HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
Tuesday, November
3, 2009
BAN KI-MOON AND
U.K. PRIME MINISTER DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN, CLIMATE CHANGE IN LONDON MEETING
The Secretary-General this morning had a working
breakfast in London with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and afterwards, he
told reporters that they had discussed, among other things,
Afghanistan, climate change, the
Millennium Development Goals and Myanmar.
He said that, while he was in
Afghanistan yesterday, he had very good meetings with President Hamid Karzai
and Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and other core diplomatic members there. He added
that ensuring good governance, including eradicating corrupt practices,
should be the top priority for Karzai’s new government.
On climate change, the
Secretary-General stressed the need for a comprehensive, binding agreement
in Copenhagen in December. If there is political will, he said, he is sure
that there is a way we can conclude a binding agreement in Copenhagen. But
he acknowledged that, realistically speaking, we may not be able to have all
the details settled.
Later in the day, the Secretary-General
spoke to a gathering of religious and secular leaders at Windsor Castle
about the importance of dealing with climate change. He said that the
world’s faith communities occupy a unique position in discussions on the
fate of our planet and the accelerating impacts of climate change
.
He told the leaders that we
must reduce greenhouse gas emissions and we must assist the poorest and most
vulnerable people to adapt to climate impacts already locked into the
atmosphere. It is a pivotal moment for our world, he added.
Also, a
message was delivered in the Secretary-General’s name on Monday night,
where he says that those who say tackling climate change is too expensive
are wrong. We will pay an unacceptable price if we do not act now, he warns.
U.N. AND D.R.
CONGO LAUNCH PROBE INTO ALLEGED KILLINGS BY ARMY UNIT
The Spokesperson was asked earlier today about the
killings that Human Rights Watch has detailed in its report concerning the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response, she said that the United
Nations condemns them entirely.
“We condemn these killings – and all killing and abuse
of civilians, whether by the Congolese Armed Forces or by armed groups,” she
said.
She said that the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC)
has immediately suspended support to the 213th brigade, which was the
Congolese Army unit identified as being involved.
At the same time, the Congolese Armed Forces command
and MONUC are launching an immediate investigation in order to determine who
is responsible and take the necessary action.
KENYA: HEAVY
RAINS DISPLACE THOUSANDS
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA)
reports that, while most of Kenya continues to suffer from the effects
of a prolonged drought, parts of the country have now been pounded by
torrential rainfall with serious consequences.
An estimated 4,600 people along the Indian Ocean coast
and the northeastern region have been displaced and forced to seek shelter
in schools and in homes of host families.
Local authorities, with support from
UNICEF, have chlorinated wells that were contaminated with flood water
in one area.
There are concerns that up to 750,000 people in Kenya
may be affected by flooding and landslides from enhanced rains caused by El
Niño during October, November, and December.
ANGOLANS
EXPELLED FROM D.R. CONGO GET U.N. ASSISTANCE
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has
airlifted emergency relief items from South Africa to Angola, for tens
of thousands of Angolans who were expelled from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) last month.
The items include thousands of tents, sleeping mats,
and blankets, plus a prefabricated warehouse. They will be sent to two
provinces in northern Angola that border the DRC. The number of Angolans who
were expelled plus those who came back of their own accord in the wake of
the expulsions now totals 50,000.
UNHCR adds that those who have been expelled are now
living in extremely difficult conditions, with some observed sleeping on the
cement floor of an old school building without sleeping mats or mattresses.
NEPAL IS URGED
TO PROTECT BASIC RIGHTS
The Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights today strongly urged the Government of
Nepal, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist and other political
parties to ensure that the human rights of all individuals are protected and
respected, while nationwide protests are being organized by the Maoists.
The Human Rights Office also calls for all political
actors to exercise restraint in response to nationwide agitation. It
stressed that organizers of the protests must ensure that protestors act
peacefully and within the law.
The Office called on the Maoists not to resort to any
form of violence and maintain the highest regard for the rule of law. It
also called on the Government to ensure that the security forces act with
restraint and respect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly.
W.H.O. URGES
COUNTRIES TO REMAIN PREPARED FOR H1N1 VIRUS
The World Health Organization (WHO) today reiterated
that Member States need to remain prepared for the
H1N1 virus.
The agency added that the H1N1 vaccine is one of the
best tools that it has to fight the pandemic. The advantages of getting
vaccinated far outweigh the risks at this point, WHO said.
In other news, a special issue the
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, an independent public health
journal, advises that HIV/AIDS services should be integrated with sexual and
reproductive health services if the goal of reducing HIV transmission is to
succeed.
The Bulletin adds that HIV and other sexually
transmitted infections must be tackled at the same time, since each one
encourages the spread of the other.
WAGES DROP
WORLDWIDE FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Wages worldwide are
deteriorating for the second year in a row, according to a new report by
the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The 2009 Update of the “Global Wage Report” shows that
the global growth in wages slowed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the
economic crisis and is expected to drop even further this year. The ILO adds
that this raises serious questions about the true extent of an economic
recovery.
U.N. ECONOMIC
CHIEF DISCUSSES ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social
Affairs, Sha Zukang, is in Washington D.C. today, where he is participating
in the World e-Parliament Conference.
The three-day conference, organized by the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs, the U.S. House of Representatives and the
Inter-Parliamentary Union, will address ways to use Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) to strengthen the role of parliaments in
driving effective governance, democracy and development.
In his opening remarks, Sha said that, despite the
evident potential of ICTs, and despite some progress made in improving
access, a vast digital divide remains between developed and developing
countries.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS PROGRAMME OF WORK FOR NOVEMBER:
The
Security Council this morning held its consultations for this month and
agreed on its programme of work for November.
REPORT ON LAW OF THE SEA ISSUED: The
Secretary-General’s latest
report to the General Assembly on oceans and the Law of the Sea was issued
today. The report is intended to assist the General Assembly’s working group on
the Law of the Sea in its deliberations on the conservation and use of marine
biodiversity in international waters. The report will also help that working
group determine the agenda of the planned 2010 meeting of Member States on
oceans and the Law of the Sea.
Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
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