Wednesday,
April 7, 2010
 

BAN KI-MOON DEPLORES DEATHS IN KYRGYZSTAN
PROTESTS, APPEALS AGAIN FOR CALM AND DIALOGUE

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is shocked by the
  reported deaths and injuries that have occurred today in Kyrgyzstan.
   

• He once again
  calls on all concerned to show
  restraint.
   

• He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid
  further bloodshed.
   

• The Secretary-General is following the situation
  closely.

BAN KI-MOON
COMPLETES CENTRAL ASIA VISIT;
CALLS FOR RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES OVER WATER AND ENERGY

• The Secretary-General wrapped up his visit to
  Central Asia on Wednesday, with talks with Kazakh President Nursultan
  Nazarbayev and other officials. 
   

• He also met UN staff based in Astana.  In his
  meeting with the President, the Secretary-General discussed nuclear
  disarmament, cooperation among Central Asian countries over water
  resources, the global economy, Afghanistan, human rights and
  Kazakhstan’s chairmanship this year of the Organization for Security and
  Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
   

• He told
  reporters afterward that they had
  paid special attention to the region’s management of energy and water. 
  The Secretary-General said, “We have a collective responsibility, both
  the international community as well as the regions leaders, to deal with
  these urgent issues before tensions get worse.”
   

• The Secretary-General is now en route to
  Vienna for talks with Austrian leaders, a meeting of the Chief
  Executives Board (CEB) bringing together the top UN officials, and a
  speech to the OSCE’s Permanent Council.

 UNITED
NATIONS ENCOURAGES DIALOGUE AMONG SUDANESE ON EVE OF ELECTIONS 

• In his latest
  
  report on Sudan, which was released today, the Secretary-General
  says that the parties to the
  
  Comprehensive Peace Agreement have made progress on a number of
  fronts, including resolution of the long-standing dispute over the
  census results and advances in the north-south border demarcation. He
  also welcomes the renewed commitment of the parties to negotiating the
  post-referendum issues and, in particular, their achievement in agreeing
  to the negotiating process and structure. He warns the UN Mission in
  Sudan (UNMIS)
  will face key challenges with regard to referendum preparations,
  security in the south, and capacity-building in its areas of operation.
  
   

• Asked about reports that major parties will
  boycott the forthcoming Sudanese elections, the Spokesperson said that,
  while it respects the right of candidates and political parties to reach
  their own decisions, the United Nations continues to encourage all
  Sudanese political actors to recognize the importance of dialogue, for
  the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
   

• One of the prime facets of the CPA is the
  opening of democratic space in Sudan, so that the people and the wide
  variety of political forces in the country can represent and participate
  in the process of decision-making.  Okabe said that the elections are,
  therefore, an important step, designed to revive the democratic
  institutions and processes. 
   

• She added that the United Nations encourages
  the Government of National Unity, the Government of Southern Sudan, and
  the National Elections Commission to ensure that the elections credibly
  reflect the will of the Sudanese people.
   

• The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  is mandated to assist the Government and the National Electoral
  Commission (NEC) by  providing technical and logistical support n order
  to enable timely conduct of the elections and by advising and
  encouraging the NEC, the Government and all other parties to address
  concerns that may jeopardize their credibility.

BAN KI-MOON REITERATES WORLD’S FIRM COMMITMENT
TO SECURE JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE

• The Secretary-General marked the 16th
  commemoration of the start of the genocide in Rwanda with a
  message
  paying tribute to the memory of more than 800,000 innocent people who
  lost their lives. He once more affirmed that the United Nations is fully
  committed to securing justice for the victims of genocide and to
  preventing future atrocities.
   

• The Secretary-General said that he was
  encouraged by the General Assembly's response to his report on
  implementing the Responsibility to Protect. He said that the
  international community stands firm and in solidarity against genocide,
  war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
   

• There will be an official ceremony today in observance of the genocide
  in the ECOSOC Chamber of the North Lawn Building, starting at 5:15pm. 
  The ceremony will feature music performed by young Rwandan and
  international musicians, and the Deputy Secretary-General will be among
  the speakers.
   

• The ceremony will be followed by a film screening of “As We Forgive”, a
  documentary about the power and pain of reconciliation in Rwanda. That
  screening will be followed by a discussion with the film's director and
  a genocide survivor, to be moderated by Ed Luck, the Special Adviser on
  the Responsibility to Protect.

 DR CONGO: LIFE SLOWLY RETURNING TO NORMAL IN MBANDAKA AFTER DEADLY
VIOLENCE

• Our Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) says that
  life is returning to normal in the town of Mbandaka, in the Equateur
  Province, days after deadly clashes between UN-backed Congolese troops
  and insurgents left several people killed.
   

• Yesterday, the Mission’s Force Commander, Gen. Babacar Gaye,
  
  visited the area to take stock of the situation. Gaye reported that
  some shops and markets had reopened but that the overall pace of
  recovery is slow. The Force Commander’s visit also sought to shore up
  public confidence in the ability of UN troops to ensure public safety.
  It is expected that the General will make specific recommendations to
  the Mission leadership in how to further the effort to restore normal
  life in the region.
   

• Meanwhile, Alan Doss, the
  Special Representative of
  the Secretary General in the DRC, has condemned the assassination by
  unknown gunmen on April 5th of a Congolese journalist working for the
  national broadcaster, RTCN. The killing took place in the town of Beni,
  in the Ma Campagne region. Doss has called on the authorities to make
  every effort to find the culprits and prosecute them with the full force
  of the law.
   

• 
  Still, on the DRC, the Mission has released new figures on the
  repatriation of former Rwandan rebels to their country of origin.
  Between January and March, 312 former rebels and their 375 dependents
  were sent back to Rwanda. In total, The UN has helped repatriate some
  2500 former rebels since January 2009.