.HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON
BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, March 30, 2009
BAN KI-MOON:
GAZA SITUATION IS “INTOLERABLE”,
DARFUR HUMANITARIAN CRISIS “EXTREMELY” WORRYING
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Summit of
the League of Arab States in Doha today,
telling the gathered
leaders that, from the widening fallout of the global economic crisis to the
suffering of victims of armed conflict, the Arab world faces insecurity
today and the potential for more tomorrow.
He said that the people of
Gaza are suffering, and the situation at the crossings is intolerable.
The way forward is a durable ceasefire, open crossings, and Palestinian
reconciliation, he asserted.
The Secretary-General said that he remains extremely
concerned by the
Sudanese Government’s decision to expel key international
non-governmental organizations, and suspend the work of three national NGOs
that provide life-sustaining services for more than one million people. He
urged the Sudanese authorities once again to reverse this decision.
The Secretary-General added that he looks forward to
free and transparent elections in Lebanon on June 7. And he added that the
present situation in Somalia offers a rare window of opportunity.
Prior to the Summit, on Monday morning, the
Secretary-General met bilaterally with the Secretary-General of the League
of Arab States, Amre Moussa. Also on Monday, he held bilateral meetings with
the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the
Foreign Minister of Norway and the President of the United Arab Emirates.
On Sunday, he held separate meetings with the Emir of
Qatar and the Presidents of Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Somalia and
Syria.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General met with any senior Sudanese officials while in Qatar, the
Spokeswoman said that he neither met with President Omar al-Bashir nor with
any other Sudanese official.
Asked whether the Security
Council would invoke Article 16 of the Rome Statute to defer the
International Criminal Court’s action against President Bashir, Montas
said that would be for the Security Council to decide.
She noted that the
Secretary-General has been dealing with a political process and peacekeeping
duties in Sudan, in addition to seeking a solution to the expulsion of the
humanitarian groups. He will continue to act on a broad range of issues
concerning Sudan, using the full range of his abilities, she said.
BAN KI-MOON TO OPEN INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN IN THE HAGUE
The Secretary-General is traveling to The Hague, where
tomorrow he will address the International Conference on Afghanistan and
call for international support as the people of Afghanistan face a critical
year.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),
in a press briefing in Kabul today, said that tomorrow’s conference will be
an opportunity to review progress and consolidate support behind the
priorities for the country that were agreed last year in Paris. It said that
we hope for a renewed and tighter collective focus on security, jobs and
better governance.
UNAMA today is holding a consultation with media groups
on freedom of expression in Afghanistan. Today’s meeting aims to provide a
constructive dialogue on ways to promote and protect freedom of expression.
DARFUR: MORE EGYPTIAN PEACEKEEPERS
ARRIVE TO JOIN AFRICAN UNION-UNITED NATIONS MISSION
The Tripartite Committee meeting bringing together the
Government of Sudan, the African Union and the United Nations on ways to
facilitate and expedite deployment of the AU-UN peacekeeping operation in
Darfur is scheduled to take place tomorrow in El Fasher, Darfur.
The Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana
Malcorra, is traveling from UN headquarters to attend that meeting, which is
also intended to facilitate the work of UNAMID in Darfur.
UNAMID reports that it will be the first time the Tripartite Committee
is meeting in Darfur. A communiqué is expected to be issued following the
meeting.
Meanwhile, on the ground, UNAMID reports that during
the past 72 hours, the security situation in Darfur has remained relatively
calm. However, banditry activities and car-jacking incidents were reported
in both North and West Darfur.
The mission also reports that a fire broke out last
night at Al Riyad camp for internally displaced Persons (IDP), near El
Geneina in West Darfur, causing heavy damage to about 35 shelters, the loss
of many animals, and left a large number of people homeless. A UNAMID
investigation team was dispatched to the camp to probe the cause of the
fire.
And the advance party of the second Egyptian Infantry
Battalion, consisting of 100 personnel, arrived in Darfur today to join
UNAMID. Another 100 personnel are expected to arrive tomorrow. The advance
party consists mainly of engineering personnel with light capability to
prepare the location for the arrival of the main body of the Battalion.
The main body is scheduled to arrive within four
months, bringing the battalion’s expected total to 850 peacekeepers. Egypt’s
contribution to the Mission already includes one infantry battalion, one
engineering unit, one signal company and one heavy transport company. This
brings the total number of Egyptians serving with UNAMID, including the new
arrivals, to 1,771.
CHARLIZE THERON
TRAVELS TO DR CONGO TO FOCUS ON ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUC)
says it will support the nationwide electoral review process for local
elections. The operation will kick off in the Kinshasa and Bas-Congo
provinces in June and will expand in August to the rest of the vast country.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Alan
Doss, has welcomed the move and he has assured the Congolese Independent
Electoral Commission of UN support along the lines of the Mission’s mandate.
He said the review process for local elections will complete a national
endeavor began in 2005 with the identification and enrollment of all
eligible voters.
Charlize Theron will be travelling to the Democratic
Republic of Congo this week in her official capacity as Messenger of Peace
with a focus on ending violence against women. Ms. Theron views this as a
fact-finding mission. She will travel first to Bukavu, to visit Panzi
Hospital and meet with Dr. Denis Mukwege, as well as with community outreach
workers, medical staff, and survivors of sexual violence. From there she
will go to Kanyola, where she will meet with survivors who have been
reintegrated into communities.
UNITED NATIONS BEEFS UP LOGISTICAL
SUPPORT FOR HAITI VOTE
UN assistance to Haiti’s planned elections –scheduled
for 19 April - is taking shape with the arrival last week in Port-au-Prince
of a first batch of materials and the UN Mission, (MINUSTAH)’s
disclosure of some details of its electoral assistance plan.
With voter registration, printing of ballots and
training of electoral workers completed and some 9500 polling stations in
place, the Mission is now in possession of some 100 tons of equipment. These
include 12,000 electoral kits just flown in to Port-au-Prince that are being
dispatched to voting centers across the island.
Also, 4,000 electoral security workers will be on hand
to keep the peace on Election Day. That’s in addition to some 6,500 UN
peacekeepers and more than 1,800 civilian staff, 11 aircraft, 950 vehicles
and some 300 horses and mules that will be deployed to ensure the success of
the operation.
SUBSTANTIVE SESSION IN U.N-BACKED KHMER
ROUGE TRIALS BEGIN IN PHNOM PENH
The first substantive session in the trials of former
Khmer Rouge leaders before the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Cambodian Courts (ECCC)
opened today in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Prosecutors will attempt
to convict former teacher Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch – for his
alleged role in massive crimes committed by the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge
communist movement, which killed up to two million people.
Asked about an investigation
by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
into corruption in the Cambodian courts, the Spokeswoman refrained from
detailed comment while an investigation is ongoing. She noted that the work
of OIOS is confidential. The result of the probe will be submitted to the
Cambodian party for further action.
Montas added that the United
Nations signed a Joint Statement with the Cambodian government on 23
February 2009. Among other things, it creates a new structure within the
tribunal that would allow for all staff of the ECCC to confidentially
complain to an Ethics Monitor in a way that will provide genuine protection.
This protection is a bottom line for the United Nations.
UNITED
NATIONS SEEKS URGENT FUNDS FOR NAMIBIA FLOOD VICTIMS
In Namibia, UN agencies and their
humanitarian partners today
launched a Flash Appeal for more than $2.7 million to support and
complement the Government’s efforts to respond to the immediate and
medium-term needs of up to 350,000 people affected by floods.
Since the beginning of 2009, the
north-central and north-eastern regions of Namibia have experienced
torrential rains, increasing the water levels of some rivers to levels not
recorded since 1963.
Over 16% of the population of the
country is affected by the flooding and 92 people are estimated to have lost
their lives.
TALKS
BEGIN IN BONN ON POST-KYOTO CLIMATE CHANGE DEAL
The first in a series of major UN
negotiating sessions this year, designed to culminate in an ambitious and
effective international climate change deal in Copenhagen in December, got
underway yesterday in Bonn, Germany.
The issues of finance and technology
required by developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to
adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change are at the heart to the
talks in Bonn, along with discussions on reductions to be achieved by
industrialized countries after 2012.
The
Bonn session should provide the basis for a negotiating text of the
Copenhagen agreed outcome, which will be tabled in June.
Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), warned that the
clock was "ticking down" and urged countries to make progress during the
negotiating sessions before the December gathering in Denmark.
About 2,500 government delegates and
participants from 175 countries are in Bonn for these talks which will
conclude on 8 April.
BAN
KI-MOON: MEN, BOYS MUST HELP ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY
The Secretary-General has addressed
the Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality – held in
Rio de Janeiro -- via video
message.
He noted that in too many countries,
women are still not seen as equals in the eye of the law or the minds of men
and boys.
No country and no culture has fully
escaped this prejudice, he said, adding that violence against women was the
most obvious and hateful expression but that inequality also exists in the
home, in schools, in the workplace and in the halls of power.
The Secretary-General stressed that
men and boys must play their part in the effort to achieve gender equality.
MANDATE FOR
SPECIAL ENVOY ON RESOLUTION 1559 SEEKS TO REAFFIRM LEBANON INDEPENDENCE
The Spokeswoman clarified a point that was made at our
briefing on 20 March, regarding the mandate of the Special Envoy of the
Secretary-General on the implementation of Security Council
resolution 1559 (2004).
The mandate of the Special Envoy derives from
resolution 1559 (2004), which aims at reaffirming the strict respect of the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of
Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon
throughout Lebanon. The Special Envoy also reports on the implementation of
Security Council resolution 1680 (2006).
Security Council resolution 1701
(2006) pertains inter alia to Lebanon as well, and it reemphasises the
importance of implementing resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006) in full.
However, it also contains several elements which are distinct from both
these resolutions, and the Secretary-General reports separately on its
implementation.
Asked about the
responsibilities for dealing with the implementation of resolution 1701, the
Spokeswoman noted that the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael
Williams, deals with that issue.
Asked further about the
budgetary framework for Terje Roed-Larsen’s post, Montas said that this was
being dealt with by the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly. She added
that it is up to the Security Council, not the Fifth Committee, to determine
mandates.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
GAZA INQUIRY BOARD REPORT EXPECTED NEXT WEEK:
Asked about the UN Board of Inquiry’s report on Gaza, the Spokeswoman said that
it was expected to go to the Secretary-General when he returns from his travels
on 7 April, after which he will review the report before deciding on further
action. The Board, she said, had finished obtaining information and had needed
some more time to write its conclusions.
MADAGASCAR SPECIAL ENVOY HEADED FOR ANTANANARIVO:
Asked about UN efforts to deal with the situation in Madagascar, the Spokeswoman
said that Tiébilé Dramé, the UN Senior Political Adviser on Madagascar, was in
New York last week for consultations and will be returning to Madagascar
shortly.
“EARTH HOUR” RAISED CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS:
Asked about the amount of money saved when
UN Headquarters closed its lights for an hour last Saturday to mark Earth Hour,
the Spokeswoman said that the money saved was not the point; UN participation in
Earth Hour, she said, was designed to foster awareness concerning climate
change. She said that the events that took place during Earth Hour, including
the shutdown of the lights on the Empire State Building, achieved that goal.
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