HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON
FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, June 1, 2009
BAN KI-MOON
BRIEFS ON SRI LANKA VISIT, OTHER RECENT MISSIONS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this morning briefed an
informal meeting of the
General Assembly on latest developments, including a first-hand account
of some of his recent missions as well a look ahead to events in the coming
weeks.
The Secretary-General noted that he had traveled to
Geneva where he
addressed the Conference on Disarmament. There, he had stressed the need
to break the stalemate that has persisted for more than a decade. In his
speech today and in a
statement issued Friday, the Secretary-General welcomed that members of
the Conference have done just that by adopting a programme of work after 12
years at an impasse. This augurs well for developments in the field of
disarmament and non-proliferation, he said.
But he said he deeply regrets that the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea is choosing to go in a negative direction. He
repeated his call for the country to refrain from taking any further
provocative actions and to return to the process of dialogue.
The Secretary-General also briefed on his recent visit
to Sri Lanka.
He noted that he had consistently and repeatedly raised
the strongest concern over civilian casualties. In regard to some reports in
the media, he said the final total is not yet known. Most of these figures
do not emanate from the UN and most are not consistent with the information
at our disposal. He went on to categorically reject any suggestion that the
United Nations has deliberately under-estimated any figures. And he again
said whatever the total, the casualties in the conflict were unacceptably
high.
He said he had strongly urged the Government to
recognize international calls for an inquiry, and repeatedly stressed the
need for full accountability and transparency. The Secretary-General hopes
the Government will follow up on the joint statement, issued at the
conclusion of his visit.
Any inquiry conducted by the international community
would require, he said, first, the full cooperation of the host government,
or, second, the support of the UN Member States, expressed through the Human
Rights Council, the General Assembly or the Security Council.
The Secretary-General said, “I stand ready to do
whatever we can in the interests of justice, human rights and Sri Lanka's
political future. “
On Pakistan, which is witnessing one of the largest,
fastest displacements the world has seen in the past 15 years, he reported
that some 2.4 million people in the Swat valley have fled their homes,
including nearly 2 million in the past three weeks. Noting the immense human
suffering, he said that only one fifth of a $543 million appeal had been
received. He warned that if we do not get the rest of the funds, we will
have to start cutting services.
The Secretary-General also flagged important occasions
in the weeks ahead, including the planned launch at the G-8 Summit in Italy
of the UN’s Global Vulnerability Alert, which will provide real-time
information on the social effects of the economic crisis worldwide.
In response to questions on media reports sourcing
casualty figures of the last phase of the Sri Lankan conflict to UN
officials, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General has categorically
rejected the allegations by news organizations in his informal address this
morning to the General Assembly.
She added that she herself has sought verification of
the figure of 20,000 civilian casualties with the concerned UN Staff who
were present at meetings of UN Senior Officials but found that no reports of
such a figure was made at those meetings. "The number of 20,000 is not a UN
number," she said.
Montas said that the United Nations has never
underestimated the casualty numbers nor engaged in any manner in
manipulating them nor in soft pedaling the message communicated to the Sri
Lankan Government on the necessity of avoiding civilian casualties.
Montas also said, in response to more questions on the
subject, that figures released by the United Nations in the course of the
conflict were estimates based on information received from hospital workers
and other health experts working at the facilities were victims were being
treated.
The Spokeswoman, in response to another question, said
that the United Nations has been informed that the doctors being held in
government camps are in good health. "These men are heroes who have saved
lives in some of the toughest conditions imaginable and they should be
receiving the maximum care and assistance possible," she said. "The
Secretary-General made it clear during his visit [to Sri Lanka] that
detaining them is not appropriate and he is hoping that they will be
released soon."
PAKISTAN: SPONTANEOUS CAMPS FOR DISPLACED
REMAIN A CONCERN
The UN Refugee Agency,
UNHCR, and the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees are carrying out
registration inside camps, while the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), is
registering people outside camps. Over the past week, five spontaneous camps
have been closed with people moving into established camps.
The existence of numerous spontaneous camps continues
to be matter of concern as they impede registration procedures for
internally displaced persons (IDPs). They also restrict their ability to
receive relief supplies, services and information on long-term support.
On the issue of shelter, rising temperatures are making
it more difficult for families to remain in tents. So efforts are being made
to provide adequate and culturally acceptable shelter. UNHCR is working
closely with the World Food Programme (WFP) to assess and provide necessary
facilities such as shaded areas, water points and toilets for internally
displaced persons living outside camps. Many of them have been staying in
lines in the heat for the distribution of non-food items.
The UN Population Fund, (UNFPA)
has initiated psychosocial support for women in camps of four districts
(Lower Dir, Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda) through individual counseling
and focus group discussions. General health hygiene awareness and
reproductive health sessions are also conducted in camps.
UNICEF is supporting 29 Child Friendly Spaces which are functional and
effectively engaging children in different learning, creative and
recreational activities in 13 IDP camps.
Water and sanitation conditions in IDP camps need
urgent attention to prevent spread of water-borne diseases.
Montas, in response to a question, said that curtailing
some UN humanitarian programmes would be an extreme measure agencies might
resort to if their appeal for new funds from member states is not met
satisfactorily and in a timely fashion. She also explained that such
measures would be in line with UN standard practices in such cases.
Meanwhile, she added, the agencies are doing as much as they possibly can to
assist vulnerable populations.
Montas, in response to another question, said that the
UN had only estimates of the number of civilians displaced by the fighting
in the Swat Valley.
TURKEY ASSUMES
SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY FOR JUNE
Turkey has assumed the rotating presidency of the
Security Council for this month. There are no meetings or consultations
planned for today.
Council members are expected to be discussing this
month’s programme of work at a meeting tomorrow morning, followed at 12:30
by a press briefing by the Council’s president, Turkish Ambassador Baki
Ilkin.
SOUTHERN SUDAN:
U.N. ENVOY CONCERNED OVER INCREASE IN ETHNIC CLASHES
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, has expressed major concern over the recent increase
in violent ethnic clashes in two states in Southern Sudan.
In a statement issued at the end of a two-day visit to
the area, Special Representative Qazi said that compared to Darfur, recent
casualties from the clashes in Upper Nile and Jonglei States have been
higher, for the same period.
He urged the international community, the regional and
local actors to address the situation as an utmost priority.
In recent months more than 1,000 people have been
killed in Upper Nile and Jonglei States as a result of violent ethnic
clashes. Just last month, the United Nations deployed 120 police, military,
as well as civilian personnel in Akobo and Pibor counties in an effort to
calm down tension between rival ethnic groups.
In a separate statement, Qazi has also, on behalf of
the United Nations, extended his condolences to both the bereaved family and
the people of Sudan over the death of former Sudanese president Jaafar
Nimeiri, who died over the weekend.
The Joint Special Representative of the African Union
and United Nations in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, also expressed his deep sorrow
over the death of the former Sudanese president, Mr. Jaafar Nimeiri.
Meanwhile, the new Deputy Force Commander for the UN/AU
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID),
Maj. Gen. Mbutyana Duma Dumisani of South Africa,
arrived in El Fasher over the weekend to take up his duties. He is
replacing Maj. General Emmanuel Karenzi of Rwanda. Dumisani said upon
arrival that he plans to work, among other tasks, on addressing the
Mission’s enormous logistical and deployment challenges. This is Maj. Gen.
Dumisani’s third peacekeeping assignment.
And delivering a Secretary-General message in
Dar-es-Salam at an event marking Peacekeeping Day on Friday, the UN Country
Representative Julitta Onabanjo said that 22 female soldiers are expected to
be among the 835 Tanzanian peacekeepers who will soon be joining UNAMID’s
ranks.
DR CONGO: U.N. MISSION SUPPORTING EFFORT
TO OUST REBELS FROM NORTHEAST
The Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
is supporting Congolese government forces in an ongoing effort to flush out
Rwandan rebels from the DRC’s northeastern regions.
The offensive, launched this past Thursday, involves an
aerial maneuver over Lubero Territory in the restive North Kivu province,
where fighters from the FDLR (Democratic Froces for the Liberation of
Rwanda) have routinely attacked civilians and destroyed their property. The
Mission says that a top objective of the operation is to exert pressure the
FDLR and prevent threats against the vulnerable populations.
And earlier today in The Hague, the International
Criminal Court (ICC)
began public hearings to consider challenges by defense lawyers to the
admissibly of the case against alleged Congolese militia commander Germain
Katanga. The Court says that it is the first time that it will take up a
challenge to admissibility based on the complementarity principle. The
hearing will see the participation of a government of DRC delegation headed
by the Minister of Justice.
An alleged commander of the Patriotic Resistance Force
in Ituri (FRPI) Katanga was arrested and transferred to the Court in October
2007. In March, the Court decided to join his case and that of accused
Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of the Nationalist
Integrationist Front (FNI) into one single case of war crimes and crimes
against humanity.
MORE THAN 70,000 DISPLACED SINCE START
OF WAVE OF FIGHTING IN SOMALIA
In Somalia, more than 70,000 people have been newly
displaced since fresh fighting erupted in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu, on
7 May, according to the UN Refugee Agency,
UNHCR.
Most of those displaced are in need of emergency
shelter, sanitation and clean water.
Along the Afgooye corridor, where a third of the newly
displaced people have gone, the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF)
and its partners are reaching a total of 250,000 people with clean piped and
trucked water.
In the same corridor, UNHCR, through a local
implementing partner, has started the distribution of non-food items, such
as plastic sheets, mats, blankets, jerry cans and cooking utensils, to some
50,000 people recently displaced.
The World Food Programme (WFP)
has also been using local partner organizations to distribute a total of
4,600 metric tons of assorted food commodities to around 333,900
beneficiaries in the same area.
U.N. ASKS FOR OVER $700 MILLION TO
RESPOND TO INCREASING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN ZIMBABWE
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies in
Zimbabwe have issued a
revised appeal for $718 million to assist six million people. This is an
increase of $168 million from the original appeal launched in November 2008.
The upward revision is due to a sharp decline in the
provision of basic social services, which is considered one of the root
causes of the extensive spread of the current cholera outbreak. The disease
has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people and infected nearly 100,000
people to date.
According to the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
food insecurity continues to be a major problem.
In November 2008, agencies requested some $550 million
to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, of which only $246
million has been received.
Catherine Bragg, Assistant Under-Secretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said, “We
hope that donors will continue to be generous to the people of Zimbabwe who
need help to save and rebuild their lives after years of adversity”.
NEW HEAD OF U.N. MISSION’S MARITIME TASK
FORCE TAKES OVER IN LEBANON
A ceremony marking a transfer of authority in the
Maritime Task Force of the Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
took place today aboard a Belgium ship off the coast of Lebanon. Rear
Admiral Jean-Thierry Pynoo of Belgium passed the leadership of the Task
Force to Rear Admiral Ruggiero Di Biase of Italy in the presence of UNIFIL
Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano, senior Lebanese Armed Forces
officers and foreign diplomats in post in Lebanon.
Force Commander Maj. General Graziano praised “the
constructive relationship” between the Maritime Task Force and the Lebanese
Navy, saying it is vital to the successful implementation of the UN
mandate.
DELEGATIONS DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE
NEGOTIATING TEXTS, AHEAD OF COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE
A second round of UN Climate Change Talks
kicked off today in Bonn, Germany. It’s the first time that delegates
from 182 countries will discuss key negotiating texts -- which can serve as
the basis for an international climate change deal, in Copenhagen in
December.
The Copenhagen agreed outcome is to follow on the first
phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.
The Executive Secretary of the United Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
Yvo de Boer, expressed confidence that the world was on track towards
negotiating a solid deal in Copenhagen. He said the political moment was
right to reach an agreement.
The talks opening in Bonn today will run through 12
June and are the second in a series of five major negotiating sessions this
year leading up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is
urging climate negotiators to ensure that fisheries and acquaculture are
not neglected during the ongoing discussions regarding the Kyoto Protocol’s
successor. FAO is among 16 international organizations that are warning that
the world’s fishing and coastal communities will bear the brunt of climate
change's impacts.
SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES GOVERNMENTS TO
ADDRESS TOBACCO THREAT
Yesterday was World No Tobacco Day.
In a
message to mark the occasion, the Secretary-General urged governments
everywhere to address the needless threat to public health that tobacco
consumption represents.
He stressed that some 5.4 million people die from
illnesses caused by tobacco consumption, while up to half of all smokers die
from a tobacco-related disease. Left unchecked, he said, tobacco-related
deaths will rise to more than 8 million by 2030.
That we continue to allow such diseases to be caused by
tobacco consumption is a global tragedy, said the Secretary-General, adding
that it also comes at vast expenses.
EGYPTIAN DOCTOR AND NICARAGUAN N.G.O. TO
RECEIVE 2009 U.N. POPULATION AWARD
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will present the
2009 United Nations
Population Award to two laureates: an Egyptian doctor, Mahmoud Fathalla,
and a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization, Movimiento Comunal
Nicaragüense.
The Population Award is given to individuals and
institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving the health
of individuals.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General is expected to
underline Dr. Fathalla’s impact in the field of family planning,
reproductive rights and ending maternal deaths. He will also highlight the
work of Movimiento Comunal Nicaragüense – which focuses on development,
gender equality and environmental protection.
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