HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, 18 July, 2006
THOUSANDS OF LIVES DEPEND ON SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME OF PLEDGING
CONFERENCE FOR A.U. IN DARFUR
The Secretary-General today
opened the
pledging conference in Brussels for the African Union Mission in Sudan, saying
that today’s meeting is intended to ensure that the African Union has the
resources it needs to carry out its critical work in Darfur. “The lives of
many thousands of children, women and men may depend on the outcome of our
efforts,” he said.
The Secretary-General talked about the
precious window of opportunity to end the cruel conflict in Darfur. “No hidden
agenda drives us,” he said, “Only the urgent need of Darfur’s people.” Beyond
the support for the current African Union Mission, he said that a United
Nations peacekeeping force should come to Darfur, “not as occupiers, but as
helpers”.
The Secretary-General took part in the
political segment of the Darfur pledging conference and a working luncheon
hosted by European Union High Representative Javier Solana prior to attending
the pledging session.
Asked if the Secretary-General had
addressed concerns raised about ongoing human rights abuses in Darfur, the
Spokesman noted that at today’s pledging conference in Brussels for the
African Union Mission in Sudan, the Secretary-General spoke about the needs of
the people in Darfur and how the violence there must stop immediately.
LEBANON: PROPOSED STABILIZATION FORCE SHOULD BE BIGGER THAN
CURRENT U.N. MISSION
The Secretary-General, while in
Brussels, spoke to
reporters to emphasize the need for concrete action to deal with the
crisis in the Middle East and for a
cessation of hostilities.
He spoke about his proposal for a
stabilization force in Lebanon, saying in response to questions that he would
expect a force that is larger than the 2,000-member UN Interim Force in
Lebanon, with a different concept of operations and different capabilities.
The Security Council, he said, will have to discuss this and define the
specific mandate for such a force.
In a joint
press encounter with European Union High Representative Javier Solana, the
Secretary-General emphasized, “The situation is very urgent, and it is
imperative that the international community acts to end the fighting.”
Asked if the Secretary-General had
spoken to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the Spokesman said that, in
recent days, the Secretary-General had been in telephone contact with a wide
range of officials in the Middle East and elsewhere, including Assad. The
Spokesman added that that in his discussions, the Secretary-General had
continued to press for a cessation of hostilities and the potential need for a
stabilization force on the ground.
Asked whether the Secretary-General
could apply pressure on Assad, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General
believes the leaders in the region and elsewhere have a role to play in
working with all the various parties to calm the situation.
The Spokesman added that the
Secretary-General is emphasizing the need for calm, the return of the captured
Israeli soldiers, an end to rocket firing by Hezbollah, and the halt of aerial
bombardment by Israel.
Asked if the Secretary-General had
discussed any strategy with US President Bush, the Spokesman all sides are
trying to deal with ways to end this situation, which is taking a terrific
toll on civilians in the Middle East. While there was no bilateral meeting
between the two, the Secretary-General and Bush were both part of a working
luncheon at the G8 Summit, he added in response to a further question.
Asked what timeframe the
Secretary-General had in mind for getting a stabilization force on the ground,
the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General has said as soon as practicable
as there is an urgent need for the stabilization force in order to create the
space for diplomacy and humanitarian work.
U.N. DELEGATION PROPOSES IDEAS TO RESOLVE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
The high-level UN delegation to the
Middle East, headed by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Vijay Nambiar,
today met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli
officials. They presented concrete ideas on how to resolve the current crisis
and reach an end of hostilities; those ideas were also presented to the
Lebanese Government over the past two days.
The delegation met first with Israeli
Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni. They then met Prime Minister Olmert's
Chief-of-Staff, Yoram Turbovitz, and his Diplomatic Adviser, Shalom Turgeman,
and the Prime Minister himself joined that meeting for about half an hour.
After the meeting with the Foreign
Minister, Terje Roed-Larsen, one of the members of the UN delegation, told
reporters that “we had good intensive and productive talks”. He said the team
will continue its dialogue with both Lebanese and Israeli interlocutors, and
asserted that the Secretary-General and his team are working very hard on
specific ideas to get us out of the current crisis.
The team is traveling to Gaza this
afternoon, where it intends to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Asked about the type of work underway
by the Secretary-General’s high-level mission to the region, the Spokesman
said that the sensitive nature of discussions undertaken by the mission is
such that specific details of their proposals cannot be provided.
He noted that the mission had met the
Lebanese Prime Minister and Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, as well as
with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Asked if Prime Minister Olmert’s
reported dismissal of a cessation of hostilities was considered a rejection of
the UN’s proposals, the Spokesman said that the high-level mission described
the meeting with Olmert as “useful” and the United Nations was continuing with
its efforts to obtain a cessation of hostilities.
Asked if the high-level mission would
visit Damascus today or tomorrow, the Spokesman said the mission was expected
to visit Syria, possibly sometime in the coming days.
Asked if the mission would be
returning to Lebanon following talks with the Palestinian leadership, the
Spokesman said that a return trip may occur, but he added that the mission’s
schedule is extremely fluid and subject to rapid change.
Asked when the high-level mission
would brief the Security Council on its activities in the Middle East, the
Spokesman said the mission is expected back in New York sometime at the end of
the week.
Asked if Security Council members were
appraised of the proposals of the high-level mission, the Spokesman said that
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari had provided
some details on the mission’s work at a briefing yesterday.
LEBANON HUMANITARIAN APPEAL TO BE LAUNCHED NEXT WEEK
The
UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) says that, while heavy exchanges of fire continue along
the Blue Line, all its positions in its area of operation are permanently
occupied and maintained by UN troops.
There were 15 incidents of firing
close to UNIFIL positions, the Mission says, and a position close to the
village of Marwahin suffered one direct hit from the Israeli side causing
material damage, but no injuries.
On the humanitarian front, the UN
Mission continued to cooperate closely with the Lebanese authorities, and they
decided to set up a joint coordination centre for humanitarian activities in
Tyre in the western sector, and Marjayoun in the eastern sector, to coordinate
humanitarian activities. Today, UNIFIL dispatched a convoy with humanitarian
aid to the villages of Al Boustan and Alma Ash Shab.
Meanwhile, the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has informed us that a four-person
humanitarian team is headed to the region – including Lebanon and Damascus –
to help coordinate the humanitarian response on the ground.
The United Nations expect to launch a
flash appeal for Lebanon early next week.
Asked if UNIFIL is in contact with
Hezbollah, the Spokesman said that UNIFIL is in constant dialogue with armed
elements in southern Lebanon, as well as Israeli and Lebanese authorities.
Asked if UNIFIL had tried to speak to
Hezbollah in order to have them stop firing rockets, the Spokesman noted that
UNIFIL have been doing what they can, and that the UN has also been proceeding
with efforts at a very high level, from the Secretary-General to the
high-level mission.
Asked if UNIFIL has attempted to
intercept Hezbollah activities, the Spokesman noted that UNIFIL has been
maintaining its positions, but because of the aerial bombardment, UNIFIL’s
movement has been restricted.
Asked about the work of UNIFIL, the
Spokesman said that UNIFIL’s mandate is designed to deal with the need for
calm in the areas in southern Lebanon, keeping watch over the Blue Line. The
Spokesman said it continues to do this as best it can despite the exchange of
fire.
Asked if UNIFIL was a UN operation
mandated under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, the Spokesman said that it was
not.
Asked about the nature of a potential
stabilization force, the Spokesman noted that the specific details of the
force would be determined by the Security Council. He added that UNIFIL’s
mandate expires at the end of the month, and the Council will then have to
decide on UNIFIL’s mandate and future.
Asked if UNIFIL had witnessed the
abduction of the two Israeli soldiers, the Spokesman said UNIFIL had not, but
had been made aware of the incident as it arose, and that information was
shared with the Security Council by the Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno.
Asked if there were plans to evacuate
UNIFIL staff, the Spokesman said he was unaware of any such plan, and that
UNIFIL plans to continue its activities.
U.N. PLANS FOR STAFF EVACUATIONS FROM LEBANON
As the situation in Lebanon persists,
the safety and security of UN personnel has become an even bigger concern for
the Organization, and the UN has initiated contingency planning for evacuating
non-essential staff and dependents of staff members.
So far, all UN staff and their
dependents are accounted for, with the exception of one staff member and his
spouse. All efforts are being deployed to locate them.
Two staff members are reported wounded
but their lives are not in danger.
Meanwhile, arrangements are also being
made to ensure continuity of UNIFIL's key functions.
Asked about UN plans to evacuate staff
from Lebanon, the Spokesman said that some staff, and a small group of
dependents, have already left Beirut. He added that there is a possibility
that staff located in the city of Tyre may be evacuated or relocated or
evacuated at a later stage. The Spokesman noted that for security reasons,
further details were unavailable for now.
Asked about the number of staff have
been evacuated so far and how many more will be evacuated, the Spokesman said
that at this stage, 445 UN staff have been evacuated to safer areas in the
region. As for further evacuations or relocations, Haq said, the UN will take
steps as the situation merits.
Asked about the wounds received by
staff members, the Spokesman said they were not life-threatening injuries.
IRAQ: U.N. MISSION CONCERNED BY INCREASING CIVILIAN
CASUALTIES
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
has issued its latest
bimonthly report on human rights in Iraq, which expresses the hope that
the new Government of national unity can forcefully address urgent human
rights concerns.
While welcoming recent positive steps
by the Government to promote national reconciliation, the report raises alarm
at the growing number of casualties among the civilian population killed or
wounded during indiscriminate or targeted attacks by terrorists and
insurgents, as well as militias and criminal groups. Kidnapping of individuals
and groups, for ransom or political purposes also continued to surge.
MORE THAN $3 BILLION NEEDED TO MEET HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
WORLDWIDE
Today in Geneva,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland launched the
Mid-Year Review of the Humanitarian Appeal 2006.
He said that, six months after the
launch of the Appeal, the UN and its partners still
need more than $3 billion to address the urgent needs of 30 million people
in 31 countries worldwide.
With the $1.7 billion received so far,
tens of millions of people have been fed, millions have been vaccinated, and
hundreds of thousands have been provided shelter. However, more funds are
needed, Egeland said.
U.N. WARNS OF IMPENDING LEAN SEASON IN TIMOR-LESTE
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in
Timor-Leste, Finn Reske-Nielsen, says that the $19.6 million Flash Appeal
issued in June for aid to the country is almost fully funded.
Nonetheless, he says that while
support for displaced persons was satisfactory for the moment, the “lean”
season – between harvests and during the dry period – would arrive in
September, earlier than usual, and provisions should be made accordingly.
Separately, the Deputy Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste, Anis Bajwa, today
briefed visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard on humanitarian,
security and political situation.
Banjwa thanked the Prime Minister for
the security provided by Australian soldiers, and the pair also exchanged
views on the shape and role of a new UN mission currently being planned for
the country.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ENCOURAGES SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVES
The UN Economic and Social Council
today adopted a resolution on sustained economic growth for social development
in the course of the humanitarian segment of its Substantive Session, now
underway in Geneva. The resolution, adopted by consensus, urges the UN system
to enhance its assistance to developing countries.
The Council said that the assistance
would facilitate the realization of the internationally agreed development
initiatives, including the Millennium Development Goals. The Council also
requested the Secretary-General to encourage the UN system to undertake
studies at all levels on the social impact of that effort.
Also this morning, the Council adopted
a resolution on the reinforcement of the coordination of the UN’s emergency
humanitarian assistance, in which it encourages the international community
and relevant UN agencies to support national initiatives on disaster
preparedness and risk reduction.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NO CONDITIONS SET ON RELEASE OF
NEPALESE PEACEKEEPERS: Asked if the reported
promotion of militia leader Peter Karim to a senior position in the national
army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was linked to his recent release of
seven Nepalese UN peacekeepers he had taken captive earlier, the Spokesman said
that the release of the peacekeepers was unconditional.
REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED BY FIGHTING,
DISPLACEMENT IN COLOMBIA: The Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
reports that it is concerned by escalating violence and forced civilian
displacement taking place in Colombia’s Pacific coastal region. More than a
thousand people have fled the area since fighting broke out a week ago between
the Colombian army and an irregular armed group. UNHCR says it is on the alert
for the massive exodus that will likely happen in the next few days if fighting
continues.
30,000 DISPLACED BY NEW INDONESIAN
TSUNAMI: Two UN-led assessment missions have gone
to hard-hit areas in Central and West Java following the earthquake and tsunami.
The teams reported 30,000 people displaced by the twin disasters. For its part,
the World Food Programme is
sending two truckloads of food to survivors in West Java. Two additional
trucks are on standby.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
