HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, December
13, 2007
TOP U.N. OFFICIAL VISITS VICTIMS OF ALGERIA
BOMBING
UN Development Programme
(UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis is in Algeria, where he has been meeting
with families of the victims of the 11 December bomb attack on the UN offices
and visiting those who were injured.
At present, 11 UN staff
are known to have died, while five are still missing; our effort to recover
and identify bodies is continuing. At
present, the list of nine confirmed fatalities, whose next of kin have been
notified, has not changed.
Mr. Dervis, who was sent
to Algiers by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to represent the entire UN family,
said, “I am here to offer my support to the families of those killed in
the attacks and to send to the people of Algeria a strong message of
solidarity from the United Nations.”
He emphasized that the
United Nations’ work in Algeria will continue, and that the United Nations is
a politically neutral body which is working for development, peace and
humanitarian causes.
Following his visit to
local hospitals to meet with injured staff, Dervis said it was sad to see the
impact of the attack on his colleagues, adding, “The victims are not soldiers
who signed up for battle, but people, mostly Algerians, who are working for
peace, development and to alleviate human suffering.”
Asked whether the UN staff
who are still missing are likely to be dead, the Spokeswoman said that they
remain unaccounted for and that the United Nations expects that the number of
casualties could rise as efforts to recover bodies continue.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would visit Algeria, the Spokeswoman said that, right now,
the emphasis in Algiers is on recovery and tending to the injured. The UN's
logistical and operational capacity on the ground has been lost and a visit
under those circumstances at this time would be difficult in the extreme, she
noted.
However, she added,
immediately after the bombing, the Secretary-General dispatched Kemal Dervis
and the head of the Department of Safety and Security, David Veness, to over
see the operations, and they are keeping him updated around the clock.
The Secretary-General,
Okabe said, remains extremely concerned about the welfare of the survivors and
the families of our colleagues who perished.
Regarding the security
review proposed by the Secretary-General, she said Veness was on the ground to
gather information. The UN security office in Algiers had been destroyed in
the bomb attack, and that information would have to be reconstructed. He would
first conduct a review of the security in Algiers and see what lessons can be
drawn. Then we will work with the heads of agencies in the UN system and with
members states to implement whatever recommendations that emerge.
BAN
KI-MOON TO EXTEND HIS STAY AT CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS
The Secretary-General
spent his third day there in intensive bilateral discussions with Ministers
and business leaders attending the high-level segment.
He met separately today
with the Ministers of Environment of Canada, India, and Japan, the Minister of
National Development of China and the Minister of Petroleum and Natural
Resources of Saudi Arabia. He also met with Nobel laureate Al Gore, who
arrived today in Denpasar and addressed a side event at the Bali meeting.
They discussed the state
of play of the negotiations and some key pending issues. These included
dissemination of technology, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from
deforestation, and how the negotiation process can proceed from here. They
also discussed the Adaptation Fund to help developing countries cope with the
impacts of climate change.
The Secretary-General also
participated today in a special session organized by the President of
Indonesia for the Heads of State and Government participating in the
Conference.
Throughout the day, the
Secretary-General continued to stress that the parties need to agree to launch
negotiations here in Bali, agree on a clear agenda for those negotiations, and
set a definite time line for the conclusion of negotiations – by 2009.
The Secretary-General has
decided to remain in Bali longer than originally scheduled because of the very
critical phase of the negotiating process at the Climate Change conference.
The successful launch of the negotiation process is a top priority for the
Secretary-General, as well as the defining issue of our time, and he will
devote as much effort as needed.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would talk to U.S. President George W. Bush to push the
United States on the climate change issue, the Spokeswoman said that the
Secretary-General has spoken to President Bush and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice a number of times on that issue.
She said that, as he
extends his time in Bali, the Secretary-General would be holding
round-the-clock talks with all countries represented there, including the
United States. He is spending as much time as he can to push for progress on
the climate change issue.
Asked how his extended
stay in Bali would affect the rest of his itinerary, Okabe said that the
Secretary-General would leave at dawn on Friday for Timor-Leste, and then
would return to Bali and from there take stock. Most likely, she said, he
would travel onward to Paris from Indonesia.
She emphasized, in
response to further questions about his extended stay in Bali, that the
Secretary-General sees climate change as a top priority for him, and as one of
the major global challenges of our time.
PAST
DECADE IS WARMEST ON RECORD
This past decade (from
1998 to 2007) was the warmest on record, according to figures
released today by the World Meteorological Organization.
Based on information
through the end of November, the global mean surface temperature for 2007 is
estimated to be almost half a degree Celsius above the 1961 to 1990 average.
The report also noted
record-low Arctic sea ice; devastating floods, drought and storms in many
places around the world this year; a relatively small Antarctic Ozone Hole due
to a warmer winter in the southern Hemisphere, and development of La Nina
weather pattern in the central and eastern Equatorial Pacific.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
WELCOMES AGREEMENT TO RESOLVE
NORTH-SOUTH ISSUES IN SUDAN
The Secretary-General
welcomes the
announcement by the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that
recent discussions have resulted in an agreement on a number of key
outstanding issues, with the exception of Abyei.
The parties have also
affirmed that the agreement will pave the way for the return of ministers of
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to the Government of National Unity.
The Secretary-General
commends both parties for their commitment to preserve the integrity of the
CPA through dialogue and partnership, and looks forward to the early
implementation of the decisions reached by the two sides. It is hoped that the
Presidency will expedite a resolution to the issue of Abyei, which is
essential in order to establish a firm basis for the next phase of the peace
process.
The Secretary-General
reiterates that the full implementation of the CPA is in the interest of both
parties, and is fundamental for lasting peace and stability in Sudan and the
region.
The United Nations stands
ready to discuss with the parties how it can further assist them in ensuring
the successful implementation of the Agreement.
REFUGEE AGENCY HEAD VISITS DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
High Commissioner
for Refugees, António Guterres, has
begun a five-day
visit to that country, during which he will fly to North Kivu to assess the
Refugee Agency's work helping tens of thousands of displaced persons.
A UNHCR emergency team has
been working in the area since August to boost the Agency’s crisis response,
and Guterres hopes that his visit will strengthen their morale.
During his stay, Guterres
will meet President Joseph Kabila, visit internally displaced persons camps in
Goma and exchange views with UN Peacekeepers, humanitarian agencies and their
non-governmental organization partners working in North Kivu.
The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that as of 3 December the
violence in North Kivu had displaced some 58,000 people, bringing to an
estimated 437,000 the number of new IDPs since December 2006 and to some
800,000 the total number of IDPs in North Kivu alone.
As the unescorted movement
of UN humanitarian workers is limited due to the fighting, UNICEF has
prepositioned emergency assistance kits in the areas likely to be made
inaccessible by the spreading violence. And the World Food Programme and
Caritas have distributed four weeks worth of food provisions.
Asked whether the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations needs to focus more on humanitarian
tasks rather than military ones in the DRC, the Spokeswoman said that she was
not aware of any change in the UN Mission’s mandate. The UN Mission continues
to work within the mandate established by the Security Council, while
humanitarian workers continue to provide assistance to the Congolese people.
BAN
KI-MOON RECEIVES LETTER ON KILLING OF LEBANESE GENERAL
Late yesterday, the
Security Council adopted a
Presidential
Statement on Lebanon in which it also condemned the assassination of
General François el-Hajj of the
Lebanese Armed Forces, and recalled its
support for the Secretary-General’s efforts to establish a special tribunal
for Lebanon in a timely manner.
That statement was adopted
after the Council heard from Geir Pedersen, the Secretary-General’s Special
Coordinator for Lebanon, and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Edmond Mulet about recent developments in Lebanon.
The Secretary-General has
received a letter from the Government of Lebanon, requesting technical
assistance in the investigation of General el-Hajj’s death, and he has
transmitted it onward to the Security Council. This is a response to a
question that was asked here yesterday.
SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES TIMOR-LESTE AND SUDAN
The Security Council this
morning discussed in an open
meeting the recent mission by Council members to Timor-Leste. That meeting
began with a briefing by the leader of the Council mission, Ambassador
Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa.
Meanwhile,
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guéhenno is in
Timor-Leste today, where he met separately with representatives of political
parties, civil society and women’s groups, and visited a camp for internally
displaced persons. The Secretary-General will visit the country in a few
hours.
This afternoon at 3:00,
the Security Council will hold consultations on Sudan, and will receive a
briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond
Mulet about the talks that he and Deputy Chef de Cabinet Kim Won-soo had with
Sudanese officials, concerning Darfur, at the European Union-African Union
summit in Portugal.
Late yesterday, the
Council President, Ambassador Marcello Spatafora, read out a press
statement
expressing the Council’s concern at the security threat posed by drug
trafficking and organized crime in Guinea-Bissau.
U.N.
ENVOY IN IRAQ CONDEMNS “APPALING” BOMBINGS IN AMARAH
The Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura,
condemned in the strongest terms the criminal bombings in Amarah, which
left dozens of innocent civilians dead and more than other a hundred others
injured in the capital of the Missan Province.
De Mistura called the
triple bombing “an appalling crime that deserves condemnation by all.”
EXPERTS
EVALUATE SANCTIONS ON LIBERIA
Out on the racks today is
a report
by the Liberia Panel of Experts, which the Secretary-General appointed last
July to investigate the implementation of sanctions in Liberia.
Among other things, the
Panel said that, while there was no confirmed case of diamond smuggling into
Liberia, the Liberian Government should make sure that Ivorian diamonds don’t
pass through its porous borders and enter its legitimate trade.
On arms, the Panel
recommended that the Liberia Sanctions Committee carefully review past
exceptions to the arms embargo and inventories of weapons already transferred
to Liberia before approving further military transfers to Liberia’s security
services. Regarding specific individuals, the Panel found that, since its last
report, the Liberian Government had not made any progress towards freezing the
assets of any individual designated in
Resolution
1532.
The Panel also said that a
significant milestone in its work occurred when the Nigerian Government
invited it to visit Nigeria to investigate allegations against former Liberian
President Charles Taylor.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT WASHINGTON,
D.C.
Deputy Secretary-General
Asha-Rose Migiro is scheduled to travel
to Washington, D.C. today, on her first official trip there in her current
capacity, and will be returning to New York tomorrow evening.
Later today, she is
scheduled to meet with John Negroponte, U. S. Deputy Secretary of State.
On Friday morning, she is
expected to address InterAction, the NGO coalition, on the UN Development &
Humanitarian Assistance Agenda for 2008.
She also plans to be
attending a luncheon with women leaders hosted by the UN Foundation and will
be meeting with senior officials at the International Monetary Fund.
BAN
KI-MOON APPOINTS DEPUTY EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
The Secretary-General has
appointed Catherine Bragg of Canada as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy
Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs.
Ms. Bragg will succeed
Margareta Wahlström of Sweden.
Since 2004, Ms. Bragg has
served as Director General of the Humanitarian Assistance, Peace and Security
Programme in the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She
currently chairs the OCHA Donor Support Group and is a member of the Advisory
Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
SECRETARY-GENERAL
IS SADDENED BY DEATH OF YULI VORONTSOV
The Secretary-General
learned with profound sadness that Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov of the Russian
Federation passed away on 12 December.
A distinguished diplomat,
Ambassador Vorontsov was appointed in February 2000 as the High-level
Coordinator pursuant to paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1284
(1999). Since that time Ambassador Vorontsov coordinated international
efforts aimed at the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third country
nationals or their remains, and return of all Kuwaiti property.
His death occurred just a
few days after he returned from the mission to Kuwait where he had
consultations and prepared the Secretary-General’s report.
Throughout his career,
including as his country’s First Deputy Foreign Minister and Permanent
Representative to the United Nations, he showed dedication and tireless
effort. He enjoyed the deep respect of all his colleagues.
The Secretary-General
wishes to convey his heartfelt condolences to the family of Ambassador
Vorontsov and to the Government of the Russian Federation. He will be mourned
with profound respect and affection by friends around the world.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECURITY COUNCIL TO
DISCUSS KOSOVO NEXT WEEK: Asked about the Secretary-General’s position on
the final status of Kosovo, the Spokeswoman said that his views on that matter
had not change. At present, she said, since he has transmitted the Contact
Group’s report to the Security Council, the Secretary-General is waiting for the
Council’s deliberations on the matter.
*The guest at the noon briefing today was John Holmes,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affiars and UN Emergency Relief
Coordinator, who briefed on the outcome of today's High-Level meeting on the
Central Emergency Response Fund.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
