HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Friday, March
28, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
CONDEMNS 'OFFENSIVELY' ANTI-ISLAMIC FILM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a
statement
attributable directly to him, condemns, in the strongest terms, the airing of
Geert Wilders' offensively anti-Islamic film.
"There is no justification for hate speech or incitement
to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here. I acknowledge
the efforts of the government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of this
film and appeal for calm to those understandably offended by it. Freedom must
always be accompanied by social responsibility.
“The United Nations is the centre of the world’s efforts
to advance mutual respect, understanding and dialogue. We must also recognize
that the real fault line is not between Muslim and Western societies, as some
would have us believe, but between small minorities of extremists, on
different sides, with a vested interest in stirring hostility and conflict.”
EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT CRIMINAL NETWORK
WORKED TOGETHER
TO KILL FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER
Yesterday afternoon, the President of the Security
Council, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, read out a
press
statement concerning the Special Tribunal on
Lebanon, encouraging the Secretary-General to continue undertaking the
steps and measures necessary to establish the Tribunal in a timely manner.
Today, the members of the Security Council received the
latest report by the International Independent Investigation Commission
looking into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The Secretary-General, in a letter to the Security
Council, said that the Commission reports that it has evidence that a network
of individuals acted in concert to carry out Hariri’s assassination and that
this criminal network, or parts of it, are linked to some of the other cases
within the Commission’s mandate.
Also yesterday afternoon, the Council President read out
statements to the press in which Council members
welcomed
the progress towards Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal and
reaffirmed
their support for efforts to consolidate peace in Guinea-Bissau.
Asked when the
Secretary-General would decide to start the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the
Spokeswoman did not give a timeline but said that the Secretary-General would
take a decision on that in collaboration with his senior advisers dealing with
the Tribunal.
NEW U.N. ENVOY ARRIVES IN AFGHANISTAN
Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s new Special
Representative for Afghanistan,
arrived in Kabul today and pledged to step up support for the Afghan
Government.
Eide said that, while in the past, there has been
considerable focus on the security situation, this needs to be balanced with
the political dimension of the UN’s work to deliver much-needed peace,
stability and visible progress for all of Afghanistan’s peoples.
He will meet with President Hamid Karzai and other key
Government ministers in the coming days before he joins the Secretary-General
in attending the NATO summit meeting on Afghanistan in Bucharest, Romania,
next week.
In response to a question, the
Spokeswoman added that the Secretary-General would co-chair a meeting on
Afghanistan, with President Hamid Karzai and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer, next week in Bucharest.
IRAQ: HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES READY TO
PROVIDE RELIEF AID IN BASRA
In response to the current situation in Basra,
Iraq, and the expectation that the local
population may need special assistance, the UN humanitarian agencies stand
ready to provide immediate relief assistance to the area.
UNICEF is standing by with water, sanitation and health
support for 70,000 families, the World Health Organization is ready to provide
1,600 blood bags and trauma kits to treat injuries, and the World Food
Programme has 200 tons of food positioned outside Basra.
Also, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) can provide basic supplies, such as blankets, cooking stoves and water
containers, for up to 8,000 families.
SUDAN: DONATIONS ALLOW HUMANITARIAN AIR
SERVICE TO KEEP RUNNING
UNICEF is expressing relief at the release of four
drivers from the State Water Corporation in North Darfur. They were abducted
more than a week ago and have now been reunited with their families. However,
valuable drilling equipment – which was part of a project to provide clean
water for tens of thousands of people in North Darfur – has not been
recovered.
World Food Programme
says its
Humanitarian Air Service in Sudan has received enough donations to continue
operating for another month. The service carries humanitarian workers and
crucial supplies to remote areas across Sudan. It was set to run out of funds
by the end of this month, but will now keep flying through the end of
April. The air service, which received donations totaling more than $6
million, still needs $77 million to continue operating through the end of the
year.
U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES SOMALI TRANSITIONAL
GOVERNMENT’S
READINESS TO TALK TO OPPOSITION
In a statement today, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou
Ould Abdallah, welcomed the announcement by Somalia’s Transitional Government
that it is ready to talk to, and is nominating a team to lead discussions with
the opposition.
Ould-Abdallah said that the opposition has also informed
him of its readiness to meet with Government representatives and resume the
long-stalled reconciliation talks. He said the parties’ expression of good
will is a welcome, positive first step toward effective reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative today opened a
meeting co-organized by UN Political Office for Somalia and the World Bank.
The two-day meeting will take up Somalia’s financial and economic situation
and will see the participation of former heads of states from Nigeria and
Burundi, officials from UN agencies working in the region and members of the
international community.
INCREASING NUMBERS OF SOMALI REFUGEES
NOW SEEKING ASYLUM IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES
Rising numbers of Somali refugees are now
seeking asylum in
neighboring countries to escape the increasingly volatile situation in many
parts of their homeland, particularly in Mogadishu.
This is according to the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which says that since the beginning of the
year, some 15,000 Somalis have sought asylum in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and
– even further afield – in eastern Sudan.
These numbers are in addition to the tens of thousands
who have fled internally.
An estimated 64,000 people have fled their homes in the
capital since the beginning of the year – an average of about 20,000 a month.
By the end of 2007, aid agencies estimated that more than 1 million people
were displaced inside Somalia.
UNHCR also reports today that more than 100,000 refugees
from South Sudan have
returned home to restart their lives since UNHCR began its organized
repatriation programme since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
in 2005 that ended 21 years of civil war between the north and the south of
the country. Some 260,000 Sudanese refugees remain outside Sudan's borders.
U.N. ENVOY EXPLAINS PEACEKEEPING
MISSION’S MANDATE TO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC LEADERS
The Special Representative of Secretary-General in Chad
and the Central African Republic, Victor Angelo, has been on an official visit
to Bangui where he met yesterday with President François Bozizé and his Prime
Minister.
Angelo said the purpose of his visit was to explain the
mandate of the UN Mission in Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).
To this effect, he said MINURCAT and the European Union force deployed in
eastern Chad are “twin sisters that are intimately linked by the nature of
their work and are, in fact, complementary.” While the EU Force provides a
security umbrella, the UN Mission trains those tasked with protecting refugees
and the internally displaced inside UN-run camps.
Asked whether a UN team had
been able to confirm that children in the Central African Republic had been
abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Spokeswoman said that a team
that had traveled to parts of the Republic could not verify that LRA
combatants were there.
NEPAL: MAOIST WEAPONS SHOULD NOT BE
PRESENT
AT MEETINGS OUTSIDE MAOIST ARMY CANTONMENTS
In Nepal, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General, Ian Martin, visited the Election Commission today and
ensured effective monitoring through the Joint Monitoring and Coordination
Committee, which has the responsibility of monitoring cantonments.
The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN)
has made clear to the leadership of the Communist Party of Nepal that it is a
breach of the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies
for personnel and/or weapons from Maoist army cantonments to be present at
meetings outside the cantonments, including for the purpose of providing
leadership security.
UNMIN recognizes the importance of adequate security
arrangements for leaders and candidates of all parties. Special security
arrangements for the Maoist leadership were agreed upon in a signed
Understanding negotiated between the Government and the Maoists.
Meanwhile, 21 Tibetan young people aged between 15 and 18
climbed into the UN Compound this morning at around 10 a.m. local time. They
were met by security and UN staff to whom they peacefully presented a banner
with slogans along the lines of "Free Tibet". They apologized for coming
inside the compound. They were given lunch and will be taken home later in
the day. The UN has asked authorities that no action be taken against the
children.
UNITED NATIONS HAS DUTY TO SUPPORT
EFFORTS TOWARDS DEMOCRACY
The Secretary-General this morning
addressed the
Advisory Board of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF).
He said this is an exciting time for advocates of democracy, as democracy is
on the rise in every region on every continent.
At the same time, he stressed that democratization is a
process, not an event. It needs to be nurtured and entrenched through
awareness, participation, norms and institutions. The Secretary-General added
that wherever and whenever people take up the challenge of democratization,
the UN has a solemn duty to support their efforts.
The UN Democracy Fund was established in 2005 to support
democratization throughout the world.
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SESSION ENDS IN
GENEVA
The seventh session of the
Human Rights Council,
which was opened by the Secretary-General on 3 March, ends today in Geneva.
Among other things this week, the Council elected the 18
members of its Advisory Committee, which will hold its first session from 4 to
15 August. The Committee’s experts will function as a think-tank for the Human
Rights Council and work at its direction.
The Human Rights Council’s eighth session will take place
from 2 to 13 June, during which the Council will examine the first report of
its working group on the Universal Periodic Review.
CAMBODIA COURT PROSECUTORS CALL FOR NEW
INVESTIGATIONS
Information and input from victims and civil society
organizations has led the Co-Prosecutors of the
Extraordinary Chambers
dealing with Cambodia to file a submission calling for new investigations into
more Khmer Rouge crimes.
The Co-Prosecutors requested that the Co-Investigating
Judges investigate allegations of crimes committed at a Security Centre where
many Cambodians were unlawfully detained, subjected to inhumane conditions and
forced labour, tortured and executed between 1975 and 1979.
“These factual allegations, if founded, could constitute
crimes against humanity,” Co-Prosecutor Robert Petit said.
The Co-Prosecutors further requested that five suspects
-- Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Thirith and Kaing Guek Eav -- who
are currently in the custody of the Extraordinary Chambers, be investigated
for their involvement in these crimes.
TIMORESE PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS TAKEN
SERIOUSLY, WILL BE INVESTIGATED
Asked about reported complaints
by Timorese President José Ramos-Horta about the actions of UN personnel
during the 11 February assassination attempt against him, the Spokeswoman said
that the comments attributed to President Ramos-Horta are taken extremely
seriously, and would be investigated in the context of the UN’s internal
review exercise dealing with the incident.
However, Montas added, the
Trilateral Coordination Forum (bringing together the International Security
Force, the United Nations and the Government of
Timor-Leste, under the leadership of
Timor-Leste) is the mechanism that coordinates the response in such cases.
An immediate meeting of the
Forum was indeed held under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister within a
few hours of the attacks and appropriate decisions were taken and implemented,
she noted.
CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS START NEXT WEEK
The latest round of UN-sponsored
climate change negotiations will get underway in Bangkok on Monday and
last all week.
Some 1,000 representatives from government, business,
environmental and research organizations are expected to discuss the “Bali
Roadmap” and lay out a work plan for negotiations leading up to an agreement
in Copenhagen next year.
Also on the agenda will be discussions on possible
further emissions reductions by industrialized countries.
BAN KI-MOON & FRANCOPHONIE CHIEF
TO DISCUSS STRENGTHENED COOPERATION
The Secretary-General will meet this afternoon with the
Secretary-General of the International Organization of the Francophonie (IOF),
the former Senegalese President, Mr. Abdou Diouf.
The United Nations has strengthened its cooperation with
IOF over the past years in the areas of prevention and resolution of conflict,
electoral observation and peacekeeping.
In the course of their meeting this afternoon, the
Secretary-General and the IOF chief will discuss ways of further strengthening
cooperation between their two organizations in those areas. In that regard,
they are expected to discuss a number of concrete conflict cases, including
Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte
d'Ivoire and Haiti.
Other issues, including multilingualism, the convening by
the Secretary-General of the Millennium Development Goals High-level Event on
25 September, and climate change are also expected to be discussed.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW REPORT ISSUED ON U.N.-A.U. RELATIONS: Available
today is the Secretary-General’s
report on
the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in
particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and
security. The report covers a wide range of issues, from financing for regional
organizations, conflict-prevention and non-proliferation to peacebuilding
support, post-conflict reconstruction and human rights.
SUPPORT PLEDGED TO DISABILITIES TREATY: More than 20
UN departments, agencies, programmes, and funds have issued a joint
declaration
pledging their support for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. The Convention was opened for signature one year ago Sunday.
It is now just three ratifications short of the 20 needed to enter into force
and become an internationally legally binding document.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, March 29
At approximately 4.45 p.m., Australian Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd will speak to reporters at the Security Council stakeout position,
following his meeting with the Secretary-General.
In Nairobi, a high-level summit, organized by the U.N. and
the World Bank, on “Somalia’s Financial and Economic Issues”, wraps up today
(began yesterday).
Sunday, March 30
From today through Wednesday, Under-Secretary-General B.
Lynn Pascoe is in Cyprus for consultations on how the U.N. can support efforts
by the Cypriot people to reach a settlement.
Monday, March 31
This
morning, the Security Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution on Democratic
Republic of the Congo sanctions. Today is the last day of Russia’s Security
Council presidency.
At
10 a.m., the General Assembly holds a plenary meeting on global road safety.
All
this week, the Bangkok Climate Change Talks 2008, the next round of UN-sponsored
global climate change negotiations, take place in Bangkok.
High
Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres begins a three-day visit to
Tajikistan.
Tuesday, April 1
Today and tomorrow, the General Assembly holds a thematic
debate on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), on the theme “Recognizing the
achievements, addressing the challenges and getting back on track to achieve the
MDGs by 2015”.
At 12:30 p.m. in Room S-226,
General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Ted Turner, Chairman of Turner
Enterprises and the UN Foundation, brief on achieving the Millennium Development
Goals. Mr. Turner is also expected to announce a new initiative to eliminate
malaria deaths in the next generation.
Today is the first day of South Africa’s Security Council
Presidency.
Wednesday, April 2
The President of the Security Council for April, Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of
South Africa is expected to brief reporters on the month's programme of work.
At 1:15 p.m. in Room S-226,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs economists Pingfan Hong and Richard
Kozul-Wright launch the Economic Report on Africa.
Today is World Autism Day. From
3 to 5.45 p.m. in Conference Room 1, there will be a presentation and panel
discussion on “Global awareness of autism: Challenges, responsibilities and
actions”.
Thursday, April 3
The Secretary-General is in
Bucharest, Romania, to attend an international meeting on Afghanistan and
participate in a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in
Conference Room 1, there will be a briefing on “Understanding and Celebrating
Autism”.
At 12:30 p.m. in Room S-226,
Nicholas Shalita, Special Advisor on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Office of the General Assembly
President and a representative of the UN Department for Economic and Social
Affairs will brief on the outcome of the General Assembly thematic debate on
MDGs.
At 1 p.m. in the Dag
Hammarskjöld Auditorium, there will be a screening of “Ondes de Choc” (“Shock
waves”), a documentary about the challenges of running radio in a post-conflict
society, followed by a panel discussion with Radio Okapi editor-in-chief Martin
Sebujangwe, Fondation Hirondelle President Jean-Marie Etter, and representatives
from several U.N. departments.
UNICEF launches its second
Stocktaking Report on the progress and challenges facing children affected by
HIV and AIDS.
Friday, April 4
From 3 to 6 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) Chamber, a non-governmental organization forum examines “The role of
civil society in promoting sustainable development and the new international aid
architecture”.
Today is the International Day for Mine Awareness and
Assistance in Mine Action.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
