HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, December
11, 2007
BAN KI-MOON IS SHOCKED AND OUTRAGED BY TERRORIST
ATTACK
ON U.N. OFFICE IN ALGERIA
Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon issued the following
statement in
Bali:
RESCUE
EFFORTS UNDERWAY FOLLOWING ALGIERS ATTACK
At this time, the United
Nations is unable to confirm the extent of UN casualties, while UN staff check
with hospitals, examine the site of the blast and try to obtain any proof of
death, if necessary. Rescue efforts are continuing right now.
What the United Nations
can confirm is that, at approximately 4:30 a.m. in New York – or about 10:30
in the morning in Algiers – the UN Development Programme (UNDP) office in
Algiers collapsed following a bomb blast, which Algerian authorities have
indicated was caused by a car bomb. There was another car bomb explosion that
took place near Algeria’s Constitutional Court.
The UNDP offices houses
staff from UNDP, the World Food Programme, the International Labour
Organization, the UN Population Fund, the UN Industrial Development
Organization, UNAIDS and the Department of Safety and Security and the UN
Information Center. Also, the offices of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees, located across the street, sustained damage.
There is no claim of
responsibility at this time.
The UN flag at
Headquarters is currently flying at half mast, to mark this tragic occasion.
The United Nations has a
total of 40 international staff presently in Algeria, including 19
international staff who are based there and an additional 21 who were there
temporarily. There are 115 local UN staff in Algiers.
The United Nations is
continuing to work with the Algerian authorities in pulling people from the
rubble; in fact, one person was pulled, alive, from the rubble just within the
past hour. UN staff are going to all the area hospitals to obtain information.
The United Nations is
still trying to account, at present, for 14 people.
The United Nations cannot
provide any figures on fatalities until we have confirmed proof of death and
the families have been informed. This information was received from the UN
Resident Coordinator in Algiers, who says he was in the half of three-story
concrete building that did not collapse.
In response to further
questions about casualties, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations was
still trying to account for 14 people, in the midst of a confusing situation
on the ground.
She noted that some
preliminary information, which she stressed had not been confirmed, had
indicated that [five] UN staff may have died.
In any case, Okabe
reiterated, no details about fatalities would be provided until the next of
kin had been notified.
She declined to confirm
reports, attributed to the Algerian Government, of at least 45 dead from both
bomb attacks.
Asked about the UN threat
assessment for Algeria, the Spokeswoman noted that UN risk assessments are not
made public, but added that the United Nations works with the authorities in
every country in which it operates in order to make such assessments and
update them regularly.
In response to a question,
she added that she was not aware of any threats received in the period
immediately before the attack.
Asked about the work of
the UN system in Algeria, she noted that the agencies present in the country
included those based in the UNDP and UNHCR offices, as well as UNICEF, and the
World Health Organization. The World Bank and the Food and Agriculture
Organization also have offices in Algiers.
SECURITY
COUNCIL CONDEMNS ALGERIA BOMBING
[Following the noon
briefing, the Security Council today issued a
Presidential
Statement, condemning in the strongest terms today’s terrorist attacks in
Algeria.
The Council reaffirmed
that terrorism in all its forms is one of the most serious threats to
international peace and security.]
SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ON CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Security Council also
held consultations this morning on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
in the Golan Heights, on which they heard a briefing by Lisa Buttenheim,
Director of the Asia and Middle East Division of the Department for
Peacekeeping Operations. The consultations were preceded by a meeting with the
troop contributing countries for the Disengagement Observer Force.
The Council then heard a
briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane on
the Secretary-General’s recent
report on
missing persons and property in Iraq. In a press statement on that topic,
issued later, the Council strongly condemned the execution of Kuwaiti and
third country nationals by the former Iraqi regime.
At 3:00 this afternoon,
the Security Council will hold consultations on the Central African Republic,
with a briefing by the head of the UN office in that country, Francois Lonseny
Fall.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
WELCOMES
ACCELERATED RENOVATION PLANS FOR U.N. HEADQUARTERS
The Secretary-General
welcomes the
adoption
of the Resolution on the Accelerated Strategy IV for the
Capital Master Plan by the General
Assembly, allowing for a completion of the project in five instead of seven
years.
By approving the
accelerated renovation strategy, it will be possible to minimize the
inconvenience and risk for delegates, occupants and visitors to the UN
Headquarters during construction.
After the completion of
the Capital Master Plan in 2013, the UN Headquarters will not only be a safer,
healthier, greener and more secure place; our renovated workshop for peace
will also stand out as a symbol for building a revitalized United Nations for
a better world.
The Secretary-General
would like to thank the Member States once more for funding the Capital Master
Plan and for their continued support of the Capital Master Plan.
CLIMATE
CHANGE THE “DEFINING ISSUE OF OUR TIME”
The Secretary-General has
arrived in Bali to participate in the Climate Change Conference, and he
said at an event
organized by the UN Development Programme, concerning its latest Human
Development Report, that climate change is “the defining issue of our time”.
He said it is visible, it is global and its first victims are the poor and
defenseless.
He added that, although
scientists describe the situation as grim, they also say that the measures
required to prevent a catastrophe are achievable and affordable. All we need,
he said, is the resolve to act.
The Secretary-General is
also meeting with key officials dealing with environmental affairs on the
margins of this Bali meeting, and he attended a dinner hosted by the
Indonesian President for the conference participants this evening.
BAN
KI-MOON WELCOMES SECURITY COUNCIL CONCURRENCE
ON APPOINTMENT OF ENVOY ON RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
The
Secretary-General welcomes the concurrence of the Security Council with his
intention to appoint Mr. Edward Luck as Special Adviser on the Responsibility
to Protect.
Luck, a
distinguished international scholar with extensive knowledge of the United
Nations system would serve at the Assistant Secretary-General level on a
part-time basis.
U.N.
OFFICIAL SHARES CONCERNS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
The
Human Rights Council
today resumed the second part of its 6th session in Geneva. Council members
heard a briefing from High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on the
recent activities of her office.
Arbour said that, during
her latest visit to Sri Lanka, she had paid special attention to the issue of
abductions and disappearances, which had been reported in alarming numbers
over the past two years. Meanwhile, on Afghanistan, which she recently visited
after two years, she said she was concerned by how little the women’s rights
agenda had progressed. On Pakistan, Arbour expressed concern that emergency
rule had inflicted severe, long-term injury to the judicial and civil society
there.
Arbour also drew attention
to Sudan, where grave violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law continued to be committed, for the most part with total
impunity. She also expressed worry over Somalia, where the human rights
situation, particularly in Mogadishu, continued to deteriorate.
SUDAN
NEEDS MORE THAN $2 BILLION FOR HUMANITARIAN
AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Sudan
requires more than $2.29 billion for humanitarian, early recovery and
development projects in 2008. That is according to the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which says that 20 percent of that
amount has already been secured, with $1.84 billion outstanding. The money is
expected to fund 59 projects across Sudan in the course of 2008.
In 2007, OCHA was able to
secure 70 percent of the amount needed to fund its Work Program, enabling it
to address Sudan’s emergency assistance, recovery and development needs.
Also on Sudan, asked
whether the Secretary-General had contacted the US administration about the
need for helicopters for UNAMID in Darfur, the Spokeswoman said that the
Secretary-General and his senior advisers had approached all countries that
could potentially contribute helicopters.
Asked whether France
should expel Darfur rebel leader Abdul Wahid Nur, Okabe declined to comment on
bilateral affairs between France and Sudan.
She noted that the
Secretary-General is engaged in moving forward with the Sirte process, to stop
the fighting in Darfur and improve humanitarian conditions on the ground. His
Special Envoy, Jan Eliasson, continues to try to bring rebel groups into the
Sirte process.
U.N.
WORKING TO SECURE RELEASE OF DETAINED STAFF MEMBER
Asked about a UN staffer
reportedly detained in Brazil, the Spokeswoman said that the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed that a staff member is being
detained at a reserve in Brazil’s Rondonia State, where he had traveled to
meet with indigenous persons.
The UN team in Brazil is
working with the Brazilian Government to secure his release.
He is reported as being in
good condition, Okabe added.
U.N. TOUR
GUIDES BACK AT WORK:
Asked about the status of
UN tour guides, the Spokeswoman said that the tour guides were back at work
and were expected to meet with Under-Secretary-General for Communications and
Public Information Kiyo Akasaka this afternoon.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
REFUGEE AGENCY ASKS FOR
FUNDS: The Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees opened its annual Pledging Conference in Geneva
today. The agency – which relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions –
is asking donors to
help fund its nearly $1.1 billion dollar budget for assistance to the millions
of refugees, displaced and stateless persons around the world. The largest
operations for which UNHCR is seeking funding are in Chad, Afghanistan, Kenya,
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
HUMANITARIAN OFFICE
HIGHLGHTS FLOOD RECOVERY NEEDS IN UGANDA:
On northern and eastern Uganda, which were devastated by flooding between August
and October, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says
the first wave of emergency response was a success, with food delivered to those
in need and any outbreak of epidemic disease prevented. But much more is needed
to help the population recover. Priority areas include ensuring access to food
for nearly 400,000 people at risk of hunger; providing safe water, sanitation,
and medical care; and rehabilitating damaged schools.
NUMBER OF MYANMAR
REFUGEES LEAVING THAILAND PASSES 20,000:
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the
number of Myanmar refugees who have left Thailand to begin new lives in third
countries has passed
the 20,000 mark. The refugees have been departing under the world's largest
refugee resettlement programme, and the majority of them have gone to the United
States.
OTHER ITEMS:
In other news: the World Food Programme is out with its
list of global
hunger hotspots; a group of UNESCO experts who recently visited the Sundarbans
World Heritage site in Bangladesh found massive devastation of the mangrove
forest in the wake of last month’s deadly cyclone there; and the UN Environment
Programme is out with press releases on how
urban areas can do their part to fight climate change, and on how protecting
peatlands could cut greenhouse emissions by 10 per cent.
**The guests at noon
were: Srgjan Kerim, President of the 62nd Session of the General Assembly;
Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General; and Ann Veneman, Executive Director
of UNICEF. They discussed: the General Assembly's World Fit for Children +5
Event, which started today; the Secretary-General's recent report entitled,
"Children and the Millennium Development Goals: Progress towards a world fit for
children"; and UNICEF's latest Progress for Children report.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
