Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 27 October 2009

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

BAN KI-MOON TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW

  • Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will hold his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

  • There will be no noon briefing tomorrow.

BAN KI-MOON PLANS TO TRAVEL TO UNITED KINGDOM AND GREECE

  • The Secretary-General will be traveling to the United Kingdom and Greece next week.

  • On November 3, the Secretary-General plans to deliver a keynote address on the role that faiths can play in tackling climate change at a unique gathering of religious leaders at Windsor Castle. Hosted by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, world religions will present their long term plans to address climate change ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

  • The Secretary-General also plans to attend at the International Maritime Organization an event in London on November 2nd honoring those who have taken part in international efforts to suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

  • While in London, he is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

  • On November 4 and 5, the Secretary-General will be in Athens, Greece, for an official visit.

  • While in Athens, he will help open the 3rd Global Forum on Migration and Development.

  • He will also meet with Greek Government officials, including Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou and President Karolos Papoulias. He is also scheduled to address a special session of Parliament.

BAN KI-MOON CALLS ON LEBANESE LEADERS TO FORM NEW GOVERNMENT QUICKLY

  • The Security Council began its work this morning with consultations to discuss the Secretary-General’s most recent report concerning Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1559. They were briefed on that topic by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy dealing with that resolution, Terje Roed-Larsen.

  • The report, which is out as a document today, calls the June elections another milestone in Lebanon’s transition.

  • The Secretary-General calls on the Lebanese leaders to work together and expeditiously complete the formation of a new Government. He warns of the threats posed by militias that act outside the control of the State and appeals to all parties to halt all efforts to transfer or acquire weapons and to build paramilitary capacities outside the State’s authority.

CÔTE D’IVOIRE NO LONGER A PURELY NORTH-SOUTH FIGHT, NOW A STRUGGLE INVOLVING MANY ACTORS

  • In addition to the consultations on Lebanon, the Security Council also held consultations to review the sanctions on Cote d’Ivoire.

  • In the final report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire, which has been issued as a document of the Security Council, the Group notes that the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire is no longer purely a north-south confrontation, but a struggle involving many actors. Some of these actors have much to gain from the reunification of Côte d’Ivoire but others have much to lose, according to the experts.

  • The experts note that Northern Côte d’Ivoire currently bears more resemblance to a warlord economy than to a functioning government administration. Largely independent military ‘zone commanders’ of the former rebel forces, the Force nouvelles, control and exploit natural resources; providing both motive and means to sustain territorial control in northern Côte d’Ivoire.

  • The Group of Experts is particularly concerned by the systematic transfer of weapons and ammunition from the territory of Burkina Faso to the Forces nouvelles-controlled north of the country – a situation which may be linked to cocoa smuggling.

  • On diamonds, the Group of Experts note that the absence of effective border controls allows the rough diamond trade in Côte d’Ivoire to extend, almost seamlessly, into Burkina Faso and Mali. The report also expresses concern that Ivorian diamonds may be illegally exported through Guinea and Liberia.

SUDAN: IMPORTANT BENCHMARKS HAVE YET TO BE REACHED

  • The latest report of the Secretary-General on the progress of the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is out. It is scheduled to be discussed by the Security Council tomorrow.

  • The Secretary-General notes that while some progress has been made on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, important benchmarks have not been reached, most notably elections and the referenda.

  • He also notes that the apparent targeting of unarmed civilians during the series of tribal attacks and counter-attacks this year is of grave concern, as are the reports of widespread proliferation of arms in Southern Sudan. He calls upon the Government of Southern Sudan to strengthen its efforts to end recurring violence and to bring those responsible to justice.

  • And despite the significant progress in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, the United Nations faces a significant funding shortfall for the reintegration of the first caseload of 64,000 participants, he says.

  • The Secretary-General concludes by saying that the coming 18 months will pose enormous challenges for the people of the Sudan, and how those challenges are met will largely determine the future of the country. But this moment is also an opportunity for the democratic transformation of the Sudan and, if the parties are able to overcome the obstacles, the people of the Sudan can take a critical step towards the realization of political equality, economic development and human rights.

  • Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front, the UNICEF Representative in Sudan says that, more than ever, Sudan needs peace. Nils Kastberg told reporters in Khartoum that most of the violence around the world, most of the wars, most of the misuse of state budgets, is caused by men and not by women. Kastberg appealed to all Sudanese men to assume a greater responsibility of understanding how their actions cause harm to women and children.

PEACEKEEPING MISSION EVACUATES WOUNDED DARFURIS FOLLOWING RENEWED ETHNIC VIOLENCE

  • The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that 10 people have been killed from renewed ethnic clashes near Shangil Tobaiya - some 70 kilometers south of El Fasher, in North Darfur.

  • The clashes on Monday, between the Zaghawas and Birgids communities, also left some 11 people injured. Some of the injured were initially taken to the UNAMID in Shangil Tobaiya. Others have been evacuated by UNAMID helicopter to El Fasher.

  • UNAMID is sending a joint assessment mission to the area tomorrow, 28 October.

  • Just last week, two persons were killed and six others were injured when the two communities clashed over the sharing of water resources in the area.

REFUGEE AGENCY SADDENED BY KILLING OF PARTNER IN EASTERN CHAD

  • The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refuges (UNHCR) says it is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic killing of one of its partners in Eastern Chad.

  • Michel Mitna, who was head of the “Commission National d’Accueil et de Réinsertion des réfugiés,” a Chadian refugee body, in Guéréda, was killed in an ambush over the weekend. He worked daily with UNHCR to protect and assist refugees and internally displaced persons in the region.

  • UNHCR notes that this is the fifty-first armed attack on a humanitarian vehicle in eastern Chad this year alone. Thirty-one of these attacks have been against UNHCR and its partners.

  • Armed banditry remains the greatest security threat for humanitarian workers in this area neighbouring the Darfur region of Sudan.

HUMANITARIAN BODY CALLS FOR HALT TO HOUSE DEMOLITIONS IN EAST JERUSALEM

  • In light of today’s events in East Jerusalem, in which Israeli authorities demolished the homes of six Palestinian families, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated its call for an immediate and unconditional halt to such actions.

  • It urged Israel to protect the civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory from further displacement and dispossession.

  • Noting that 26 Palestinians, including 10 children, lost their homes today, OCHA added that it has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

  • Such actions run counter to international law and have a serious and long-term negative impact on Palestinian families and communities, OCHA said.

  • In response to a question, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is aware of the disturbing report of Amnesty International on the water situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She said that Palestinians share the right to fresh water with all their neighbours and to its equitable distribution. The issue is being followed by UN officials on the ground, she added.

U.N. AGENCIES HELP QUAKE SURVIVORS IN INDONESIA

  • The UN system is continuing to assist the people affected by the two powerful earthquakes that struck West Sumatra in Indonesia nearly a month ago. The estimated total of affected people is 1.2 million.

  • The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is currently assisting some 30,000 women and girls of reproductive age in the worst affected areas, including about 1,656 pregnant women.

  • Early food and nutrition assessments reveal that approximately 38,000 households (comprising some 192,000 people) in the most affected areas are experiencing temporary shortages of staple foods such as rice.

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) is targeting children under five years and primary school children, as well as pregnant or lactating mothers. To date, more than 68,000 people have received assistance.

PHILIPPINES: HUMANITARIAN APPEAL REMAINS ONLY 30% FUNDED

  • Regarding the Philippines, which is still recovering from recent typhoons and a tropical storm, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that its $74 million appeal remains only 30% funded.

  • In addition, food needs continue to be high. In response, the World Food Programme (WFP) is continuing to dispatch locally-purchased rice. It is also working to procure an additional ten thousand tons of rice to meet upcoming requirements.

  • Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that as many as 120,000 farming households lost 100% of their produce and assets. FAO says that what are needed most right now are emergency supplies of rice, vegetable seeds and fertilizers, as well as urgent repairs of small-scale irrigation facilities.

  • And in response to the increased number of cases and deaths due to water-borne diseases, a team of experts from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network will arrive in Manila this week. That network works with the World Health Organization.

U.N. AGENCY USES MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY TO AID 1,000 IRAQI REFUGEE FAMILIES IN SYRIA

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an electronic food voucher project, the first of its kind in the world to use mobile phone technology, to aid 1,000 Iraqi refugee families in Syria.

  • Iraqi refugees living in Damascus would receive a text message on their phones providing a code enabling them to cash in all or part of the “virtual voucher” at selected Government shops.

  • Each family would receive one voucher per family member, worth $22 every two months.

  • WFP is providing food assistance to 130,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria, out of the 1.2 million Iraqi refugees in Syria.

  • All of the refugees needing food aid have mobile phones and WFP is currently providing information about distributions on mobile phone messages to them.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

CYPRUS LEADERS MEET UNDER U.N. AUSPICES: Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met today under UN auspices in Nicosia. The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, spoke to the press afterwards. He noted that the leaders mainly discussed the competencies of the federal government. They will meet again next Thursday and Monday to talk about the issue of property.

OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT CAUSE MORE DEATHS THAN UNDERWEIGHT: A new report published today by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that global life expectancy could be increased by nearly five years if five factors are addressed. Those factors are: childhood underweight; unsafe sex; alcohol use; lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene; and high blood pressure. They are responsible for one quarter of the 60 million deaths estimated to occur annually. The report, called “Global Health Risks” also notes that, worldwide, obesity and overweight cause more deaths than underweight.

EVENT FOCUSES ON HEALTH OF WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY: Ending the needless death and suffering of women during pregnancy is one of the greatest moral, human rights and development challenges of our time, more than 150 delegates agreed at a meeting in Addis Ababa yesterday. Facing that challenge requires concrete action to protect and fulfill everyone’s right to sexual and reproductive health, they declared. The one-day event was organized by the Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and was hosted by the Government of Ethiopia.

W.F.P. HAD NOT BEEN AWARE OF LAST WEEK'S MARKETING ACTIVITY BY KFC AT THE U.N.: Asked about a promotional effort by KFC at UN Headquarters last week, the Spokeswoman said that the World Food Programme (WFP) had not been aware of last week's marketing activity by KFC at the United Nations. The appearance was organized by KFC, and was not linked to WFP's partnership with YUM Brands, which raises some $10 million every year to help WFP fight hunger worldwide. Montas added that the incident was a stunt which did not warrant further publicity.

*** The guest at the noon briefing today was Walter Kaelin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons.


Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

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

Transcript

The Security Council began its work this morning with consultations to discuss the Secretary-General’s most recent report concerning Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004). The report, which is out as a document today, calls the June elections another milestone in Lebanon’s transition.

Full transcript All transcripts