HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON
FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, September 19, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
RINGS BELL TO MARK INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY
Commemorating the
International Day of Peace which falls on Sunday this year,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this morning, rang the Peace Bell joined by
U.N. Messengers of Peace Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall and Elie Weisel, as
well as renowned violinist Midori Goto, who is appointed as a Messenger of
Peace on this special day.
He took the occasion to
call on people around the world to observe a minute of silence at noon
on Sunday, to mark the International Day of Peace, and also call on them to
send a text message appealing for peace.
This year, the Secretary-General said, the
International Day of Peace takes on special meaning, because this year also
marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
“We know that human rights are essential to peace,” he
said. Yet too many people around the world still have their rights violated
-- especially during and after armed conflict. That is why, he added, we
must ensure that the rights in the Declaration are a living reality -- that
they are known, understood and enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.
Also today at the Headquarters, the Secretary-General
took part in a student conference. This year the
student observance will focus on the theme “Peace and Human Rights,” which
the students were to discuss with the Messengers of Peace. Youth in
peacekeeping missions in
Afghanistan,
Liberia and
Sudan were expected to join in via video conference.
Many activities will take place around the world to
mark this special day, including a peace walk in Accra, an observance in
cooperation with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, a peace bell ceremony
in Mexico City, and a traditional UN Cup Chess Festival entitled “sports for
Peace” in Yerevan.
DESPITE PROGRESS, SECURITY REMAINS
FRAGILE IN CHAD AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The Security Council this morning discussed the work of
the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, known as
MINURCAT, and heard from the head of that Mission, Victor Angelo.
He told the Council that situation in Chad remains
fragile, although there has been some progress on the political front, while
the situation in parts of the Central African Republic continue to be
volatile. He also detailed the Secretary-General’s recent report, including
the potential expansion of MINURCAT as it takes over responsibilities next
year from the European Force, or Eufor, on the ground.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO HEAR BRIEFING FROM
U.N. OFFICIAL UPON RETURN FROM ZIMBABWE
At 3 p.m. the Security Council is to hold consultations
this afternoon on Peace and Security in Africa with a briefing by Assistant
Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios.
Mr. Menkerios was in Harare this Monday to witness the
formal signing of the power-sharing agreement between the Zimbabwean
parties, under which Robert Mugabe remains the country’s President and
Morgan Tsvangirai becomes its first Prime Minister.
FIGHTING IN DARFUR “SEVERELY” LIMITS
HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for
Sudan, Ameerah Haq is deeply concerned at the continued fighting between
the Government of Sudan and the armed rebel movements in North Darfur.
During a visit to El Fasher yesterday, the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator learnt that the clashes have severely restricted
humanitarian access to multiple locations in Darfur and the delivery of
critical assistance to vulnerable beneficiaries.
Thousands are reported to be newly displaced by the
fighting but figures are so far unconfirmed.
Haq urges both parties to immediately cease hostilities
and requests humanitarian access to the affected areas in North Darfur.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator reminds all parties of
their responsibilities to protect civilians and the importance of respecting
humanitarian space. In this context, reports of incursions into the Zam Zam
camp for internally displaced persons earlier this week by Government of
Sudan police are of concern and the Humanitarian Coordinator urges restraint
by all parties.
MISSION IN KOSOVO TO RETAIN KEY
FUNCTIONS AFTER DRAWDOWN
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Kosovo, Lamberto Zannier, today shared some details concerning the
reconfiguration of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
during a meeting today in Pristina.
Zannier said that UNMIK will retain key functions given
to it by Security Council resolution 1244, including political reporting and
facilitating dialogue on practical issues between Pristina and Belgrade.
Also, UNMIK will maintain, as needed, its field presence through its office
in Mitrovica and three smaller field offices in other parts of Kosovo.
Zannier made it clear that Kosovo’s minority
communities will continue to be a strong focus of UNMIK's future work. And
he noted that substantial numbers of staff, both local and international,
will leave between now and the end of the year.
GEORGIA: HUMANITARIAN MISSION COMPLETE
TWO-DAY ASSESSMENT IN SOUTH OSSETIA
A
UN humanitarian assessment mission has left South Ossetia for North
Ossetia. It was able to visit villages and speak to South Ossetians over a
period of two days. When its findings become public, the Office of the
Spokesperson intends to share it with the public.
Meanwhile,
UNICEF reports that it has distributed some 265 school-in-a-box kits and
235 recreation kits to the municipal authorities in the Georgian town of
Gori. Those materials will benefit some 26,000 conflict-affected children in
and around Gori. UNICEF is also working with partners to get children back
to school through the collection and distribution of textbooks, the
improvement of hygiene in schools, and the provision of psychosocial support
through teacher training. Mine risk education has also started in the area,
according to UNICEF.
HAITI: HURRICANE HELP ELUSIVE AS 98
PERCENT OF FINANCIAL NEEDS ARE UNMET
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA)
says that the situation in Haiti remains very serious. The agency says that
it urgently needs support for its Flash Appeal for Haiti as only 2 per cent
of the required for $108 million have been donated so far. Some $54 million
of this Flash Appeal will go to providing emergency food aid.
Another critical OCHA concern remains access to reach
those who have not yet received assistance, including affected people in the
Artibonne and Nippes regions. OCHA is concerned that continued rains might
complicate relief efforts. For its part, WFP says that is has provided food
aid to some 298,000 people since the start of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Haiti, Hedi Annabi,
was in the town of Hinche, in central Haiti, to visit people affected by
recent hurricanes in the region. Annabi sought to evaluate the needs of the
affected and assure them of the commitment of the UN and the international
community to assist them.
And, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Mia Farrow is in the country today through September 23 to take stock of
the devastation. Both Farrow and Nigel Fisher, the head of UNICEF Canada,
will be meeting with children and women affected by the disasters. The team
will also visit Gonaïves, the town worst hit by the hurricanes and flooding,
where some 70,000 people are in temporary shelters. A visit is also planned
to the Cite-Soleil neighborhood of Port-au-Prince.
LAO SEEKS EMERGENCY CASH FOR DISEASE AND
LOSS OF FOOD AFTER FLOODS
The United Nations and the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic has appealed for some $10 million in urgent humanitarian aid to
help relieve disease, malnutrition and loss of livelihoods facing hundreds
of communities hit by recent floods there.
Over 200,000 people in eleven provinces lost farmland,
infrastructure and homes when the river Mekong and many of its tributaries
burst their banks following torrential rains in mid-August.
SOMALIA:
MEASLES VACCINATION CAMPAIGN SUCCEEDS DESPITE WIDESPREAD INSECURITY
Despite the overall climate of insecurity and violence
in Somalia, UNICEF was able to reach some 142,000 children between the ages
of 9 months and 15 years and vaccinated them against measles. This latest
immunization campaign focused on Mogadishu and the camps for internally
displaced persons in Afgoye.
Measles is a serious public health problem in Somalia,
with routine measles vaccination covering only about 19 per cent of the
country. Existing data show that measles is a leading cause of death for
children. And Somalia has one of the highest child mortality rates in the
world, with 86 out of 1,000 children unlikely to survive and as many as 135
newborns dying within hours or days of their births.
SCHOOL FEEDING
PROGRAMME IS LAUNCHED IN LIBERIA
The World Food Programme this week
launched, with the Government of Liberia, an urban school feeding
programme in the capital, Monrovia, for 150,000 children who have been short
of food because of high food prices.
In addition, another 400,000 rural school children in
Liberia will continue to benefit from school feeding programmes offered by
WFP and the Liberian Government over the course of the present school year.
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DEBATES RACISM AND
RELIGIOUS BIAS
In Geneva, the Human Rights Council
devoted the entire day today to the issue of racism, racial
discrimination and, specifically, the defamation of religions.
The new Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Githu
Muigai of Kenya, made his first address to the Human Rights Council. He
presented a report prepared by his predecessor on the defamation of
religions, and in particular on the serious implications of Islamophobia.
W.H.O. IS NOT VOUCHING FOR SAFETY OF
ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE
Contrary to what some marketers are implying, the World
Health Organization (WHO)
does not consider the electronic cigarette to be a legitimate therapy
for smokers trying to quit.
WHO says it has no scientific evidence to confirm the
product's safety and effectiveness and wants marketers to stop saying that
WHO has endorsed it.
The agency adds that it does not discount the
possibility that the electronic cigarette could be useful as a smoking
cessation aid but insists that the only way to know for sure is to conduct
tests.|
The WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation is
scheduled to address the electronic cigarette, among other topics, in
mid-November in Durban, South Africa.
** The guest at the noon
briefing today, John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, briefed on the food crisis in
the horn of Africa.**
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, September 20
This is Clean Up the World Weekend, an
initiative supported by the U.N. Environment Programme.
Sunday, September 21
Today is the International Day of Peace.
Monday, September 22
At 9 a.m., the High-level Meeting of the
General Assembly on the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development gets underway in the General Assembly Hall. The Secretary-General is
scheduled to address the meeting.
At 9 a.m. in Room S-226, Mary Robinson, Chair of Realising Rights: Ethical
Global Initiative; Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour
Organization; Ela Bhatt from the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India and
a member of The Elders; Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO of Ericsson; and José Antonio
Ocampo from Columbia University brief on “Working out of Poverty: A Decent Work
Approach to Development and the Millennium Development Goals”.
At 9.45 a.m., Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, briefs the press at the
Security Council stakeout.
At 10 a.m., the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (for assistance to the Palestinian
people) meets in Conference Room 3. The Secretary-General is scheduled to
address the meeting.
At 10.15 a.m. in Room S-226, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference, briefs the press.
At 11.15 a.m. in Room S-226, Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania and
Chairperson of the African Union, and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African
Development Bank, brief on the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on
Africa's Development Needs.
At 1 p.m. in Room S-226, Jonas Gahr Støre, Foreign Minister of Norway and
Co-chair of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, briefs the press (additional
participants TBC).
At 3.30 p.m. (location TBC), the Secretary-General is scheduled to host a
meeting with Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Nigeria
to congratulate them on last month’s successful and peaceful transfer of
authority over the Bakassi Peninsula
The International Monetary Fund issues its annual report.
Tuesday, September 23
The General Assembly’s annual General Debate gets underway this morning.
This afternoon, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a high-level meeting
on mediation and settlement of disputes.
At 10 a.m. in Room S-226, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, holds a press
conference.
At 11 a.m., Pascal Couchepin, President of Switzerland, briefs the press at the
Security Council Stakeout.
At 4 p.m. at the Secretary-General’s Residence, Madame Ban (Yoo) Soon-taek hosts
an official tea reception for spouses of heads of state and ministers.
At 4.30 p.m. in Room S-226, Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, and Alexander
Stubb, Foreign Minister of Finland, brief the press.
At 5.30 p.m. in Conference Room 4, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran,
briefs the press.
At 7.30 p.m. in Room S-226, Evo Morales Ayma, President of Bolivia, briefs the
press.
From today through 1 October, the tenth annual Treaty Event takes place at U.N.
Headquarters.
Wednesday, September 24
This afternoon, the Security Council is scheduled to receive a briefing on the
European Union force in Chad and adopt a resolution on the U.N. Mission in the
Central African Republic and Chad.
At 9 a.m. in Room S-226, Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour
Organization; Achim Steiner, Executive Director, U.N. Environment Programme; Guy
Ryder, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation; and Ronnie
Goldberg, Vice President, International Organisation of Employers, launch a
study entitled Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon
World.
At 9.30 a.m. in Conference Room 2, the Fourth Ministerial Meeting to promote the
early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty takes place.
At 10 a.m. in Conference Room 4, Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia;
Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania; Yoweri
Museveni, President of Uganda; Sandra Torres de Colom, First Lady of Guatemala;
Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; Howard G.
Buffett, Chairman of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation; and Bill Gates, Chairman
of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hold a press conference to launch a
joint initiative to empower small farmers.
At 11.05 a.m. in Conference Room. 4, the Secretary-General holds a joint press
conference with the Troika leaders of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N.
Framework Convention on Climate Change: Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland;
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark; and Hassan Wirajuda, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia.
At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, Ursula Plassnik, Foreign Minister of Austria; Stephen
Smith, Foreign Minister of Australia; Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Foreign Minister of
Costa Rica; U.N. Messenger of Peace and actor Michael Douglas; Former U.S.
Defense Secretary William Perry; and Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Secretariat brief on the Ministerial
Meeting in Support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
At 12.40 p.m. in Room S-226, the Secretary-General holds a joint press
conference with Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Achim Steiner,
Executive Director, U.N. Environment Programme; Kemal Dervis, Administrator of
the U.N. Development Programme; and Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food
and Agriculture Organization, to launch a new initiative to reduce emissions
resulting from deforestation and forest degradation.
From 1.15 to 3.30 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, there will be a
high-level side event on “Water and Sanitation For All”, which the
Secretary-General is scheduled to attend.
At 6 p.m. in Room S-226, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, President of Colombia, briefs the
press.
From 6 to 7.30 p.m. at the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel, the World Business and
Development Awards will be handed out.
In Geneva, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development publishes its World
Investment Report.
Thursday, September 25
All day today, beginning at 8:45 a.m. in the General Assembly Hall, the
Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly convene a High-level
Event on the Millennium Development Goals, which will conclude with a High-level
Evening Event on the food and climate change crises, hosted by the
Secretary-General.
At 8 a.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, the Secretary-General,
musician Bono, and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the U.N. Millennium Project,
attend the Irish Hunger Task Force’s presentation of its report to the Prime
Minister of Ireland.
At 10.15 a.m., the Secretary-General is scheduled to hold a press stakeout
(location TBC).
At 12.45 p.m. in Room S-226, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of
Spain, holds a press conference.
At 2 p.m. in Room S-226, Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health
Organization, briefs the press.
At 6 p.m. in Conference Room 4, the Secretary-General holds a joint press
conference with Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania; Gordon Brown, Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom; and Bill Gates, Chairman of the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation on the Millennium Development Goals High-level Event.
[Participants TBC]
Friday, September 26
This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to receive a briefing by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Chairman-in-Office.
From 8 to 10 a.m. at the Millennium Hotel, Madame Ban (Yoo) Soon-taek attends at
an "Autism Speaks" breakfast, where she is scheduled to deliver remarks.
At 9.30 a.m. in Room S-226, Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab
States, holds a press conference.
At 11.15 a.m. in Room S-226, Dimitris Christofias, President of Cyprus, briefs
the press.
At 11.45 a.m., Alexandra Stubb, Foreign Minister of Finland, briefs the press at
the Security Council stakeout.
At 5 p.m. in Conference Room 4, the Secretary-General holds a joint press
conference with the following representatives of the Middle East Quartet:
Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State; Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of
the Russian Federation; Bernard Kouchner, Foreign Minister of France; Javier
Solana, High Representative for European Common Foreign and Security Policy;
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations; and Tony
Blair, Quartet Representative. At 6:45 p.m. in the Delegates Dining Room, there
will be a Quartet Iftar dinner with Arab partners.
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