HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Friday,
January 4, 2008
SOME 250,000 KENYANS NOW INTERNALLY
DISPLACED FOLLOWING POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that around 250,000 Kenyans are now internally displaced. According to
OCHA, that is a considerable increase compared to previous estimates. A
further 5,400 Kenyan refugees have crossed into Uganda. Overall, the number of
people affected by the post-election violence is between 400,000 and 500,000.
For its part, UNICEF is
working to reduce
malnutrition among displaced people in the worst-hit areas. It is also working
to: establish so-called “safe spaces” for displaced mothers and children;
provide water and sanitation to over 100,000 people; and distribute family
kits to supply up to 100,000 people with blankets, plastic sheeting, cooking
sets, soap and jerry cans.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) will shortly
provide food
through the Kenya Red Cross for 100,000 people displaced in the Northern Rift
Valley. Kenyan security forces recently escorted 20 WFP trucks, allowing them
to carry food aid to northwestern Kenya, southern Sudan, Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, insecurity and vigilante roadblocks
are still hampering humanitarian access.
In response to questions, the Spokesperson said that the
Secretary-General spoke today with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki. He also spoke
with opposition leader Raila Odinga. In both conversations, he discussed the
return to calm and normalcy in Kenya and humanitarian needs. The
Secretary-General called upon the political leaders to resolve their issues
through dialogue.
The Secretary-General has also been in touch by phone
with other parties dealing with the situation in Kenya, including President
John Kufuor of Ghana, the current chairman of the African Union.
Asked what options the
Secretary-General is weighing in Kenya, the Spokeswoman said that the
Secretary-General was dealing with a sovereign country, and it was up to
Kenya’s own actors to determine what to do. The Secretary-General, she said,
was talking to all concerned parties to see how the UN can best help.
BAN KI-MOON
OUTLINES 2008 PRIORITIES FOR U.N. STAFF
The Secretary-General this morning addressed UN staff,
both at UN Headquarters and around the world via videoconference, in a Town
Hall meeting in which he laid out his priorities for 2008.
He told staff that the coming
year will be special. The United Nations, he said, will mark the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; it will build on the
achievements made in Bali on climate change; it will push for everyone to
redouble efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals; and it will mount
an unprecedented peacekeeping operation in Darfur.
In peace and security, he said,
the United Nations is deploying its largest number of peacekeepers to date. He
said it is better equipped to support peace operations following last year’s
restructuring and strengthening of UN peacekeeping operations, adding that the
task now is to strengthen the capacity for preventive diplomacy.
The Secretary-General also stressed his interest in staff
security, noting that the United Nations is conducting a review of security
policies and procedures, and will engage with Member States to strengthen the
security and safety support they are providing to the UN family in their
countries.
In addition, he said, he has asked the Department for
Safety and Security for a full report on the Algiers attack by 11 January and
will make further decisions based on this report.
SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS TOOK PLACE IN KINSHASA
IN MARCH 2007
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
today released the preliminary findings of its
investigation into events that happened in the Congolese capital of
Kinshasa in March 2007. The investigation concluded that serious human rights
violations took place during the hostilities between Government Forces and
members of the personal security detail of former Vice President Jean-Pierre
Bemba.
The investigative team recommended: that a judicial
investigation be carried out by the Congolese authorities; that victims who
lost family members, who were injured, or whose property was damaged be
compensated or indemnified; and that the Congolese authorities should issue a
comprehensive public statement about the events, explaining what happened and
what has been done by the authorities to correct wrongdoing by Government
Forces.
Meanwhile, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (MONUC) is
assisting that country’s Government in a new sensitization campaign in the
Kivus. The campaign is aimed at disarming all remaining armed groups, both
national and foreign, in the area.
MONUC is supporting the Government by producing radio
broadcasts and distributing leaflets that encourage combatants to surrender
and return home. There are approximately 8,000 foreign combatants remaining in
the Kivus, the majority of them FDLR combatants from Rwanda, according to
MONUC.
The Mission notes that much progress on the issue of
armed groups will depend on the upcoming Kivus’ peace conference, which starts
Sunday in Goma.
U.N. LAUNCHES TRAINING PROGRAM FOR
POLICE TRAINERS IN CHAD
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT)
started its Training of Trainers Program for the Chadian Police today. A total
of 36 officers, including 20 Internationals and 16 Nationals are taking part
in this 7-day training. The Chadian participants are from the Gendarmerie
Academy and the Police Force.
The purpose of the training is, as the UN Security
Council states in its 1778 Resolution: "To enhance the capabilities of Chadian
police and gendarmes to provide effective police service to the population in
eastern Chad affected by the Darfur crisis, including refugees, internally
displaced persons (IDPs), local population and humanitarian workers."
The 36 officers in training today will, in turn, train
200 Chadian police each month for the next four months. The goal is to reach
a total of 850 trained Chadian police who will specialize in the protection of
refugees and IDPs in Chad.
HOME TREATMENT OF PNEUMONIA SAFE AND
EFFECTIVE
A new study, which was supported by the World Health
Organization (WHO), has
shown that treating children with severe pneumonia at home is just as
effective as treating them in hospitals.
That finding could significantly change the way the
illness is managed in developing countries -- saving a significant number of
lives every year and taking pressure off health systems.
According to WHO, pneumonia is the largest single killer
of children under five around the world. Almost four children die from
pneumonia every minute.
AFGHANISTAN: NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING ON
RETURN OF U.N. STAFFER
In response to a question posed yesterday about a UN
staff member in Afghanistan who had been asked to leave the country last
month, the Spokesperson said the UN’s negotiations
are ongoing to see the return of this very able and capable staff member, so
that it can continue with the vital work of building peace, stability and
progress for the Afghan people.
The UN is relieved that the
Afghan consultant who was working with it on this visit to Helmand province
has now been released by the Afghan authorities without charge.
The UN is pleased that the
Governor of Helmand Province has also publicly confirmed that no staff member
of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
was involved in activities that could be seen to be detrimental, and welcomes
the President's recent comments that this incident should not reflect on the
vital work that UNAMA does for the Afghan people and their Government.
BAN KI-MOON MOURNS DEATH OF CLIMATE
CHANGE SCIENTIST
The Secretary-General
pays tribute to
Professor Bert Bolin, the pioneering scientist on global warming and
co-founder of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who has
passed away at the age of 82.
The Secretary-General commends Professor Bolin's
immeasurable contribution, not only in being one of the first to recognize the
consequences of increasing emissions of greenhouse gases decades ago, but also
in alerting the world to what was required by Governments to protect our
planet from the impact. He is moved that Professor Bolin was able to see the
IPCC be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month and negotiations launched at
the climate change conference in Bali.
The Secretary-General joins Professor Bolin's colleagues
in the IPCC and around the world in giving thanks for his work, and in
resolving to build on his legacy.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
CONCERNED BY KILLING OF CIVILIANS IN GAZA
In response to a question on the recent killings in
Gaza, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is deeply concerned at
the reported killing of civilians in Israeli Defense Force (IDF) military
operations in Gaza.
He reiterates his call for full respect by the IDF
of international humanitarian law, so that risks to civilians are minimized.
Montas said that the Secretary-General also
reiterates his call for an immediate cessation of rocket fire from Gaza into
Israel.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to
refrain from actions which endanger civilians.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON FOLLOWING SITUATION IN PAKISTAN:
Asked whether the Secretary-General is concerned about whether the Pakistani
Government can carry out a credible investigation of Benazir Bhutto’s
assassination, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is following the
situation and listening to parties, but has not provided an opinion on a matter
involving other parts of the UN’s intergovernmental system. She noted that, as
in the case of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a decision in this
case could be made either by the Security Council or come from a request by the
concerned country.
SECRETARY-GENERAL NOT INVOLVED IN KOREA TALKS:
Asked about information that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shared on
its nuclear programme with the United States last November, the Spokeswoman
noted that the Secretary-General is not involved in the six-party talks and that
any information on the nuclear programme would go through the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
WESTERN SAHARA MEETING TO BE CLOSED TO MEDIA:
Asked about next week’s talks in Manhasset on Western Sahara, the Spokeswoman
reiterated that the meeting there is private, and reporters will have no access
to the venue.
U.N. WATCHING SITUATION IN SRI LANKA:
Asked whether the United Nations is considering sending monitors to Sri Lanka,
the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is watching the situation closely
but had nothing to announce on any specific course of action. She noted the
Secretary-General’s concerns about the situation, which were reflected in a
statement issued on
Thursday.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
5-11 January 2008
Sunday, January 6
From today through 14 January in Goma, Democratic Republic
of the Congo, a conference on peace, security and development in the Kivus takes
place.
Monday, January 7
At 10:30 a.m. in Room S-226, the Secretary-General holds
his first press conference of the new year.
This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold
consultations on the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).
From today through Wednesday in Manhasset, New York, the
latest round of negotiations on Western Sahara take place.
In The Hague, the Special Court trial of former Liberian
President Charles Taylor resumes today, and the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia recommences proceedings in the Prlic et al. and
other cases, following its winter recess.
Tuesday, January 8
The guest at the noon briefing is Shamil Idriss, Acting
Director of the Alliance of Civilizations, who will discuss the upcoming
Alliance of Civilizations Forum to be held on 15-16 January in Madrid.
From today through Thursday in Conference Room 7, the
Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Languages will discuss the progress and
challenges in promoting, protecting and strengthening indigenous languages.
In London, as part of the Moving Young Minds Conference,
UNESCO guidelines on how teachers can use information and communication
technology to improve education will be presented to education ministers from
more than 100 countries and to the media.
Wednesday, January 9
This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to discuss
the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur.
At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (DESA) launches the report on “World Economic Situation and
Prospects 2008”.
Thursday, January 10
No
major events are scheduled at this time.
Friday, January 11
No major events are scheduled
at this time.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
