Friday,
August 29, 2008

 

[U.N.
Headquarters in New York is closed on Monday for an official holiday (Labour
Day).
The noon briefing will resume on Tuesday, September 2]

 

BAN KI-MOON
WELCOMES ZIMBABWE’S LIFTING OF SUSPENSION ON AID OPERATIONS;
EMPHASIZES NEED FOR FULL/UNHINDERED ACCESS TO VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

• [According to a statement issued after the noon
  briefing, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
  
  welcomes the announcement of the Government of Zimbabwe to lift the
  suspension of field operations of Non-Governmental and Private Voluntary
  Organizations (NGOs and PVOs). 
   

• This positive development will help ensure that
  neutral and impartial humanitarian assistance is provided to the people
  of Zimbabwe. 
   

• The Secretary-General also welcomes the
  Government’s invitation to all NGOs and PVOs as well as United Nations
  agencies to discuss the operational modalities following the lifting of
  the suspension. 
   

• He would like to emphasize the importance of
  ensuring that people in need have full access to humanitarian assistance
  essential to their health and well-being and that humanitarian
  organizations have full and unhindered access to vulnerable populations
  in order to carry out vital relief operations. 
   

• The United Nations stands ready to work together
  with the Government and NGO/PVO partners to continue provision of
  humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe.]

 BAN KI-MOON SENDS CONDOLENCES TO
THOSE AFFECTED BY FLOODS IN INDIA 

• The Secretary-General was
  
  saddened to learn of the loss of life and damage to property in
  Bihar, India due to flooding. He extends his deepest condolences to
  those affected, especially to the families of those who have been killed
  or who are missing.
   

• The United Nations stands ready to assist as
  required.
   

• The World Health Organization (WHO)
  has offered technical assistance to the health ministries of both India
  and Nepal, which has also been affected by the severe flooding.  WHO has
  enough emergency health kits pre-positioned to provide emergency
  assistance to 120,000 people for one month. The
  
  World Food Programme is providing an initial 15-day food basket to
  50,000 flood victims in Nepal, with more on the way.  UNICEF is
  
  providing water purifying products and hygiene kits, as well as hand
  pumps, latrines and garbage facilities throughout camps for displaced
  persons. 

 U.N. AGENCIES HELPING HAITIAN
GOVERNMENT RESPOND IN WAKE OF HURRICANE GUSTAV 

• Hurricane Gustav had forced around 6,300 people
  from their homes. UNICEF
  
  says that they were mainly city dwellers, but the agency was very
  concerned because the population of Haiti was already suffering from
  extreme poverty, and soaring food prices were aggravating the
  situation. 
   

• UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners
  were working with the Government to ascertain the extent of the damage.
  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
  said the destruction in Port-au-Prince was less significant than had
  been expected, owing to very good preparations, but deforestation of
  Haiti also meant that there had been significant damage elsewhere.
   

• Hurricane Gustav had also hit the Dominican
  Republic, where prevention had played an important role in limiting the
  damages, with 5,900 people evacuated in time, according to OCHA.

SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN GEORGIA

• There are no meetings scheduled in the Security
  Council today.  Yesterday afternoon, the Council held an
  
  open meeting on the situation in Georgia. 
   

• Briefing for the Department of Political Affairs,
  Elizabeth Spehar said that there are 18 Russian checkpoints north of the
  town Gori.  There are also media reports of additional checkpoints in
  Georgia, including around the port town of Poti. 
   

• Ms. Spehar also provided an update on humanitarian
  efforts on the ground, noting that the situation remains complex and
  unpredictable, with continuing movements of people.  According to the
  latest figures from the U.N. Refugee Agency, some 2,300 people have
  registered in Gori as internally displaced persons; 800 of them are
  staying in a tented camp set up by UN agencies on the outskirts of town.
  
   

• Briefing for the Department of Peacekeeping
  Operations, Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber said that the situation in and
  around the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone remains tense.  The UN Observer
  Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
  has observed large-scale movements of Russian troops from the Georgian
  to the Abkhaz-controlled side of the ceasefire line.  But UNOMIG has
  also observed that CIS-peacekeeping force checkpoints have moved forward
  from the ceasefire line towards the boundary with Georgia proper. 
   

• He also said there are reports of mines having been
  laid in the Gali district.  UNOMIG cannot, at this point, verify any of
  these claims, as it has not been able to obtain appropriate security
  guarantees to resume normal patrolling in that area.  UNOMIG has also
  been unable to conduct patrols in the Kodori Valley, but has resumed
  normal patrolling in the Zugdidi sector.
   

• Asked if the Secretariat, in response to requests
  made at yesterday's Security Council meeting, will be sending an
  assessment team to Georgia to look into allegations of ethnic cleansing
  and conduct a comprehensive humanitarian survey, Okabe said she had no
  information on the proposed missions but added that UN humanitarian
  agencies usually deploy in crisis regions to carry out a needs
  assessment as soon as possible.
   

• She noted also that High Commissioner for Refugees,
  Antonio Guterres, was recently in the region and
  
  met with some of the civilians displaced by the conflict. There is
  nothing the humanitarian agencies would like to do more than go into the
  area themselves" to assess the needs of the people on the ground, she
  said.

DR CONGO
ENVOY CONDEMNS LATEST ROUND OF FIGHTING 

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
  the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alan Doss, has
  
  condemned the recent fighting between the Congolese army and rebels
  from the National Congress for People’s Defense. The Special
  Representative called on the parties to exercise restraint, return to
  their initial positions and avoid any actions that might escalate the
  situation.
   

• Meanwhile, UN, European Union and Rwandan officials
  met Wednesday in Kigali in preparation for Monday’s Joint Monitoring
  Group meeting in Kinshasa. Among other issues, they discussed
  disarmament and repatriation of the DRC-based armed group FDLR (Forces
  Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda).

 U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES RECENT SIGNING
OF AGREEMENT BY SOMALI LEADERS 

• The UN Special Representative for
  
  Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has welcomed the agreement signed by
  Somalia’s leaders in Addis Ababa on August 25th.
   

• Under this agreement, facilitated by the Government
  of Ethiopia under the auspices of the East African-bloc
  Intergovernmental Authority on Development, President Yusuf; the Speaker
  of Parliament, Sheikh Aden Madobe; and Prime Minister Hussein have
  resolved to promote reconciliation, the rule of law and good governance
  in Somalia. They also fully committed to implement the Djibouti
  Agreement.

NO
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL RELEASED AT IAEA LABORATORY 

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
  
  says that independent analysis has confirmed that there was no
  release of radioactive material to the environment following an incident
  at the IAEA´s Seibersdorf Laboratory on 3 August.
   

• The test focused on analysis of soil, plant and
  water samples collected outside the IAEA´s laboratory. And since the
  incident, constant air monitoring near the laboratory has also provided
  no evidence of any radioactive contamination.
   

• An investigation into the circumstances and causes
  of the incident is still underway. In the meantime the first stage of
  the clean-up of the storage room was successfully completed on August
  22nd.

 U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF TO TRAVEL TO
ETHIOPIA 

• Under-Secretary-General and
  
  Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes is set to begin a three-day
  visit to Ethiopia on Monday.  While there, he will travel to various
  locations and meet with communities affected by drought and the food
  security crisis.
   

• Specifically, he will observe the changes in the
  humanitarian situation since last November. While in Ethiopia, Holmes is
  also scheduled to meet with government and regional officials, community
  representatives, and other UN partners. 

SECRETARY-GENERAL OPENS TWO-DAY
RETREAT WITH SENIOR U.N. OFFICIALS 

• The Secretary-General opened in Turin, Italy, a
  two-day retreat with about 60 UN senior officials, Under
  Secretary-Generals and Assistant Secretary-Generals coming from New York
  headquarters as well as other duty stations.
   

• The retreat, organized by the
  
  UN staff college based in Turin, by the
  
  United Nations Institute for Training and Research and the UN
  Department of Management is focusing on assessing the last 20 months and
  on how best the United Nations can tackle major global challenges from
  climate change, to the food crisis, from human rights to peace and
  security issues, including staff safety.
   

• The working sessions will also address
  organizational matters of accountability, teamwork and building a
  modern, mobile and efficient workforce within the UN system.
   

• The UN managers' retreat, the second held in Turin,
  was opened this morning after the swearing-in ceremony of two new senior
  staff members: the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem
  Pillay, and Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the new Assistant Secretary-General for
  Legal Affairs.
   

• The retreat is hosted by the regional and local
  governments of the Piedmont region and the City of Torino in a World
  Heritage site, the newly-restored Royal Palace of the House of Savoy.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO GENEVA, ZARAGOZA AND MADRID NEXT WEEK 

• On Sunday, 31 August, the Secretary-General is
  expected be in Geneva, where he plans to address a commemoration of the
  20th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  and speak to reporters afterwards.
   

• On Monday, also in Geneva, the Secretary-General
  would attend a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding
  between United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Iraqi
  Government. Then the Secretary-General would participate in a fifth
  anniversary commemoration for the victims of the attack against United
  Nations headquarters in Baghdad. 
   

• Following the ceremony, the Secretary-General would
  leave Geneva and travel to Spain. He will
  attend on Monday Exposition Zaragoza 2008, whose theme is “Water and
  Sustainable Development”, and he will speak on the importance of water
  for social, economic and political security.

OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

SPECIAL ADVISER TO BRIEF PRESS ON VISIT TO MYANMAR:
Okabe, in response to a question, said that the Secretary-General's
Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, was expected to brief the press as soon as
he briefs the Security Council about his recent visit to Myanmar.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL HAS RECEIVED AND DISTRIBUTED
LETTER FROM UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: In response to a question about
whether the Secretary-General had received a letter from the United Arab
Emirates regarding a territorial dispute with Iran, the Spokeswoman later
said that the letter  had been received and had been published as a Security
Council

document as had been requested by the sender.

 

 

THE WEEK
AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
 

Saturday,
August 30

In Turin, Italy, the
Secretary-General hosts a retreat of senior managers of the U.N. system.

Today is the 25^th
anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared.

Sunday, August 31

In Geneva, the
Secretary-General is scheduled to address the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, at its 20^th anniversary celebration and the
opening of its 29th plenary session, which runs through Thursday.

Today is the last day of
Belgium’s Security Council presidency.

Monday, September 1

In Geneva, the
Secretary-General takes part in a wreath-laying and commemorative ceremony
marking the fifth anniversary of the Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad.  Later
in the day, he will be in Zaragoza, Spain, to visit the Exposition Zaragoza
2008.

Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes begins
a three-day visit to Ethiopia.

Today is the first day of
Burkina Faso’s Security Council presidency.

U.N. Headquarters in New
York is closed for an official holiday (Labour Day).

Tuesday, September 2

In Madrid, the
Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with Spanish President Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero and hold a press conference.

At 10 a.m in the
Trusteeship Council Chamber, the Open-ended Working Group on Security
Council reform meets to discuss the report on its work.  The meeting is
closed to the press.

The guest at the noon
briefing is U.N. Police Adviser Andrew Hughes, who will brief on the outcome
of last week’s 4^th International Policing Advisory Council
meeting. 

From today through Friday,
the International Telecommunications Union’s TELECOM ASIA 2008 takes place
in Bangkok.

Wednesday, September 3

At 12.30 p.m. in Room
S-226, Ambassador Michel Kafando, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso
and President of the Security Council for September, briefs on the Council’s
programme of work for the month.

From 3 to 4 p.m. in
Conference Room 3, the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the
Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples holds its 12th meeting, to consider an
increase in its membership.

From today through Friday
at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, the 61st Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference meets
on the theme of "Reaffirming Human Rights: The Universal Declaration at 60”.

Thursday, September 4

At 10 a.m., the General Assembly holds a plenary
meeting to review the U.N. Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted two
years ago.

 

At 10 a.m. in Conference
Room 1, the 27^th Meeting of States Parties to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights takes place.

From 10.30 a.m. to 12.15
p.m. in Conference Room 5, there will be a U.N. University panel discussion
on “Political Parties in Conflict-Prone Societies”.

At 11 a.m. in Room S-226,
the Secretary-General, U.N. Development Programme Associate Administrator Ad
Melkert, and Rob Vos of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs launch
the first report of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Gap Task Force,
entitled Delivering on the Global Partnership for Achieving the MDGs.

From 1.15 to 2.30 p.m. in
Conference Room 4, there will be a side event on “Public-Private Partnership
in Countering Terrorism”.

In Geneva, the U.N.
Conference on Trade and Development launches its Trade and Development
Report 2008.

Friday, September 5

[No major events are
scheduled at this time.]