Thursday,
April 15, 2010
 

BHUTTO COMMISSION TO PRESENT REPORT OF ITS WORK TODAY 

• The
  
  Commission of Inquiry that was formed to determine the facts in the
  2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
  will formally present the report on its work to the Secretary-General at
  4:30 p.m. The Secretary-General will then transmit it to the Government
  of Pakistan, and he will also share it, for information purposes, with
  the members of the Security Council.
   

• At 5:15 p.m., at the second floor stakeout in the
  North Lawn Building, Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon of Pakistan will
  hold a brief press encounter to discuss the report.
   

• Then, at 5:30 p.m., Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of
  Chile, the Chair of the Commission, and one of the other Commission
  members, Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia, will give a press conference to
  provide details of the report.

KYRGYZSTAN: BAN KI-MOON
WELCOMES AGREEMENT
BETWEEN PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT AND DEPOSED PRESIDENT

• Secretary-General Ban
  Ki-moon welcomes the fact that the Provisional Government and Mr.
  Kurmanbek Bakiev reached a solution based on the Constitution of the
  country that enabled the departure
  abroad of the deposed President from
  the South of Kyrgyzstan.
   

• He believes that this is
  an important step toward the peaceful, stable, prosperous and
  democratic development of the country and its good governance. The UN
  together with its international and regional partners is ready to work
  with the authorities in order to contribute in these areas for
  the benefit of the people of Kyrgyzstan.
   

• The Secretary-General hopes that at the same
  time justice will prevail and the authorities of the country assisted by
  the international community can find a means for its realization

 BAN KI-MOON TO BRIEF SECURITY
COUNCIL ON RECENT TRIPS 

• The Secretary-General will brief the
  
  Security Council at 3:00 this afternoon on his recent
  
  travels. That briefing will be in closed consultations.
   

• This morning, Security Council members received a
  briefing on Western Sahara by the head of the UN peacekeeping mission
  there (MINURSO),
  Hany Abdel-Aziz, and the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Christopher
  Ross. They discussed the Secretary-General’s recent
  
  report, which says that the two informal meetings held in August
  2009 and February 2010 produced no movement on the core substantive
  issues. The Secretary-General writes that more work is needed before a
  fifth round of formal negotiations can be held.
   

• In its morning session, Council members are to
  receive an update on the sanctions regime in Cote d’Ivoire by the
  Ambassador of Brazil, who chairs the sanctions committee dealing with
  that country.
   

• Asked about Christopher
  Ross’s plans, the Spokesperson said that he will continue to engage with
  the parties, to see whether further informal consultations could be
  held. Although substantial progress has not been made, Ross intends to
  keep trying to work with the parties.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. ENVOY CONCERNED AT
KILLING OF CIVILIANS 

• The Special
  Representative of the Secretary-General for
  
  Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, expressed his concern today about
  the reported killing on Monday of four civilians in Afghanistan’s
  Kandahar province, when international military forces fired at a bus.
  
   

• De Mistura called on all
  parties to the conflict to do their utmost to minimize harm to ordinary
  Afghans and to take every possible precautionary measure to distinguish
  between civilians and combatants in their operations.
   

• This incident follows
  other reports of civilian casualties over recent weeks. According to de
  Mistura, this is a “disturbing trend, and all efforts must be undertaken
  to ensure it is reversed.”
   

• He also expressed his
  sadness at the death of five deminers, and injuring of 16 others, when
  their bus was struck by a roadside bomb on 11 April. He deplored the
  attack on courageous people who for years have devoted their lives to
  making Afghanistan safer for all.
   

• Asked about possible
  mechanisms to prevent civilian casualties, the Spokesperson said that
  the United Nations is aware that the rules of engagement are constantly
  being reviewed. As that happens, he said, de Mistura was emphasizing the
  need to take every possible measure to distinguish between civilians and
  combatants.

 UNITED
NATIONS HAS FORMED BOARD OF INQUIRY TO LOOK INTO DEATHS OF STAFF IN
AFGHANISTAN

• In response to a question
  on the death of UN security staff member Louis Maxwell during an attack
  in Afghanistan last October, the Spokesperson said that the United
  Nations has followed due process in investigating an incident of this
  nature by instituting a Board of Inquiry after an initial fact-finding
  by staff in Kabul and New York.
   

• The United Nations has
  been in contact with the responsible Afghan authorities in the course of
  its inquiries. The Board will submit its report in due course.
   

• He said that further
  actions by the United Nations will depend on its findings and it would
  be premature at this point to comment further.
   

• Nesirky added that the
  United Nations is also cooperating with the Federal Bureau of
  Investigation in its inquiries into the incident.
   

• The United Nations has
  also briefed the Maxwell family on the progress of its initial inquiries
  and is determined to support the family.
   

• Asked about Boards of
  Inquiry, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations takes seriously
  any incident that results in the loss of life of staff and investigates
  it thoroughly.

 LEBANON: U.N OFFICIAL, INTERIOR
MINISTER DISCUSS PLANNED MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 

• Michael Williams, the UN
  
  Special Coordinator for Lebanon, met today with Lebanese Interior
  Minister, Ziad Baroud, to discuss the forthcoming municipal elections.
  He said afterward that he strongly welcomed the agreement of all
  Lebanese political parties to go ahead with the municipal elections on
  time in May.
   

• Williams also welcomed
  the agreement in the National Dialogue, on 9 March, to maintain a calm
  and peaceful climate ahead of the elections.  He said that the United
  Nations strongly supports any agreement that helps promote an atmosphere
  of peace and stability in Lebanon. 

 HAITI: LARGE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS
REOPEN IN QUAKE-HIT REGIONS 

• Edmond Mulet, the Secretary-General’s Special
  Representative for Haiti, today said that the re-opening of a large
  number of schools in the areas directly affected by the 12 January
  earthquake demonstrates the Government’s work to restore normal life to
  the Haitian people. He noted the remarkable efforts by the Haitian
  Government and people over the three months since the earthquake.
   

• Mulet said that the UN Stabilization Mission in
  Haiti (MINUSTAH)
  and the UN system will continue to assist the people and Government of
  Haiti in the country’s reconstruction.

 PEACEKEEPING DEPARTMENT RELEASES
QUARTERLY DATA ON
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE IN FIELD MISSIONS 

• Since December 2009, the Departments of
  Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support has been issuing quarterly
  press releases to make public updated statistics on sexual exploitation
  and abuse cases in field Missions. More detailed statistics and
  additional information available in the
  
  Conduct and Discipline website. 

UNDP
LAUNCHES CHINA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT

• UNDP Administrator Helen
  Clark expressed her “sincerest condolences” to the Chinese people for
  the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit the northwest of Qinhgai Province
  yesterday morning. In a letter addressed to Premier Wen Jiabao, Helen
  Clark also commended the Government’s immediate response, stating that
  the United Nations system, including UNDP, stands ready to provide China
  with all the necessary assistance for the relief effort.
   

• Today in Beijing, UNDP
  launched the China Human Development Report, which says that if the
  negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are not
  adequately addressed in China, there is a danger that three decades of
  social and economic achievements may be reversed.
   

• The Report suggests that
  the most strategic choice is to embark on a low carbon development path
  that will preserve and increase its human development achievements in
  the years to come. The publication offers policy options for a country
  that will see the migration of nearly 350 million rural Chinese into
  urban areas over the next two decades.

ELEVEN
CANDIDATES VYING TO LEAD FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

• Asked about
  candidates for the top position at the UN Framework Convention for
  Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Spokesperson said that there were 11
  candidates from 11 countries. He declined to provide names and
  nationalities, citing established policy respecting the privacy of the
  candidates.
   

• In response
  to a question, he confirmed that Janos Pasztor’s name had been submitted
  by the President of Hungary for the post. Upon announcement of his
  candidacy, Mr. Pasztor was asked to dissociate himself from activities
  relating to the UNFCCC with immediate effect. Nesirky added that the
  questions his candidacy would raise will be dealt with in a transparent
  manner. He noted that Janos Pasztor’s office is not involved in the
  process of selecting a successor to Yvo de Boer.
  

OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS

• U.N,
  SUDAN WORKING TO ENSURE SAFE RETURN OF MISSING MISSION STAFF:
  Asked about four UN peacekeeping personnel who are missing in Sudan, the
  Spokesperson said that the United Nations is working with the Sudanese
  authorities to ensure that they are returned safely.
   

• INQUIRY
  ONGOING INTO HIRING OF RELATIVE OF DR CONGO MISSION CHIEF:
  Asked about an inquiry into the role that Alan Doss played in a hiring
  decision at the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Spokesperson said
  that there is no final report that has been issued on that matter. There
  is a draft investigative detail, provided only to Mr Doss for his
  comment before a report is finalized. Once finalized, the report will be
  sent to the Secretary-General.