HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
January 8, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL: DARFUR IS A TOP PRIORITY
Ban Ki-moon this
morning
spoke to the Security Council for the first time in his role as
Secretary-General, and offered the Council
his initial views about his priorities over the coming months.
One of the top priorities, the Secretary-General said,
would be in Darfur, where he warned that the humanitarian situation is getting
worse. He added that he also intends to stay the course in other parts of
Africa and will hold discussions with leaders at the
African Union
summit in Addis Ababa this month.
The Secretary-General also
pledged to inject
new momentum in the search for peace in the Middle East and to work toward
resolving the status of Kosovo. And he emphasized that we must do more to
invigorate disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.
The Security Council intends to adopt a Presidential
Statement at the end of today’s meeting.
Asked why the Secretary-General
hadn’t mentioned Security Council reform, the Spokeswoman said that the
omission was not deliberate and that the Secretary-General was interested in
that issue. She noted that a proposal on reforming the Security Council is
currently in the hands of the Member States.
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES RELEASE OF
POLITICAL PRISONERS IN MYANMAR
The Secretary-General has
taken note of the
decision by the Government of Myanmar on 3 January 2007 to grant amnesty to
2,831 prisoners. He welcomes reports that this includes the release of up to
40 political prisoners.
The Secretary-General urges the
Myanmar authorities to go beyond this first step by releasing all other
political prisoners in the country, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and by
making further concrete progress on all of the issues raised in the context of
his good offices.
BAN KI-MOON IS CONCERNED AT RISING
TENSIONS IN GUINEA-BISSAU
The Secretary-General is very
concerned at the
heightened tensions in Guinea-Bissau following the killing of the country’s
former Navy Chief, Commodore Lamine Sanha, on 4 January 2007. He is
particularly distressed by the loss of life that occurred following the
intervention of the security forces during protests against the killing.
The Secretary-General urges the
government and political leaders to exercise utmost restraint, and to focus on
development and reconciliation.
He urges the people of
Guinea-Bissau not to take the law into their own hands. And he strongly
encourages all national stakeholders to find negotiated solutions to their
differences, and to avoid allowing impunity to prevail.
BAN KI-MOON URGES IRAQ TO STAY PLANNED
EXECUTIONS
The Secretary-General strongly
urged the
Government of Iraq to grant a stay of execution to those whose death sentences
may be carried out in the near future, according to a statement we issued on
Saturday.
Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar, in a letter to the
Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations, over the weekend
reiterated the Secretary General's endorsement of the call made last week by
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour for restraint in executing
the death sentences imposed against two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants,
Awad Hamad Al-Bandar and Barzan Ibrahim Al-Hassan.
The letter also stressed the need to pay due regard to
all aspects of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
Meanwhile, in other Iraq-related news, the UN refugee
agency today launched
a $60 million appeal to fund its work over the next 12 months for hundreds of
thousands of displaced Iraqis.
DARFUR ENVOY BEGINS KEY MISSION TO
AFRICAN UNION AND SUDAN
Jan Eliasson, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for
Darfur, has begun his mission to the region following consultations at UN
Headquarters last week.
He is today in Addis Ababa, where he is holding two days
of meetings with the Chairperson of the African Union and other senior AU
officials and senior members of the Ethiopian Government.
He plans to travel to Sudan for meetings with the
Government of National Unity and all other relevant parties to discuss steps
required to arrive at a durable solution to the situation in Darfur on the
basis of the Darfur Peace Agreement.
POTENTIAL DARFUR TROOP CONTRIBUTORS MEET
AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS
At UN Headquarters this morning, the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations met with potential troop and police contributors on
Phase II of UN support of the AU force in Darfur.
That includes some 1,800 military personnel in
specialized, self-sustaining units in the areas of Transport, Engineering,
Signal, Logistics, and Medical, as well as 300 police plus 3 Formed Police
Units, and equipment (vehicles, aircraft, communications, information).
And as agreed with the Government of Sudan and the
African Union, priority will be given to African troop and police
contributors.
CLOSE TO HALF A
MILLION DISPLACED BY DARFUR CRISIS IN 2006
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair
reports that in 2006, more than 450,000 people have been newly displaced,
often for the first time.
However, UN access to the affected populations has
plummeted to 64%, the lowest since April 2004.
Insecurity and lack of access continue to impede
humanitarian operations. Despite a 4 p.m. curfew in Geneina town to mitigate
the risk of vehicle hijacking, a UN vehicle was hijacked at 3:30 pm on 3
January.
Non-governmental organizations have not yet been able to
resume operations in Gereida in South Darfur. A recent assessment found that
security cannot be guaranteed in the town that is host to 130,000 people
displaced by the fighting.
NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO ASSUME
FUNCTIONS SOON
Asked about comments attributed
to incoming Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro on Iran, the Spokeswoman
noted that, when Migiro was Tanzania’s Foreign Minister, Tanzania last month
voted in favour of the UN Security Council resolution concerning Iran’s
nuclear programme. She added that the UN Secretariat was trying to contact
Migiro to determine what she had said.
Asked when the
Secretary-General had informed Migiro that she would be appointed Deputy
Secretary-General, the Spokeswoman said that had taken place last Friday. She
noted that it had been difficult to reach her, since she was at a conference
in Lesotho.
Asked when Migiro would be at
UN Headquarters, Montas said that she would probably be in New York in a
matter of days but would then leave again to wrap up her other duties.
Asked why the Secretary-General
hadn’t discussed with her the nature of the job she had to do, the Spokeswoman
said that he had spoken to other people about her, who had assured him that
she could do the job and do it well.
MONITORING NETWORK SET UP FOR INTERNALLY
DISPLACED
IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Available today is the latest
report
of the Secretary-General on the Central African Republic, in which he says
that the security and human rights situation deteriorated markedly in October
2006 due to a rebel offensive in the north-west, the continued banditry of
so-called road blockers and related reprisals by the security forces.
The Secretary-General also notes that joint efforts by
United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have facilitated the delivery
of emergency assistance, an improvement partly due to an information-gathering
network created by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees which
monitors the situation of some 50,000 internally displaced people. The UN
civilian police and peacebuilding office, meanwhile, are working to strengthen
the capacity of the national police and speed up the restructuring of the
security forces.
NUMBER OF LEBANON PEACEKEEPERS ON THE
RISE
The
strength
of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
has risen to more than 11,500 peacekeepers, with the recent deployment of an
infantry company from Malaysia and the rotation and reinforcement of troops
serving with the Indian contingent. The current total includes more than 9,600
ground troops and more than 1,700 naval personnel.
Also, since the cease-fire came into force on 14 August,
UNIFIL de-miners have destroyed a total of nearly 19,000 explosive devices.
UNITED NATIONS DEPLORES DEADLY ATTACK ON
POLICE IN GEORGIA
The UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
has deplored
last Friday’s attack on a Georgian checkpoint, which resulted in the killing
of one Georgian policeman and the wounding of another.
The Mission stresses that the perpetrators must be
brought to justice, calls on both sides to cooperate to prevent any escalation
of violence, and reiterates its call for dialogue.
The Mission has also increased the number and frequency
of its patrols in the conflict zone.
U.N OFFICIAL ATTENDS AFRICAN UNION
MEETING ON SOMALIA
The UN Special Representative for
Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall,
attended the Peace and Security Commission meeting of the African Union in
Addis Ababa today.
The Commission met to discuss implementation of
UN
Security Council Resolution 1725, which authorizes the creation of a
protection force and training mission in Somalia to help protect the country's
transitional federal institutions. The new force is to be set up by the
African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Ambassador Fall called for further involvement of the AU
in sensitizing the Transitional Federal Government to the need to engage in an
all-inclusive dialogue. He also urged the African Union Peace and Security
Commission to implement resolution 1725 as soon as possible, and for member
states to contribute troops.
SUSPECT DETAINED IN KILLING OF
PEACEKEEPERS IN HAITI
The UN Mission in Haiti has confirmed the arrest of a
suspect in the November killing of 2 UN peacekeepers in the capital
Port-au-Prince. The arrest took place Friday and was conducted by a joint
squad of UN peacekeepers and Haitian national police during a pre-dawn
operation in Cite Soleil area. The suspect, an alleged gang member known as
Zachari, was arrested along with a suspected kidnapper.
To date, 14 peacekeepers have died since the start of the
UN Mission in Haiti.
UNITED NATIONS CONDEMNS KILLING OF
CIVILIANS IN SRI LANKA
The United Nations condemns the deliberate targeting of
civilians in Sri Lanka, and deplores the latest incidents involving two
civilian buses which resulted in the deaths of over 20 innocent civilians with
dozens maimed and injured.
The United Nations calls for the protection of all
civilians throughout the island.
The office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri
Lanka describes the situation in Vaharai in the east as grave and demands an
urgent response. “We stand ready to assist those still trapped in Vaharai,”
says Amin Awad, the Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME CHIEF ON CENTRAL
AMERICAN TOUR
The UN Development
Programme Administrator Kemal Derviş embarks today on a 10-day visit to
Central America, during which he will look at the Development Programme’s
project activities and meet with representatives of national and local
governments.
He will also meet with civil society, academia, private
sector leaders and the media in a region with deep and diverse experience—and
significant obstacles to overcome--- in human development.
Derviş will visit Cuba, Honduras, Costa Rica, and
Guatemala. He is expected back in New York on 19 January.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. POSITION ON FIJIAN PEACEKEEPERS IS UNCHANGED:
Asked about any change from previous
UN statements
concerning the use of Fijian peacekeepers following a coup in that country, the
Spokeswoman said that the previous statements continue to stand.
PEACEKEEPING DEPARTMENT RESPONDS TO SUDANESE CONCERNS
ABOUT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE: Asked
about a response from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to the Sudanese
Government concerning sexual exploitation allegations, the Spokeswoman confirmed
that the response has been sent.
BAN KI-MOON RECEIVES LETTER FROM ISRAELI CABINET
MINISTER LIEBERMAN: Asked about a letter to
the Secretary-General by Israeli Cabinet minister Avigdor Lieberman, the
Spokeswoman confirmed that the letter had been received, adding that no reply
has been sent.
BAN KI-MOON’S FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORM TO BE RELEASED
SOON: Asked when the Secretary-General’s
financial disclosure would be published, the Spokeswoman said that would happen
once it had been reviewed by the UN Ethics Office and by the outside consultant,
Price Waterhouse Coopers.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
