HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, 11 July 2008
LEBANON: BAN KI-MOON
WELCOMES FORMATION OF NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT
The Secretary-General
welcomes the
announcement on the formation of a national unity Government in Lebanon. He
believes that this important event reflects Lebanon's continuing emergence
from the political crisis and the revitalisation of its constitutional
institutions.
The Secretary-General urges the Lebanese to continue
working for the full implementation of the Doha Accord. He will continue to
ensure the United Nations' support for the consolidation of Lebanon's
stability and sovereignty in accordance with the Taif Accord and the relevant
Security Council resolutions.
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON ATTACK ON
PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR
The Security Council
this morning received a briefing from Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Jean Marie Guéhenno on the
attack that took
place in North Darfur on Tuesday against peacekeepers of the UN-African Union
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Seven UNAMID personnel were killed in that attack, while 22 were wounded.
UNAMID immediately launched an investigation, which is
still ongoing, into the identity and motives of the attackers. As of yet, no
organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in a
Government-controlled area.
After consultations, Council members expect to hold a
formal meeting on Afghanistan, to consider a Presidential Statement.
Then, at 3:30, the Security Council has scheduled
consultations, with a view to a formal meeting, to consider a draft resolution
on Zimbabwe.
Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council
voted
unanimously to terminate the sanctions measures it had imposed earlier on
Rwanda. In addition, the Council President read out a
press
statement that condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack
earlier this week on Turkish police protecting the United States Consulate
General in Istanbul.
BAN KI-MOON INTENDS TO APPOINT FORMER
AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AS CYPRUS ADVISER
The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council
of his intention to appoint Alexander Downer, the former Foreign Minister of
Australia, as his Special Adviser on
Cyprus.
In a letter that he sent to the Security Council
yesterday evening, the Secretary-General noted that, in
resolution 1818
earlier this year, the Security Council had welcomed his intention to appoint
a Special Adviser on Cyprus at the appropriate time. The Security Council’s
response to his letter is being awaited.
Also on Cyprus, it has been confirmed that the
Secretary-General is planning to meet with His Excellency Mr. Dimitris
Christofias in Paris on Sunday, and with His Excellency Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat
in Berlin on Tuesday.
REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED BY “DISTURBING”
ZIMBABWE DISPLACEMENT PATTERNS
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says it has
noticed some “disturbing developments” in the pattern of displacement from
Zimbabwe. Previously, the great majority of Zimbabweans crossing the border
into South Africa were single men or women seeking work. But now an increasing
number of families are arriving as a result of political violence, with
several people showing signs of beatings or torture.
UNHCR also notes that, in the last 40 days alone, some
17,000 Zimbabweans have been deported from South Africa, despite earlier calls
from the agency to suspend all deportations. The refugee agency has reiterated
its appeal to South Africa to ensure that Zimbabweans seeking asylum have
access to the proper procedures.
HUMANITARIAN ACCESS TO PARTS OF NORTH
KOREA RESUMES
UNICEF
reports that, for
the first time since 2006, access for international agencies to two
northeastern provinces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has
resumed.
The UN Country Team had been negotiating to resume
humanitarian access in those provinces since early 2007.
A UNICEF team is set to leave for an 11-day mission to
these provinces on Saturday to visit hospitals, health facilities and
institutions for children. UNICEF trucks loaded with nutritional supplies and
medicines intended for children in these provinces have already set off from
the capital Pyongyang.
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES NOT ON TRACK
TO HALVING POVERTY BY 2015
The UN Conference on Trade and Development today launched
its Least Developed Countries Report 2008.
The report found that, although least developed countries
as a group registered substantial economic growth over the past 30 years, the
number of poor paradoxically continued to rise. Population growth has
outpaced economic expansion, and some 277 million people in these countries
live on less than a dollar a day.
The global food crisis has also worsened the situation.
Given current development patterns and policies, these countries are not on
track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half
by 2015, the report says.
SECRETARY-GENERAL LAUDS STAFF MEMBERS’
INNOVATION & EFFICIENCY
A ceremony to honor the winners of the UN 21 Awards was
held this morning.
The awards were established twelve years ago to provide
recognition to staff members for innovation, efficiency and excellence in the
delivery of the UN’s programmes and services.
They were designed to motivate staff members to
participate in the reform of the UN, and to help change the UN’s culture into
a results-oriented one.
In
remarks to the
award recipients today, the Secretary-General said their endeavors have given
the UN’s work more impact and made the Organization more productive.
NEW GROUP TO SEE HOW INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES CAN HELP TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has set
up a new
group to deal with the impact of information and communication
technologies, or ICTs, on climate change. The new group will look at how to
reduce ICT emissions and explore how ICTs can also be used to help cut
emissions in other industry sectors.
Since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the
number of ICT users has tripled worldwide. And it is estimated that the ICT
sector produces between two and three per cent of global greenhouse gas
emissions.
But ITU says that ICTs can be a part of the solution to
the climate change challenge.
FAMILY PLANNING COULD REDUCE MATERNAL
AND CHILD DEATHS
Today is World Population Day. This year’s theme is
“Family Planning: It’s a Right; Let’s Make it Real”.
In a message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General notes
that ensuring basic access to family planning could reduce maternal deaths by
a third, and child deaths by as much as 20 per cent. He calls on Governments
to honor their commitments to let all couples and individuals decide the
number and spacing of their children, as well as have the information,
education and means to do so.
In a separate
message, UN
Population Fund Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid calls family planning
“essential to women’s empowerment and gender equality. When a woman can plan
her family, she can plan the rest of her life,” she says, stressing that
family planning also helps fight poverty by allowing parents to devote more of
their resources to the education and health of each child.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES TO PRESS FOR
JUSTICE FOLLOWING SREBRENICA MASSACRE
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s views on the 13th anniversary of the massacres in the
Bosnian city of Srebrenica, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General
continues to express his sympathies with the families of the victims of that
massacre and to press for justice to be done.
He noted that two key suspects, Ratko Mladic and
Radovan Karadzic, remain at large. The international community should not rest
until they are apprehended and brought to trial, he said.
The Spokesperson noted the
decision by a Dutch court earlier this week regarding the immunities of the
United Nations but declined to comment further on that ruling.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON DISCUSSES AFGHANISTAN WITH ENVOY:
Asked about the meeting on Thursday between the Secretary-General and his
Special Representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, the Spokesperson said that
they discussed the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
He noted that Eide had briefed the Security Council in an open meeting on
Wednesday on that matter.
SECURITY COUNCIL REFERRED DARFUR TO INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT: Asked whether Sudanese
individuals can be brought before the International Criminal Court, given that
Sudan is not a party to the Court’s Rome Statute, the Spokesperson said that the
Statute also provides for the Security Council to refer situations to the Court.
In this case, he said, the Council, in
resolution 1593,
had referred the Darfur situation to the Court, and all Member States were
obliged to abide by that resolution.
BROAD UNDERSTANDING REACHED ON U.N. HELP FOR PAKISTANI
EFFORTS, FOLLOWING BHUTTO ASSASSINATION:
Asked whether someone would be appointed to head a Commission to identify those
responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto, the Spokesperson said that the discussions on that issue were not at the
stage of agreeing on establishing a Commission. Rather, he said, a broad
understanding had been reached on some issues concerning UN help for Pakistan’s
efforts, but further consultations are required on the modalities and structure
of a Commission.
***The guest at the noon briefing was
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who briefed on the
situation in the Horn of Africa.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
12 July 2008 – 18 July 2008
Sunday, July 13
The Secretary-General is in
Paris, France, where he is scheduled to participate in the Paris Summit for the
Mediterranean.
Monday, July 14
In Paris, the
Secretary-General is scheduled to attend the French National Day Military Parade
which will for the first time include U.N. Peacekeepers from different parts of
the world.
At 10 a.m. in Conference Room
5, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) holds a panel discussion on “Public
Accountability: The Role of Public Accountability in Good Governance”.
At 11 a.m. in Room S-226,
Ambassador Jürg Streuli of Switzerland, Permanent Representative to the
Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, launches the “Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk
and Resilience”.
The guest at the noon briefing
is Stephen Rapp, Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, who will
brief on the Charles Taylor trial.
At 3 p.m. in Conference Room
1, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People holds its 310th meeting.
The Secretary-General’s
Personal Envoy for the talks between Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, Matthew Nimetz, meets today in New York with a delegation from Athens
for technical consultations. He met with a delegation from Skopje on 10 July.
All week in Conference Room 4,
the third biennial meeting of states to consider the implementation of the
Programme of Action on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons takes
place.
From today through Friday, a
joint mission by the U.N. and the Pacific Disability Forum visits the Federated
States of Micronesia to reinforce the country’s national policy on disability.
From today through Wednesday
in Edmonton, Canada, a World Meteorological Organization workshop with expert
groups in forest fires looks at ways to improve weather systems for fire danger
rating.
Tuesday, July 15
Today and tomorrow, the
Secretary-General is in Germany, where he is scheduled to meet Chancellor Angela
Merkel in Berlin, as well as address a conference organised by the Bertelsmann
Foundation.
This afternoon, the Security
Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the UN Mission in the Central
African Republic and Chad.
From today through Thursday in
the ECOSOC Chamber, ECOSOC’s Humanitarian Affairs Segment focuses on “Building
capabilities and capacities at all levels for timely humanitarian assistance,
including disaster risk reduction”.
From 1.15 to 2.45 p.m. in
Conference Room 4, there will be a panel discussion on “Conflict of interests:
Children and guns in zones of instability”
At 6 p.m. in the Dag
Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium, there will be a special screening of the
award-winning film Johnny Mad Dog, followed by a panel discussion on the
issue of child soldiers.
The World Trade Organization
is scheduled to launch its World Trade Report 2008.
Wednesday, July 16
This morning, the Security
Council is scheduled to hold a private meeting with Troop Contributing Countries
to the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID),
followed by consultations on UNAMID.
The guest at the noon briefing
is Eric Laroche, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization,
who will brief on “UN Health Action in Crises – Treating Climate Change, Food
Crisis and Other Global Health Challenges”.
From 1.30 to 2.45 p.m. in the
Trusteeship Council Chamber, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
John Holmes launches the Mid-Year Review of the Humanitarian Appeal 2008. Mr.
Holmes then briefs the press on the Mid-Year Review at 3 p.m. in Room S-226.
Thursday, July 17
This morning, the Security
Council is scheduled to hold an open debate on children and armed conflict.
UNICEF and the World Health
Organization launch their joint monitoring report on sanitation and water.
Friday, July 18
This morning, the Security
Council is scheduled to hold a debate on the U.N. Mission in Nepal. In the
afternoon, consultations on the U.N. Office for West Africa are scheduled.
The General Assembly holds a
plenary meeting to discuss the global food and energy crisis. The
Secretary-General is expected to address the session.
From today through 24 July,
the ECOSOC holds its General Segment, which will undertake the follow-up and
review of conferences, review and evaluate the annual reports of the UN Funds
and Programmes and its subsidiary bodies, and take relevant 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
