activities by the end of October. Consequently, she said, it turned to a
company with a proven track record on the ground, which was deemed to be the
only one capable of carrying out the work.
U.N. ENVOY
EMPHASIZES COMMITMENT TO NEPAL’S PEACE PROCESS
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Nepal,
Mr. Ian Martin, today
stressed that there is still very strong commitment on the part of United
Nations, both the Secretary-General and the Security Council, to support
Nepal’s peace process.
Adding that the challenges to the process must not be
underestimated, Martin urged the need for a clear assessment of why the two
dates for the Constituent Assembly elections have not been kept, and what now
is a realistic roadmap.
Speaking to the press on the future mandate of the UN
Mission in Nepal, he also said much discussion has taken place on areas in
which the U.N. Mission is ready to be of assistance to the process, but
reiterated that this is still a Nepali process. He urged that it is for the
Nepalese to decide what role it wants the U.N. and the international community
as a whole to play.
NEW IRAQ ENVOY
STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA’S ROLE IN RECONCILIATION
On his way to Baghdad to assume his newly-appointed
duties as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Iraq, Staffan de Mistura spoke to some 50
media experts, broadcasters, representatives of the judiciary and
parliamentarians within the context of a UN-sponsored workshop on media law in
Amman, Jordan.
De Mistura stressed that impartial and factual
information is essential for the reconciliation process in Iraq. “We count on
the media to provide a platform for open debate, and that the public remains
well-informed,” he said.
SOMALIA: U.N. TEAM FINDS THOSE WHO FLED MOGADISHU LIVING IN EXTREME
CONDITIONS
A UN humanitarian team has
traveled to the town of Afgooye, west of Mogadishu, to assess conditions for
Somalis displaced by the recent violence in Mogadishu. The team
found that the
displaced Somalis are living in extremely harsh conditions and that 15 new
makeshift camps have been erected on the road to Mogadishu. UNHCR says that
there are now 50 such spontaneous camps along that road. The agency said that
the population of these settlements has more than doubled, putting further
strain on available resources.
The agency also confirmed that the fighting between
insurgents and Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu has now displaced 90,000 people,
more than half of whom fled to Afgooye. Another 17,000 people have fled parts
of Mogadishu that were considered safe and free of gun violence.
CHAD: U.N.
SEEKING TO RETURN CHILDREN HELD IN ORPHANAGE TO THEIR FAMILIES AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE
Regarding the more than 100 children being held in an
orphanage in Chad, following an attempt to fly them out of the country,
UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
and the International Committee of the Red Cross continue to closely monitor
the children’s health and well-being. They are also working to ensure that
the families of the children are identified and that they are reintegrated
into their communities as soon as possible.
UNICEF says health and nutritional examinations show that
all of the children have been vaccinated against measles and polio, but seven
of them are undernourished and two of them have malaria.
This week, a team is traveling to the border area where
the children came from to conduct interviews and do family tracing. In the
meantime, the children will remain in an Abeche orphanage, where social
workers are looking after them.
U.N. REVIEWS HUMANITARIAN ACTION PLAN
FOR LIBERIA
The U.N. has
launched its mid-year
review of the action plan aimed at raising $64 million for urgent humanitarian
needs in Liberia. Jordan Ryan, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Liberia,
notes that there is limited government capacity to provide basic social
services. Priority will be given to projects in the areas of water and
sanitation, health and agriculture.
Also, Pakistani peacekeepers from the U.N. Mission in
that country (UNMIL) have
renovated a school in Charlesville, about 100 kilometres northwest of
Monrovia. They’ve also distributed backpacks to the children, as well as
sewing machines for the making of uniforms.
Asked about a Russian media report that the UNMIL cargo
helicopter, which crashed near Ganta on Friday, was hit by gunfire, the
Spokeswoman said that UNMIL has no evidence indicating that any foul play was
involved.
An extensive investigation, in which UNMIL is working
with civilian authorities, is currently underway, she said. Until the findings
of that investigation are made known, it is too early to speculate on the
causes of the crash.
In the meantime, Okabe said, the UN Envoy in Liberia,
Alan Doss, has offered the UN’s full support and assistance in all
arrangements for repatriation of the bodies of the three crew members to
Russia.
U.N. RESPONDS
TO FLOODING IN MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
is sending a Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team to the Mexican state of
Tabasco, roughly 80 percent of which was under water in recent days.
Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes says the United Nations stands ready
to assist in any way it can.
In the meantime, UNICEF is
appealing for more than $3 million to
respond to the immediate needs of children, adolescents and women affected by
the recent flooding in Mexico, Central America and across the Caribbean.
HAITI: U.N.
EMBARKS ON COUNTRYWIDE IMMUNIZATION CAMPAIGN
In cooperation with international partners, the UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the
Government of Haiti have begun a countrywide immunization
campaign, which is expected to reach some 5.7 million people (or nearly
60% of Haiti’s population). The campaign was officially launched in
Port-au-Prince yesterday in the presence of Haitian Prime Minister Jacques
Edouard and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti,
Hédi Annabi.
Projected to cost $9.5 million, this mass immunization
campaign is expected to help reduce the prevalence of diseases such as measles
among children and young adolescents and polio among children up to the age of
4. For women aged 15 to 49, the campaign will focus on immunization for
tetanus.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF LAND MINES AND BOOBY-TRAPS
In a
message to the 9th
Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II to
the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Secretary-General said
landmines and booby-traps are among the most distressing and pernicious
armaments used both during and after armed conflicts.
The Secretary-General said these weapons not only
aggravate but prolong the heavy economic and human toll of war, and the
developmental and humanitarian impact on post-conflict societies threatens
future generations. Adding that their complete elimination remains an
international priority, he said the United Nations will continue to support
efforts towards the worldwide elimination of landmines, and Amended Protocol
II is an essential element of this process.
SUBSTANCE FOUND
AT U.N. OFFICE DETERMINED TO BE NON-HAZARDOUS
The fact-finding panel
constituted to look into the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission’s (UNMOVIC) discovery of
items on UN premises last August has completed its work. The items have been
confirmed as non-hazardous after testing by US authorities. No chemical
warfare agents or related compounds were identified in the samples analyzed.
The panel has made a number of
recommendations to ensure that policies and procedures are improved, so as to
prevent similar incidents.
TECHNOLOGICAL
AND CONNECTIVITY GOALS FOR AFRICA ANNOUNCED
Following the Connect Africa Summit which took place in
Kigali, Rwanda, on 29-30 October 2007, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
disclosed today the five goals adopted at the end of the meeting.
They include: interconnecting all African capitals and
major cities; connecting African villages to broadband Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) services by 2015; adopting key measures that
promote affordable access to a full range of ICT services; supporting the
development of ICT skills; and implementing a national e-strategy.
To help achieve these objectives, more than 54 countries
and 20 leading companies participated in a series of interactive sessions,
debating issues related to broadband ICT networks, rural connectivity,
capacity building and the enabling environment.
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S STATEMENT ON PAKISTAN
STANDS
Asked about reports that Pakistan’s UN Ambassador had
protested the
statement issued on Monday about Pakistan, the Spokeswoman said that no
letter of protest has been received. She later noted that that
Secretary-General had met with Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the
United Nations towards the end of the day Monday .
Asked whether Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, or any
other UN official, would travel to Pakistan, she said that Gambari was
currently working in Myanmar, and reiterated that there was nothing to
announce regarding any appointment of an envoy for Pakistan.
Asked whether the situation in Pakistan requires the
Secretary-General’s intervention, Okabe noted the
statement issued
Monday on that topic.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNRWA CONDEMNS ARMED INTERFERENCE IN ITS FACILITIES:
Asked about an incident last week in which Palestinians allegedly used a UN
school to launch a rocket attack on Israel, the Spokeswoman later said that the
UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
condemns armed interference in its facilities by militants or during military
incursions. Such interference endangers the lives of UNRWA teachers and the
children in UNRWA schools, and heavily disrupts its education programme. Sound
education is a basic building block of Palestinian society and is a necessity
for the success of the two-state solution.
SECRETARY-GENERAL SUPPORTS ADVANCING ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS:
Asked about a scheduled meeting between the King of Saudi Arabia and the Pope,
the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General was supportive of anything that
would advance the goals of the Alliance of
Civilizations.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
