HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Thursday,
January 3, 2008
SRI LANKA: BAN
KI-MOON REGRETS TERMINATION OF CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT
The Secretary-General
regrets the
decision made by the Government of Sri Lanka to terminate the 2002 Ceasefire
Agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He is deeply
worried that the withdrawal from the Agreement comes amidst intensifying
fighting in the North and increasing violence across the country, including
Colombo.
The Secretary-General urges all concerned to ensure the
protection of civilians and enable humanitarian assistance to be provided to
affected areas. He underlines the urgent need to end the bloodshed in Sri
Lanka through a political solution.
U.N. TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR 100,000
DISPLACED KENYANS
According to the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN and the Kenyan Red Cross Society estimate
that at least 100,000 people require immediate humanitarian assistance in the
northern Rift Valley alone. Many of them are stranded without food, shelter,
water, fuel, essential medicines or protection.
The World Food Programme is providing enough legumes and
oil for 100,000 people for one month, initially in the Rift Valley.
Meanwhile, it is unclear how many Kenyans have crossed
the border into Uganda, but the number appears to be relatively small A joint
mission between the UN and the Government of Uganda is visiting the area today
to determine the number of arrivals and their needs.
U.N. INTENSIFIES SECURITY EFFORTS AHEAD
OF CONGOLESE PEACE CONFERENCE
The UN Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has
intensified efforts
in recent days to improve security in the Kivus, ahead of the upcoming Goma
peace conference.
MONUC has transported several battalions of the national army, or FARDC, by
helicopter in the past week to North Kivu. Those battalions will provide
security at the peace conference, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
MONUC has also supplied isolated units of the army, and evacuated the wounded
to Goma.
Meanwhile, several dissidents loyal to General Laurent Nkunda have surrendered
at MONUC bases in North Kivu. They are being sent to brassage, the process by
which ex-combatants are retrained to become part of the national armed forces.
MONUC has also intensified its joint patrols with government forces in South
Kivu, in order to improve security for the local population and help
humanitarian support reach the displaced.
BAN KI-MOON APPEALS FOR GREATER SUPPORT
FOR NEW U.N. DARFUR MISSION
The Secretary-General, in his latest
report on
the deployment of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
(UNAMID) says that the
progress made towards having a mission that can have a positive impact on the
lives of Darfur’s people remains modest.
He notes that the Mission continues to lack critical
aviation capabilities, and that it has, at its start, essentially the same
assets on the ground as the previous African Union Mission, AMIS. He also
warns that the Sudanese Government does not appear to have fully embraced the
fact that a robust and effective UNAMID will contribute towards Darfur’s
long-term stability.
The Secretary-General reiterates his appeal to Member
States for support in accelerating the deployment of selected units and
filling outstanding gaps in force composition.
SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS OF POTENTIAL
INSTABILITY IN KOSOVO
In the Secretary-General’s latest
report on
the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, he says uncertainty and a
loss of momentum in the future status process could lead to a risk of
instability, both in Kosovo and the wider region. He urges the parties to
reaffirm and act upon their declared commitments to refrain from any actions
or statements that could endanger peace, incite violence or jeopardize
security.
The Secretary-General also notes the readiness of the
European Union (EU) to play an enhanced role in Kosovo, and says that the EU’s
growing commitment in Kosovo is important.
Asked about the Secretary-General position on the
final status of Kosovo, the Spokeswoman said
that the Secretary-General still maintains that a negotiated compromise
solution, to be endorsed by the Security Council, represents the best way
forward. He feels that any failure to resolve Kosovo’s future status within
the framework of the UN would have serious repercussions for the international
system, she added.
U.N. TAKES PART IN CRIME CRACKDOWN IN
TIMOR-LESTE
In Timor-Leste, the United
Nations Police Drug Taskforce, the Dili District Police, and the Timorese
National Police conducted a joint operation Wednesday night at bars in the
capital Dili, as part of a crackdown on activities related to illegal
immigration, the sale of drugs, and possible human trafficking.
Police found evidence of drug
usage and arrested people in relation to the investigations into the
trafficking of women.
The Special Representative of
the Secretary-General in Timor-Leste, Atul Khare, congratulated UN and local
police for the operation, adding that it is a crucial part of the mandate of
the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
to ensure public security.
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS MONTHLY
PROGRAMME OF WORK
The Security Council, in its consultations today,
discussed its programme of
work for the month of January. It also discussed which ambassadors would chair
the Council’s main committees over the coming year.
These consultations were the first to include the five
new members of the Security Council, which are Burkina Faso, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Libya and Viet Nam.
In today’s consultations, Council members also received a
briefing on the sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from
the chairman of that sanctions committee, Ambassador Marcello Spatafora of
Italy.
U.N. DID NOT
RECEIVE ANY LETTERS WARNING OF SECURITY THREATS PRIOR TO ALGIERS BOMBINGS
Asked whether UN staff in
Algiers had written letters prior to last month’s bombing about increasing
threats to their safety, the Spokeswoman said no such letters were received at
UN Headquarters. She said that no specific threats had been received that
would justify an increase in the threat level for UN staff in Algeria.
Asked about comments from Algerian officials about
rising threats against the United Nations, the Spokeswoman said that no
specific threats were transmitted to the United Nations.
Asked about a UN investigation into the bombing,
Montas said that Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security David Veness
had visited Algeria, right after the bombings and will submit a report based
on his findings. There would be other follow-up activity by the United
Nations, she added.
FOOD AGENCY LAUNCHES PLAN TO FEED ONE
MILLION DISPLACED IRAQIS
The World Food Programme (WFP) today
launched an
emergency, one-year operation to feed more than one million displaced Iraqis,
both within Iraq and in Syria. Iraq is facing a growing humanitarian crisis,
WFP says, because of the continued violence that is preventing increasing
numbers of displaced people from meeting their basic food needs.
As part of the US$126 million program, WFP will supply
packages of wheat flour, white beans and vegetable oil to some 750,000
people. This most vulnerable segment of the population is unable to get food
rations from the Iraqi government because of, among other reasons,
difficulties in transferring their ration cards to new residences.
In Syria, WFP will provide monthly rations of rice,
vegetable oil and lentils to up to 360,000 people.
U.N. HELPING INDONESIA RECOVER FROM RECENT FLOODS
AND LANDSLIDES
In
Indonesia, following the severe
floods and landslides that recently hit Java, UNICEF has provided hygiene
kits, water purification supplies and water storage equipment, which will help
10,000 survivors in Central Java to fulfill their daily water requirements.
For its part, the UN Population Fund has provided kits for pregnant women,
babies and mothers who have just delivered.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has just completed assessments in East
Java and is looking at the possibility of providing aid through food-for-work
activities.
U.N. FINALLY OWNS CERTIFIED COPY OF ITS CHARTER
The United Nations, for the first time in its history, holds a certified copy
of its own charter. US
National Archivist, Allan Weinstein made the trip to UN Headquarters yesterday
and gave the certified copy of the original document to the Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General had made the request to Dr. Weinstein last October when
he saw the original Charter, at the US National Archives in Washington.
The US National Archives were designated by the Charter itself to be the
custodian of the original document, signed on June 26, 1945, by the 51 initial
members of the United Nations. Each of the 51 signatories has a certified
copy. The Organization itself now has one.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
EXPULSION OF U.N. OFFICIAL A RESULT OF “MISUNDERSTANDING”:
Asked about the status of a UN official who had been
expelled from Afghanistan on charges of talking to the Taliban, the Spokeswoman
later clarified that the UN Mission in Afghanistan had contended that there had
been a misunderstanding and that the official had not spoken to the Taliban.
REORGANIZATION OF U.N.’S ECONOMIC ACTORS TO BEGIN IN
MARCH: Asked whether there would be a
reform plan of the UN economic and social system submitted in March, the
Spokeswoman said that a restructuring plan was under study, and that a
preliminary version of the plan for the UN’s economic actors would probably be
presented by March.
U.N. INVOLVEMENT IN BHUTTO INVESTIGATION WOULD HAVE TO
BE REQUESTED BY PAKISTAN GOVT.: Asked about
any UN assistance for Pakistan’s investigation into the assassination of former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the Spokeswoman said that any UN involvement
should come at the invitation of the Government. She noted that the UN
investigation into the case of Rafik Hariri, in Lebanon, was a special case that
had followed a decision by the Security Council.
LATEST ROUND OF WESTERN
SAHARA TALKS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE PRIVATE: The
latest round of talks on Western Sahara will take place from 7 through 9 January
in Manhasset, on Long Island. As was the case with the previous meetings, and
due to the sensitivity of the ongoing discussions, the talks will once again be
private. That means there will be no arrangements for media access at the site,
and the Greentree Estate will only be allowing the parties and UN officials onto
its property.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
