HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
February 5, 2007
SECRETARY-GENERAL ELABORATES ON
RESTRUCTURING PROPOSALS
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, in an informal
meeting this morning, told the Member States about the need for restructuring
to enhance UN efforts in the fundamental areas of peace operations and
disarmament.
He said the number of peacekeeping operations is at an
all-time high, and there is a need to deal with the surge in demand. He
proposed the creation of a new Department of Field Support that can support
field operations more effectively, coherently and responsively, and establish
a clear point of responsibility and accountability for field support.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General also emphasized the need
for sustained and determined leadership to deal with disarmament issues, and
therefore proposes that the Department of
Disarmament Affairs be constituted as an Office with a direct line to him
to ensure access and more frequent interaction.
And he promised that he continues to listen to Member
States and has adjusted his proposals in accordance with their concerns.
The Secretary-General also
briefed the General Assembly on his first major overseas trip since assuming
office.
Asked about the response from Member States, the Spokeswoman noted that
consultations are still continuing. The Secretary-General’s presentation this
morning, she noted, was in front of a full room, in what is just the beginning
of consultations with the larger membership, following a period of discussions
on a smaller scale.
She said that this morning, Member States had been answering the
Secretary-General’s request for more views, while senior UN officials were on
hand to provide more information.
The Secretary-General, she said, would provide more information to Member
States as the process goes on.
Asked whether there were any more changes to the restructuring plan, Montas
said that there had been clarifications, not changes.
Asked whether the Department for Disarmament Affairs was being downgraded, the
Spokeswoman said that the proposal was that the office would be under the
Secretary-General’s stewardship. She said that the Secretary-General would
wait for a reaction, and would follow the legislative process at the United
Nations.
Asked about the rank of the disarmament head,
Montas said that has not been decided yet.
Asked whether the Secretary-General had changed his mind on incorporating the
Department for Disarmament Affairs within the Department for Political
Affairs, the Spokeswoman said that idea had simply been one of many
suggestions made. The idea before the membership now, which does not include
that earlier suggestion, is more concrete, she said.
ON FIRST DAY IN OFFICE, DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL
SAYS WILL STRIVE FOR AN INTEGRATED UNITED NATIONS
In a
press encounter this morning, the Secretary-General introduced the new
Deputy Secretary-General,
Asha-Rose Migiro, who had just signed a declaration pledging to exercise in
all loyalty, discretion and conscience, the functions entrusted to her, with
the interest of the United Nations only in view.
The Deputy Secretary-General said that she will strive to
bring about a more integrated United Nations in all that she does, and added
of her first days on the job, “I have had a hectic but very interesting
beginning indeed.”
The Secretary-General was also asked some questions, and,
in response to a question on the Middle East, said that he fully supports a
planned trilateral meeting among the United States, the Palestinian Authority
and Israeli leaders. He added his hope that the trilateral meeting would be
followed up by another Quartet meeting soon.
BAN KI-MOON DENOUNCES TOLL OF CLIMATE
CHANGE ON THE POOR
On climate change, the Secretary-General today
stressed that it
is the poor – in Africa, small island developing states and elsewhere – who
will suffer the most, even though they are the least responsible for global
warming.
That was part of his message to the UN Environment
Programme’s
Governing Council, which is meeting in Nairobi today.
He also said that, despite our best intentions and some
admirable efforts to date, degradation of the global environment continues
unabated.
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s position on moving the UN’s environmental work out of
Nairobi, the Spokeswoman said that the suggestion made at an international
conference last week was to bring all environmental offices under one
organization. That proposal, she said, is up to Member States to consider and
does not imply moving the UN environmental bodies out of Nairobi.
U.N. ENVOY FOR IRAQ:
NEW THINKING IS NEEDED TO OVERCOME DEADLY VIOLENCE
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Iraq, over the weekend
condemned in the strongest terms the upsurge in violence in Iraq, which
targeted innocent civilians in popular markets and universities.
Qazi called on Iraqi leaders and citizens to exhibit
fresh thinking in the face of the violence that is tearing their society to
pieces. He welcomed Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani’s statement calling on all
to remember the fundamental unity of Islam and the need to close ranks in
defence of civilized values and the future of the country.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR
FURTHER ISRAELI RELEASE OF PALESTINIAN TAX REVENUES
The Secretary-General, in a
message to a UN
seminar in Qatar today on assistance to the Palestinian people, says that he
is very alarmed by the precarious state of the Palestinian economy and the
serious humanitarian emergency in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He notes that Israel’s recent release of some withheld
tax revenues was a welcome step, and he urges Israel to take further steps in
this direction without delay. He also calls for the Palestinians to take firm
steps to cease rocket fire and other indiscriminate attacks against Israeli
civilians.
Asked what was accomplished at
last week’s Quartet meeting, the Spokeswoman referred to the joint communiqué
issued at the end of the meeting.
AID AGENCIES ALARMED AT UPSURGE IN
PALESTINE VIOLENCE
In a joint statement, the UN agencies working in the
occupied Palestinian territory on Saturday expressed their alarm at the
deteriorating security situation in Gaza.
The upsurge of violence, which has taken the lives of
innocent civilians, is also putting UN workers on the ground at serious risk,
the agencies said, making it extremely difficult to fulfill their humanitarian
mandates to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. Yet the
agencies asserted that they remain determined to continue with their
humanitarian work.
The UN agencies jointly call for an immediate end to the
violence and respect by all parties for the human rights of the population in
Gaza, and they condemn in the strongest possible terms the killing of women,
children and other unarmed civilians. They appeal to the parties to refrain
from any action which endangers civilian life and which prevents the United
Nations from fulfilling its humanitarian responsibilities.
ATTACKS ON HUMANITARIAN WORKERS IN SUDAN
UP 67 PERCENT
The UN
Mission in Sudan continues to report violence in the form of fighting and
attacks in Darfur.
Meanwhile, despite strong appeals from United Nations
agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Darfur,
threats against the world’s largest relief operation have become even more
severe, warned Margareta Wahlström, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator.
“Darfur was already one of the most dangerous areas for
relief workers in 2005. But security incidents involving relief workers
surged by another 67 per cent in 2006,” she said. “Even more disturbing is
that security incidents involving internally displaced people have more than
tripled. All parties have to act now to stop these attacks and bring the
perpetrators to justice.”
MULTI-AGENCY PROBES BEGIN IN D.R. CONGO
LATEST UNREST
Two UN multi-agency teams are investigating the
circumstances around last week’s violence in Matadi and its humanitarian and
security implications for the Bas-Congo province, where more than 70 were
reported dead in the aftermath of local elections.
Over
the weekend, the Mission reinforced its presence in the region by deploying a
35-strong additional UN police unit.
The
Mission also deplored the fact that local police appear to misinform the
public that UN troops are responsible for the violence. Such unfounded charges
have led to the stoning by angry youth of two UN vehicles earlier today, the
Mission says.
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, William Lacy
Swing, said he was gravely concerned about mounting evidence of serious human
rights abuses by the Congolese security forces.
UNITED NATIONS STANDS READY TO HELP
TIMOR-LESTE JUDICIARY
In his latest
report to
the Security Council on the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, the
Secretary-General says that the overall situation in Timor-Leste has improved,
but the security situation remains volatile and the political climate fluid.
The Secretary-General also reiterates that the UN Mission
stands ready to assist in strengthening Timor-Leste’s judicial sector, a key
component of the rule of law, which remains weak in a number of areas.
SENIOR U.N. POLITICAL OFFICIAL TO SRI
LANKA FOR WIDE CONSULTATIONS
Angela Kane, Assistant Secretary-General for Political
Affairs, will visit Sri Lanka, starting tomorrow, through 12 February.
She looks forward to holding meetings with Government
officials, political leaders, civil society and representatives of the
international community. This visit is a routine part of her consultations.
LIKELIHOOD IS SLIM OF WIDESPREAD BIRD
FLU AMONG HUMANS
In response to last week’s bird flu outbreak in the
United Kingdom, David Nabarro, the UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human
Influenza, said the chances of human infection as a result of that outbreak
were very small.
At the same time, however, he warned that the world needs
to remain vigilant for up to a decade to ensure the virus’s eradication.
Nabarro is currently en route to Geneva from Indonesia.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
TOP U.N. OFFICIAL FOR AFGHANISTAN BRIEFS
SECURITY COUNCIL: The Security Council
this morning heard in its closed consultations a briefing by Tom Koenigs, head
of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, on recent developments in that country.
CONSULTATIONS CONTINUE ON
KOSOVO STATUS PROPOSALS: Asked whether the
Secretary-General plans to bring the leaders from Pristina and Belgrade together
on the Kosovo proposals, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is
waiting for his Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, to finish his consultations
before considering any intervention.
MANDATE OF LEBANON FORCE IS
UNCHANGED: Asked whether the mandate of
the UN Interim Force in Lebanon has changed, the Spokeswoman said that there has
been no change.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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