Noon briefing of 9 November 2007

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

Friday, November 9, 2007

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS ANTARCTICA

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled today to Punta Arenas in Chile, and from there began a trip to Antarctica, to see the effects of climate change on melting glaciers. Yesterday afternoon, he told a high-level panel meeting in Santiago that this trip is intended “to raise alarm bells to the world’s leaders” on the need to address global warming with a concerted effort.
  

• The Secretary-General received a briefing from scientists at a Chilean Air Force base, “Presidente Eduardo Frei”, in Antarctica, before visiting the Collins Glaciers and then the Sejong Research Centre. He and his team will return to Punta Arenas this evening.
  

• On Thursday evening, the Secretary-General met with Chilean President Michele Bachelet, and they discussed Chile’s contributions to peacekeeping operations, notably to help stabilize the security situation in Haiti. The Secretary-General praised Chile’s success in meeting the Millennium Development Goals and appreciated the President’s efforts to promote South-South cooperation and to help developing countries.
  

• He then addressed the Ibero-American Summit.
  

• On Sunday, the Secretary-General will travel to Brazil, where he will meet with President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva next Monday.
  

• Asked if arrangements have been made to offset carbon emissions during the Secretary-General's trip to Antarctica, the Spokesman said that carbon offsetting is a complex and long-term challenge that will require creative thinking and a firm commitment to address.
  

• The Secretary-General very much wants the UN to lead by example, he said, and that’s why, during the last meeting of the Chief Executives Board, he obtained the commitment of all the heads of funds, programmes and specialized agencies to move their organizations towards climate neutrality in their daily operations.
  

• As for this specific trip to Antarctica, Haq added, it is being organized by the Chilean government so the United Nations will be checking with them if any carbon offsetting arrangements have been made.

ECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED AT DEVELOPMENTS IN PAKISTAN

• Asked if the Secretary-General had any comments on the detention of opposition supporters and the house arrest order against Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the Spokesman said that Ban Ki-moon earlier this week expressed concern at developments in Pakistan.
  

• The Secretary-General in particular expressed strong dismay at the detention of hundreds of human rights activists and opposition supporters. The same concerns expressed earlier this week apply to the current situation, Haq noted.
  

• The Spokesman also affirmed that the Secretary-General continues to urge the Pakistani authorities to release those detained, to lift restrictions on the media and to take early steps for a return to democratic rule.
  

• Asked how the situation affect UN operations in the region, including Afghanistan, the Spokesman replied that UN operations continue unabated. Peacekeepers from the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) maintain their presence and continue to carry out their activities without undue effects. The same is true for other UN staff, he added.

FIGHTING BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND REBEL GROUPS
RESUMES IN DR CONGO

• UN peacekeepers in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed reports that fighting has resumed between government forces and rebel troops in and around the town of Karuba, northeast of Goma.
  

• Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is stepping up efforts to curb the spread of cholera, which has spread in five camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) camps near Goma since October. The camps provide shelter to 45,000 Congolese civilians from violence-affected North Kivu. Health workers say that there are now some 440 suspected cases of cholera among the IDPs. They are encouraged by the assessment that few cases have been reported in recent weeks.
  

• UNHCR says that violence in North Kivu has caused some 375,000 civilians to flee their homes since December 2006.

SOMALI PRESIDENT MEETS U.N. OFFICIAL IN NAIROBI

• Accompanied by a large delegation, Somali President Adullahi Yusuf arrived in Nairobi yesterday to meet with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ahmeddou Ould-Abdallah, and other UN officials.
  

• The UN Political Office for Somalia says that the Ould-Abdallah and President Yusuf will discuss the ongoing selection process for Somalia’s next prime minister. Earlier today, Ould Abdallah held talks with Ali Mahdi Mohammed, the Chairman of Somalis’s National Reconciliation Congress.
  

• Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues report that some 50 civilians were killed and another 30 were wounded in the last 24 hours in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, due to fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian troops. And this situation has caused a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, with as many as 114,000 Mogadishu residents forced to flee their homes.
  

• This brings to an estimated 850,000 the number of civilians displaced by the intermittent violence this year alone.
  

• Asked if a hybrid peacekeeping force was being considered for Somalia, Haq replied that Ban Ki-moon is expected to say in a report, to be issued soon, that conditions do not exist at this time for the possibility of deploying a UN force. He added that concepts such as a “coalition of the willing” might also be considered.
  

• Asked which countries the Secretary-General believes would be members of such a coalition, the Spokesman said that would depend on decisions taken by the countries themselves.
  

• Asked if there had been expressions of interest from Member States to support a UN peacekeeping force for Somalia, Haq replied that UN experts on Somalia, including the UN Political Office for Somalia, have been trying to determine existing levels of support for a variety of options and their views are reflected in the Secretary-General's upcoming report.
  

• In response to a question about the plight of Somalis displaced by the continued violence, the Spokesman noted that the United Nations continues to monitor the situation and to implore all sides to avoid the fighting that has characterized the situation in and around Mogadishu.

FRANCE HANDS OVER COMMAND OF U.N. FORCE IN LEBANON TO ITALY

• The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today held a ceremony to mark the handover of responsibility for security at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura from French peacekeepers, who had been doing the job for the past 29 years, to Italian troops.
  

• UNIFIL’s Deputy Force Commander, Brigadier-General Jai Prakash Nehra, praised the efforts of the French soldiers, commending their professionalism, which helped to keep the Force’s Headquarters secure.
  

• French peacekeepers will continue to serve with UNIFIL in other existing capacities, ranging from its Quick Reaction Force to the French Contingent currently operating in UNIFIL’s western sector of operations.

CONDITIONS PRECARIOUS FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
ON IRAQ-SYRIA BORDER

• The UN Refugee Agency says that the situation in the Palestinian camps at the Iraq-Syria border remains very precarious for nearly 2,000 Palestinians trapped there. In recent weeks, the camps have been blasted by sandstorms, making life even harder.
  

• UNHCR continues seek better solutions, including resettlement options, for the refugees -- both within and outside the region. It has been working closely with its partners to improve the living conditions of the refugees in the camps. The Agency estimates that some 13,000 Palestinians are still living in Baghdad, and facing ongoing threats.
  

• UNHCR has been working closely with partners such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian and Syrian Red Crescent Societies to improve the living conditions of the refugees in the camps.

UNEP LAUNCHES GLOBAL THINK TANK ON RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

• The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) today launched a new global think tank on resource efficiency. The International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management will provide scientific assessments and advice on the worldwide use of selected products and services, as well as their environmental impacts.
  

• The panel will focus on breaking the links between economic growth and environmental degradation, according to UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. Among the issues it is expected to address are the environmental risks of biofuel production and metal recycling.

AMPUTEE ATHLETES IN SIERRA LEONE
TO JOIN WORLD FOOTBALL MATCH IN TURKEY

• In a show of solidarity with amputee sportsmen, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, Victor Angelo, on Thursday hosted them at a reception ahead of their departure for Turkey, where they will take part in the World Amputee Football Championship, which will kick off next week.
  

• Angelo hailed Sierra Leone’s amputees for their contribution to the sensitization campaign during the recent elections.
  

• UNDP has gracefully accepted to finance part of the amputee football trip to Turkey as the cash-strapped Sierra Leone sport authorities appeared unable to support the travel fees for that team.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN COORDINATOR REMAINS IN MYANMAR: In response to a question, the Spokesman said that UN Resident Coordinator for Myanmar, Charles Petrie, remained in that country and that the Secretary-General's Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari discussed the expulsion order against him with Myanmar's leadership during Gambari's just-completed trip there.

ONE BILLION GRAINS OF RICE DONATED TO U.N. FOOD BODY THROUGH ONLINE GAME: An online game that benefits the World Food Programme has reached a milestone. Thursday marked the one billionth grain of rice donated to WFP through FreeRice (www.freerice.com). That’s enough to feed more than 50,000 people for one day. The site, which was launched a little more than a month ago, donates 10 grains of rice to WFP for every correct answer to its online vocabulary game.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS<![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![endif]>

10 November – 16 November

Saturday, November 10

The Secretary-General continues his trip to Latin America.

Through 12 November in South Omo, Ethiopia, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs sponsors a meeting (which began on 8 November) of more than 250 pastoralists from Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regions.

Sunday, November 11

Through 15 November, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres travels to Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, he will open the first refugee reception centre in Central Asia. In Kazakhstan, he will meet the President and discuss the drafting of national refugee legislation.

Through 15 November, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, is scheduled to visit the country, at the invitation of the government.

Monday, November 12

This morning, the General Assembly Plenary is scheduled to hold a joint debate on the Report of the Security Council on the Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 2, the 2007 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities takes place.

At 4 p.m. in Conference Room 2, the General Assembly’s Second Committee holds a panel discussion on “Financing for gender equality within the context of follow-up to the Monterrey Consensus”.

In Geneva, the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research releases its “Landmine Monitor Report 2007”.

Through 16 November, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran, is scheduled to visit Mali and Senegal, to highlight the need for renewed attention on the region's “silent emergencies”.

Through 15 November, the second meeting of the Internet Governance Forum takes place in Rio de Janeiro.

Tuesday, November 13

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the Great Lakes region. In the afternoon, consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea are scheduled.

From 9.30 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. in the Penthouse of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, the UN University-Cornell Symposium on “The African Food System and its Interactions with Health and Nutrition” takes place.

The guest at the noon briefing will be Erika Feller, the U.N. Refugee Agency’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, who will brief on UNHCR’s efforts to help protect more than 32 million refugees and others of concern to UNHCR, including in key operations like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Jordan.

At 3 p.m. in Conference Room 2, the General Assembly’s Second Committee holds a panel discussion on “Addressing Climate Change in the context of National Sustainable Development Strategies”.

Wednesday, November 14

The Secretary-General begins his trip to Spain and Tunisia.

The Security Council is scheduled to hold a briefing on its 1267, 1540, and Counter-Terrorism Committees.

Today is World Diabetes Day. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, there will be a panel discussion on “Diabetes and development”

Thursday, November 15

In Tunis, the Secretary-General opens an international counter-terrorism conference, organized by the UN, the Tunisian Government and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Santiago, Chile, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean launches its Social Panorama of Latin America 2007 report, an overview of leading social trends in the region.

In Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organization launches its publication on “The State of Food and Agriculture 2007”.

At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, there will be a press conference by H.E. Srgjan Kerim, President of the 62^nd Session of the General Assembly, on the work of the current session.

Friday, November 16

At 10 a.m. in Conference Room 2, the General Assembly’s Second Committee holds a panel discussion on “Moving out of aid dependency”.

Today is the International Day for Tolerance.