HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, June
27, 2007

TONY BLAIR NAMED MIDDLE EAST QUARTET REPRESENTATIVE

• Quartet Principals noted that recent events in Gaza and the West Bank make
  it more urgent than ever that we advance the search for peace in the Middle
  East, the Quartet said in a statement.
   
• The Quartet reaffirms its objective to promote an end to the conflict in
  conformity with the Roadmap and expresses its intention to redouble its
  efforts in that regard. The urgency of recent events has reinforced the need
  for the international community, bearing in mind the obligations of the
  parties, to help Palestinians as they build the institutions and economy of a
  viable state in Gaza and the West Bank, able to take its place as a peaceful
  and prosperous partner to Israel and its other neighbors.
   
• To facilitate efforts to these ends, following discussions among the
  Principals, today the Quartet announced the appointment of Tony Blair as the
  Quartet Representative. Mr. Blair, who is stepping down from office this week,
  has long demonstrated his commitment on these issues.
   
• As Quartet Representative, he will:

  - Mobilize international assistance
  to the Palestinians, working closely with donors and existing coordination
  bodies;

  - Help to identify, and secure appropriate international support in
  addressing, the institutional governance needs of the Palestinian state,
  focusing as a matter of urgency on the rule of law;

  - Develop plans to promote Palestinian economic development, including
  private sector partnerships, building on previously agreed frameworks,
  especially concerning access and movement; and

  - Liaise with other countries as appropriate in support of the agreed
  Quartet objectives.
   

• As Representative, Tony Blair will bring continuity and intensity of focus
  to the work of the Quartet in support of the Palestinians, within the broader
  framework of the Quartet's efforts to promote an end to the conflict in
  conformity with the Roadmap. He will spend significant time in the region
  working with the parties and others to help create viable and lasting
  government institutions representing all Palestinians, a robust economy, and a
  climate of law and order for the Palestinian people.
   
• Tony Blair will be supported in this work by a small team of experts,
  based in Jerusalem, to be seconded by partner countries and institutions.
   
• The Quartet representative will report to and consult regularly with the
  Quartet and be guided by it as necessary.
   
• The Quartet looks forward to welcoming Mr. Blair at its next meeting.
   
• Asked whether the United Nations had approved of
  setting up an office in Jerusalem, the Spokeswoman said that the Quartet’s
  statement represented the consensus view of all its principal members,
  including the Secretary-General.
   
• Asked about the Secretary-General’s reaction to
  the appointment, she said that his views were contained in the joint
  statement.
   
• Asked with whom the Secretary-General consults
  on the UN’s position in Quartet affairs, Montas said that the
  Secretary-General had made a point of reporting to the General Assembly and
  the Security Council on Quartet decisions. She added that the
  Secretary-General himself is one of the principal members of the Quartet.

BAN KI-MOON TO TRAVEL TO FIVE
COUNTRIES IN EUROPE

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is planning to
  travel to Europe starting this weekend.His first stop is Geneva, where he is
  scheduled to open the High-Level segment of the Economic and Social
  Council.
   
• From Geneva, he is expected to travel to Italy
  where he will attend in Rome the Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan.
   
• He is then back in Geneva for the Global Compact
  Leaders Summit.
   
• An official visit to Portugal is to follow. The
  next stop is Brussels, where he plans to attend the Global Forum on Migration
  and Development.
   
• The last leg is an official visit to the United
  Kingdom.
   
• The Secretary-General is expected to be back in
  New York on July 12. 

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON AU-UN
FORCE DEPLOYMENT IN DARFUR

• The Security
  Council this morning heard in closed
  consultations a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
  Operations Hédi Annabi,
  concerning the timeline for the deployment of the UN-African Union hybrid
  force in
  
  Darfur. He is also briefing on this week's enlarged contact group meeting
  on Darfur.
   
• Also today, the Council will discuss the work of
  the sanctions committee dealing with Somalia.

 REPORT ON LEBANON BORDER
ASSESSMENT SENT TO SECURITY COUNCIL

• The Secretary-General yesterday
  afternoon transmitted to Security Council the report of the Lebanon
  Independent Border Assessment Team, which he had establish to deal with the
  monitoring of that country’s borders.
   

• In a letter to the Council
  President, the Secretary-General said he fully supports the Border Assessment
  Team’s recommendations. He will provide further substantive comments in his
  own report on the implementation of Security Council resolution
  1701;
  that report is currently being finalized.
   

• The Secretary-General commends the
  members of the Team for their professional work and supports the
  recommendations they have made in their report.  It is clear that efforts are
  required from the Lebanese Government, with the support of the international
  community, to develop a more efficient system for border management in
  Lebanon.
   

• The Secretary-General also concurs
  with the recommendation that Syria should cooperate with the Lebanese
  authorities, noting that Syria has a shared responsibility in controlling its
  borders with Lebanon and in implementing resolution 1701 (2006).
   

• Asked whether the report on
  resolution 1701 would be completed today, the Spokeswoman said that was not
  expected.
   

• Asked about reports that Spanish
  troops for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
  lacked a specific type of equipment, known as frequency inhibitors, the
  Spokeswoman noted that all the equipment used by the contingents is national
  in origin; the United Nations does not provide it.
   

• This is the first time in more than
  20 years that UNIFIL has faced this kind of terrorist attack, she said.
   

• Montas added that the UN Department
  of Peacekeeping Operations is constantly engaged with troop-contributing
  countries in discussions on a range of issues, such as the rules of engagement
  and the equipment being used.
   

• Asked about rumours concerning who
  attacked the Spanish troops, the Spokeswoman said that UNIFIL and the Spanish
  Government are both investigating the attack.

U.N. MISSION SENDS CONDOLENCES IN
WAKE OF DEATH OF SUDANESE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR

• The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  says it has
  learned with shock and sadness of the passing early this morning of
  Presidential Advisor Dr. Majzoub Al Khalifa.
   

• UNMIS expresses its heartfelt
  condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Majzoub Al Khalifa, who it says
  was one of the key interlocutors of the mission since its inception.
   

• The mission, in a press release,
  said that he will be remembered as a tenacious negotiator and a high caliber
  statesman, and for his contribution to the peaceful resolution of the Darfur
  conflict through the Abuja peace process and subsequent negotiations, in the
  context of the Addis Ababa conclusions of November last year.
   

• In its weekly briefing, meanwhile
  the UNMIS notes a recent surge in car-jacking, killings, abductions, and rape
  in West Darfur.

 U.N.
POPULATION FUND EXPERTS VISIT SOUTH SUDAN

• A team of experts from the UN
  Population Fund (UNFPA) is
  currently visiting Juba, in South Sudan.  They will travel across the region
  to review reproductive health conditions there.  The team will then help
  develop a five-year national Plan of Action.
   

• According to last year’s Sudan
  Household Survey, the maternal mortality rate in Southern Sudan was more than
  two thousand per hundred thousand live births – the highest in the world.

 PEACEBUILDING
COMMISSION MARKS END OF FIRST YEAR OF WORK

• The Secretary-General today
  addressed the
  conclusion of the first session of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. 
   

• He congratulated the Commission for
  its work, and its efforts to help the people of Burundi and Sierra Leone over
  the past year.
   

• “I am proud to be associated
  with your first year, and your important achievements,” the Secretary-General
  said.  He asserted that the Peacebuilding Commission has a long and exciting
  future in front of it, and said that the entire UN system will continue to
  offer its full support.

 DESPITE
ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS,
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CONTINUES TO FACE SECURITY THREATS

• Out today is the
  Secretary-General’s latest report on the Central African Republic and the work
  of the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in that country.
   

•  In it, he says that while
  the country’s economy has seen relative improvement this year, with new World
  
  Bank and IMF-backed
  poverty-reduction programmes, widespread highway banditry and rebel activities
  are damaging the prospects for improvement in the security and humanitarian
  conditions.
   

• In the northern parts of the
  country, where security is most volatile, UN agencies have intensified the
  protection of the internally displaced and distribution of emergency supplies.
  UN agencies have also carried out the voluntary repatriation of close to
  10,000 Sudanese refugees and are poised to do the same for Congolese refugees.
  
   

• Among his recommendations to
  the Republic’s leadership, the Secretary-General calls for an inclusive
  political dialogue, pledging UN support to such a dialogue.
   

• He also condemns the continued
  attacks on humanitarian workers and welcomed the Central African Economic and
  Monetary Community to extend the mandate of its multinational force deployed
  there until December 31. The African Union and European Union should continue
  to provide political and financial support to the Force.

 TIMOR-LESTE:
OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN PERIOD
FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION ENDS

• The official campaign period
  for Timor Leste’s parliamentary elections is ending today and the Special
  Representative of the Secretary-General in
  that country has welcomed its largely peaceful conduct.
   

• Atul Khare said, in a
  statement, that local political parties have acted in the spirit of the
  Political Party Accord and Code of Conduct signed last month when they made
  their case to Timorese voters without resorting to violence or inflammatory
  language.
   

• The actual voting is expected
  to take place on Saturday.

 SIGNIFICANT
STRIDES NOTED IN RESPONSE TO AVIAN INFLUENZA

• The Food and Agriculture
  Organization
  says
  that response to avian influenza has significantly improved. It noted that --
  in the last six months -- the deadly H5N1 virus was introduced in some 15
  countries but was rapidly detected and controlled.
   

• The UN Agency, however, warns
  against complacency.  It stresses that recent outbreaks are a clear reminder
  that the virus still succeeds in spreading to new countries and that there are
  still serious concerns with the situations in Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.
  

 POPULATION
OF AFRICAN AND ASIAN CITIES EXPECTED TO DOUBLE BY 2030

• The population of
  African and Asian cities will double by 2030, according to a new
  report issued today by the
  United Nations Population Fund. 
   

• The" State of
  World Population 2007: Unleashing the potential of Urban Growth" states that
  urbanization is inevitable and calls for policymakers to harness the potential
  of cities to improve the lives of all.

 UNESCO
ADDS THREE NEW SITES TO WORLD HERITAGE LIST

• Three new sites have been added to the UN Education,
  Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO)
  World Heritage List.
   

• The World Heritage Committee – which is meeting this week
  in New Zealand - has decided to inscribe the Atsinanana Rainforests in
  Madagascar for their role in maintaining the country’s biodiversity and
  protecting the threatened species they support.
   

• Also added to the list are the South China Karst and the
  Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes in the Republic of Korea.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO U.N. INVESTIGATION PLANNED INTO RECENT DEATHS BLAMED
ON COALITION FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN:  Asked whether the United Nations would
investigate recent deaths blamed on coalition forces in Afghanistan, the
Spokeswoman said there would be no UN investigation, but added that there has
been great concern at the United Nations about recent events.

U.N. PREPARED TO HELP WITH FLOODING IN INDIA AND
PAKISTAN: Asked whether the United Nations would help deal with the problems
caused by the floods in India and Pakistan, the Spokeswoman recalled the
statement issued on
Tuesday by the Secretary-General, in which the United Nations offered to help,
and she said it would do so if the countries asked for UN assistance.

*The guests t the briefing were Ann Erb Leoncavallo,
Speechwriter in the Office of the Executive Director of the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and Anika Rahman, President of Americans for UNFPA, who
launched the State of the World
Population 2007 report.

Office of the Spokesman for the
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