HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, December
18, 2007
BAN KI-MOON MEETS WITH U.N.
STAFF IN ALGIERS
AFTER VISITING BOMBED U.N. OFFICES
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today
went to
Algeria, where he saw the site of the bomb blast last Tuesday that hit the UN
offices, killing 17 staff. After visiting the site, the Secretary-General had
an emotional meeting with UN staff in Algiers, telling them, “Since Tuesday
last week, you have been on my mind every hour of every day.”
He
said he was shocked at seeing the site of the bombing, and added, after seeing
those who have been injured and the families of those who died, that he has no
words to say how profoundly he feels about what has happened.
“But
we will not be intimidated, we will not be discouraged,” the Secretary-General
said. He added that he will spare no effort in ensuring that the United
Nations provides adequate security for its staff, wherever they serve.
The
Secretary-General was visibly moved and pledged UN support to the people he
met, particularly the children. The Secretary-General was also given the
tattered flag that had flown outside the UN offices, and he will bring that
flag back to New York as a symbol of the UN’s determination to work in
Algeria.
While
in Algiers, the Secretary-General met with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika,
with whom he discussed issues related to the security of UN staff in Algeria.
They also talked about counterterrorism, migration, the Middle East, Darfur,
climate change, the Millennium Development Goals and Western Sahara.
Before
leaving Algeria, the Secretary-General held a press conference at the airport
in which he called terrorism a crime against humanity and called on Member
States to agree on a plan of action against terrorism, including an agreed
definition of terrorism.
In New
York, the UN International Civil Servants Federation, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS
Staff Council and the UN Staff Union have called for a silent march, tomorrow
Wednesday, 19 December 2007 at 11:30 am in the UN Secretariat Circle in New
York, to protest the attack on the United Nations and to remember friends and
colleagues killed in Algiers last week.
Asked whether UN security
officials have made recommendations on security improvements following the
Algiers attach, the Spokeswoman said that they have made recommendations,
which are being implemented; for security reasons, she declined to provide
specific details.
Asked whether there will
be a report on security issues in Algiers, similar to the one issued by Martti
Ahtisaari following the destruction in 2003 of the UN compound in Baghdad, the
Spokesperson said that a similar report is expected in this case.
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES GENERAL
ASSEMBLY’S
CALL FOR DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM
The
following statement
is attributable directly to the Secretary-General:
"I
welcome the adoption today by the General Assembly of a call on all States to
establish a moratorium on the application of the death penalty.
"Today's vote represents a bold step by the international community.
"I am
particularly encouraged by the support expressed for this initiative from many
diverse regions of the world.
"This
is further evidence of a trend towards ultimately abolishing the death
penalty."
MIDDLE
EAST QUARTET WELCOMES FUNDS
PLEDGED TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
At the
conclusion of the Secretary-General’s meeting late yesterday in Paris with the
other principal members of the Middle East Quartet, the Quartet issued a
statement which lauded the success of the November 27 Annapolis
Conference.
The
Quartet expressed its strong support for the Palestinian Reform and
Development Plan presented by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, welcomed the
generous support of the international community at the Paris Donors’
Conference, and urged donors to maximize the resources available to the
Palestinian Authority.
UNITED NATIONS ISSUES CLARIFICATION ABOUT
ETHIOPIA PROGRAMMES
In
response to yesterday’s questions regarding allegations that the Government of
Ethiopia is forcing civilians, including employees of programs financed by the
World Bank and the United Nations, to fight rebels in the Ogaden Region of
Ethiopia, UN staff per se have not been subject to this practice.
However, in order for the United Nations to effectively provide assistance, in
some cases government staff need to be available in order to run UN-financed
projects, including such essential humanitarian operations as rural health
clinics.
Although the United Nations is not aware of specific cases in which these
staff have been forced into supporting the Ethiopian military, it has
nevertheless noticed that, in some instances, such clinics no longer have
personnel available.
Since
the United Nations only established a presence in the region in early November
in the area of military operation within the Ogaden, it does not know how long
this has been the case. If this practice indeed occurred in hospitals or
clinics, it would seriously affect the provision of basic humanitarian
services to the civilian population.
Since the start of the
UN’s presence, it has reinforced the monitoring of the delivery of aid, and
has been advocating for increased humanitarian presence in order to enhance
the provision of much-needed assistance.
The
Government thus far has granted 19 NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations)
access to the region, and the United Nations is looking forward to seeing
more. If more needs to be done, the United Nations would look into ways of
augmenting its own staff in consultation with local authorities in order to
save lives and reduce suffering.
SUPPLIES SENT TO IRAQIS
DISPLACED BY TURKISH SHELLING
The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says it is very
concerned about the displacement of people in northern Iraq caused by the
ongoing shelling by Turkey.
It has
urgently dispatched supplies to help those who fled, and those supplies will
be distributed today.
Last
weekend more than 1,800 people fled their homes to move to safer areas, with
displaced people telling UNHCR that ten villages had been affected by the
shelling. One woman was reported killed and several people injured.
Yesterday, UNHCR teams reported ongoing shelling in the Sangasar Pishdar area,
causing even more displacement.
On
Monday, UNHCR with its partners on the ground quickly dispatched assistance,
including blankets, mattresses, stoves, lanterns, jerry cans, plastic sheets,
kitchen sets and soap to Sulaymania and Erbil after being asked by the
Kurdistan Regional Government to provide additional help to those displaced.
MIGRANTS MAKE VALUABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS
Today
is
International Migrants Day. In a message to mark the occasion, the
Secretary-General says we must redress prevailing misconceptions about
migrants and raise public awareness about their valuable contributions to both
countries of origin and destination.
In a
separate message,
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour says migrants are among the
groups most exposed to human rights violations in the 21st century and will
continue to be so if we do not act now with serious determination.
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON
IRAN SANCTIONS
The
Security Council this morning heard an open briefing on the work of the
Security Council’s 1737
Sanctions Committee,
which deals with Iran.
The
chair of that committee, Ambassador Johan Verbeke, reported to the Council
members on the implementation of the sanctions imposed under resolution 1737
on Iran.
U.N. MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD
WITH PROCUREMENT REFORM
Asked about findings of
corruption made by the UN Procurement Task Force, the Spokeswoman noted that
the United Nations initiated the Task Force’s work and is well aware that
there have been problems in procurement in the United Nations.
That is why, she said, on
the one hand, the United Nations is moving full steam ahead with procurement
reform in order to have a system that is much tighter and transparent, leaving
less room for abuse.
On the other track, the
Secretary-General is committed to ridding the United Nations of any corrupt
practices. That is why he has proposed to the General Assembly an extension of
the Procurement Task Force as a temporary measure, Montas said.
But this is not enough,
the Spokeswoman added, saying that the Secretary-General would like to take a
holistic approach and examine how the Organization's investigative capacity
can be strengthened. He will be presenting a proposal to Member States next
year.
The United Nations does
not want to sweep anything under the rug, Montas said.
She said that the cases of
the staff members accused of wrongdoing in connection with procurement
exercises in the UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo are under consideration in the internal justice system, in
accordance with established procedures. The cases are being accorded the
highest priority. The Spokeswoman added that she is not in a position to
comment further on the cases at this stage of the process.
As part of the overall
system for handling cases of wrongdoing, Montas said, the Secretariat hopes
the new justice system that the Member States are on the point of approving
will ensure swift, fair and professional settlement of disputes. This goes
hand-in-hand with strengthening investigative capacity and procurement
systems.
She stressed the
Secretary-General’s full support for the Procurement Task Force and for a
strengthened investigations arm of the Office of Internal Oversight Services.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON TO PARTICIPATE IN
KOSOVO MEETING:
Asked about the Secretary-General’s position on the final status report
on Kosovo prepared by Martti Ahtisaari, the Spokesperson said that, when the
Security Council meets on Kosovo on Wednesday, the Secretary-General would
participate in the meeting and would listen to what the other participants have
to say. He would share his views on Kosovo with the press at a later time.
U.N.’S MYANMAR ENVOY BRIEFS GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
From 3:00 to 4:00 this
afternoon, Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, provided an
informal briefing to the General Assembly about the Secretary-General’s good
offices for Myanmar; those good offices derive from a General Assembly mandate.
This briefing is at the invitation of the President of the General Assembly,
pursuant to requests from interested Member States.
EMERGENCY PLAN FOR KOREA OIL SPILL GOES INTO EFFECT:
Regarding the UN’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the worst oil spill in the
history of the Republic of Korea, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) now
reports that it has activated an emergency response plan, through which the
Republic of Korea’s neighbors have already sent chemicals to disperse the oil.
Additional experts have also been sent. The plan, developed by UNEP and the
International Maritime Organization, was adopted in 2004 by China, Japan, the
Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation to deal with large oil spill
emergencies.
SANTA
CLAUS MOST POPULAR LETTER RECIPIENT:
Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and other similar figures are the most popular
recipients of personalized letters worldwide, according to the Universal Postal
Union (UPU). The UPU
found
that Santa received more than six million letters last year. Some 20 countries
employ “elves”, or postal operators, to respond to those messages. Canada Post
replies in 26 languages and Deutsche Post in 16. In Canada, Santa even has his
own postcode – H0H 0H0.
**The
guest at noon was Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy
Coordination and Strategic Planning, who briefed on the recent Climate Change
Conference in Bali.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
