HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY
FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Friday, May 2, 2008
MIDDLE EAST QUARTET EXPRESSES
STRONG SUPPORT FOR
ONGOING ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATIONS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the other
principal members of the
Middle East Quartet in London today to discuss the situation in that
region, and they were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.
The Secretary-General read a joint statement by the
Quartet after that meeting, when he and the other principal members spoke to
the press. He said that Quartet expressed its strong support for ongoing
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and encouraged the parties to make every
effort to realize the shared goal of an agreement on the establishment of a
Palestinian state by the end of 2008.
The Quartet expressed its deep concern at continuing
settlement activity and called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity,
including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.
It called on the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its commitments to fight
terrorism and to accelerate steps to rebuild and refocus its security
apparatus.
The Quartet also called for continued emergency and
humanitarian assistance and the provision of essential services to Gaza
without obstruction.
After the Quartet meeting, the Secretary-General chaired
an ad hoc meeting of Quartet members and Tony Blair with Arab participants in
the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, as well as with the United Kingdon and Norway as
the hosts and chairs of the Committee.
During that meeting, participants discussed the ongoing
political negotiations, as well as the efforts underway to ensure
implementation of Road Map commitments, support the Palestinian Authority, and
improve the situation on the ground in both the West Bank and Gaza, in
furtherance of the Annapolis process.
The Secretary-General also participated in an enlarged
meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Economic Development for the West
Bank and Gaza. He also held a number of bilateral meetings before flying back
to New York.
SOARING FOOD PRICES THREATEN RELIEF
EFFORTS IN WEST BANK AND GAZA
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA)
reports that soaring food prices have led to severe financial burdens. The
Agency’s General Fund is currently facing a shortfall of more than US$117
million. That hampers its efforts to provide emergency and regular food aid to
nearly one million refugees in the West Bank and Gaza alone.
Regarding the fuel situation in Gaza, UNRWA says that,
even though the fuel it has gotten has allowed it to resume food aid
distribution, the haphazard supply is making it impossible to carry out any
planning. And today, the Agency is worried that it is again running out of
fuel.
The agency reports that the streets of Gaza are virtually
empty of cars and that public transportation has stopped. Enrolment in UNRWA
schools is now basically limited to those who are able to walk to school.
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS PROGRAMME OF
WORK FOR MONTH
The Security Council
held consultations this morning on its programme of work for May, in its first
meeting under the Council Presidency of the United Kingdom.
The Council also adopted a
presidential
statement on Myanmar.
U.N. PEACEKEEPING CHIEF DEPARTS ON
KOSOVO FACT-FINDING MISSION
With regard to Kosovo, Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations
Jean-Marie Guéhenno is leaving today on a fact finding mission to the region.
He will be holding talks with all stakeholders in both
Pristina and in Belgrade concerning the future of the international civil
presence in Kosovo.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SOMALIA IS
WORSENING
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that the situation in Somalia is deteriorating, due to soaring food
prices and worsening drought.
More than a third of the population now needs food
assistance, largely because of an increase in the number of urban poor who
don’t have enough to eat.
The World Food Programme (WFP)
has signed an agreement with the Danish Refugee Council to continue providing
cooked meals to 50,000 people a day in Mogadishu. WFP is also feeding nearly
400,000 people in Puntland, Somaliland and South Central Somalia.
WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME AND WORLD BANK
WELCOME
U.S. FOOD AID INITIATIVE
The World Food Programme (WFP)
and the
World Bank have issued statements welcoming U.S. President Bush’s call for
an additional US$770 million in financing for food and development programmes.
WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran noted that ever
since reaching out to a hungry world devastated by World War Two, the American
people have generously come to the urgent aid of those trapped in hunger.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick encouraged other
countries to follow the lead of the U.S. and take similar bold action.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s comments on reducing
food tariffs, the Spokesman noted that issues concerning the rise in food
prices are complex, which is why the Secretary-General wants as high a level
of participation as possible at the
High-Level Conference on Food Security that will take place in Rome in
June.
U.N. DISABILITIES CONVENTION ENTERS INTO
FORCE TOMORROW
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities is set to
enter into
force tomorrow.
Twenty-five countries have now ratified the treaty, which
aims to ensure that existing rights are fully extended and guaranteed to the
world’s estimated 650 million people with disabilities.
A ceremony to mark the Convention’s entry into force will
take place in the General Assembly Hall on May 12th.
U.N. POLITICAL FACT-FINDING MISSION TO
VISIT THE MALDIVES
A UN Inter-agency Fact Finding Mission, led by the
Department of Political Affairs,
will visit the Maldives between 4-9 May, in response to a request from the
Government.
The Mission will meet with a broad spectrum of
interlocutors, including Government officials, political leaders, civil
society, non-governmental organizations and other important national actors,
as well as diplomatic representatives, in order to assess whether UN
assistance to the forthcoming elections would be appropriate.
COMMITTEE
POSTPONES DECISION ON LOCATION OF RACISM REVIEW CONFERENCE
A two-week
meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the review conference on racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance ended in Geneva on
Friday after agreeing to postpone decisions on where to hold the review
conference. It is likely, however, to be in one of the four UN centres of
Geneva, Nairobi, New York or Vienna.
The precise
duration of the conference was also not decided, with some States wanting it
to last for three days and others wanting five. While the precise date will
depend on the availability of the venue, there was general consensus that the
conference would probably take place in June 2009.
The Preparatory Committee
agreed to hold a special extension of the current session on 26 May, in order
to decide the outstanding issues.
U.N. ENVOY CONVEYS CONDOLENCES
FOLLOWING PLANE CRASH IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Sudan,
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, has conveyed his condolences to the Government of South
Sudan (GoSS) on hearing of today's tragic plane crash, which took the lives of
GoSS SPLA Affairs Minister Dominic Dim Deng and other military officials.
Qazi has also offered deepest sympathy on behalf of the
United Nations and the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to the bereaved families
of the crash victims.
UNMIS flight assets have been made available to bring
Government of National Unity and GoSS aviation safety officials to the scene
of the crash in order to facilitate their inquiries.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RENOVATED MINISTRY BUILDING HANDED OVER TO LIBERIAN
GOVERNMENT: The United Nations has handed over a newly-rehabilitated
Ministry of Internal Affairs building to the Liberian Government. Speaking at a
ceremony on Wednesday, Jordan Ryan, the Deputy Special Representative for
Liberia and UN Development Programme
resident representative, called the handover a crucial step in rebuilding
Liberia’s post-war infrastructure, as well as consolidating peace and fostering
development. The UN provided more than US$200,000, or nearly three quarters of
the cost, to refurbish the building.
U.N. TAKES DR CONGO ALLEGATIONS VERY SERIOUSLY:
Asked about a letter from Human Rights Watch concerning alleged misconduct by UN
peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokesman said
that the United Nations takes the allegations very seriously. He noted that the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO)
and the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
had briefed the press on the allegations earlier this week.
SECRETARY-GENERAL PREPARED TO PROVIDE GOOD OFFICES
FOLLOWING ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS: Asked about the reported announcement of
electoral results in Zimbabwe, the Spokesman reiterated the Secretary-General’s
call on all parties in the country to resolve issues peacefully, and he noted
that the Secretary-General was willing to offer his good offices in
collaboration with the Southern African Development Community and the African
Union. He declined to speculate on whether the United Nations would be requested
to assist in a run-off round of elections.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER HAS CALLED FOR DUE
PROCESS AT GUANTANAMO: Asked about the release of a prisoner from the US
camp in Guantanamo Bay, the Spokesman noted that
High Commissioner
for Human Rights Louise Arbour had spoken out in favour of due legal process for
the inmates at Guantanamo.
U.N. GENERALLY CALLS FOR AVOIDANCE OF THREATENING
RHETORIC: Asked about reported comments by U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton
concerning Iran, the Spokesman declined to comment, but he noted that the United
Nations, as a general rule, wants rhetoric threatening any group of people or
any nation to be avoided.
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’S 16TH
SESSION BEGINS NEXT WEEK: On Monday, the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD)
opens its 16th session. It will be devoted to issues at the core of the global
food crisis: agriculture, land use, rural development, drought and
desertification, with a special focus on Africa. The CSD runs through May 16th.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, May 3
The Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities enters into force.
Today is World Press Freedom
Day. In Maputo, Mozambique, UNESCO awards its Guillermo Cano Prize to Mexican
journalist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro.
From today through Monday in
Cairo, Egypt, the UN Industrial Development Organization holds a Global
Conference on Traceability and Food Security.
Sunday, May 4
From today through 9 May, a UN
Inter-agency Fact Finding Mission, led by the Department of Political Affairs,
visits the Maldives to assess the political climate and technical aspects of the
forthcoming elections and consider whether UN assistance would be appropriate.
Monday, May 5
At
10 a.m. in Conference Room 3, the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee begins the
second part of its resumed session, which is expected to last until 30 May.
At
10 a.m. in Conference Room 4, Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang opens the 16th
Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, which runs through 16 May
and will focus on agriculture, rural development, land, drought,
desertification, and Africa.
At
11 a.m., the Secretary-General takes part in the groundbreaking for the
construction of the North Lawn Conference Building, marking the beginning of the
renovation of the UN Headquarters under the Capital Master Plan.
From
today through 7 May in Oslo, Norway, the Deputy Secretary-General represents the
UN at the Sudan Consortium. Co-organized by the UN and the World Bank and hosted
by the Government of Norway, the Consortium will evaluate progress in
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South
Sudan.
Tuesday, May 6
This morning, the Security
Council holds an open debate on its Counter-Terrorism, 1267 and 1540 Committees.
The guest at the noon briefing
is Christian Thommessen, Director of the U.N.
Development Programme’s Private Sector Division, who will brief on the Business
Call to Action, a new initiative that seeks to galvanize businesses, governments
and civil society as part of a major campaign to accelerate progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals.
At 5 p.m. in the Economic and
Social Council Chamber, the Secretary-General presents the Franklin D. Roosevelt
International Disability Award to Governor-General Satyanand of New Zealand.
In London, General Assembly
President Srgjan Kerim addresses a major private sector meeting on the
Millennium Development Goals convened by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
before traveling on to Turkey and Egypt for official visits.
From today through Friday in
Geneva, the World Health Organization holds consultations on the revision of
pandemic influenza preparedness guidance.
Wednesday, May 7
This
morning, the Security Council receives a briefing on Sierra Leone, followed by
consultations on that topic.
Following the noon briefing,
Eric Falt, Director of the Department of Public Information’s (DPI) Outreach
Division and Mia Hanak, Executive Director of the
Natural World Museum, join internationally
acclaimed artists to brief on DPI’s upcoming Unlearning Intolerance Seminar on
"Art Changing Attitudes toward the Environment".
Thursday, May 8
Today and tomorrow, the Secretary-General is in Atlanta, as part of his tour of
major U.S. cities.
This morning, the Security Council holds consultations on its 1559 report.
All
day in Conference Room 1, an Unlearning Intolerance Seminar focuses on “Art
Changing Attitudes toward the Environment”. At 9:15 a.m. in the Visitors’
Lobby, model and activist Christie Brinkley and
Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka participate in a
press encounter and photo op.
Today and tomorrow are the Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who
Lost Their Lives during the Second World War.
Friday, May 9
All day in Conference Room C,
there will be a Seminar on “Climate change, environmental degradation and
migration”.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
