HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS,
SPOKESPERSON FOR
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
Tuesday, October
13, 2009
PAKISTAN:
UNITED NATIONS WON’T BE DETERRED BY ATTACKS AGAINST IT
Some 500 diplomats, Pakistani Government officials,
senior UN officials and staff and family and friends gathered for a memorial
today to pay respects to the World Food Programme (WFP) staff members who
were killed or injured in the suicide attack on the WFP headquarters in
Islamabad on 5 October. Five WFP staff were killed and four injured in the
attack; one staff member remains in critical condition.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a
message read out at the ceremony, said that the victims of this
senseless attack were working tirelessly on the frontlines of hunger and
human suffering to assist the poor and vulnerable of Pakistan. Their
selfless work to feed the hungry should not have been dangerous.
The Secretary-General added that we
will not be deterred by this senseless violence. Although we must continue
to be vigilant about the dangers of the world we live and work in, he
stressed that our resolve will stay strong and our work will continue.
Also addressing the gathering was UN
Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gregory Starr, who has been
visiting UN operations in Pakistan over the past two days. He pledged his
department’s support for the continuing work of the United Nations in
Pakistan.
The UN flag is at half mast outside Headquarters today,
in honor of the fallen staff.
Asked whether the United
Nations could handle further displacements in northwestern Pakistan if the
Government conducts major offensives there, the Spokesperson said that UN
work in those areas was continuing, through the efforts of critical UN staff
and affiliated non-governmental organizations. He added that, if
humanitarian needs in the northwest increase, the United Nations would step
up its efforts. He noted that Starr was visiting Pakistan in order to assess
security for UN staff in the country.
U.N. MOURNS
FALLEN PEACEKEEPERS IN HAITI FOLLOWING PLANE CRASH
The UN flag is also at half mast today in honor of the
11 peacekeepers who died Friday in a plane crash in Haiti.
This morning in Port-au-Prince, the UN Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
held a memorial ceremony for these peacekeepers. Hundreds of UN staff, as
well as Haitian and international dignitaries, attended the ceremony.
The coffins were each decorated with a wreath of
flowers laid by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the
country, Hédi Annabi, and the commanding officers of the Jordanian and of
the Uruguyan battalions.
Annabi also read a
message by the Secretary-General in which he said that this tragedy
reminds us that even where there is no open conflict, peacekeeping is
fraught with unforeseeable risks.
He added that the five Jordanian and six Uruguayan
peacekeepers had ventured far from home to serve the shared values that bind
us together as a human family. Their deeds speak eloquently, said the
Secretary-General adding that he had seen with his own eyes the remarkable
progress that Haiti has made thanks to the efforts of our peacekeepers.
They were here in Haiti protecting the country’s
borders. They were here providing relief to the victims of last year’s
terrible storms and hurricanes. They were here helping the people of Haiti
fulfill the enormous promise of their proud nation, said the
Secretary-General.
During the ceremony, President René Préval bestowed the
National Order of Honour and Merit posthumously on the 11 peacekeepers. The
bodies are will now be repatriated.
SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS HAITI MISSION & SUDAN EXPERTS PANEL
The
Security Council this morning unanimously voted to extend the mandate of
the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
by one year, until 15 October 2010. It also endorsed the recommendation made
by the Secretary-General to maintain the current overall force levels for
the Mission while adjusting its configuration to better meet the current
requirements on the ground.
The Security Council also
extended the
mandate of the Panel of Experts dealing with sanctions on Sudan by one
year.
After that, Choi Yong-jin, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Cote d’Ivoire, briefed Security Council members
in closed consultations on the work of the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI).
HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON PALESTINIAN ISSUES
The Human Rights Council will
meet in a special session on the “human rights situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem” this Thursday, 15 October, in
Geneva.
The holding of the special session comes at the request
of Palestine. That request has been co-sponsored by 18 Member States of the
Human Rights Council.
It is expected that the special session will continue
into Friday, October 16th. A resolution is expected.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s latest
report to the General Assembly and Security Council on the peaceful
settlement of the question of Palestine is now available.
In it, the Secretary-General calls on the parties to
honor all existing agreements and previous commitments and pursue an
irreversible effort towards the two-State solution. He adds that a true end
to violence and lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis will
only come through a just, comprehensive and peaceful settlement to the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
He also reiterates that the framework for peace remains
unchanged. That framework involves the establishment of two States -- an
independent and viable Palestine living side by side in peace and security
with Israel -- on the basis of the principle of land for peace and a just
and comprehensive regional peace consistent with the relevant Security
Council resolutions, the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would refer the Goldstone report to the Security Council,
the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General would first await the
action taken by the Human Rights Council, which is considering a resolution
on the issue.
Haq noted that, in a phone
call on Sunday, the Secretary-General spoke to Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his support for Abbas’s engagement
with Member States on a proper process for the consideration of the
Goldstone report.
LEBANON: U.N.
MISSION INVESTIGATES EXPLOSION
Following a reported
explosion in the southern Lebanese town of Tayr Felsay, the UN Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
is investigating the incident, in close coordination and cooperation with
the Lebanese Armed Forces.
A UNIFIL patrol together with
a Lebanese patrol visited the site of the incident at around 11:30 last
night. This morning, a UNIFIL investigation team, jointly with the Lebanese
Armed Forces investigation team, inspected the site and the surrounding
area. They are still in the process of analyzing the information and the
available evidence to ascertain the circumstances and establish the facts
concerning this incident.
Michael Williams, the
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said after a meeting today with
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri that he was concerned about the reports
of an explosion at Tayr Felsay. He said, “We are keeping a close eye on
this, because of its relevance to Resolution 1701,” adding that he would
await the outcome of the investigations.
Asked how the incident affects resolution 1701,
the Spokesperson noted that the investigation is still ongoing, and that we
have to have the facts before making a judgment.
However, Haq added, if the
investigation shows there were unauthorized arms, ammunition, related
materiel or armed people south of the Litani River, then it would be in
clear violation of resolution 1701.
HUMAN RIGHTS
CHIEF DISMAYED BY EXECUTION OF IRANIAN JUVENILE OFFENDER
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today
said she was deeply
dismayed that another juvenile offender was recently executed in Iran.
She called for changes to Iranian law and practice to end execution of
juvenile offenders once and for all.
The boy in question was executed on Sunday. Pillay, as
well as UN special rapporteurs, had raised his case with the Iranian
authorities, reminding them of their international obligation not to execute
juveniles.
In related news, Pilllay also said she has serious
concerns about the death sentences recently handed down to three individuals
for their involvement in the protests that took place after Iran’s recent
Presidential election.
SITUATION IN
NORTHERN YEMEN REMAINS “TENSE AND VOLATILE”
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says the situation in the north of Yemen remains tense and volatile. The
civilian population of Sa’ada governorate continues to flee to the
surrounding provinces as the fighting between Government troops and Al Houti
forces shows no sign of abating.
As street battles continued in the city of Sa’ada, the
humanitarian situation continues to worsen. Many shops and stores have run
out of basic commodities and supplies. Water supplies are available just
twice a week. UNHCR appeals to the Government to allow the United Nations to
start the distribution of aid to internally displaced persons outside the
camp in Khaiwan.
UNICEF is alarmed by the deteriorating humanitarian
situation. It says that thousands of affected persons, mostly children and
women displaced by the conflict, and others who are stranded inside the
conflict zone, have still not been reached by humanitarian actors.
Malnutrition levels are on the rise and children are facing serious threats
to their well-being and even lives.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that only 16 per cent of the $23.7 million
appeal for Yemen has been financed.
HUMANITARIAN
CHIEF WRAPS UP VISIT TO STORM-HIT PHILIPPINES
John Holmes the Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, says at least
$44 million worth of aid have been pledged by the international community to
the Philippines to help alleviate the plight of thousands of people affected
by the two devastating storms that recently hit the country.
Concluding a two-day
visit to Manila, Holmes in a press conference said the United Nations
was able to get financial commitments amounting to $19 million, out of the
US$74 million flash appeal it issued last week for the victims of a recent
tropical storm.
He said that although the immediate effects of these
typhoons have passed, months of hard work, relief and recovery, and
reconstruction lies ahead.
He also warned of the serious health threat posed by
stagnant water in flooded communities, stressing that it is crucial to get
rid of these stagnant waters faster than waiting for them to simply
evaporate.
In the Philippines, Holmes met with the President,
senior government figures, international agencies and partners, and members
of the donor community. He also visited areas affected by Tropical Storm
Ondoy in Metro Manila.
NEPAL: U.N.
ENVOY CALLS FOR RELEASE OF CHILDREN IN MAOIST ARMY
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, is
appealing for the release of Maoist army personnel identified as minors
in Nepal. Almost 3,000 children were identified during a verification
process completed in 2007.
She welcomed the re-launching of the discharge and
rehabilitation process for Maoist army personnel identified as minors today.
She also noted that the Chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal –
Maoist gave assurances that the discharge and orderly rehabilitation of the
remaining Maoist minors in the cantonments would proceed immediately.
Coomaraswamy said she looked forward to visiting Nepal
in the coming weeks to witness for myself the discharge of these minors.
These children have a right to start their lives anew and help to build a
peaceful and prosperous Nepal, she added.
U.N. MISSION
DOESN’T REMAIN SILENT WHEN IT HAS INFORMATION ON
ABUSES BY CONGOLESE ARMED FORCES
Asked whether the UN Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
would discontinue its support for the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) in the
wake of new reports of atrocities by those forces, the Spokesperson
emphasized that targeted attacks on civilians, rape and pillage are always
unacceptable.
He said that, while MONUC does not dispute that
military operations have been accompanied by civilian suffering,
discontinuing MONUC support to the FARDC will neither stop the operations,
nor improve protection of civilians. The military operations undertaken by
the FARDC against Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) rebels
reflect Government policy and political understandings, both within the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and between that country and Rwanda, which
have offered the first hope for sustainable peace in the region in many
years.
Haq added that MONUC does not remain silent when it has
information on abuses by the FARDC. It brings this information to the
attention of the military authorities and recommends courses of action to be
taken, including removal from command or judicial action.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NO FORMAL U.N. MONITORING ROLE
IN NIGERIA: Asked whether the United
Nations was monitoring an amnesty deal between Nigeria’s Government and rebels
in the Niger Delta, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations is aware of
the amnesty but has no formal monitoring role in Nigeria.
United Nations, S-378
Back to the Spokesperson's Page
