BY MARTIN
NESIRKY

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

 UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

 

Friday, March 5, 2010
 

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ARRIVES IN CHILE, WILL MEET PRESIDENT THIS
AFTERNOON

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
  
  arrived in Santiago, on a visit to Chile to show solidarity with the
  Chilean people as they deal with the destruction caused by the
  earthquake on 27 February.
   

• He said on arrival that the United Nations stands
  ready to help provide any assistance that the Chilean Government
  requests, immediate and long-term. Now is the moment, he added, for the
  United Nations and the international community to stand with Chile and
  its people.
   

• This afternoon the Secretary-General will meet with
  President Michele Bachelet and President-elect Sebastián Piñera, as well
  as senior Government officials in charge of national disaster and
  emergency humanitarian assistance. Tomorrow he will travel to Concepción
  to see for himself the situation there.
   

• Asked whether the United
  Nations would issue a flash appeal for Chile, the Spokesperson said that
  the United Nations would respond if asked to do so by the Chilean
  authorities. The Secretary-General’s visit, he added, underscored the
  willingness of the United Nations to help in whatever way requested.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL MARKS 40^TH ANNIVERSARY OF NUCLEAR
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

• According to a statement issued in the
  Secretary-General's name, "40 years ago today, the Treaty on the
  Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force. Since
  then, the NPT has remained the cornerstone of the nuclear
  non-proliferation regime, the foundation for the pursuit of nuclear
  disarmament, and a framework for promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear
  energy.
   

• The International Atomic Energy Agency’s
  comprehensive safeguards agreements are in force for 163
  non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty. Ninety-four States
  parties have also brought into force the IAEA Additional Protocol, which
  contributes to increased transparency and serves a confidence-building
  role in regional and international security.
   

• The NPT also commits the nuclear-weapon States to
  nuclear disarmament. Today there is growing support from governments and
  civil society for achieving this goal. A number of nuclear-weapon States
  have undertaken important measures, and I welcome the efforts of the
  Russian Federation and the United States to conclude a successor
  agreement to the Treaty on the Limitation and Reduction of Strategic
  Offensive Arms (START). The Treaty also fosters the development of
  peaceful uses of nuclear energy in conformity with the Treaty.
   

• In less than two months, the parties to the NPT
  will gather to review the operation of the Treaty and to consider how to
  promote its full implementation, as well as its universality. I would
  like to underscore the importance of a successful Review Conference. 
  Toward that end, I will continue my efforts, including through my
  five-point proposal and Action Plan for Nuclear Disarmament and
  Non-proliferation, to achieve the long-held and widely shared goal of a
  world free of nuclear weapons."

 

IRAQ: ELECTION IS 'A VERY
DECISIVE MOMENT'

• The top UN official in Iraq says that the
  parliamentary election this Sunday will mark a turning point for the
  whole country.
   

• “It is for Iraq a very decisive moment. I think
  it’s actually the most decisive moment since 2003, the invasion that of
  course turned the country upside down,” the Special Representative of
  the Secretary-General for Iraq, Ad Melkert, said today.
   

• On Sunday, millions of Iraqis will head to the
  polls on 7 March to elect a new Council of Representatives, in an
  exercise that has been support by the United Nations Assistance Mission
  for Iraq (UNAMI).
   

• “Now is the chance, against the backdrop of the
  withdrawal of the American troops in the next few years, that Iraqis
  really define by themselves their own way forward, their own destiny,”
  added Mr. Melkert, who heads the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
  “And the election is of course not the only thing, but it’s very vital
  to bring all Iraqis on board that process towards the future.”

• Later this afternoon, we will have a
  statement attributable
  to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General concerning those
  elections.

   

TOP PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL
TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL FOLLOWING VISITS TO CHAD, DR CONGO

• At 3:00 p.m., Under-Secretary-General for
  Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy will inform the Security Council
  about his recent visit to Chad, in closed consultations. 
   

• Once those consultations have ended, Mr. Le Roy has
  said that he will speak to reporters at the Council stakeout.

 

WINDOW OF
OPPORTUNITY IN GUINEA-BISSAU SHOULD NOT BE MISSED SAYS U.N. ENVOY

• This morning, Joseph Mutaboba, the
  Secretary-General’s Representative in Guinea-Bissau, briefed the
  
  Security Council in an open meeting, saying that this year could be
  a turning point for that country. He said that Guinea-Bissau is
  experiencing a relatively stable political environment and growing
  international attention, which is a window of opportunity that should
  not be missed.
   

• He continued to brief the Council in closed
  consultations afterward. In a press statement read afterwards, Council
  Members stressed the critical importance that parties in Guinea-Bissau
  continue to meet their responsibilities to work towards national
  reconciliation, maintain stability and constitutional order and respect
  the rule of law.
   

UNITED
NATIONS BEGINS SECOND PHASE OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN HAITI

• In Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP)
  starts today the second phase of a general food distribution. New
  coupons are being distributed today and the distribution of a full food
  basket will begin in Port-au-Prince tomorrow. The operation will target
  1.9 million beneficiaries in and around Port-au-Prince and will run
  through the end of the month.
   

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
  Affairs (OCHA)
  says that, in addition to food, emergency shelter, site management and
  sanitation continue to be the priorities.
   

• OCHA adds that, to date, 425 sites have been
  assessed – housing an estimated 606,000 people in Port-au-Prince,
  Leogane, Gressier and Jacmel.  Also according to OCHA, protection
  monitoring teams are visiting an average of eight displacement sites per
  day.
   

• Concerning agriculture, OCHA says that with the
  main crop-planting season beginning, it is urgent to finance the
  Agricultural Cluster of the Humanitarian Flash Appeal –which currently
  is only 12 per cent funded.

 

U.N.
POLITICAL CHIEF TO VISIT INDIA AND NEPAL

• The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
  B. Lynn Pascoe, will travel to India and Nepal next week. 
   

• He will be in India on 9 March for discussions with
  Government officials on a range of regional and international issues.
  
   

• He then travels to Nepal from 10-12 March.  In
  addition to visiting the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN),
  Pascoe will hold meetings with senior Government officials and political
  party leaders to discuss the state of the peace process and encourage
  forward movement in the period ahead. 

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES PANEL OF EXPERTS WITH PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA

• Asked about the Secretary-General’s consideration
  of a Panel of Experts that would advise him on Sri Lanka, the
  Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General spoke by telephone with
  President Rajapaksa on Thursday evening.
   

• The Secretary-General
  informed the President of his intention to go ahead with the
  establishment of a Panel of Experts, Nesirky said. He also explained
  that such a panel would advise him on the way forward on accountability
  issues related to Sri Lanka.
   

• Asked why Under-Secretary-General for Political
  Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe is not going to Sri Lanka on his current trip to
  India and Nepal, the Spokesperson said that Pascoe does still plan to
  visit Sri Lanka fairly soon. However, he added, the dates are still not
  decided. 

 

U.N.
AGENCIES WORKING TO ASSIST DISPLACED AND RETURNEES IN PAKISTAN

• The Office for the
  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, since last
  December, humanitarian agencies in
  
  Pakistan have built almost 1,000 temporary shelters in the
  north-western areas of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir. Meanwhile,
  winterization packages continue to be distributed to internally
  displaced persons in Jalozai and areas where people are returning to
  their homes.
   

• The World Food
  Programme’s (WFP)
  February distribution has so far reached more than two million
  beneficiaries with 27,500 metric tonnes of food. Expected to conclude
  next week, this will be the final round of free food distributions for
  many returnees in Swat and Buner. In March, WFP will introduce a variety
  of early recovery activities in these areas of return.
   

• UNICEF will be providing
  water to over 4,200 displaced people in the north-west, starting today.

 

UNITED
NATIONS LAUNCHES FOOD INSECURITY AND ACUTE MALNUTRITION APPEAL IN GUATEMALA

• The United Nations and its partners, together with
  the Government of Guatemala, today launched a food insecurity and acute
  malnutrition appeal of $34,193,050.
   

• According to the Office for the Coordination of
  Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
  Guatemala is currently in the grip of a protracted food insecurity
  crisis, which has affected approximately 2.7 million people living in
  the country’s so-called Dry Corridor and neighbouring departments.
   

• Projects listed in the Appeal will address the
  sectors of food, health, nutrition, agriculture, early recovery, and
  water-sanitation-hygiene, complementing national humanitarian efforts
  over six months and benefiting approximately 136,000 families -- roughly
  680,000 people.

 

HIGH
COMMISSIONER VISITS REFUGEES FROM CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC SHELTERED IN
CAMEROON

• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António
  Guterres,
  
  visited this ethnic Mbororo refugees from the Central African
  Republic in a bid to focus world attention on the "forgotten tragedy" of
  these people sheltering in Cameroon.
   

• Guterres met and talked to some of the refugees
  during visits this week to Mandjou and Bolembe settlements, which
  together house some 3,000 refugees.
   

• The Mbororos are mainly nomadic cattle breeders
  from the west and north-west of the Central African Republic. Those
  fleeing to Cameroon since 2005 say that their people have been targeted
  by organized groups of bandits and rebels who steal their cattle and
  kidnap their women and children for ransom, according to the UN Refugee
  Agency (UNHCR).
  
   

• After his visit to Cameroon, Guterres was then
  heading to the Central African Republic today.
   

U.N. MISSION IN LIBERIA
STRESSES IMPARTIALITY IN LOFA COUNTY VIOLENCE

• In response to questions, the Spokesperson noted
  that the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
  has refuted claims that its forces were partial in last weekend’s
  violent incident in Lofa County.
   

• The Head of UNMIL, Ellen
  Margrethe Løj, said UNMIL troops acted promptly and supported no side in
  the violence, he noted.
   

• Having first heard about
  a violent demonstration in Konia Town, a batch of UNMIL Formed Police
  unit was quickly deployed in the Town. On the morning of the violence in
  Voinjama, both military and police forces intervened to restore calm.
   

• She described the
  incident as unfortunate and said it was based on what she called
  unfounded rumours that spread from Konia to Voinjama. Løj said the Lofa
  incident, which has ethnic undertones, shows that more challenges still
  remain despite the progress made so far in maintaining peace and
  security in Liberia.
   

• She said while the United
  Nations is in Liberia to keep the peace, it is up to Liberians
  themselves, regardless of religious and ethnic affiliation, to decide
  whether they want peace.
   

• Nesirky added that UNMIL
  has confirmed that shotguns and firearms were actually used in the
  violence by the mob, resulting in four deaths.
   

• He also said that all UN
  peacekeeping mission work impartially to serve all the people in the
  countries where they are deployed.

 

CAMPAIGN AGAINST POLIO
KICKS OFF TOMORROW IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

•  More than 85 million children under
  five years old will be immunized, starting tomorrow, against polio in 19
  countries across West and Central Africa, according to the World Health
  Organization (WHO)
  and
  
  UNICEF.
   

• Nine countries in West and Central Africa – Burkina
  Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and
  Sierra Leone – are considered to have active outbreaks of polio—that is,
  cases within the last six months.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
6- 12 March 2010

 

Saturday, 6 March

 

The Secretary-General will be in Chile where he is
expected to visit the city of Concepcion, one of the cities most affected by
the earthquake.

 

Sunday, 7 March

 

There
are no major events scheduled for today.

 

Monday, 8 March

 

Today is International Women's Day.

 

At 11:15 a.m., there will be a press conference by the
United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM) to announce the launch of the UNIFEM-UN Global Compact joint
initiative called “Women’s Empowerment Principles” which offers guidelines
on how to empower women in the workplace.

 

At 12:00 p.m., Ad Melkert, Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Iraq, will join the noon briefing by video
conference.

 

In New York, the Human Rights Committee, which oversees
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
will begin its 96th session in New York. During the three-week meeting the
Committee will review reports from Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand and
Uzbekistan.

 

In Geneva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Food, Mr. Olivier De Schutter, will share with the press the main findings
and recommendations of his report on the role of agribusiness and the right
to food.

 

In Geneva, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate
housing, Raquel Rolnik, will share with the press her report on the impact
of “mega-events” in the realization of the right to adequate housing, at a
press conference.

 

In Vienna, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) will
hold its 53rd session until 12 March. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive
Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will hold a press
briefing on the meeting today.

 

Tuesday, 9 March

 

At 10
a.m., a ceremony in memory of the United Nations System staff members that
were killed in the Haiti earthquake will take place in the Trusteeship
Council Chamber.

 

At
12:00 p.m., Edmond Mulet, Acting Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Haiti, will be at the noon briefing to update
correspondents on the situation in Haiti.

 

The
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, will be in
India today and will then be in Nepal from 10 to 12 March.

 

In
Geneva, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will launch
the 2010 Appeal for the Republic of Congo.

 

Wednesday, 10 March

 

This
morning, the Security Council will hold consultations on the United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

 

At 12:00 p.m., Mr. Filippo Grandi, newly appointed
Commissioner General of UNRWA will be the guest at the noon briefing.

 

At 2:00 p.m., there will be a press conference by
Marcella Villarreal, Director of FAO Gender, Equity and Rural Employment
Division about supporting women producers to respond to the challenges of
food insecurity.

 

Today and tomorrow, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay will visit Italy.

 

In Geneva, Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, will
share with the press an overview of the mandate and the activities he
has undertaken in his function.

 

Thursday, 11 March

 

This morning, the Security Council will hold
consultations on Sudan.

 

Friday, 12 March

 

This
morning, the Security Council is expected to adopt a text on the United
Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). It will
then hold consultations on the 1701 report.