HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON
BRIEFING
MARTIN
NESIRKY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, March 1, 2009
BAN KI-MOON
PLEDGES U.N. SUPPORT TO QUAKE-HIT CHILE
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a
statement issued
Saturday morning, expressed his condolences to those who have lost
family and friends and wished those injured a speedy recovery. He also
said the United Nations system, through its Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs, is on standby to offer rapid assistance to the
Chilean government and people.
Asked whether there had
been a formal request for help from the Chilean Government, the
Spokesperson said that a specific, detailed request had been received
from the Chilean Mission in Geneva. The United Nations is responding,
and is also playing a role in helping to coordinate other players.
Nesirky said that the
Secretary-General has been closely involved in dealing with the
situation in Chile since early Saturday morning, when he had a
conference call with his senior advisors about the response to the
earthquake. Since then, there has been a regular dialogue with the
Chilean authorities, including through the Executive-Secretary of UN
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia
Bárcena, which is headquartered in
the capital, Santiago.
Asked whether there
would be a flash appeal for Chile, the Spokesperson said that the United
Nations would need to discuss further with the Chilean Government about
what is required.
ON VISIT TO
LOS ANGELES, BAN KI-MOON MEETS WITH LEADERS OF CREATIVE COMMUNITY
The Secretary-General is
in Los Angeles today, where he will be meeting with key players in the
creative community to discuss ways that they can help support the UN’s
work.
Tomorrow morning, he
will deliver an address at the University of California-Los Angeles
(UCLA). His remarks will focus on mobilizing the people of California to
support the goals and mission of the UN, including its efforts to deal
with climate change, global hunger and the financial crisis.
STATUS OF WOMEN IMPROVES GLOBALLY BUT CHALLENGES
REMAIN
In her
remarks this morning to the 54th session of the Commission on the
Status of Women, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said that
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has designated gender equality and women’s
empowerment as priority areas with clear opportunities for progress.
Migiro said that 15 years
after the landmark
Beijing Declaration, many countries have achieved gains in the areas
of education, development of national laws, policy and programmes. She
said much of this progress can be attributed to the efforts of women’s
groups and networks.
The Deputy
Secretary-General also condemned of the abuse of women’s rights,
including sexual violence in conflict situations.
DARFUR MISSION INVESTIGATES REPORTS OF FIGHTING IN
JEBEL MARRA
While it continues to
investigate reports of fighting between government and rebel forces in
the Jebel Marra region of Darfur, the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur
(UNAMID)
says that it is developing a plan to increase its capacity to monitor
the ceasefire signed recently between the government and the Justice and
Equality Movement.
The Mission says it will
do so by setting up Mobile Monitoring Teams, which will liaise with the
parties and monitor the security situation and probe reports of
violence. To achieve this, the Mission notes that it is crucial that its
freedom of movement is not restricted.
Meanwhile, with the
Sudanese elections just weeks away, the Mission has conducted training
for 7,000 national police personnel across Darfur. The training focused
on elections, human rights, civil rights and crowd management.
GABON
ASSUMES SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH
With the start of this new month, Gabon has
replaced France as
Security Council President for March.
The Security Council is expected to hold
consultations on its programme of work for the month tomorrow morning.
Then, at 12:30 pm tomorrow, the Ambassador of Gabon
will brief you in this room about the
Council’s work during March.
ATOMIC
ENERGY AGENCY BOARD DISCUSSES IRAN, OTHER KEY ISSUES
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA)
Board of Governors began a meeting in Vienna today, and Director General
Yukiya Amano updated the Board on the Agency’s safeguards work,
including its recent report on Iran.
Amano said that the Agency continues to verify the
non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, but it cannot
confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is used for peaceful
activities, because Iran has not provided the Agency with the necessary
cooperation. He requested Iran to take steps towards the full
implementation of its Safeguards Agreement and its other obligations as
a matter of high priority.
Amano added that the Agency’s inspectors left the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in April last year and the
IAEA is consequently no longer able to implement the ad hoc monitoring
and verification arrangement in the DPRK. And he noted that Syria has
not cooperated with the Agency since June 2008 in connection with the
unresolved issues related to the Dair Alzour site and other locations.
INDEPENDENT
EXPERTS TO EVALUATE IMPLEMENTATION OF CLIMATE PANEL’S PROCEDURES
The Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC),
Rajendra Pachauri, has said that an independent committee of experts
would evaluate means by which the Panel’s procedures can be implemented
fully. The independent committee will also examine any changes in
procedure that may be required.
In a statement issued over the weekend, Pachauri
said the mechanism by which such an independent review will take place
is under active consideration. He added that details for setting up the
proposed independent committee will be shared sometime early this month.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BAN KI-MOON IS
CONCERNED ABOUT INCLUSION OF WEST BANK SITES ON ISRAELI HERITAGE LIST:
Asked about recent protects in
Jerusalem, the Spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General, in his recent
conversations with Israeli and Palestinian officials, had made clear his
concerns about the inclusion of holy sites in the Occupied West Bank on an
Israeli heritage list.
PRESS FREEDOM IS CRUCIAL,
MORE SO IN CONFLICT SITUATIONS: Asked
about comments on the press attributed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the
Spokesperson said that freedom of the media is crucial, including in its
coverage of armed conflicts.
***The guests at the briefing today were: Alicia
Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC),
who joined in by telephone, to brief on the situation in Chile following
Saturday’s devastating earthquake; and Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, who
briefed on her recent trip to Afghanistan.
BAN
KI-MOON CONDEMNS ATTACKS IN KABUL
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemns the attacks that
took place in Kabul,
Afghanistan, this morning, which caused the death and injury of many
Afghan and foreign residents and for which the Taliban claimed
responsibility.
This deliberate targeting of civilians demonstrates
once again a senseless disregard for human life on the part of the
perpetrators.
The Secretary-General extends his deepest
condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and sends his
wishes for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.
BAN KI-MOON
IS DISAPPOINTED OVER CONTINUED HOUSE ARREST OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI
The
Secretary-General is disappointed to learn that Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi’s appeal against her continued house arrest was again rejected
today.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call for the
release of all political prisoners and their free participation in the
political process. These are essential steps for national reconciliation
and democratic transition in
Myanmar.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General will appoint a full-time successor to the former
Special Adviser on Myanmar,
Ibrahim Gambari, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General
remains fully engaged on Myanmar, as the issuance of the statement
demonstrates. For now, Nesirky said, the Secretary-General is
comfortable with having his Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar, in charge of
the good offices role on Myanmar, with staff at the United Nations
working regularly on that matter.
BAN KI-MOON HAS CONSISTENTLY CALLED FOR
TOLERANCE/UNDERSTANDING AMONG RELIGIONS
Asked about comments reportedly made against
Switzerland by Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, the Spokesperson said that
the
Secretary-General feels that it is
unfortunate that this matter has escalated in this way.
He strongly believes that differences of
opinion should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
The Secretary-General, his Spokesperson noted,
has consistently called for tolerance and understanding among different
religions.
BHUTTO
ASSASSINATION COMMISSION COMPLETES VISIT TO PAKISTAN
The
Commission of Inquiry that has been looking into former Pakistani
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination has completed its latest
visit to Pakistan.
During the three-day visit, the Commission, headed
by Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz, met with Pakistani President Asif
Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and other senior
Government officials and civil society members. Ambassador Muñoz was
accompanied by Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald of Ireland and Commission
staff.
This was the third visit of the Commissioners to
Pakistan. The Commission’s commission staff has been also working on the
ground since the start of operations.
The Commission’s term ends on 31 March, and it
expects to submit its report to the Secretary-General within its current
deadline.
The
Secretary-General will then share the report with the Government of
Pakistan and submit it to the Security Council for information.
U.N. MISSION IN COTE D’IVOIRE WELCOMES CONSENSUS
ON NEW GOVERNMENT
The
UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire has welcomed the consensus reached
last night to establish a new government as well as a new Bureau of the
Independent Electoral Commission in the country.
It adds that this opens
the way to achieving the essential tasks that will lead to the holding
of the presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire – which have been
scheduled for this spring.
OUTBREAK OF
VIOLENCE REPORTED IN NORTHWEST LIBERIA
The
UN Mission in Liberia has reported an outbreak of violence in the
northwest Liberia.
UN police and troops are
now in the affected Voinjoma region to provide hands-on assistance to
their Liberian counterparts in an effort to ascertain the circumstances
that led to the incident.
So far, there have been
no reports of casualties or damage to property.
SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN TIMOR-LESTE
The
Security Council this morning voted unanimously to extend the
mandate of the
UN Mission in Timor-Leste by one year, until 26 February 2011.
The Council also adopted a Presidential Statement
in which it welcomed a letter sent by Iraq’s Foreign Minister confirming
that the Iraqi Government supports the international non-proliferation
regime and complies with disarmament treaties.
The Council underlines its readiness, once the
necessary steps have been taken, to review its restrictions in its past
resolutions concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
GABON TO ASSUME SECURITY
COUNCIL PRESIDENCY IN MARCH
Today was the last day of Council work scheduled
during the French Presidency of the Security Council.
Next Monday, Gabon will take over the rotating
Presidency of the Council for the month of March.
DISPLACED PEOPLE IN HAITI ARE BEING REGISTERED
In
Haiti, the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that
the registration of displaced persons is being organized as is the
selection of sites for debris removal, the assessment of building
damage, and the identification and planning of relocation sites for
those who can not return to their homes.
Together with the
decongestion of spontaneous settlement sites, creating adequate sanitary
conditions will be crucial in order to mitigate the risk of a
large-scale outbreak of waterborne diseases in
Haiti in the coming weeks.
OCHA adds that, as of
today, a total of 86,403 workers are engaged in cash-for-work activities
including clearing small debris, drainage and irrigation of canals and
solid waste management.
Concerning education, the
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners are setting up more
than 150 tent schools with the goal of getting children back to school
before April. An estimated 2.5 million children have been out of school
since the quake according to UNICEF.
Finally, food assistance
is moving into a second surge phase, with planned distribution of full
food baskets.
Meanwhile, the
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),
launched a
report on HIV/AIDS in Haiti to strengthen a more coordinated and
sustained response to the epidemic in Haiti. It says that this is the
first really significant natural disaster in a country with a high HIV
epidemic.
At the end of last year
there were roughly 120,000 people living with HIV in Haiti, with around
19,000 people receiving treatment. UNAIDS is concerned about maintaining
treatment for that population group and adds that it also anticipates
that the number of people living with HIV will rise to 32,000 through
this year.
Among priorities, UNAIDS
stresses the need to rebuild the health system, to protect displaced
persons for HIV; and to rebuild the local and national networks of
people living with HIV.
THOUSANDS EXPECTED AT UN HEADQUARTERS FOR
COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN
The 54th session of the
Commission on the Status of Women starts on Monday at UN
Headquarters.
Dozens of government
ministers and more than 2,000 women activists will gather to examine
progress since the adoption of the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action - the outcome of the
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, which remains
the most comprehensive global policy framework to achieve the goals of
gender equality, development and peace.
The session runs until 12
March and there are plenty of media events planned for the duration
which you can find more about from the media advisory available from my
office.
ANNOUNCEMENT
SOON ON REVIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE PANEL
Asked about reports that an independent review
will be conducted of the work done by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Spokesperson
said that an announcement is expected in the coming days of how such a
review will be carried out.
He said that it would not focus on the overall
work of the IPCC as much as it would on how assessments done by the IPCC
are reviewed by peers and related matters.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
YOUTH VIDEO FESTIVAL
LAUNCHED: The
UN Alliance of Civilizations, in partnership with the International
Organization for Migration, are today launching
PLURAL + 2010, a youth video festival aimed at involving youth in
addressing the key challenges in their communities related to migrant
integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social
cohesiveness. Last year, PLURAL + attracted young
media makers from around the world. Eighteen of them were selected and
received awards from the PLURAL + International Jury and partner
organizations.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Monday, 1 March
At 12:00 p.m.,
Ms. Radhika Coomarswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Children and Armed Conflict, will brief journalists on her recent visit to
Afghanistan.
At 3:00 p.m.,
the Permanent Mission of Canada, and the Organisation internationale de la
francophonie will hold a press conference on Francophonie mobilization to
fight violence against women. Participants include H.E. Ms.. Josée Verner,
Minister of La Francophonie, H.E. Mr. Moussa Makan Camara, Permanent
Observer of the Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) to the United Nations,
Ms. Hary Andriamboavonjy, Director of Strategic Planning (OIF), and Ms.
Dilek Elveren, Project Manager (OIF).
Tuesday, 2 March
At 12:30 p.m.,
the President of Security Council for the month of March, H.E. Mr.
Emanuel Issoze-Ngondet, will brief correspondents on the programme of work
of the Council for the month of March.
At 1:00 p.m.,
Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Violence and Injury
Prevention and Disability of the World Health Organization (WHO), will hold
a press conference on the General Assembly draft resolution on improving
global road safety. The draft resolution is scheduled to be taken up by the
Assembly on that day.
At
2:00 p.m.,
Michel Sidibé, Executive
Director of UNAIDS, Annie Lennox, Singer and HIV activist and Suksma Ratri,
Indonesia Positive Women’s Network will be at a press conference to address
specific needs of women and girls which are still not being met after nearly
30 years into the HIV epidemic.
Earlier
in the morning of the same day in response to the injustice UNAIDS and
partners are launching an Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for
Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV (2010–2014) to counter the
persistent gender inequalities and human rights violations that put women
and girls at greater risk of HIV infection. The launch will take place
during the Commission on the Status of Women. UNAIDS and partners will
support the country roll-out of the Agenda for Action in pathfinder
countries, including Liberia.
Wednesday, 3 March
At 11:00 a.m.,
The United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will hold a press conference
about Haitian Women, and their role in maintaining family and community
well-being. The press conference will focus on challenges and opportunities
presented in the aftermath of the 12 January earthquake. Participants
include Marjory Michel, Minister of Women of Haiti, Sheelagh Kathy
Mangones, UNIFEM’s Country Programme Manager for Haiti, and a
representative of civil society.
At 1:00 p.m., there will be a press conference by the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the launch of the World Map of Women in
Politics 2010. Participants include Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser on
Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Senator Pia Cayetano, President of
the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, and Mr. Anders B.
Johnsson, moderator, and Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Thursday 4 March
Friday 5 March
At
11:00 a.m., Equality Now will hold a
press conference to highlight governments’ progress made in revoking laws
that discriminate against women over the last fifteen years since the
Beijing Conference. At the Press Conference they will launch its Beijing +15
campaign urging governments to revoke any remaining sex discriminating laws,
and will release its new report, Words and Deeds: Holding
Governments Accountable in the Beijing +15 Review Process. Participants
include Meryl Streep (Member of Equality Now Advisory Council), Cécile
Sportis (Representative of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Taina
Bien-Aimé (Executive Director, Equality Now), and Sapana Pradhan-Malla
(Equality Now Board Member in Asia).
The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
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