Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 25 September 2007

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

[The following substitutes for the Highlights of the Noon Briefing, which was not held today because of the opening of the high-level debate of the General Assembly;
The briefing will resume tomorrow]

Tuesday, September 24, 2007

BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR
"A STRONGER UNITED NATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD"

  • Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the ministerial section of the 62nd General Assembly, telling the gathered world leaders, "Our changing world needs a stronger United Nations."
  • In his address, "A Stronger UN for a Better World," the Secretary-General underlined the importance of a "strong, robust, empowered" Secretariat. He said, "My vision is an administration focused on results—efficient, directed, pragmatic and accountable, an administration representing excellence, integrity and pride in serving the global good."
  • He noted that, since he has taken office, the United Nations has successfully re-organized its peacekeeping operations, affecting more than 100,000 UN field personnel in 18 multinational missions. The Secretary-General said that he plans to continue the effort by strengthening the Department of Political Affairs, noting that "well-planned and executed preventive diplomacy can save many lives and forestall many tragedies."
  • The Secretary-General highlighted the work that he has been doing in dealing with a range of challenges to international peace and security, including in Darfur, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan; in all four cases, he has convened high-level meetings over the past five days to help efforts to make progress.
  • He added that the United Nations is closely following events in Myanmar, and he again urged the authorities in Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint and to engage without delay in dialogue with all the relevant parties to the national reconciliation process on the issues of concern to the people of Myanmar.
  • He also noted the high-level event that took place on Monday on climate change, saying, "Now is the time for action. Let us go to Bali and make a break-though."
  • The pendulum of history is swinging in our favour, the Secretary-General said in conclusion. "Multilateralism is back."

SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES CIVILIAN-PROTECTION FORCE
TO CHAD AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

  • By a unanimous vote, the Security Council this morning adopted a resolution authorizing the deployment in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic of a multidimensional presence for the protection of refugees, displaced persons and civilians in danger.

  • The force is tasked with facilitating humanitarian access to those in need in both regions. It will include, for a period of one year, a UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), which will have up to 300 police and 50 military liaison officers and civilian personnel.

  • The resolution mandates the new UN Mission to help train and support Chadian police and Central African army, police and gendarmerie in protecting civilians. The Mission will also liaise with the Chadian Government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in relocating refugee camps along the border.

  • Under Chapter 7, the resolution also authorizes a European Union deployment to support the UN Mission and protect UN personnel, facilities and equipment, as well as civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons.

  • It will also facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the free movement of humanitarian personnel by helping to improve security in the area of operations.

  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres welcomed the adoption today of a UN Security Council resolution establishing a multi-dimensional UN mission in Chad and Central African Republic (MINURCAT) that will help strengthen security in the region. He looks forward to an early decision of the European Union to send military troops so that MINURCAT can deploy in the coming weeks and months.

WORLD LEADERS EMERGE FROM CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT
WITH RENEWED COMMITMENT TO UPCOMING NEGOTIATIONS

  • In an historic gathering yesterday at UN Headquarters, representatives from more than 150 countries, including more than 70 heads of state, took part in a daylong high-level, informal discussion on climate change. It was the largest-ever such gathering on this topic.
  • In his chair summary, issued at the close of the day’s session, the Secretary-General noted that he had heard a clear call from world leaders for a breakthrough on climate change in upcoming negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, in December. "I now believe we have a major political commitment to achieving that," he said.
  • He stressed the need for much deeper emission reductions by industrialized countries, which must continue to take the lead, but also noted that developing countries need incentives to remain engaged in a future climate change regime that does not compromise their chances of achieving better standards of living for their peoples.
  • He renewed his call for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol to be in force by the end of 2012, adding that the only appropriate forum for such negotiations to take place is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "All other processes or initiatives should be compatible with the UNFCCC process and should feed into it, facilitating its successful conclusion," the Secretary-General said in his summary.
  • Following the plenaries, the Secretary-General last night hosted a dinner for 25 leaders, from industrialized big emitters to very vulnerable developing countries. He noted that, among those gathered, there was a common understanding that the time to act was now, before it is too late, and that the most appropriate forum would be the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

U.N. AGENCIES RESPOND TO DEVASTATION
CAUSED BY FLOODING ACROSS AFRICA

  • According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in West Africa, especially in Ghana, Togo and in Niger, where heavy rains have resulted in the displacement of landmines.
  • The World Food Programme (WFP) is providing assistance in several countries, including Sudan, where it plans to airdropping supplies 1,400 tons of food and ferry another 264 tons of food down the Nile.
  • In Uganda, WFP says that, despite transportation difficulties, it has managed to deliver more than 1,000 tons of food to nearly 65,000 people, either by truck or by helicopter. WFP notes, however, that it has received no funding for its $64 million operation.
  • UNICEF is also expressing concern that, in northern Uganda, women and children make up 80 per cent of the 300,000 people affected by the flooding. UNICEF is urgently appealing for more than $7 million to continue providing vaccinations, medication, mosquito nets, and sanitation supplies.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAYS WEST DARFUR OPERATIONS
IMPERILED BY FUNDING SHORTFALL

  • The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it fears it may be compelled to scale down operations in West Darfur if additional funding is not received very soon. The UNHCR operation in Darfur is facing a shortfall of $7.1 million out of a required 2007 budget for Darfur of $19.7 million. To date, the agency has only received $12.6 million.

  • UNHCR says it is seriously concerned that the lack of funding will soon have a direct impact on operation to protect and assist some of the more than 2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and thousands of Chadian refugees in Darfur, whose numbers continue to rise.

  • The UN refugee agency says it remains extremely concerned that there is still no major improvement in the security situation in Darfur, where new displacement is still being reported.

ANNUAL TREATY EVENT BEGINS AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS

  • The Focus 2007 Treaty Event opened this morning with the deposit by Sweden of the instrument of ratification of the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption.
  • This was followed by Panama, which signed the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the 2005 United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (the so-called electronic commerce convention).
  • Estonia and Swaziland signed the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Swaziland and Gabon signed the Optional Protocol to the disabilities convention and the enforced disappearance convention. Denmark, Madagascar and Kazakhstan are also scheduled to participate in the treaty event this morning. Ukraine, Mauritius and the Philippines are scheduled for this afternoon.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN REFUGEE AGENCY TO LAUNCH EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN: Nine million refugee children have been identified by the UN refugee agency as among the most vulnerable people in the world today. At the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York Sept. 26-28, UNHCR will launch its ‘ninemillion’ campaign aimed at raising $220 million by 2010 to provide education for 9 million children of conflict. The initial focus will be on uprooted children from Darfur, Iraq, and Colombia, which are among the world’s worst displacement crises. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie will participate in the meeting.