Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 31 January 2008

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

Thursday, January 31, 2008

BAN KI-MOON HEADS TO KENYA TOMORROW TO SUPPORT PEACE EFFORTS

  • Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today addressed the opening session in Addis Ababa of the African Union Summit, and he drew attention to the alarming developments in Kenya, calling on the gathered African leaders to urge and encourage the leaders and people of Kenya to calm the violence and resolve their differences through dialogue and respect for the democratic process.

  • He later told reporters at a press conference that he would travel tomorrow to Nairobi to give his full support to the Panel of Eminent African Persons, led by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He said he would meet with Raila Odinga, some civil society leaders and visit UN staff as well. And he urged the Kenyan people: “Stop the killings and end the violence now, before it is too late!”

  • Following the press conference, the Secretary-General met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, and encouraged him to move toward a quick resolution of the crisis. They discussed the humanitarian situation in the country and the situation of internally displaced persons, as well as the Secretary-General’s trip tomorrow.

  • Earlier, the Secretary-General had spoken by phone with Kofi Annan to commend his role in the negotiations. They talked about the serious impact of the violence on Kenya’s economy.

  • The Secretary-General also had bilateral meetings with several other leaders gathered for the African Union Summit.

  • He met with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and said that he was encouraged by the arrangements agreed to between Algeria and the United Nations for the forthcoming investigative panel looking into the 11 December Algiers attack.

  • He later met with Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of Côte d'Ivoire, with whom he discussed the Ouagadougou Accords and the elections that are to take place this June, which the United Nations will support.

  • In a meeting with President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, the Secretary-General talked about the President’s nomination to head the Economic Community of West African States, as well as Burkina Faso’s role in the Security Council and the situations in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea.

  • The Secretary-General also has meetings scheduled today with the Prime Ministers of Somalia and Guinea and the Presidents of Benin and South Africa.

  • Asked whether the United Nations was underestimating the situation in Kenya, and whether what was happening there amounted to ethnic cleansing, the Spokesman said the UN was well aware of the nature of the problem. It is providing humanitarian aid and trying to prevent the crisis from getting out of hand.

  • He noted the remarks made to reporters on Wednesday afternoon by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, in which Pascoe stressed that it was less important to label the situation than to prevent it from turning into something worse.

  • Haq added that the Secretary-General will be in Kenya on Friday, and will see the situation firsthand for himself. He will also be in touch with former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is leading the international community’s diplomatic efforts there.

PANAMA TO ASSUME SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY TOMORROW

  • The Security Council, after receiving a briefing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo yesterday afternoon from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Dmitry Titov, approved a resolution that authorizes the UN Mission in that country to provide assistance to the Congolese authorities in the organization, preparation and conduct of local elections.

  • In a Presidential Statement, the Security Council also congratulated President Joseph Kabila and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the organizers of and participants in the Goma Conference for Peace, Security and Development in North and South Kivu, on the success of that event.

  • The Security Council also adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) by six months, until the end of July.

  • Council members yesterday also discussed Kenya in their consultations, and afterward, the Council President, Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi of Libya, said that Council members deplored the continuing violence following the disputed elections there. They welcomed the convening of a national dialogue under the mediation of Kofi Annan and urged both sides to engage fully and constructively to secure a political solution.

  • Today is the last day of Libya’s Council Presidency, and Panama will assume the rotating Presidency of the Council tomorrow.

ARMED ATTACKS FORCE REFUGEE AGENCY
TO EVACUATE STAFF FROM EASTERN CHAD

  • A series of armed attacks on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other aid organizations has forced UNHCR to evacuate most of its staff from its office in Guereda, in eastern Chad.

  • In the last 72 hours, five vehicles belonging to UNHCR and non-government organizations were stolen at gunpoint. Furthermore, the UNHCR compound in Guereda was entered by armed men two nights in a row – on Wednesday and Thursday.

  • Tensions between opposition forces and the Chadian National Army have been mounting since Monday, leading to increased security incidents, especially in Guereda, about 165 km northeast of Abeche.

  • Meanwhile, the UN Team in Chad is concerned over the looming shortage of food aid in Chad. The UN is expecting that, due to the logistics reasons, there will be shortcomings of food supplies to refugees and internally displaced persons during the month of February.

TROOP CONTRIBUTORS MEET ON THREE PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

  • This morning, as planned, a meeting of troop and police contributors of three UN missions – the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – was held.

  • General Per Five, the DPKO military advisor, briefed on all three missions.

  • On UNAMID, Gen. Five flagged the shortfalls in military aviation assets, namely helicopters, and underlined challenges to timely deployments in Darfur including cross-border raids into West Darfur.

  • Assistant Secretary-General and Officer in Charge of the Department of Field Support Jane Holl Lute noted the importance of moving ahead on the successful deployment of UNAMID and its linkage with the neighboring mission in Chad and Central African Republic, saying the mission in Chad will not succeed if the mission in Darfur does not succeed.

  • Asked whether the Secretary-General plans to make another trip to Darfur, Haq noted that the Secretary-General had met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday and they had discussed forward movement on UNAMID.

  • Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno was also in Khartoum recently for discussions on the Status of Forces Agreement, which the UN hopes will be signed soon.

  • Asked why Messenger of Peace George Clooney had not attended a meeting of Troop Contributing Countries this morning, as originally planned, Haq said that this was due to procedural issues. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations was continuing to look at opportunities for Mr. Clooney to continue to engage with the peacekeeping community, including the Troop Contributing Countries and Police Contributing Countries.

U.N. AID TRUCKS HEADED TO GAZA FORCED TO TURN BACK

  • The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reports that yesterday more than 70 trucks went into Gaza from Israel through the Karni and Sufa crossings. But all supplies in Gaza are still dwindling, UNSCO says.

  • At 11:00 last night, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme (WFP) were told by the Israelis that they could bring trucks into the Kerem Shalom crossing today. WFP only had time to prepare one truck, but UNRWA managed to get 12 trucks, containing milk and rice, ready to go. However, when they arrived at Kerem Shalom this morning, it was closed and all 13 trucks had to return to Ashdod. Returning the trucks cost UNRWA more than $8,000.

  • UNSCO also reports that fuel is going through as planned. But electricity cuts continue and approximately 40% of the Gazan population still does not have regular access to water.

  • Asked whether the United Nations could still look into transporting goods through the Rafah crossing, the Spokesman said that the UN continued to explore all options for getting aid into Gaza.

  • Asked what the Secretary-General was doing to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, Haq again stressed the UN’s wide-ranging humanitarian efforts. He also noted that the Secretary-General has been in close contact with many leaders on this topic.

  • This morning, the Secretary-General discussed Gaza with Amre Moussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. Also, in discussions with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in recent days, he continued to stress the desperate need for humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.

  • Also, there had been a teleconference between the Secretary-General and the other principal members of the Middle East Quartet just a few hours ago.

U.N. ENVOY FOR MYANMAR ENCOURAGED BY INDIA’S SUPPORT

  • The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, Ibrahim Gambari, today concluded his consultations in New Delhi in the context of the Secretary-General's good offices mandate for Myanmar.

  • During his trip, Mr. Gambari met with Indian Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari; Foreign Minister Pranab Mukerjee, and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, in continuation of earlier consultations to explore how India could, in concrete terms, support the Secretary-General’s good offices. Mr. Gambari is encouraged by these consultations and India’s support for the Secretary-General’s good offices on Myanmar.

  • Asked about the reported lifting of restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi, the Spokesman said that the United Nations welcomed the fact that the fact that she was allowed to meet again with the Executive Committee of her party and with Liaison Minister Aung Kyi. However, the concerns that have been expressed underline the need for the authorities to seize every opportunity to engage in a meaningful and time-bound dialogue that produces substantive results, as called for repeatedly by the Secretary-General and by Mr. Gambari.

  • Mr. Gambari, he added, looks forward to returning to Myanmar as soon as possible in order to follow up on this and all the other issues which he has discussed with all concerned.

U.N. OFFICIAL DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN NEPAL

  • In Nepal, the UN’s Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kang Kyung-wha, today visited Nepalgunj, where she met with civil society organizations, lawyers and representatives of the Nepal Police in that city.

  • In the meetings, she discussed issues of gender and discrimination, which are the focus of her visit to the Mid-Western Region.

  • The Deputy High Commissioner also visited the National Human Rights Commission’s regional office to discuss cooperation between the two organizations, and she’s expected to meet with representatives of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN).

  • In response to a question about press remarks by the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, the Spokesperson later said Mr. Matthew Kahane, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal, was not speaking on instructions. We will see that he sets the record straight upon his return to Kathmandu.

TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS NEEDED TO PUT WORLD
ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PATH

  • Available is the Secretary-General’s report on UN activities in relation to climate change. It was prepared in response to a General Assembly resolution requesting a comprehensive overview of such activities ahead of its upcoming debate on that topic, which is scheduled for 11-12 February.

  • In the report, the Secretary-General reviews recent developments in this area, including the December high-level meeting in Bali, as well as ways to support global, regional and national action and make the UN itself climate-neutral.

  • In order to place the world on a sustainable energy path, global investments of between $15 and 20 trillion may be needed over the next 20 to 25 years, the Secretary-General says. He notes that if those choices are based on a solid economic rationale and sound scientific evidence, they can unlock a huge potential for change and put the world onto a sustainable energy path.

U.N. MISSION INVESTIGATING VANDALISM IN WESTERN SAHARA

  • Asked about reports that UN peacekeepers in Western Sahara had vandalized archaeological sites, the Spokesman said that the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) has launched a formal enquiry into this matter and has taken action to prevent any further vandalism.

  • While not all the damage appears to have been done by UN peacekeepers, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has requested assistance from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in evaluating the damage to the two sites and recommending what, if any, repair measures can be taken, Haq said.

  • UNESCO is currently putting together a group of qualified experts to travel to the area as soon as possible, he added. UNESCO is also prepared to provide material for peacekeeping training programs on the protection of cultural property.

  • The Spokesman stressed that United Nations remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct among peacekeepers and to respecting fully the local customs and property of the territory in which they operate.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNITED NATIONS IS CONCERNED BY ALARMING MANGROVE LOSS: Environmental and economic damage caused by the alarming loss of mangroves in many countries should be urgently addressed, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. In that context, FAO called for better mangrove protection and management programmes. FAO added that, if deforestation of mangroves continues, it can lead to severe losses of biodiversity and livelihoods, in addition to increased salt in coastal areas and the build-up of soil around coral reefs, ports and shipping lanes. Tourism would also suffer.'

ETHICS OFFICE TAKES SPOUSES INTO ACCOUNT: Asked about what safeguard the United Nations has in place regarding spouses of employees and housing subsidies, the Spokesman said that the assets held by employees’ spouses have undergone an external confidential review by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and their disclosures are reviewed in order to better advise the UN staff member of any potential conflict of interest situations.

HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF DOESN’T SUPPORT ARAB CHARTER’S STANCE ON ZIONISM: Asked about High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour's support of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, and whether that initiative equates Zionism to racism, the Spokesman noted that Arbour had recently issued a statement in which she made very clear that she did not support the language in the Charter which had to do with Zionism, as it contradicted the relevant General Assembly resolution.