HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
SENDS LETTER TO CYCLONE-HIT MYANMAR
In follow-up to yesterday’s
statement on the
UN’s response to cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon has sent a letter directly to Senior General Than Shwe, expressing his
condolences.
He is in the process of mobilizing the UN system to
provide humanitarian assistance to affected populations. A UN Disaster
Assessment and Coordination team is now standing by in the region and is ready
to travel to Myanmar to coordinate relief efforts together with the Myanmar
authorities.
The World Food Programme (WFP) today began
distributing
food in cyclone-damaged areas of Yangon, in heightened response to the looming
humanitarian needs in the southern coastal regions of Myanmar that were
hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis.
WFP has taken initial steps to meet the enormous
logistics challenge of bringing in disaster relief supplies, equipment and
prepared foods urgently needed by people in badly-hit areas.
WFP now has more than 800 metric tonnes of food stocks
available in WFP warehouses in Yangon, and will deliver these food resources
to all areas in need, including the Ayeryawaddy Division, the largest and
hardest hit of the five major Divisions affected by the cyclone.
Additional food supplies will be airlifted into Myanmar
as soon as possible.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes in Geneva said today that the U.N. is
prepared to provide an initial grant from the Central Emergency Response Fund
(CERF) to
facilitate aid for survivors of the cyclone, adding that it is also ready to
allocate a significant amount as the most urgent needs become clear.
A five-member Disaster Assessment and Coordination team,
composed of disaster management professionals from the region, is now being
dispatched to Myanmar, while
UNICEF staff
members are awaiting their visas.
Meantime, the 81 staff members of the
World Health
Organization and the 70 staffers of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) all based in
Myanmar have quickly mobilized to help the population.
The Spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the letter
from the Secretary-General mentioned visas for humanitarian staff, noting that
it had not been confirmed yet that the Government had received the letter.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has a view on whether
the referendum in Myanmar should take place under the current circumstances,
the Spokeswoman said, “We are confident the Myanmar Government will make an
informed and responsible decision based on an overall assessment of the
situation.”
She said she could not comment on allegations that
soldiers killed 36 political prisoners following the cyclone, saying that the
United Nations had no firsthand information on that.
In response to further questions, Okabe said that some UN
staff were already at work on the ground in Myanmar, with a further team lined
up to go once a green light is received for their entry.
DARFUR: ACCESS NEEDED TO VICTIMS
OF REPORTED ATTACKS
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Ameerah Haq
says she is deeply concerned about the reported attacks on civilian
installations in North Darfur.
In Oslo for the Sudan Consortium, which is evaluating
progress in implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North
and South Sudan, she joined her voice to delegate after delegate who called
for an immediate end to these attacks in North Darfur.
Ms. Haq called for immediate access to the concerned
areas so that seriously injured civilians can be medically evacuated.
UNICEF say it is also deeply
concerned at
reports that a number of children have been killed during attacks on two
villages of North Darfur, in the west of Sudan, and calls on the Government
forces and the other parties to the ongoing conflict to take every necessary
action to prevent future deaths or injuries amongst children.
UNICEF reminds all parties to the conflict in Darfur that
under international conventions, children are to be afforded special
protection during military operations and urges that every effort must be made
to ensure that schools, health centers and other such humanitarian facilities
are considered as zones of peace.
The conflict in Darfur has taken a high toll upon
children. UNICEF estimates that half of the conflict-affected population in
Darfur are children – including at least one million who have been displaced
by fighting.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary-General also addressed
the Sudan Consortium in Oslo.
She noted that peace remains a distant dream for the
people of Darfur, many of whom depend on the UN for assistance through the
world’s largest humanitarian operation.
At the same time, she said that it is of critical
importance that the focus on Darfur should not eclipse work for peace
throughout the rest of Sudan.
Asked whether advisers from the Republic of Korea
received briefings in Darfur from the United Nations, the Spokeswoman said
that delegations from potential troop contributing and police contributing
countries regularly send assessment missions in advance to places where they
might deploy, so such briefings would not be surprising.
Asked whether the Secretary-General was interested in
having the Republic of Korea contribute to the UN-AU mission (UNAMID),
the Spokeswoman said that he was keen on having contributions from any
qualified countries to UNAMID.
SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS DEBATE ON
COUNTER-TERRORISM AND NON-PROLIFERATION COMMITTEES
The Security Council
today is holding an open debate to discuss the work of its main committees
dealing with counter-terrorism and non-proliferation.
The meeting began with briefings from the Ambassadors of
Croatia, Belgium and Costa Rica – who chair, respectively, the
Counter-Terrorism Committee; the 1267 Committee that deals with al-Qaeda and
the Taliban; and the 1540 Committee that deals with non-proliferation.
DISPLACED PERSONS IN KENYA TO DETERMINE
WHETHER TO RETURN HOME
Turning to Kenya, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) has organized
a visit for representatives of internally displaced persons to their villages
in the Rift Valley. The convoy left this morning from the provincial capital
of Nakuru.
The representatives are assessing the security situation,
infrastructure and livelihood possibilities. When they return, they’re
expected to share their impressions with other displaced people so that they
can make an informed decision about whether to return home.
HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOMALIA REMAIN A TOP
CONCERN
Asked about an Amnesty International report on human
rights violations attributed to the Transitional Federal Government, the
Spokeswoman said that Special Representative Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah and his
office have repeatedly issued statements condemning the violence in Somalia.
In addition, Okabe said, the human rights situation in
Somalia remains a major concern for
High Commissioner for
Human Rights Louise Arbour, and discussions have continued since last year
about a possible mission there by UN human rights staff.
However, such a mission depends on the willingness -- and
ability -- of the host country to accept it, and also on security conditions,
she said.
She said the High Commissioner’s office is establishing a
monitoring and technical cooperation unit within UN Political Office for
Somalia over the next few weeks. As for the Amnesty International report, the
High Commissioner's office has received similar reports, shares their
concerns, but notes that it is exceptionally difficult to monitor events
inside Somalia.
U.N. WORKPLACE PROGRAMME A “MILESTONE”
IN RESPONSE TO HIV
The Secretary-General today
spoke at the
launch of “UN Cares” -- a workplace program on HIV that will serve UN
personnel and their families across the entire system.
With this initiative, the UN is committing to making
available the staff, time and resources needed to meet a specific set of 10
minimum standards by the end of 2011 -- from training, counseling and testing
to insurance coverage and access to condoms.
This launch marks a milestone in the UN response to HIV,
the Secretary-General said. He added that, because our workplace is global and
spans so many activities, cultures and conditions, the challenge is
particularly great.
EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS WORK OF U.N.
PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AGENCY
The Secretary-General
spoke
yesterday evening at an exhibition marking the work done by the UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
He said that, were it not for UNRWA, the lives of
millions of Palestinians would be much worse, and the threat to peace and
security in the Middle East would undoubtedly be far greater.
He defended the agency from any accusations of bias,
asserting that the UN is strictly impartial in its approach to the conflict.
“If we harbor a bias, it is towards the peace and welfare of all people,
Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he said. The exhibition is on display near
the first-floor staff entrance.
Asked about reports that a recently killed UNRWA teacher
had worked for Islamic Jihad, the Spokeswoman confirmed the recent killing of
an UNRWA employee, who was Deputy Headmaster of a Boy's Preparatory School in
Rafah. She could not confirm whether or not the individual was the deputy
commander of Islamic Jihad.
UNRWA has a policy of zero tolerance on politics in the
workplace, Okabe asserted. In the past 18 months the Agency has summarily
dismissed three teachers in Gaza for breaching Agency rules on political
involvement, all of whom worked for Hamas.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON BUS
IN NEPAL: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United
Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
condemn the attack on an IOM bus Monday evening by some masked men near the
Khudunabari refugee camp in eastern Nepal. UNHCR is calling for the apprehension
of those responsible so that they are brought to justice. The driver and two
refugees were injured in the attack while 15 refugees were being transported
back to the camp.There are more than 108,000 refugees from Bhutan living in
seven camps in eastern Nepal.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TAKE PART IN AWARDING OF DISABILITY
AWARD: At 5 p.m. this afternoon in the Economic and Social Council Chamber,
the Secretary-General is taking part in a ceremony to award the Franklin D.
Roosevelt International Disability Award to New Zealand Governor-General Anand
Satyanand. The Award is presented by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
Institute to a UN Member State that makes noteworthy progress towards the full
participation of citizens with disabilities as called for in the UN
Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities.
NEW HEAD OF FIELD SUPPORT SWORN IN: The
Secretary-General today conducted the swearing-in ceremony of the new
Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra of Argentina. Ms.
Malcorra, who was Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director of the
World Food Programme before taking her new post, will now direct all support for
UN peace missions worldwide.
U.N. AGENCIES TO
FIGHT GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS FROM POSTAL SECTOR: The U.N. Environment
Programme and the Universal Postal Union are teaming up to
slash carbon dioxide emissions from the postal sector. Under the Plan, the
agencies will work together to collect data on such things as vehicle mileage
and fuel consumption, and then offer a range of solutions to cut emissions. By
the most conservative estimates, the world postal sector uses more than
850-thousand vehicles and hundreds of aircraft, as well as tons of paper, the
agencies say.
**The guest at noon was Rashid Khalikov, Director of the
New York office of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who
briefed on the UN’s response in wake of the destruction caused by Cyclone Nargis
in Myanmar.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
