HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, May
24,
2007
BAN
KI-MOON URGES G-8 LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE
AND MEETING NEEDS OF WORLD'S POOREST
The Secretary-General has
written to the Heads of State and Government of the “Group of Eight”, who will
be gathering in Germany next month.
In the letter, he draws
attention to two key areas – achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and efforts to address climate change – where he says the G-8 leadership will
be critical.
On the MDGs, which are
designed to meet the needs of the world's poorest, the Secretary-General notes
that progress is mixed and announces the launching of an MDG Africa Working
Group to mobilize full support for African governments and their partners to
achieve them. He voices concern over the drop in Official Development
Assistance and stresses the need to successfully conclude the Doha trade
talks.
On climate change, he
urges world leaders to be ready to discuss its critical dimensions and warns
that the cost of inaction will exceed the cost of taking early action. A
special effort is needed to devise and implement a long-term global framework
to tackle climate change that addresses the needs of all countries, he says in
that letter.
He urges each G-8 leader
to support developing countries to achieve economic growth while contributing
to lasting solutions to climate change.
Asked about the launch of
the Secretary-General's initiative – the MDG Africa Working Group – referred
to in the letter to the G8 leadership, the Spokeswoman later said the
Secretary-General will lead it himself with the Deputy Secretary-General
chairing the senior action-oriented meetings.
BAN KI-MOON WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE G-8
SUMMIT
The
Secretary-General will be participating in the G8 summit in Germany.
On his way
there, he is scheduled to make an official visit to Spain and to participate
in the meeting of the Organization of American States’ General Assembly in
Panama.
UNITED NATIONS AND AFRICAN UNION FINALIZE REPORT
ON JOINT PEACEKEEPING OPERATION IN DARFUR
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has sent to the Security Council President, following close consultations with
the Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Alpha Oumar Konaré, the
joint AU-UN report on the proposed hybrid operation in Darfur.
The proposal is being sent
also to the AU Peace and Security Council.
The next step is for the
joint proposal to be presented to
Sudan.
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF
FUTURE COMMANDER
OF AU-UN OPERATION IN DARFUR
Meanwhile, the Chairperson
of the African Union Commission, in consultation with the Secretary-General,
appointed General Martin L. Agwai of Nigeria as Force Commander of the African
Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
The Secretary-General
welcomes this
decision and looks forward to Gen. Agwai’s close cooperation with the United
Nations to facilitate the deployment of the Heavy Support Package for AMIS and
to eventually command the hybrid AU-UN operation in Darfur.
Gen. Agwai has been Chief
of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Services since June 2006 and was Chief
of Army Staff from June 2003 to May 2006. Prior to that, he served with the
United Nations as Deputy Military Advisor from November 2002 to June 2003 and
Deputy Force Commander of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)
from November 2000 to November 2002.
SIZABLE
OBSTACLES REMAIN TO MIDDLE EAST PEACE,
U.N. POLITICAL CHIEF TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL
Today the Security Council
began its periodic open
meeting on
the Middle East with a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Lynn Pascoe.
Pascoe said recent events
starkly illustrate just how volatile the Middle East conflict remains and how
sizeable the obstacles are to progress towards peace. One immediate concern
must be ending the violence that has erupted in Gaza and extended to southern
Israel, he said.
The longer it continues,
the greater the risk of escalation and the greater the threat to both the
survival of the National Unity Government and to the prospects for any
fruitful Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. He added that leaders on all sides have
a responsibility to do their utmost to rein in the violence.
On Lebanon, where he noted
that the security situation has deteriorated drastically, Pascoe said the
recent armed clashes between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Fatah el-Islam
gunmen around the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp have added a new and explosive
element to an already tense situation. He also expressed concern that the
instability there may spread to other camps.
After the open meeting
ended, the Security Council went into closed consultations on the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the UN Relief
and Works Agency (UNRWA)
says that it has successfully located more than 2,300 Palestinian families
displaced from the Nahr El Bared camp, most of whom are now in the Baddawi
camp in Tripoli, while the rest have moved south to Beirut, Saida and Tyre.
UNRWA has opened its seven
schools and other installations in the Baddawi camp to accommodate the
displaced.
The agency has also
provided some 2,000 mattresses and basic food supplies, and an emergency team
has begun a needs assessment to gauge how much food, water, sanitation and
shelter supplies are required to accommodate the new displaced refugees.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
SPOKE WITH IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
Asked if the
Secretary-General would use his good offices to encourage the United States
and Iran to seek a peaceful resolution of the dispute over Iran's nuclear
activities, the Spokeswoman said that the matter is now with the Security
Council.
Although his good offices
are always available, Ban Ki-moon would not comment on measures being
contemplated by Council members.
Okabe noted that the
Secretary-General had a telephone conversation with the Iran's foreign
minister yesterday, and one of the subjects of discussion was precisely the
dispute over Iran's nuclear activities.
U.N.
VOLUNTEERS COMMENDED FOR ROLE IN LIBERIA’S RECOVERY
The Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Alan Doss, has
commended the role
played by UN Volunteers (UNV)
in the UN’s contribution to Liberia’s recovery from a decade-long civil war.
Speaking at an event held
in Monrovia to honor more than 250 Volunteers from 69 countries, Doss said the
dedicated work of UN Volunteers was “absolutely crucial” to the successes of
the UN Mission.
He added that their help
was still needed in reconstruction, human rights, and to support national
capacity building.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
CONGRATULATES BURUNDI’S PEOPLE
ON PROGRESS TOWARDS CONSOLIDATING PEACE
A donor roundtable
conference on Burundi opened this morning in Bujumbura, and the
Secretary-General sent a
message to the
gathering in which he congratulated the Government and people of Burundi on
the country’s progress towards consolidating peace.
He said that much remains
to be achieved in the areas of youth employment and political reforms. The
security situation and judicial reforms, good governance, transparency and
human rights also remain challenging.
He urged Burundi’s
development partners to sustain their engagement, as it is critical in
realizing the Priority Action Programme prepared by the Government.
REPATRIATION
SHOULD BE OPTION, NOT REQUIREMENT,
FOR BHUTANESE REFUGEES
UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Antonio Guterres has wrapped up his three-day visit to Nepal. He is
now in Bhutan, to
discuss the plight of 100,000 refugees who fled to Nepal in the early
1990’s.
At a refugee camp in Nepal
yesterday, Guterres stressed that there was no one solution. He expressed the
hope that refugees who wish to return to Bhutan should be able to do so, but
he noted that some of them do not want to return home, and said they should be
able to choose resettlement in a third country.
UNHCR has started a mass
information campaign for refugees in the camps on resettlement procedures and
their rights.
U.N.
IRAQ ENVOY MEETS WITH KURDISH LEADER
Ashraf Qazi, the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General for
Iraq, yesterday met with Iraqi official Massoud Barzani, the president of
the Kurdistan Region, in Salah Al-Din, north of Erbil.
They discussed issues
including national reconciliation, the constitutional review process, human
rights and the need of internally displaced Iraqis as well as public services
in northern Iraq.
Qazi expressed his
satisfaction over his wide ranging discussions with Barzani and other senior
officials of Kurdistan regional government.
Qazi also reiterated the
UN’s commitment to assisting Iraq in political reconciliation and
reconstruction.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
URGES SERBIA TO COMPLY
WITH INTERNATIONAL COURT
Asked about
the 26 February genocide-related
ruling by the International Court of Justice in the Bosnia and Herzegovina
vs. Serbia case, the Spokeswoman said the Secretary-General noted that the
Court found Serbia to be in violation of its obligation under the Genocide
Convention to prevent genocide in Srebrenica.
The
Secretary-General also noted the decision of the Court that Serbia shall
immediately take effective steps to ensure full compliance with its obligation
under the Genocide Convention to punish acts of genocide under the Convention
and to transfer individuals accused of genocide for trial by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
“The
Secretary-General sincerely hopes that Serbia will cooperate fully with the
ICTY,” the Spokeswoman said.
FILM
SCREENING MOVED OFF-PREMISES
FOLLOWING MEMBER STATE COMPLAINT
In
response to a question, the Spokeswoman said a formal complaint by the
Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations was received on 18 May by
the Chairperson of the Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues
regarding the scheduled screening of two films on UN premises on 22 and 23
May.
The
Ambassador of Vietnam expressed in his letter to the Chairperson of the
Permanent Forum grave concerns about the contents of the films as being
alarmingly biased against the State of Viet Nam.
Given that the United Nations is an organization of Member States, and in
light of the formal protest of a Member State, the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (DESA) was of the
view that screening these films on UN premises would be inappropriate and that
the films could be screened off the UN premises.
The
Permanent Forum continues to be an important place where indigenous peoples
voice their concerns, indeed in the presence of Member States, and have a
dialogue with States.
POLICE
CAPACITY TO BE IMPROVED IN SOUTH SUDAN
The World Bank and
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
have signed a $5.3 million grant to increase the police capacity and improve
the delivery of penitentiary services across Southern Sudan.
Called the
“Southern Sudan
Police and Correctional Service Support”, the grant is funded by the
Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan, which is administered by the World
Bank. The project was jointly prepared and appraised by the Government of
Southern Sudan, UNDP and other stake holders.
Under the agreement, UNDP
will build a network of police stations and training centres, train and
develop of a code of ethics for the force. UNDP is also tasked with improving
detention facilities structurally, and facilitating training to ensure more
humane treatment of prisoners.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
CONGRATULATES
NEWLY-ELECTED GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
The Secretary-General has
offered his warm
congratulations to Dr. Srgjan Kerim, of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, on his
election
as President of the 62nd Session of the General
Assembly. He noted that, as a seasoned
diplomat, prolific scholar and successful businessman, Dr. Kerim brings a
wealth of experience and talent to the job of leading the Assembly.
The Secretary-General
assured Dr. Kerim of his full support and cooperation during the transition
period and throughout his tenure.
He also stressed the need
for all of the UN’s principal organs to work closely together to complete the
reforms that are currently underway and address the challenges ahead.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
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