HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON
FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
U.N. HUMAN
RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR SRI LANKA INVESTIGATION
In Geneva
today, the Human Rights Council started a
special session on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
In a video
message to the gathering, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
said there are strong reasons to believe that both sides have grossly
disregarded the fundamental principle of the inviolability of civilians.
She added that an independent and credible international investigation into
recent events should be dispatched to ascertain the occurrence, nature and
scale of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council’s special session
is expected to continue tomorrow. Members plan to adopt a text.
[Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
visited Sri Lanka last weekend whose main purpose was to help the Sri
Lankan Government begin a process of national recovery, renewal and
reconciliation for all Sri Lankans.
He was accompanied by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator
John Holmes and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe.
On Saturday, the Secretary-General left on a helicopter
to Manik Farm in Vavuniya district where there are over 200,000 IDPs. At the
camp, he met with local authorities, humanitarian workers and the IDPs.
After visiting a hospital within the camp and talking with some of the
patients, he told reports that the UN stands ready to provide all necessary
humanitarian assistance to the IDPs as well as help the Sri Lankan
Government resettle and reintegrate the IDPs back into society. He urged the
Government to provide immediate and unimpeded access to all humanitarian
workers.
He then flew over a former conflict zone in
Anuradhapura before leaving for Kandy to meet with President Mahinda
Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka. With the President, he discussed ways to address Sri
Lanka’s immediate humanitarian needs as well as means to promote national
reconciliation. He welcomed the Government’s recently announced plan to
return 80 percent of the IDPs back to their homes by the end of this year.
Following his meeting with the President, he held a
press conference in Kandy. He told reporters that although the
Government is doing its utmost to help the IDPs, much more still needs to be
done. He strongly urged the government to expedite the screening and
registration of IDPs, as well as make it easier for families to reunite and
allow people more freedom of movement in and out of the camps. ]
UNITED NATIONS
DEPLORES D.P.R.K.’S NUCLEAR UNDERGROUND TEST
The Secretary-General today has welcomed the decisive
measures being taken by the Security Council, regarding the conduct of an
underground nuclear test by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea on
Monday. He strongly
deplores this test and joins world leaders in condemning it as a clear
and grave violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned that this act
will negatively affect regional peace and stability, as well as the global
nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The Secretary-General has reiterated his conviction
that differences should be resolved in a peaceful manner through dialogue.
He has urged the DPRK to refrain from taking any further actions that would
increase tensions in the region. The Secretary-General has also insisted
that the DPRK should comply with its obligations in full and restart
dialogue with the parties concerned without delay, including the early
resumption of the Six-Party Talks.
Sunday afternoon, following
Security Council consultations on the nuclear test by the Democratic
Peoples Republic of Korea, (DPRK), members are now in the process of working
on a Security Council resolution on this matter.
The President of the Council for this month, Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin of Russia, read a press statement on behalf of the Council,
with members voicing their strong opposition to and condemnation of the
nuclear test. According to the Council, the test constituted a clear
violation of resolution 1718.
The members of the Security Council have demanded that
the DPRK comply fully with the Council’s obligations under resolutions 1695
and 1718 and other related Security Council resolutions and statements. The
Council called on all member states to uphold their obligations under these
resolutions and statements.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON BUSINESS
LEADERS TO THINK GREEN
On Sunday, following his visit to Sri Lanka, the
Secretary-General arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. There he
addressed the opening of the World Business Summit on Climate Change.
The Secretary-General told the gathered business
leaders that excessive reliance on a fossil fuel-based economy is destroying
our planet’s resources. It is also choking global economic potential.
He added that doing the right thing for our climate is
also smart for global competitiveness and long-term prosperity. Any
multinational business that doesn't have a strategy in place to deal with
climate change will end up on the losing side of history, the
Secretary-General noted.
While in Copenhagen, the Secretary-General held a
bilateral with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The two held further
discussions on climate change.
The following day, Monday, the Secretary-General took a
boat to a wind farm close to Copenhagen. Seeing firsthand how the wind
turbines harnessed energy from nature, he called the facility an example for
the world.
The Secretary-General is now in Helsinki, Finland, for
an official visit. This morning he met with Finland’s President and Prime
Minister. We expect him back in New York tomorrow afternoon.
DISPLACEMENT CONTINUES IN NORTHWESTERN
PAKISTAN
The UN Refugee Agency, (UNHCR),
says thousands of Pakistanis continue to flee areas of conflict in the
North West Frontier Province, where government forces have been fighting
militants.
The total number of displaced persons registered since
early this month, has now reached over 2.38 million. UNHCR says that on
average, an estimated 126,000 people-a-day are being registered in the four
districts of Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and Nowshera alone. Many more people
are still reported to be stranded in the conflict zones.
UNHCR has commended the many acts of generosity from
ordinary Pakistanis towards their fellow citizens. Some benefactors
continue to contribute food packages of wheat flour, sugar, spices, tea, as
well as cash and clothes.
To assist the displaced persons quickly, UNHCR is
continuing to buy more supplies locally, from within Pakistan. The agency
is also shipping relief items from stockpiles in warehouses around the
world.
And UNICEF
says that, with more than half of the displaced being children, the
agency will need an additional $41.4 million to provide urgent assistance to
the displaced. UNICEF Pakistan has now almost exhausted its contingency
stocks of supplies. Funding and humanitarian efforts have been strained by
the very rapid increase in the number of people fleeing the fighting.
UNICEF warns that more displacement of populations is
expected in the days ahead as military operations expand to new areas.
UNICEF is also highlighting the fact that difficulties
of access combined with shortages of essential humanitarian supplies and
funding are hindering efforts to provide children and women who are
internally displaced with life-saving support.
Asked about a press report
about an appeal for a lull in fighting in order to provide UN assistance to
vulnerable populations, the Spokeswoman noted that the problem of access all
humanitarian agencies have at this time is caused by the general insecurity.
UN agencies have had difficulties accessing some parts of Pakistan since
long before the recent events. In the course of this kind of situation and
humanitarian need, it is vital that all options are explored to ensure
humanitarian access to those in need.
Okabe further explained that
the UN official mentioned in the press report was referring to one of those
options to get information on the situation. The United Nations will
continue to work on the ground to expand humanitarian programming to all
those in need, including people in the affected areas. In the current
circumstances, Okabe said, the UN and partners are focusing on providing
assistance to those who have left the affected areas.
SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES A.U. MISSION
TO SOMALIA TO MAINTAIN MANDATE UNTIL 2010
The Security Council adopted a
resolution this morning on Somalia. By that text, the Council authorized
the African Union to maintain its mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, until
31 January 2010.
The Council also condemned the recent resurgence in
fighting in Somalia and called on all Somali parties to support the Djibouti
Agreement.
The Council then met to hear briefings by the Chairmen
of its subsidiary bodies, including: the
Counter-Terrorism Committee; the so-called
1267 Committee, which deals with Al-Qaida and the Taliban; and the
1540 Committee, which focuses on weapons of mass destruction.
SOMALIA: MORE THAN 67,000 DISPLACED
AFTER FIGHTING IN CAPITAL
The UN Refugee Agency, (UNHCR),
says that the latest escalation in fighting in the Somali capital,
Mogadishu, has now displaced more than 67,000 persons.
Pro-government forces recently launched an offensive in
the capital to drive out Islamist militants opposed to the Transitional
Federal Government.
Many of the displaced persons have traveled to
overcrowded makeshift camps, located at Afgooye, about 30 kilometres
south-west of the capital. Those unable to make the journey have sought
refuge closer to the city, in areas not affected by the fighting. And the
number of those Somalis fleeing into neighbouring countries also continues
to rise.
The worsening security situation has also reduced the
delivery of relief supplies to the affected population. Local agencies that
have been assisting the internally displaced persons continue to face
growing security problems.
SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES GRAVE CONCERN
OVER FIGHTING IN NORTH DARFUR
We issued a
statement yesterday, in which the Secretary-General said he was gravely
concerned by the recent fighting between Government forces and the rebel
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), in the area of Umm Baru in North
Darfur.
Noting that the clash was reportedly initiated by the
JEM, the Secretary-General condemned such military action.
He also reminded both the parties of the commitment
they made in Doha this January, to settle the conflict between them through
peaceful negotiation. He called on the parties to suspend military action
and apply themselves fully to achieving a negotiated, inclusive and lasting
resolution to the conflict.
And the Joint UN/AU Special Representative for Darfur
Rodolphe Adada has also
urged all parties to the Darfur conflict to seek a peaceful resolution
to their differences. Adada voiced particular concern at the humanitarian
impact of the fighting on civilians.
Meanwhile, the Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) says that it gave temporary
shelter to some 350 civilians and 100 unarmed Sudanese soldiers and others
who fled the violence and took refuge near its local military base.
DR CONGO: U.N. MISSION RESPONDS TO
REPORTS OF VIOLENCE, PROVIDES JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alan Doss was among the keynote speakers
yesterday at a major Congolese civil society gathering in Kinshasa. In his
address, Doss called for the swift implementation of national reforms to
fight poverty and corruption among other challenges facing the country. Doss
offered UN support to the gathering, urging participants to come up with a
workable strategy for growth and poverty reduction.
Elsewhere in the DRC, UN peacekeepers were responding
this past weekend to various reports of violence by illegal armed groups. On
Saturday, the peacekeepers deployed to a village near the northeastern town
of Dungu where an attack by the Lord’s Resistance Army left 1 person dead.
20 others were injured while the rebels burnt down some 20 huts before
fleeing.
And on Friday in the Bukavu area, a peacekeeping patrol
exchanged fire with a group of Rwandan rebels after the rebels attacked a
bus at a roadblock. The Mission in the DRC (MONUC)
says that 10 bus passengers were killed by the rebels while 15 others were
injured.
The Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC)
says it is also providing logistical assistance to Congolese judicial
authorities in the trial of Mai Mai militiamen facing charges of mass rapes
and torture. Their trial opened two days ago in a regional court in Province
Orientale. The Mission says it provided helicopters to help get judicial
personnel to the remote area, some 290 miles from the provincial hub of
Kisangani. UN human rights experts will also be monitoring the proceedings.
Thirty-four Mai Mai fighters are on trial for a spree of sexual violence,
including the alleged rape of more than 135 women and children in July 2007.
NEPAL: U.N. WELCOMES STEPS TO
INVESTIGATE IN CHURCH BOMBING
The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal has
welcomed steps taken by authorities to investigate Saturday’s bombing of
a church in the Kathmandu Valley. Two people were killed and eight others
seriously injured in the attack.
The Resident Coordinator’s Office has strongly
condemned the bombing, noting that the church was known to be filled with
people attending Mass at that time.
The Office also welcomed public statements from various
quarters, including the Government, civil society and the media, denouncing
the attack and urging full respect for the right of all persons to freedom
of worship.
IRAQ: U.N. EXPANDS FOOD ASSISTANCE TO
REACH MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS
In Iraq, the World Food Programme (WFP) is
expanding its food assistance programme to reach the most vulnerable
people in the country. It will also start to provide free school lunches to
children.
WFP is already supplying some 750,000 internally
displaced people (IDPs) with emergency food rations – as well as 362,000
displaced Iraqis in Syria. It will now provide food assistance to a further
577,000 people in Iraq, including pregnant and nursing women, malnourished
children, orphans, disabled people, female-headed households and small-scale
farmers.
WFP’s expanded operation in Iraq will also include the
provision of free school meals to some 170,000 primary schoolchildren in
eight extremely food-insecure districts.
CYCLONE AILA:
U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF SADDENED BY LOSS OF LIFE IN INDIA AND BANGLADESH
John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a statement on
cyclone Aila.
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John
Holmes was saddened to learn of the loss of life and damage to property in
Bangladesh and India caused by Cyclone Aila. He extends his deepest
condolences to the affected, especially to the families of those who have
been killed or who are missing.
The United Nations stands ready to assist as required.
U.N.D.P. ADMINISTRATOR SAYS AGENCY CAN
PROVIDE VOICE TO THE WORLD’S MOST VULNERABLE
Earlier this morning, UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark
delivered her first speech to UNDP’s executive board since assuming her
leadership role in the organization.
She told members of the Board that she came from a
background of working on economic and social justice – issues that have been
important to her throughout her time in public life.
Globally, the resources, the technology, and the
knowledge exist now to improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable,
she said. Our challenge, Miss Clark added, is to muster up the political
will and the resources, and to support the strategies and actions required,
to make the much needed improvements a reality.
The Administrator underscored that the current
recession, the spike in food and energy prices added to the huge climate
change challenge are all global problems that require global solutions. She
also stressed that the voice of the world’s most vulnerable and poorest
should also be heard when making decisions to tackle the issues.
Miss Clark told the member of the Board in her
statement, the United Nations family should be the vehicle which drives that
action and provides that voice. UNDP can be a leading contributor to making
that happen.
Finally, she thanked donors for their commitment to
UNDP and added that, in these difficult times UNDP must spare no effort to
make the best use of the resources available to it. She promised that
accountability and transparency must be our guiding principles.
CONTROLLER GIVES UPDATES ON PAYMENTS TO
UN BUDGET
Following the press conference by
Under-Secretary-General for Management Angela Kane and Controller Jun
Yamazaki on Thursday, 21 May, the Controller
provided the Fifth Committee with an update, on 22 May, concerning the
payments received subsequent to the cut-off date of 7 May.
These include regular budget payments of $12 million
from Brazil and $136 million from the United States, and peacekeeping
payments of $192 million from Japan. In addition, payments have been
initiated by Sweden for the capital master plan and South Africa for
peacekeeping operations.
Taking into account these payments as well as other
payments received after the cut-off date, the updated lists of Member States
fully paid would include: Guatemala, Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria, and
Thailand for the regular budget; Australia and South Africa for peacekeeping
operations; Indonesia, Norway, and Sweden for the capital master plan;
Belarus, Guatemala, Montenegro, Portugal, Nigeria, and the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic for the international tribunals. Australia, South Africa
and Sweden paid in full their assessed contributions after the cut-off date
of 7 May 2009.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON IS DEEPLY SADDENED BY DEATH OF FORMER SOUTH
KOREAN PRESIDENT: Over the weekend, the Secretary-General issued a
statement on the death of the former President of the Republic of Korea, Roh
Moo-hyun. The Deputy Secretary-General this morning signed a condolence book at
the mission of the Republic of Korea.
POOR PEOPLE COULD BE EVICTED AS LAND ACQUISITIONS
INCREASE: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
say that the increase of foreign land acquisitions – in Africa
particularly-- is raising the risk that poor people will be evicted or lose
access to land. The two agencies are calling for securing land rights for rural
communities and involving local people in foreign land acquisition.
YELLOW FEVER VACCINE STOCKPILE IS UNDER THREAT: The
World Health Organization’s (WHO) coordinator for the Epidemic Readiness and
Intervention said that the yellow fever initiative is feeling the effects of the
global financial crisis. The global emergency
stockpile of yellow fever vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable
populations in Africa is under threat. WHO is warning that the current stockpile
will run out in 2010 and there is no funding to cover vaccination campaigns once
the stockpile is depleted.
ON AFRICA DAY, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF
THE CONTINENT’S POOREST: In a
message for Africa Day -- which was observed yesterday—the Secretary-General
said that in the context of the global economic crisis, it was essential to
protect the continent’s poorest and most vulnerable people. He added that the
international community must not step back from its commitments. Noting a
“troubling re-emergence of unconstitutional changes of government” in Africa,
the Secretary-General stressed the need to support democratization and
strengthen the continent’s capacity to maintain peace and security. In that
regard, he said that in the past year had seen a welcome expansion and
consolidation of the strategic partnership between the United Nations and the
African Union.
PROGRAMME LAUNCHED TO FIGHT CANCER IN DEVELOPING WORLD:
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) are
launching a Joint Programme on Cancer Control, aimed at strengthening and
accelerating efforts to fight cancer in the developing world.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said that in low and
middle income countries, cancer overwhelmingly affects the poor—adding that this
had huge implications for human suffering, health systems, health budgets and
the drive to reduce poverty. The Joint Programme will provide the framework for
WHO and IAEA to dovetail their work, building on their areas of expertise to
create a more coordinated and robust approach to combating cancer in low- and
middle-income countries.
*** The guests at the noon briefing today were John
Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (via teleconference),
and Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. They briefed on
the Secretary-General's recent trip to Sri Lanka.
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