HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
[U.N. Headquarters will be closed
tomorrow in observance of Eid al-Adha.
The noon briefing will resume on Friday, 21 December.]
Wednesday, December
19, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
RESOLVES TO IMPROVE SECURITY
FOR U.N. STAFF IN WAKE OF ALGIERS BOMBING
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon returned to U.N.
Headquarters this morning, following his trip to Asia, Paris and Algiers,
where UN offices were bombed last week.
Immediately upon his return, the Secretary-General
addressed UN
staff in the Secretariat Lobby. He told them how shocked and overwhelmed he
was by what he saw in Algiers, and how heartbreaking it was to meet with the
survivors and families of the victims.
He said the attack had redoubled his resolve to push for
implementation of the UN’s Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy, and to improve
the security of UN staff.
He said he will soon present a proposal for a review of
UN security worldwide, and will also make a number of specific suggestions to
countries hosting UN offices on how they can improve security.
He stressed that the United Nations must become better at
explaining its role to the public and the media – by emphasizing that it does
not represent the interests of one group of nations against another but rather
exists to build better lives for the people it serves.
Noting that many of the national staff members who
perished in the bombing were the sole breadwinners in their family, he added
that he had asked the Resident Coordinator in Algiers to distribute payments
of solidarity to those families, in order to tide them over until the
insurance pays out.
The Secretary-General ended by holding up the battered UN
flag that was flying outside the UN House in Algiers at the time of the
attack. He called on everyone to honor the flag and the memory of our fallen
friends by redoubling efforts for peace and security, development and human
rights around the world. He then signed the condolence book.
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS LIBERIA AND
BURUNDI BODIES,
THEN HOLDS PRIVATE MEETING ON KOSOVO
The Security Council this morning adopted two resolutions
on Africa.
The first one
extended
the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Burundi until 31 December 2008. The
second one
extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts dealing with Liberia
sanctions until 20 June 2008.
The Security Council then held a private debate on
Kosovo, which the Secretary-General attended.
Following that meeting, the Security Council will hold
its monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General.
This afternoon, the Security Council will hold a meeting
on Somalia. It is expected to adopt a Presidential Statement on that subject.
In response to a question, Montas said that the contract
of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo,
Stephen Schook, will expire on December 31 and that she had nothing to
announce about a replacement for him.
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE
OF MULTINATIONAL FORCE IN IRAQ BY ONE YEAR
The Security Council has
extended
the mandate of the Multinational Force (MNF) in Iraq by another year, until
the end of 2008.
Yesterday afternoon, the Council unanimously adopted
resolution 1790 (2007), deciding further that the mandate would be reviewed at
the request of the Government of Iraq or no later than 15 June 2008.
The Council also extended until 31 December 2008 the
arrangements for the depositing into the Development Fund for Iraq of proceeds
from export sales of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas.
Also extended were the arrangements for the monitoring of
the Fund by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB).
Warren Sach briefed the Security Council on the status of
the Board, as the Secretary-General’s designated representative on the Board.
SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS OF VOLATILE
SITUATION IN EASTERN CHAD
In the Secretary-General’s latest
report on
the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, he notes the volatile
and unpredictable security situation in eastern Chad, which has put civilians
in the area at increased risk. The Secretary-General urged all parties to
immediately cease hostilities and renew their commitment to the peace process.
On the Central African Republic, the Secretary-General
said he is pleased with the efforts to establish the necessary structure to
ensure an inclusive dialogue.
He lauded the positive collaboration between the United
Nations and the European Union in the planning of the complementary and
parallel deployment of the UN mission and EU peacekeeping force. He also
called all relevant Member States to provide the force requirements necessary
to enable the EU force to deploy with the needed robustness and credibility.
Without credible security arrangements on the ground, the
UN mission will not be able to deploy in eastern Chad, he said.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP)
has completed general food distributions for the month to all 12 refugee camps
in eastern Chad. Due to continuing insecurity, however, not all camps
received full rations, and general food distributions to internally displaced
persons have not even begun.
Because of continued threats on overland routes, the UN
Humanitarian Air Service has increased flights to southern Chad to four per
week. A flight to Gore will soon be added, once the local airstrip is
completed.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO CONVENE FIRST
MEETING
OF “GROUP OF FRIENDS” ON MYANMAR
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will convene the
first meeting of the ‘Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on
Myanmar.’
The Group, composed of 14 Member States, will be a
consultative forum for developing a shared approach in support of the
implementation of the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate. The group
will meet as needed in an informal format.
U.N. DARFUR FORCE HAS STILL RECEIVED NO
HELICOPTERS
Asked to explain reports that the UN Mission in Sudan
(UNMIS) had a number of helicopters available that might be used by the
UN/African Union hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the
Spokeswoman later said that to date the United Nations had not received any of
the 24 helicopters sought for UNAMID and for which we have been appealing to
all potential contributors.
Regarding the number of UNAMID troops to be on the ground
in Darfur at the beginning of the year, the Spokeswoman later said that nearly
7,000 troops were expected to be part of a 9,000-strong force that also
included police.
PORTUGAL JOINS SENTENCE ENFORCEMENT
AGREEMENT
WITH U.N. TRIBUNAL FOR EX-YUGOSLAVIA
Portugal today
entered into
an agreement on enforcement of sentences with the International Criminal
Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia, which allows for persons convicted before
the Tribunal to serve their sentences in its prisons.
The agreement makes Portugal the 13th state to enter into
an enforcement of sentences agreement with the Tribunal.
IMPROVED IRRIGATION COULD REDUCE ARSENIC
LEVELS IN RICE CROPS
Improved irrigation practices could reduce high levels of
arsenic in rice crops across Asia, according to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
FAO today released a new report that focuses on
Bangladesh, but that makes recommendations that could apply to a dozen
countries.
FAO says high levels of arsenic in soil and groundwater
often end up in crops, especially when shallow wells are used to pump water
from contaminated aquifers. Planting rice in raised beds, about 15 centimeters
off the ground, instead of in conventional flooded fields required less water
and thus resulted in lower arsenic levels. It also created better crop
yields, FAO found.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
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