HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, July
9, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
ENDS OFFICIAL VISIT TO PORTUGAL;
TRAVELS TO BRUSSELS FOR GLOBAL
FORUM ON MIGRATION
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon started the day in Lisbon, where he met with
Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, with whom he discussed the Middle
East, Darfur, Timor-Leste, the Alliance of Civilizations, the Millennium
Development Goals, and climate change.
Earlier, he had met with former President Jorge Sampaio, who is his High
Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.
Later, the Secretary-General met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Filipe
Marques Amado. In comments to reporters afterward, the Secretary-General said
he was especially concerned about Darfur. He noted that the meeting of the
International Contact Group in Paris on 25 June appears to have generated a
new momentum, and consolidated international support.
The Secretary-General added that the Middle East remains a source of deep
concern. One immediate priority is securing a permanent and reliable reopening
of Gaza crossings, to allow in commercial and humanitarian imports.
The Secretary-General was also to with Portuguese Prime Minister José
Socrates. Also today, he held separate meetings with the country’s Defence
Minister and Interior Minister and the President of the Parliament.
This evening, he is leaving for Brussels,
where tomorrow he is expected to make an opening statement at the Global Forum
on Migration and Development, organized by the Government of Belgium, which
will mark the start of a new global process designed to enhance the positive
impact of migration on development.
SECURITY
COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON KOSOVO
The Security Council held
consultations this morning on Kosovo. Joachim Rücker, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative there, briefed Council members on the
Secretary-General’s recent report on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo.
In that
report, which we flagged for you last week, the Secretary-General says
that, while Kosovo’s overall progress is encouraging, there is a real risk
that the progress that has been achieved can begin to unravel if its future
status remains undefined.
Later, in a formal meeting, the Security Council adopted a Presidential
Statement,
condemning last week's terrorist attacks in Yemen.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s position on Kosovo’s status, the
Spokeswoman said that his positions are articulated in his latest report. The
question of Kosovo’s status, she said, is now in the hands of the Security
Council.
Asked whether the Secretary-General continues to support Special Envoy Martti
Ahtisaari’s report on the final status of Kosovo, Okabe said that the
Secretary-General’s position has not changed.
BAN KI-MOON
STRONGLY CONDEMNS BOMBING
WHICH KILLED SOME 130 PEOPLE IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The Secretary-General, in a statement issued over the weekend,
expressed
condemnation in the strongest terms of the bomb attack on a busy marketplace
in Amirli, in northern Iraq, which left some 130 people killed and over 240
wounded, many of them seriously.
The Secretary-General once again urges all Iraqi leaders to work together to
bring the violence to a halt and engage in a real political dialogue in the
hopes of building a peaceful and stable Iraq.
There is also a
statement upstairs from the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, who described the bombing as a vicious crime that “shows
the inhumane nature of the perpetrators who will stop at nothing in their
quest to further foment the flames of sectarianism.”
Asked whether the Secretary-General feels that the United Nations should
become involved in a peacekeeping force for Iraq, the Spokeswoman said that
matter was not currently being discussed. At the same time, she said that the
Secretary-General has repeatedly expressed his desire for the United Nations
to do whatever it can to help the Iraqi people.
The United Nations, Okabe said, has helped with Iraq’s political process,
constitutional review and humanitarian assistance and hopes to help with
reconstruction work. But its presence on the ground, she added, is affected by
the security situation.
LEBANESE AND
ISRAELI FORCES OFFICIALS MEET
WITH U.N. FORCE COMMANDER
The Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
Major-General Claudio Graziano, met with senior officials from the Lebanese
Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces today at the UN Position at the
border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura.
The main focus of the meeting was the implementation of resolution 1701 and
the recent incidents in UNIFIL’s area of operations, namely, the launching of
rockets from Lebanese territory into Israel on 17 June and the terrorist
attack on a UNIFIL convoy on 24 June.
Regarding the latter, the Israeli and Lebanese representatives conveyed their
condolences on the tragic loss of six UNIFIL peacekeepers and expressed their
full support and readiness to work together with UNIFIL to prevent a repeat of
such incidents. The Force Commander thanked the representatives, and added
that the UN Mission’s peacekeepers were not deterred by the terrorist attack.
U.N. HALTS GAZA
BUILDING PROJECTS DUE TO SUPPLY SHORTAGE
The UN Relief and Works Agency,
UNRWA, has announced
that construction has come to a halt on all of its building projects in Gaza
because of the lack of basic building supplies.
Some $93 million worth of projects are on hold, because cement and other
building supplies have run out, according to John Ging, UNRWA’s Director in
Gaza.
Ging said that it is imperative that the crossings into Gaza resume full
operations, not just for food aid and medicine, but for all commodities and
supplies. Otherwise Gaza faces the prospect of a humanitarian and public
health crisis.
He warned that the closure of the borders means a loss of over a million days
of employment, placing an even larger burden on the UN humanitarian aid
programme.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has raised the UN’s concerns about the
passage of the supplies with Israel, the Spokeswoman said that, in recent
weeks, he has been in constant touch with the parties, and the issue of
opening the crossings has been a major concern.
I.A.E.A.
INSPECTORS TO RESUME WORK IN D.P.R.K.
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today
agreed in Vienna that the Agency’s inspectors should resume work in the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The Board heard a briefing from IAEA
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei about the visit by an Agency team to the
DPRK during the last week of June, where the IAEA discussed modalities for its
verification and monitoring of the shutdown and sealing of the Yongbyon
nuclear facility.
ElBaradei said he welcomed the return of the DPRK to the verification process,
adding, “I am particularly pleased with the active cooperation of the DPRK
that the IAEA team received during the visit.”
Asked about the next steps following the Board of Governors’ approval, the
Spokeswoman said that the IAEA would proceed with its activities in the DPRK
and would be expected to report back to the Board of Governors.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has been involved in the process regarding
the DPRK, the Spokeswoman said that he welcomes the IAEA’s decision to move
the process forward. He has always been a supporter of the six-party talks and
will do whatever he can if his services are needed.
U.N. ENVOY BEGINS CONSULTATIONS ON MYANMAR IN ASIA
The Secretary-General's Special
Adviser
on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived Sunday in Beijing and today began consultations on Myanmar with senior Chinese Government officials.
He met today with Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Binguo, Assistant Foreign Minister
Cui Tiankai, and Director-General Wu Hailong.
From there, he will travel to New Delhi and then to Tokyo for further meetings
with Government counterparts before returning to New York over the weekend.
All of Gambari's consultations are taking place within the context of the
Secretary-General's good offices mandate for Myanmar.
During this trip, he will discuss Myanmar with some of the key countries in
the region. Any effort to promote positive changes in Myanmar is going to
require not only direct dialogue with the Government and people of the
country, but also dialogue with all interested countries and all who can
potentially help support our efforts. This is why Mr. Gambari is consulting
broadly, having visited Washington two weeks ago and having traveled this week
to the region.
Asked whether Gambari will travel to Myanmar, the Spokeswoman said that the
Secretary-General has asked Gambari to continue his dialogue with the
Government and people of Myanmar. He therefore intends to visit Myanmar again
soon, although dates have yet been determined. He will not be going on this
trip, she said.
SIERRA LEONE:
U.N. URGES CANDIDATES TO LEAD PEACEFUL CAMPAIGN
Tomorrow is the start of the political campaign period for Sierra Leone’s
upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
And today the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, Victor
Angelo, issued a statement urging all candidates to abide by the Political
Parties Code of Conduct. A peaceful campaign, he said, is crucial for credible
elections.
He also appealed to the local media to fully adhere to the Media Code of
Conduct as Sierra Leonean journalists share a major responsibility in keeping
the electoral process peaceful.
LIBERIANS JOIN
POLICE FORCE AFTER U.N.-BACKED TRAINING
A
new group of Liberian men and women have graduated from a UN-backed
law-enforcement training programme and have joined the ranks of Liberia
national police force.
This milestone was celebrated this weekend at an event in Monrovia, at which
the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jordan Ryan, urged
the new officers to be “professional in service delivery and accountable to
the communities” they serve.
The event marked the graduation of some 360 new police officers, bringing the
total number of new officers to 3,522, including 203 women.
The Mission’s
mandate to help train Liberian police flows from Security Council resolution
1509, which requests the UN to monitor and support the creation of a
well-trained, mobile police, committed to the protection of citizen’s rights.
UNITED NATIONS
INTENDS TO HELP WITH GUINEA-BISSAU ELECTIONS
Available today is the latest Secretary-General
report on Guinea-Bissau
and the work of the UN Peacebuilding Office in that country.
In it, the Secretary-General says that recent months were marked by a
deterioration of political and social tensions as well as a worsening of
economic and financial circumstances for the average citizen. In terms of the
security, very little was achieved in the months under review, the
Secretary-General says, despite continued UN engagement of the country’s
leadership on several related issues.
The Secretary-General notes that the repeated political crises besetting the
government continue to prevent it from focusing on improving the economic lot
of the population.
Among the report’s recommendations, the Secretary-General appeals for a
revitalized security sector reform and, in response to a request by
Guinea-Bissau, declares the UN’s intention to help organize and monitor next
year’s parliamentary elections.
TRIAL OF
BOSNIAN ARMY COMMANDER BEGINS
Today in The Hague, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia is
starting courtroom proceedings in the trial of Rasim Delic, the former
Commander of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Delic is being tried on the basis of his command responsibility for murder,
cruel treatment and rape committed by his subordinate troops while he was
Commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina between June
1993 and September 2005.
According to the Tribunal, Delic failed
to punish his troops who executed captured Bosnian Croat civilians and
soldiers in the villages of Maline and Bikoši in central Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Delic also failed to prevent the torture, beatings, murder and
decapitation of Bosnian Serb Army soldiers by his troops in the Kamenica Camp,
also in central Bosnia. Additionally, he is charged failing to prevent the
rape of three women in the same camp.
NEARLY
14,000 FIREARMS DESTROYED IN COLOMBIA
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will be
destroying
nearly 14,000 firearms in Colombia today, in a special ceremony organized with
the national authorities and aimed at highlighting the danger of illegal arms
proliferation.
Colombia has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Of the 17,000
homicides registered in 2005, most were connected with illegal ownership,
manufacture or trade of firearms, says
UNODC.
DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday at UN headquarters, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro
will give a press conference on her recent trip to Africa, including her
official visit to Guinea-Bissau and her attendance of the AU Summit in Ghana.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MIDDLE EAST IS PRIORITY FOR
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL: Asked about the
Arab Peace Initiative, the Spokeswoman noted that the Secretary-General has
placed the Middle East as one of his top issues, and would encourage any
dialogue that can help to further the cause of peace there.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN:
Asked about civilian casualties resulting from recent coalition air strikes in
Afghanistan, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is concerned about
the matter and had discussed it with the authorities in Afghanistan during his
recent visit to Kabul and also during a conference on the Rule of Law in
Afghanistan in Rome.
UNDP’S ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR VISITS KOSOVO:
Ad Melkert, Under-Secretary General and Associate Administrator for the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
concluded a four-day visit to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo. While in Kosovo, Mr. Melkert
said that UNDP will continue to support the return of refugees and internally
displaced persons there, and stressed the importance of creating employment and
livelihood opportunities for them.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
