HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Monday,
March 17, 2008
BAN KI-MOON DEPLORES TODAY’S ATTACKS IN NORTHERN KOSOVO
The Secretary-General
deplores the
violent attacks against the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) Police
and Kosovo Force (KFOR) personnel that occurred earlier today in Mitrovica,
Kosovo.
This violence took place in the
context of an operation by UNMIK and KFOR to
re-establish control of the UNMIK court house that had been forcibly
occupied by Kosovo Serb demonstrators on 14 March. The violence resulted in
numerous injuries among UNMIK Police, KFOR and Kosovo Serb protestors.
The
Secretary-General reaffirms that UNMIK will continue to take measures required
to implement its mandate under
resolution 1244
(1999). He urges all communities to exercise calm and restraint, and
underlines the need for constructive dialogue in order to address the
situation. The Secretary-General expects all sides to refrain from any actions
or statements that could incite or provoke further violence.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the
Secretary-General’s Principal Deputy Special Representative in Kosovo, Larry
Rossin, also
condemned today’s violence, including direct fire, by a mob at the
Mitrovica Courthouse, calling it a flagrant breach of Security Council
resolution 1244.
As a temporary measure, UN police from
north Mitrovica are redeploying outside of the city while KFOR reasserts its
control over the Courthouse.
According to UNMIK, tensions have been
significantly reduced, and the overall situation is calm. Thirty-eight members
of UNMIK’s police were wounded today, two seriously. The wounds were mostly
from grenade fragments, although guns were also fired at UNMIK police and KFOR.
Asked why UNMIK intervened in
Mitrovica, the Spokeswoman said that UNMIK undertook this action in close
coordination with KFOR after due consideration and having carefully assessed
the situation as it developed.
The action was a response to the
illegal and forceful occupation by tens of protesters of the UNMIK courthouse
in northern Mitrovica, Montas said. This occupation was a clear and direct
challenge to UNMIK’s exercise of its mandate in Kosovo.
It follows other actions that have
constituted a challenge to UNMIK’s mandated authority, she noted, such as the
destruction of two customs facilities and attempts to seize UNMIK railway
assets in northern Kosovo.
Montas added that it is deplorable
that UNMIK Police and KFOR personnel were attacked and regrettable that this
led to numerous injuries among UNMIK Police, KFOR and among the local Kosovo
Serbs.
Asked about the current situation at
the Mitrovica courthouse, the Spokeswoman said that KFOR continued to occupy
the courthouse.
SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED ON IRAN SANCTIONS COMMITTEE
The Security Council this morning
heard a
briefing, in an open meeting, from Ambassador Johan Verbeke of Belgium
concerning the sanctions committee dealing with Iran, which he chairs.
After that, Council members held
consultations to discuss the programme of work for March, as well as possible
Security Council missions over the coming months.
Council members are also holding their
monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General today.
CONSULTATIONS
ON DARFUR START IN GENEVA
The UN and African Union special
envoys for
Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, are holding informal
consultations with regional partners and international observers in Geneva
today and tomorrow.
The Geneva consultations are expected
to offer an opportunity to review the political process in Darfur in light of
the security situation and delays in plans to hold substantive talks among
Darfur rebels and the Government of Sudan.
Asked whether Ban Ki-moon was
considering the idea of having former Secretary-General Kofi Annan mediate the
Darfur dispute, the Spokeswoman said she was unaware of any formal contact
with Kofi Annan about any mediation role on Darfur.
FOURTH ROUND OF WESTERN SAHARA TALKS UNDERWAY
The fourth round of talks on Western
Sahara got underway this morning in Manhasset, under the auspices of the
Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Peter van Walsum, and with the
participation, in the opening session, of Morocco, the Frente Polisario and
the neighbouring countries, Algeria and Mauritania. This round is scheduled
to conclude tomorrow.
The talks are taking place, as before,
in the framework of Security Council resolutions
1754
(2007) and
1783
(2007).
Asked about the Secretary-General’s
expectations for the latest round of talks, the Spokeswoman said that he is in
observation mode. She said that he would be briefed by van Walsum once the
talks have ended, as they are scheduled to do on Tuesday.
U.N.
REPORT FINDS DECLINE IN VIOLENT ATTACKS IN IRAQ
The
UN Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) released its 12th human rights
report on Iraq over the weekend, which recognizes that the last three
months of 2007 were characterized by a marked decrease in violent attacks
involving mass casualties, including suicide attacks and car bombings.
UNAMI cautions that, as security
improved in parts of Baghdad and other locations, it deteriorated elsewhere,
with heightened activity by insurgent groups and others in governorates such
as Mosul and Diyala.
The report welcomes measures taken by
the Government of Iraq and the judicial authorities to improve the handling of
detainees, including efforts to ensure more effective judicial oversight and
alleviate overcrowding.
However, UNAMI’s long-standing
concerns with respect to due process rights of detainees within the legal
framework adopted by the multinational force remained unaddressed, and large
numbers of juvenile detainees remain in the custody of the multinational
force.
LEBANON:
U.N. ENVOY MEETS WITH KING OF SAUDI ARABIA
Terje Roed-Larsen, the
Secretary-General’s Special Envoy dealing with the Implementation of
Resolution 1559, concerning Lebanon, met yesterday in Riyadh with King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in Lebanon. On Saturday, he
met with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud El-Faisal in Paris.
The Secretary-General has dispatched
Roed-Larsen to several capitals to conduct a series of consultations, as part
of the preparation of the Secretary-General’s upcoming report to the Security
Council on the implementation of resolution 1559 (which is due on 21 April).
Asked why Roed-Larsen was discussing
Lebanon with leaders outside the country when resolution 1559 prohibits
foreign interference in Lebanon, Montas said that his discussions concerning
the country do not imply any interference in its sovereign affairs.
Asked how the Secretary-General could
justify meeting with Samir Geagea this afternoon, the Spokeswoman said that
the Secretary-General has been meeting with all leaders across the spectrum in
Lebanon on the country’s constitutional crisis and will continue to do so.
WORLD’S GLACIERS CONTINUE TO MELT AT ALARMING RATE
The world’s glaciers are continuing to
melt at record speed, according to the latest
figures from the UN Environment Programme-supported World Glacier
Monitoring Service. The Service looked at nearly 30 reference glaciers in
nine mountain ranges; it found that the average rate of melting and thinning
more than doubled during 2005-2006, compared with one year earlier.
Some of the most dramatic shrinking
has taken place in Europe, with one glacier in Norway thinning at almost 10
times its previous rate. If the current trend continues, the report warns,
rivers that cross northern India, such as the Indus and the Brahmaputra, could
soon become seasonal rivers.
Meanwhile, 40 percent of southern
California’s water supply is likely to be vulnerable by the 2020s, and most of
Latin America’s tropical glaciers could be gone within two decades.
PROGRESS
IN CONTROLLING TUBERCULOSIS SLOWED IN 2006
In its latest report on tuberculosis
(TB), the World Health Organization (WHO) finds that progress in tuberculosis
control actually slowed slightly in 2006, the most recent year for which data
were available. While the average rate at which new TB cases were detected
increased by six per cent per year between 2001 and 2005, between 2005 and
2006 that rate of increase was cut in half, to three per cent.
The reason for this slowdown is that
some national programmes were unable to maintain the rapid strides they had
made during the earlier period, with most African countries showing no
increase in the detection of TB cases through national programmes, WHO says.
The report also highlights two aspects
of the epidemic that could further slow progress on TB: the fact that
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) last month reached the highest
levels ever recorded and the lethal combination of TB and HIV, which is
fuelling the TB epidemic in many parts of the world, especially Africa, WHO
says.
The report also documents a shortage
in funding, which is expected to remain flat in 2008 in almost all of the
countries most heavily burdened by the disease.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
GREECE/FYROM TALKS MAY
CONTINUE NEXT WEEK IN NEW YORK: The
Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Matthew Nimetz, held intensified negotiations in Vienna today on
the “name issue.” Present at the meeting were the two sides’ primary negotiators
on this topic: Ambassador Nikola Dimitrov of The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece. Nimetz focused
attention on the possible solutions that might reasonably be concluded in a
short timeframe, and asked the parties to get back to him. If there are
possibilities for movement, further discussions will be held in New York next
week, Nimetz said.
U.N. HANDS OVER REHABILITATED DISARMAMENT SITES TO CÔTE
D’IVOIRE: The
UN Operation in Côte
d’Ivoire handed over three rehabilitated disarmament sites to the Ivorian
government this weekend in the northern town of Ferkessedougou. At an event held
to mark the occasion, 118 former rebel fighters surrendered their weapons and
formally joined the reintegration process ahead of general elections. The
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Georg Charpentier,
represented the United Nations at the weekend handover of the disarmament sites.
U.N. DISTRIBUTES MOBILE TERMINALS IN
ZAMBIA TO HELP IN FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS: The
International Telecommunication Union has
deployed
25 satellite terminals to Zambia – to help restore vital communication links
there in the aftermath of severe floods. The mobile terminals have already eased
the coordination of relief operations by Government and humanitarian agencies,
as they work to help flood survivors.
UNESCO CONFERENCE ON RETURN OF
CULTURAL PROPERTY OPENS IN ATHENS: A two-day
international conference on the “Return of Cultural Property to its Country of
Origin”
opened earlier today in Athens under UNESCO and Greek government
sponsorship. The event brings together lawyers, museum professionals,
archaeologists, academics and cultural property experts.
SEARCH HAS BEGUN FOR NEW HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSIONER: Asked about the search to find a
successor to High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour once she leaves that office this
summer, the Spokeswoman said that the search has already begun.
ONLY STATES, NOT THE U.N., CAN
RECOGNIZE OTHER STATES: Asked
about UN policy concerning recognition for Tibet or Kosovo, the Spokeswoman
reiterated that the United Nations does not recognize States; rather, it is
individual States who decide whether or not to grant recognition.
SECRETARY-GENERAL PLANS TO ISSUE STATEMENT MARKING MONTH OF LA FRANCOPHONIE:
Asked whether the Secretary-General would give a statement for the month of la
Francophonie, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is scheduled to
meet with the Secretary-General of the Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, on 28 March.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
