HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, May 22, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
BEGINS TRIP TO MYANMAR
STRESSING NEED FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL AID TO GET IN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Yangon, Myanmar
today and was flown by military helicopter over the heavily devastated
Irrawaddy Delta.
The tour that lasted four hours included two stops – one
at a makeshift relief camp, where he met survivors of the village of
Kyondah. There, he told one of the families, “The whole world is trying
to help Myanmar.” The other stop was at a distribution center stocked with
dozens of bags of rice and cartons of sealed bottles of drinking water.
In a meeting earlier with Prime Minister Thein Sein, the
Secretary-General stressed that foreign aid experts needed to be rushed in
because the crisis had exceeded Myanmar's national capacity. He felt that at
least six months of assistance to feed people in need and give them medical
care was needed and should be led in parallel with the recovery effort.
He appealed to the Prime Minister to open the doors to
international humanitarian experts to coordinate the relief effort that has
left many local staff exhausted and overstretched.
He started the day in Yangon by signing a book of
condolences to the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
He later visited the 2,000-year-old Shwedagon pagoda, the
holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. Walking barefeet in a show of respect for
Buddhist tradition, he offered flowers to the statue of Buddha. He also
offered some money to the trustees of the pagoda for the victims of the
cyclone.
"The United Nations and the whole international community
stand ready to help you overcome this tragedy," he said. "That is why I am
here. The main purpose of my coming to Myanmar is to demonstrate my solidarity
and bring a message of hope.”
On Friday, the Secretary-General is scheduled to head to
the new capital of Naypyitaw, about 350 kilometres north of Yangon, for talks
with Senior General Than Shwe.
He is also planning to meet with humanitarian workers.
He plans to return to Bangkok Friday night.
The Secretary-General plans to return to Yangon on Sunday
to preside over a UN-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) pledging
conference for Myanmar.
Asked if the Secretary-General had pressed the Myanmar
leadership to allow more assistance into the country, the Spokeswoman said
that the Secretary-General, met with the Prime Minister and other officials
and stressed the need to get more assistance to the victims as quickly as
possible and to focus as well on the medium- to long-term recovery needs of
the victims and affected regions.
In response to a question if he counts on ASEAN to be the
main diplomatic vehicle to convince the Myanmar authorities to open more
access for assistance, Okabe said the Secretary-General is working closely
with the ASEAN member states. She added that the UN and ASEAN will be
co-chairing Sunday's pledging conference in Yangon. "The Secretary-General
believes that this is the appropriate mechanism, at a practical level, to get
to the victims as quickly as feasible," she said.
In response to a question, Okabe said that John Holmes,
the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs, was part of the Secretary-General's delegation in Myanmar. She said
she could not confirm at this point the exact composition of the
Secretary-General's delegation at the meeting tomorrow with Senior General
Than Shwe.
Okabe, in response to questions, stressed that Ban
Ki-moon's current mission to Myanmar is strictly of a humanitarian nature.
"The mission is to save as many lives as possible in the aftermath of Cyclone
Nargis," she said.
INT'L MEDICAL TEAMS ASSIST IN MYANMAR
RELIEF EFFORT
The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says five international medical
teams, from Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh, and Laos, are now providing
medical care to those in need and support to national healthcare staff in the
affected areas of Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions.
The sixth team, from Singapore, is expected to arrive
today.
Since the cyclone hit, the
World Food Programme has
dispatched 2,110.9 metric tones of food to affected areas, of which 1,393
metric tones have been distributed among approximately 348,000 beneficiaries.
The logistics operation is now operating a 4,000
square-metre warehouse in Yangon, managed by DHL, along with a fleet of 30
trucks, four barges with four barge pushers, and two boats. In five local
hubs, six Mobile Storage Units have been or are being constructed.
Meanwhile, preparations for the pledging conference are
well underway with tomorrow being the deadline for registration by interested
participants.
So far, 31 countries along with nine U.N. agencies and
the ASEAN Secretariat have registered to attend. We expect the programme to be
finalized tomorrow.
EMERGENCY FUND ALLOCATION FOR CHINA IS
INCREASED TO $8 MILLION
On Friday, we announced that the Secretary-General was
granting up to $7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
for humanitarian efforts following the earthquake in China. Just to update
you, the CERF allocation has increased – to $8 million dollars – based on the
higher value of projects ultimately approved.
Meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO)
is rushing enough additional medical supplies to treat 130,000 people. It is
also sending an expert team to work with the government on rebuilding
hospitals and other health-care services. WHO is also providing disinfection
tablets, drinking-water treatment units and mobile toilets.
And the
International Telecommunication Union has deployed 100 mobile satellite
terminals to help restore vital communication links and enable better
coordination of relief operations.
SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON SITUATION
IN NEPAL
The Security Council held consultations this morning on
Nepal. The Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Nepal, Ian Martin, briefed Council members.
Also in consultations this morning, the Council took up
the issue of Somalia sanctions and other matters.
Then, at three this afternoon, the Security Council was
scheduled to hold short consultations in connection to the situation in the
Middle East (Lebanon), preceding a formal meeting on Burundi.
That will be followed by consultations on Burundi --
during which the Secretary-General’s
Executive Representative for Burundi, Youssef Mahmoud, will brief -- and
other matters.
HUMANITARIAN SPACE AND ACCESS BEING
CHALLENGED IN DARFUR
The UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
reports that a Nigerian Battalion was ambushed yesterday afternoon along El
Geneina new airport road in Darfur by approximately 50-60 men on horses,
dressed in military camouflage. They were armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket
propelled Grenades and machine guns. They abducted some rifles, ammunition,
phones and cash.
And UNAMID has sent a fact-finding mission to an area of
North Darfur where fighting had been reported over water resources that led to
the reported killing of nine civilians.
Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reports that
humanitarian space and access are being challenged by increased attacks on aid
agencies and staff and theft of supplies and equipment. These attacks serve
only to worsen the condition of Darfurians, they say.
For example, according to the latest humanitarian
bulletin issued by that mission, the hijacking of the North Darfur State Water
Corporation’s drilling rig by an armed group in March means that 180,000
people may not have access to clean water this year.
UNAMID has also issued a press release
saying that the leadership and staff of the mission are deeply saddened by the
reported death of 46 former peacekeepers of the Nigerian contingent in a road
accident yesterday. The soldiers had returned to Nigeria from Sudan, where
they had just completed their tour of duty, as part of UNAMID’s Battalion
based in Darfur.
REPORT FINDS RISING POVERTY, DECLINING
EMPLOYMENT
IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES
The International Labour Office (ILO) has
released its annual report on the situation of workers in the occupied
Arab territories, including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights.
According to the report, only one in three people of
working age in the territories is employed full-time or part-time.
Unemployment hovers above 20 per cent.
Working poverty is rising, genuine employment is
declining, and frustration is growing, the report says.
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY GIVES RELIEF
SUPPLIES TO
VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday
distributed 2,000
blankets and 2,000 mats among victims of a wave of xenophobia in South
Africa's Gauteng province.
On the advice of South African authorities, many of the
displaced have sought protection at police stations across the northeast, but
are sleeping in the open. In the town of Germiston, for example, some 2,800
people, including more than 100 children, found shelter in the local community
hall. Some of the UNHCR blankets and mats were handed out there.
The distribution of blankets and mats continues at police
stations in the north-east in coordination with South African authorities, who
have opened Joint Operation Centers to coordinate aid delivery by humanitarian
agencies and individuals sympathetic to the victims.
UNHCR, meanwhile, notes that most of the displaced are
migrants from neighboring countries, but there are also refugees and asylum
seekers among them.
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS SPECIAL
MEETING ON WORLD FOOD CRISIS
Today in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is holding a
special session on the food crisis.
Addressing the gathering this morning, High Commissioner
for Human Rights Louise Arbour
stressed that, while the immediate needs involved humanitarian aid, States
should also focus on the longer-term human rights dimension of the food
crisis.
Failure to act in a comprehensive manner, Arbour said,
could trigger a domino effect by putting at risk other fundamental rights,
including the right to health or education, as people are forced to forego
other necessities in order to feed themselves and their families.
Arbour also recommended that the hardest-hit groups be
fully involved in crafting responses to the crisis. Such an approach would
help clarify the imbalances in society that have triggered and exacerbated the
food crisis.
DESPITE RECENT DECLINES, FOOD PRICES
LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH
In its latest Food Outlook, the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
reports that, despite increased production and possibly record harvests
this year, food prices remain high.
This is especially affecting vulnerable populations in
countries that spend a large part of their income on food. Such countries are
likely to spend 40 per cent more on food imports this year than they did last
year, and could end up spending four times as much as they did in 2000, the
report says.
While international prices for most agricultural
commodities have started to fall, they are unlikely to return to previous
levels, FAO says. Average food prices in the first four months of 2008 are
still more than 50 percent higher than a year ago.
FAO is forecasting record cereal production this year,
with the greatest gains coming in the wheat sector. But FAO notes that it
will take more than one good season to replenish stocks and reduce price
volatility.
DR CONGO: U.N. OFFICIALS DENOUNCE DEATH
SENTENCES
IN MURDER OF U.N. RADIO JOURNALIST
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour,
and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Alan Doss, have
denounced
the sentencing to death of three civilians by a Congolese military tribunal.
The three are among a group of people facing charges of
complicity in the June 2007 murder of Serge Maheshe of Radio Okapi, a UN and
Swiss-funded broadcaster for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC).
Both Arbour and Doss also denounced other irregularities
in the controversial trial, including the prosecution of civilians by military
courts, the threats against defense lawyers and the military prosecutor’s
refusal to consider other theories for the crime.
Welcoming the acquittal of two other accused civilians in
the case, Arbour and Doss said many questions remain unanswered and appealed
to Congolese authorities to pursue the case in accordance with their
obligations under international law.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF BIODIVERSITY
FOCUSES ON NEED TO SECURE FOOD FOR A GROWING POPULATION
As the world's growing population faces rising food
prices and pressures from climate change affect the fields and orchards that
feed the world, celebrations of the International Day of Biological Diversity
today will stress the need to properly protect and manage the world's
biodiversity in order to ensure a secure supply of food for a growing world
population.
The Secretary-General, in his
message for the
International day, says “Of the 7,000 species of plants that have been
domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for
the vast majority of the food we eat every day. Relying on so few species for
sustenance is a losing strategy.”
U.N. POPULATION FUND TO PRESENT ANNUAL
POPULATION
The U.N. Population Fund is giving out its annual
Population Award this afternoon.
This year’s recipients are Dame Billie Antoinette Miller,
a former minister from Barbados; and Family Care International, a U.S.
Non-Governmental Organization committed to making pregnancy and childbirth
safer around the world.
In remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General,
Under-Secretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka is expected to thank both recipients
for the significant contributions they have made to providing life-saving
information and services to individuals. The ceremony itself is taking place
at 5 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARMS MONITORING COMMITTEE IN NEPAL
DISCUSSES KILLING OF PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN: The UN Mission in Nepal’s Chief
Arms Monitor, General Jan Erik Wilhelmsen, today in Katmandu,
chaired the 73rd Meeting of the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee
Participants, including representatives of the Nepal Army and the Maoist army,
discussed the reports connected to the killing of Ram Hari Shrestha, a
businessman and Maoist supporter. The Committee chairman shared the results of
the preliminary inquiry conducted by UNMIN arms monitors. All agreed this was a
serious violation of the Agreement of Monitoring the Management of Arms and
Armies reached between the communist Party of Nepal and the then Government, and
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
LETTER FROM PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED:
In response to a question, Okabe said that the Secretary-General had not yet
received a letter purportedly from the Pakistani Prime Minister seeking UN
assistance in investigating and prosecuting the murder of former Pakistani Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto.
**The guest at noon was Ian Martin, Special Representative
of Secretary-General and Head of the UN Political Mission in Nepal, who briefed
on the situation in that country.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
