Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 4 June 2009

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK


Thursday, June 4, 2009

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MESSAGE “OF PEACE, UNDERSTANDING AND RECONCILIATION”

  • Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is strongly encouraged by the speech delivered today in Cairo by President Barack Obama of the United States of America. He strongly welcomes its message of peace, understanding and reconciliation.

  • The Secretary-General believes that President Obama’s speech is a crucial step in bridging divides and promoting intercultural understanding, which is a major objective of the United Nations. His message reaffirms our shared commitment “to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors”, as enshrined in the Preamble of the United Nations Charter.

  • The Secretary-General hopes that President Obama’s message will herald the opening of a new chapter in relations between the United States and the Islamic world. He hopes that this will have a positive impact on the peace process in the Middle East and the resolution of a number of conflicts in the Middle East and beyond.

BAN KI-MOON TO MEET U.S. VICE-PRESIDENT BIDEN

  • The Secretary-General is on his way to Washington D.C. for an overnight visit.

  • He is scheduled to meet with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden this afternoon. Then, this evening, he plans to take part in a dialogue on international affairs at the Brookings Institution.

  • The Secretary-General has a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu scheduled tomorrow morning before returning to New York.

  • He plans to be back at UN Headquarters tomorrow afternoon.

SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS BRIEFINGS ON WORK OF U.N. TRIBUNALS

  • The Security Council is holding a debate today on the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Two dozen speakers are addressing the Council, including the Prime Minister of Croatia.

  • Speaking for the ICTY earlier, Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said that 2009 is the last year of full trial activity before the Tribunal starts downsizing in 2010. As part of the ICTY’s completion strategy there will be a 60% reduction in personnel in the next two years. Brammertz said significant progress has been made overall, including in the Tribunal’s transfer of outstanding cases to jurisdictions in the region.

  • Brammertz also reported increased cooperation from concerned countries. Serbia, for example, has been notably more responsive to Tribunal requests, including in granting access to national documents and archives. However, Brammertz warned that "the search for and arrest of Ratko Mladi3; and Goran Hadži3;" remained "the central issue in relation to Serbia’s cooperation."

  • In his address to the Council, the ICTY President, Judge Patrick Robinson, also warned that, if these two men remained fugitives by the time of the Tribunal’s closure, it would leave a stain on the Security Council’s historic contribution to peace-building in the former Yugoslavia.

  • For his part, Prosecutor Hassan Jallow of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda pressed for greater Security Council assistance in obtaining the cooperation of countries in the region to deliver fugitives to the Tribunal. Jallow pointed to Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he said most of the dozen remaining fugitives are known to be residing.

  • He also outlined the Tribunal’s completion strategy with regards to its judicial work, saying that the transfer of outstanding cases to Rwandan jurisdictions was proceeding smoothly, with Rwanda abolishing the death penalty to comply with international standards.

UNITED NATIONS APPOINTS HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR PAKISTAN

  • The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. John Holmes, designated today Martin Mogwanja as Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan. Prior to his appointment as UNICEF Representative in Pakistan in January 2007, Mr. Mogwanja was the UNICEF Representative in Uganda for six years, as well as the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country between 2005 and 2007. Fikret Akcura, the Resident Coordinator for Pakistan, will continue to be the Head of the UN Country Team.

  • While some two million people displaced from Pakistan’s northwestern areas urgently need assistance with food, clean water, shelter and emergency health care, the Humanitarian Response Plan remains only 22% funded. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that some sectors have already indicated that supplies such as food and essential medicines may not be sustainable beyond early July unless the international community rapidly and generously responds to these acute needs.

  • Meanwhile, two new camps have been established for internally displaced persons (IDPs) arriving from Swat in the last few days, bringing the total to 21 camps.

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that it has begun moving 97 metric tons of a highly nutritious food supplement, called Plumpy Doz, that is to be distributed to children under the age of five. Even before the recent crisis, WFP had been feeding 6.2 million people in Pakistan.

  • And the International Labour Organization (ILO) has appealed to all relief and development agencies to engage IDPs in different productive activities and pay them for short-term employment. It has been helping to employ displaced persons to perform development activities, from digging trenches and fixing tents to nursing injured and pregnant women, in two camps in Pakistan.

  • Asked about the low level of funding for the humanitarian appeal, the Spokeswoman noted that the level of funding to the humanitarian efforts in Pakistan have increased and that the United Nations consistently tries to ensure that Member States will provide sufficient funds for its appeals.

SUDAN: UNITED STATES TO HOLD U.N.-BACKED CONFERENCE ON NORTH-SOUTH PEACE DEAL

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Sudan Ashraf Qazi has confirmed that the United Nations is working to facilitate a United States initiative to host a review conference on the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) later this month in Washington.

  • Qazi also noted that the CPA signatories were facing many challenges in completing the implementation of that peace deal by 2011.

  • He was speaking in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, where he was for meetings with Southern-Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit and other senior government officials. They discussed the security situation in the south, national elections, disarmament and the preparations for an upcoming referendum to decide the status of South Sudan in relation to the rest of the country.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IS URGED TO DO ALL IT CAN TO PROTECT CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICTS

  • In Geneva today, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay underlined the conditions of civilians in armed conflicts and urged the Human Rights Council to do its utmost to protect them.

  • Addressing the 11th regular session of the Human Rights Council – which opened Tuesday– she highlighted situations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Colombia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Chad. Concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory, she urged full cooperation with the Independent Fact-Finding Mission, mandated by the Human Rights Council and which is in the region now.

  • Pillay also cited two countries, Sri Lanka and Nepal, where post-conflict situations “warrant close scrutiny.”

  • On Sri Lanka, she said she had called for an independent international inquiry. "I believe that accountability is a prerequisite for the attainment of justice and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans," she said, and, thus, a foundation for lasting peace.

  • Regarding the Durban review conference last April, the High Commissioner said that the conference’s Outcome Document had provided a platform for a renewed beginning. The few States that chose to stay away should now evaluate this platform on its own merit and substance, she added. She also said she was hopeful that these States would rejoin international efforts to combat racism and intolerance as laid out in this important document.

BAN KI-MOON REPORTS PROGRESS IN PALESTINIAN REFORMS

  • In a report to the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, which is out as a document today, the Secretary-General says that the Palestinian government under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made progress in recent months on fiscal, monetary and social reforms.

  • At the same time, as a result of the situation in Gaza, the economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territory deteriorated further than envisaged in the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan. By April, real gross domestic product was estimated to have declined by 13 percent from a year before, while per capita income dipped to almost 34 percent below its level in 2000.

  • Asked whether the Secretary-General had discussed efforts to ease the situation at the Gaza border crossings with Israeli officials, the Spokeswoman noted that he has met with two senior Israeli officials this week, and in both cases brought up the situation at the crossings and the need for construction materials to enter Gaza. The United Nations, she said, has consistently brought up the difficulties posed by the border closings and by the multiple check points in the Occupied Palestinian territory.

  • Montas added, in response to further questions, that the United Nations has also called for a halt to settlement activity.

  • Asked about the Quartet, she said that discussions are going on concerning the next meeting of that body.

CHIEF OF STAFF RELAYED SOME TAMIL REBELS’ CONDITIONS FOR SURRENDER TO SRI LANKA

  • In response to questions received yesterday, as he had confirmed while in Sri Lanka, Mr Nambiar had indeed communicated to the Sri Lankan Government the conditions for the surrender of a specific group of LTTE members.

  • This had been passed onto him, first through a western journalist, Marie Colvin, and subsequently through an LTTE interlocutor, before he arrived in Sri Lanka. He in turn relayed the insistence of the Sri Lankan Government that any surrender would have to be to the Sri Lankan armed forces and not through or to a third party.

  • In response to a subsequent request, received during the last hours of the fighting for the surrender of two individuals, Nadesan and Puleedeevan in the presence of parties other than the Sri Lanka armed forces, he relayed the governments earlier response, and the assurance given to him, that this group need only display a white flag to the armed forces to safely effect their surrender.

  • This last request conveyed to him through Ms. Colvin was also apparently transmitted directly to several other persons, including Colombo- based diplomats and politicians. These were in turn, we understand, communicated to high Governmental levels and were responded to with similar assurances.

  • Asked about reports that the Government of Sri Lanka may bring charges against some journalists operating in that country, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations was following that situation, as well as the treatment of doctors there.

BAN KI-MOON REMAINS CONCERNED AT MYANMAR’S TREATMENT OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

  • Asked about the UN response to the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, the Spokeswoman noted that the Secretary-General’s statement from last month still stands.

  • She recalled that he indicated his grave concern about this situation and clearly urged the authorities to refrain from any actions that could undermine the national reconciliation process in Myanmar.

  • He reiterated his conviction that Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in Myanmar should be released without delay and allowed to participate freely in the political process.

TOMORROW IS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

  • Tomorrow, the 5th of June, is World Environment Day, and the theme this year is, Your Planet Needs YOU – Unite to Combat Climate Change!

  • As part of activities marking the day, the UN Environment Programme, (UNEP), will be launching a special programme called, Climate Heroes. This initiative aims to recognize and support the efforts of people who are doing innovative and unusual things to raise awareness of the simple fact that: Your planet needs you!

  • According to the Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, these Climate Heroes show the kind of commitment, enthusiasm and understanding that’s crucial for addressing the problems of climate change.

  • Among some of the Climate Heroes being recognized this year are, Roz Savage, who plans to row across the pacific to draw attention to the need to take action on CO2 levels. She hopes to achieve this by inspiring people to walk more and drive less.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GLOBAL FOOD SUPPLY NOW LESS VULNERABLE: The world food supply looks less vulnerable to shocks than it was during last year’s food crisis. That’s according to a new report by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Although food prices remained high in many developing countries, prices for most agricultural commodities have fallen in 2009, says the FAO. The improvement concerned mostly cereals, which is considered a critical sector for food security.

U.N. AGENCIES SIGN GLOBAL PACT DEALING WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN DEVELOPING CITIES: The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has joined forces with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to tackle the issue of violence against women and girls in developing cities. They signed a global pact that addresses violence against women in both public and private spheres. The programme implemented under this pact concentrates on violence prevention.

REFUGEE AGENCY SEEKS NEW SYSTEM TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF TEENAGE ASYLUM SEEKERS: With the growing number of teenagers seeking asylum in Central Europe, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is calling for a new asylum system that will address their specific needs. UNHCR reports that this is the largest project that it has ever carried out and that their recommendations are being implemented swiftly.

DECISIONS BY INTERNATIONAL COURTS SHOULD BE RESPECTED: Asked about the Secretary-General’s position concerning the International Criminal Court warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Spokeswoman said that his views have not changed and he continues to believe that the actions taken by international courts should be respected.

REBEL LEADER’S FAILURE TO SIGN DEAL LED TO U.N. CLOSURE OF UGANDA PEACE OFFICE: Asked about the end of the mandate of the mediator dealing with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joachim Chissano, the Spokeswoman said that he had done all that he could do, but she pointed to the failure by LRA leader Joseph Kony to sign any agreement.

BAN KI-MOON TO BRIEF THE PRESS ON 11 JUNE: Asked about the Secretary-General’s next press conference, the Spokeswoman said it would take place on 11 June.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055