HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, 16 August 2006
ANNAN TO SEND
HIGH-LEVEL MISSION TO LEBANON & ISRAEL
The Secretary-General has decided to
dispatch to Lebanon and Israel a high-level mission to talk to the parties
involved, to secure the full implementation of
resolution 1701.
The mission will consist of Vijay
Nambiar, the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, and Terje Roed-Larsen.
They will depart tomorrow and are
expected to return at some point next week.
In related news, the Secretary-General
today met with Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Asked who the mission would meet, the Spokesman
said the mission would meet with the authorities in Lebanon and Israel, but a
full program for meetings has yet to be set.
He added that the mission falls within the
Secretary-General’s responsibility to report back on the implementation of the
resolution and to help the parties as outlined in resolution 1701.
Asked if the Secretary-General will be seeing
Nambiar and Roed-Larsen before their departure, the Spokesman said the
Secretary-General meets with his advisors in person or by telephone regularly.
“So he’s obviously in close contact with them and
will give them their marching orders before they fly off,” Dujarric said.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s view of reports
that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had expressed support for Hezbollah in
its efforts during the conflict, the Spokesman reiterated that the
Secretary-General spoke with al-Assad over the weekend to stress that the
international community has come up with a plan to support the Lebanese
Government and that all those who have an influence should assert that
influence positively.
Asked if the Deputy Secretary-General was the
senior UN official responsible for Lebanon, the Spokesman said the
Secretary-General is in charge of the Lebanon file and the Deputy
Secretary-General is supporting the Secretary-General’s efforts with
coordination of the work carried out by various UN departments and agencies.
He refuted reports that the
Deputy Secretary-General had been given a new position. Dujarric said that
Mark Malloch-Brown was doing his job as Deputy Secretary-General in supporting
the work of the Secretary-General.
U.N. TO HOLD MEETING FOR POTENTIAL TROOP-CONTRIBUTORS FOR
LEBANON FORCE
The UN is working on the formation of
the enhanced UN force for Lebanon. Tomorrow afternoon, a meeting organized by
the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and chaired by Deputy
Secretary-General Mark Malloch-Brown will bring together potential
troop-contributing countries at UN headquarters.
Meanwhile, the UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL)
says the situation on the ground has been calm overall with the cessation of
hostilities generally maintained in the past 24 hours, except for three
incidents reported.
UN peacekeepers continued intensive
patrolling overnight night and this morning throughout the UNIFIL area of
operation to assess the situation on the ground and to monitor the cessation
of hostilities. It also resumed air patrols over the area along the Blue Line.
UNIFIL continued its contacts with
both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army with a view to facilitating an
early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed
Forces in the south.
UNIFIL’s Force Commander met with the
senior counterparts from the two armies this morning inside the UNIFIL
position at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura. The meeting was work-oriented
and productive.
Asked for an update on force generation for the
expanded UNIFIL, and whether France had come forward with any troop
commitments, the Spokesman said the no firm offers had yet been received but
tomorrow’s meeting of troop-contributing countries might provide more on this
issue, adding that the United Nations remains in contact with the French
authorities.
“What is clear is that we are trying to get as
quickly as possible a very firm commitment so that we can deploy as quickly as
possible,” Dujarric said. He noted that the UN Department of Peacekeeping
Operation has indicated that the United Nations would need and want 3,500
peacekeepers within the next two weeks in order to be able to reinforce the
work already being done on the ground.
Asked about reports that the
Lebanese Government will allow Hezbollah to keep weapons underground, and thus
circumvent a plan to create a demilitarized zone between the Litani River and
the Blue Line with no weapons in sight, the Spokesman declined to comment on
such reports, adding that the resolution is clear in assigning the
responsibilities of the Lebanese Government and the role of the United Nations
in assisting the Lebanese Government in asserting its full authority in south
Lebanon.
FOOD AID TO LEBANON MIGHT BE REDUCED DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS
The Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that two convoys departed Beirut this morning. One is headed to
Tyre. The other, sent by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA) is headed to Wavel Camp in Baalbek carrying food for
some 5,000 residents.
A UN-chartered ship also left Beirut
for Tyre this morning, carrying food, medical supplies, drinking water and
fuel. Part of that fuel will be used to supply hospitals. Meanwhile, a plane
chartered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
arrived in Beirut from Amman today with tents, mattresses and other relief
supplies.
For their part, UNIFIL and OCHA have
begun assessing damage to roads and bridges in the area of Tyre. UNIFIL has
also been providing medical assistance, water and food to a number of villages
in its area of operations.
Regarding the UN’s $165 million
flash appeal, it is still less than 50% funded. The World Food Programme (WFP)
today warned
that the lack of funds could sharply reduce its aid deliveries. Among other
things, WFP has been
providing
bread and biscuits to the thousands of people heading over the Syrian border
back into Lebanon.
In response to the threat of
unexploded ordnance and landmines to returnees to south Lebanon, the UN Mine
Action Service reports that, in addition to supporting a mass risk awareness
programme, it is also planning to offer landmine and unexploded ordnance
safety training to humanitarian workers.
For its part, UNIFIL’s de-mining team,
from the Chinese contingent, is continuing to clear unexploded ordnance from
the area.
U.N. DRAWS UP PLAN TO CLEAN UP LEBANON OIL SPILL
An International Assistance Action
Plan has been drawn up to deal with the
oil spill off the Lebanese coast following the bombing of the Jiyyeh power
station last month.
The plan has been put together by
experts under the supervision of the Regional
Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea –
which is partly administered by the UN Environment Programme and the
International Maritime Organization.
A high level meeting to finalize the
Action Plan will take place in Athens tomorrow.
Asked if the UN system was ready to study the
impact of the conflict on the environment and agriculture, the Spokesman said
efforts were already underway as evidenced by the meetings in Athens.
“Obviously as we move from a
humanitarian relief phase to a reconstruction phase, environmental issues will
be looked at and looked at carefully, at the request of the Government of
Lebanon or at the request of the Government of Israel,” Dujarric said.
U.N. ALARMED BY REPORTS OF FORCED RELOCATIONS IN SUDAN
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
has received alarming reports about the forced relocation and demolition of a
large area for internally displaced people outside Khartoum which began this
morning.
According to an UN team that visited
the area, thousands of heavily armed policemen and several tanks surrounding
Dar Assalam, an area about 40 kilometres outside Khartoum, early this morning,
and at 8:00 a.m. a bulldozer started demolishing hundreds of houses randomly
with less than five minutes notice to the families.
The UN team also heard a number of
gunshots before it was told to leave the area.
The UN is urging Government
authorities to immediately stop the forced relocation and demolition of this
area.
HALF A MILLION DARFURIANS CUT OFF FROM FOOD AID DUE TO
FIGHTING
The World Food Programme (WFP)
says that
almost half a million people in Darfur, Sudan, are now cut off from emergency
food aid because of fighting and attacks in the region.
WFP also warns that food aid rations
for six million people in Sudan might have to be scaled down as early as
October because food stocks are running short, forcing the agency to put
beneficiaries on a reduced calorie diet – below the 2,100 kilocalorie daily
minimum requirement.
WFP needs around $350 million to avoid
another round of ration cuts and cover Sudan’s food aid requirements for the
first three months of 2007 – and as it takes up to six months for donations to
be converted into food and transported, WFP says the money is needed now.
SOMALIA: SECURITY COUNCIL URGED TO MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE ARMS
EMBARGO
The
Security Council earlier today heard
a briefing by Francois Lonseny Fall, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Somalia, who updated Security Council members on recent
developments in Somalia.
In his briefing, Fall appealed to
Security Council members to continue to ensure the effectiveness of the arms
embargo on Somalia, to press upon the Somali parties the urgency in avoiding
any further deterioration of the situation, and to encourage all sides to
resume dialogue.
U.N. HELPS LIBERIA RECLAIM RUBBER PLANTATION
The Special Representative of the
Secretary-General in Liberia, Alan Doss, yesterday
attended the
official ceremony marking the restoration to the Liberian Government of the
Guthrie Rubber Plantation. This is part of a UN-backed effort to restore the
rule of law and Liberian state authority on illegally-occupied rubber
plantations.
In his speech, Special Representative
Doss noted that the repossession of the Guthrie Rubber Plantation by the
Liberian Government is the result of good cooperation between the UN and local
authorities, who he commended for choosing non-violent means of solving
contentious issues.
NUMBER OF AFRICANS GETTING A.I.D.S. TREATMENT REACHES RECORD
HIGH
At the International AIDS Conference
in Toronto today, the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS Director
reported that the number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in
sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed 1 million for the first time – a ten-fold
increase since December 2003.
At the same time, however, he
emphasized that there is much work to be done to meet the goal of providing
universal access to HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support by
2010.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN ALARMED BY SRI LANKA VIOLENCE:
Asked about the Secretary-General’s view of recent fighting in Sri Lanka, the
Spokesman said the Secretary-General was deeply
alarmed by the
violence and the toll it has taken, especially on children. The Spokesman added
that the Secretary-General urges the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers
to return to the Norwegian-led peace process.
ANNAN MEETS NOBEL LAUREATE:
Asked why the Secretary-General met Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Weisel today, the
Spokesman said Weisel is a dear friend of the Secretary-General's and met with
him regularly.
U.N. TO MARK 2003 BAGHDAD BOMBING:
A ceremony marking the 3rd anniversary of the 19 August 2003 bombing on the UN
compound in Baghdad will be observed this Friday from 10:15am to 10:30 am at the
lobby of General Assembly Building. The programme will consist of 2 songs by UN
singers and a brief statement on behalf of the Secretary-General, followed by a
minute of silence.
*** The guest at the noon briefing
was Francois Lonseny Fall, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Somalia.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
