HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
[There
are no noon briefings planned until January 2, 2008.
Developments within the UN system will be posted on this website throughout
that period.
Friday, December
21, 2007
BAN KI-MOON STRONGLY CONDEMNS SUICIDE ATTACK IN
PAKISTAN
Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon is appalled
by today’s suicide bombing at a mosque at the residence of the former Interior
Minister of Pakistan, which has claimed the lives of over 50 civilians and
injured many others.
The Secretary-General
strongly condemns this act of terrorism carried out at a house of worship.
He expresses his deepest
condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Pakistan.
The Secretary-General
urges all political forces in Pakistan to unite against the scourge of
terrorism and to act together to create a peaceful environment ahead of the
Parliamentary elections scheduled for 8 January 2008.
NETHERLANDS
AND UNITED NATIONS SIGN ACCORD FOR
SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON TO BE
BASED IN THE HAGUE
The United Nations and the
Kingdom of the Netherlands have
signed a
Headquarters Agreement that will enable the seat of the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon to be based in the Netherlands.
Larry D. Johnson,
Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, signed on behalf of the United
Nations and Permanent Representative Frank Majoor signed on behalf of the
Netherlands.
This step is the outcome
of three months of negotiations that began when Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende informed the Secretary-General that the Government of the
Netherlands was favorably disposed to hosting the Special Tribunal.
The Agreement will now be
submitted to the Parliament of the Netherlands for ratification. In the
meantime, the United Nations and the Netherlands authorities will continue
taking steps to establish the Tribunal in The Hague.
In a further development,
the Secretary-General has received the report of the Selection Panel
constituted pursuant to article 2 of the Annex to Security Council resolution
1757 (2007) to make recommendations regarding the selection of judges of the
Special Tribunal. The Panel was composed of Judge Mohamed Amin El Mahdi,
formerly of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia;
Judge Erik Møse, of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; and Mr.
Nicolas Michel, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs,
the Legal Counsel.
The Secretary-General has
accepted the Selection Panel’s recommendations and will announce the names of
those selected at an appropriate time in the future. The judges will assume
their functions on a date to be determined by the Secretary-General as set
forth in the Annex to resolution 1757 (2007).
In addition, pursuant to
article 6 of the Annex and a subsequent agreement between the United Nations
and the Government of Lebanon, the Management Committee of the Special
Tribunal will soon be established. It will be composed of the major donors to
the Special Tribunal and will have as its main responsibility providing advice
and policy direction on all non-judicial aspects of the operations of the
Special Tribunal, including questions of efficiency.
The Spokeswoman, in
response to a question, said that the appointment of the Tribunal judges by
the Secretary-General has not yet been announced officially , as each of the
judges chosen by the Selection panel has to formally accept to serve in the
Tribunal.
NEXT
FEW MONTHS ARE CRITICAL FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
The Security Council
started its work this morning by adopting two resolutions on Africa.
With the first resolution,
the Council extended the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL)
until 30 September 2008.
By the second, the Council
extended the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUC) until 31 December
2008. It also asked that MONUC attach the highest priority to addressing the
crisis in the Kivus, especially through the protection of civilians.
The Security Council then
heard a
briefing from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe on
the Middle East. Pascoe said the next few months are critical for the
renewed peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Solid progress will
be essential in the bilateral negotiations. But that is unlikely without
serious improvements on the ground, he added.
He also said that donors
must follow through on their commendable Paris commitments, and the parties
must act to fulfil their responsibilities, so that a new climate of
confidence, security and physical mobility is established.
On Lebanon, Pascoe said
that, as the current situation is dangerous and unsustainable, it is of
fundamental importance for the Lebanese State that all Lebanese leaders seek a
solution that enables presidential elections to take place immediately. We
have his full remarks upstairs.
The Council then moved
into consultations on the Middle East and other matters.
Following those
consultations, the Security Council President said
Council members welcomed pledges recently made in Paris to the Palestinian
Authority. Council members, the statement said, call on states and
international organizations “to maximize resources available to the
Palestinian Authority, and to contribute to the Palestinian
institution-building programme in preparation for statehood.”
BAN
KI-MOON CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The Secretary-General
spoke last night to the President-elect of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Lee
Myung-bak. In an earlier statement, he warmly
congratulated Mr.
Lee on his election as the next President of the Republic of Korea.
He notes that the Republic
of Korea is a highly valued and steadfast partner of the United Nations in the
work for international peace and security, development and human rights.
With this new leadership,
the Secretary-General hopes for an even more active engagement by the Republic
of Korea in advancing the agenda of the United Nations -- from combating the
effects of global climate change and contributing to peacekeeping, to
achieving the Millennium Development Goals and promoting human rights.
The Secretary-General also
looks to the Republic of Korea to play an instrumental role in further
consolidating peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, including through
denuclearization, and in Northeast Asia as a whole.
SECURITY
COUNCIL CALLS FOR SUPPORT FOR SOMALIA MISSION
AS MORE PEOPLE FLEE FIGHTING IN MOGADISHU
The Security Council on
Wednesday afternoon
adopted a
Presidential Statement, in which it reaffirmed its support for the African
Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and urged the international community to
provide funds, personnel, equipment and services for its full deployment.
The Council also
reiterated its request that the Secretary-General develop the existing
contingency plans for a UN peacekeeping operation to succeed AMISOM. The
Presidential Statement also welcomed the appointment of Nur Hassan Hussein as
Prime Minister of Somalia.
Meanwhile, some 10,000
more people are reported to have fled Mogadishu due to continuing fighting
that claimed at least a half lives and injured some 50 people this week alone.
The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates some 256,000 people have fled
the Somali capital since October. Most of these internally displaced are being
sheltered in camps on the Mogadishu-Afgooye road.
BURUNDI:
U.N. SEEKS BETTER HUMANITARIAN ACCESS FOLLOWING HARASSMENT FROM REBELS
After harassment and
threats of taxing humanitarian vehicles by some elements of the Front national
de libération (FNL) were reported, the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that its representatives met with the FNL,
police and Army officials to seek better humanitarian access to the province
around the capital Bujumbura.
It is yet unclear whether
the meetings would lead to an improved work environment for OCHA in that
country.
Meanwhile, the World Food
Programme was able to deliver some 1000 tons of food supplies to some 175,000
people.
CHILDREN
CONTINUE TO SUFFER IN IRAQ
UNICEF today painted a
bleak picture of the situation of children in
Iraq.
Only 40 percent of
children across Iraq have access to clean drinking water; thousands of
families have been obliged to leave their homes because of violence or
threats; and hundreds of children have lost their lives in the violence.
UNICEF says conditions
continue to deteriorate, with many mothers preventing their children from
attending school for fear they would be attacked.
Despite that situation,
UNICEF and its partners continue to work in Iraq.
W.H.O.
HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS IN FIGHTING DISEASES IN AFRICA
The World Health
Organization (WHO)
says
the continued looming threat of an influenza pandemic, outbreaks of Ebola,
Marburg and other infectious diseases, and high rates of women who die in
pregnancy and childbirth in developing countries, are among the notable health
topics that mark 2007.
Progress was made to halt
resurging yellow fever in Africa and efforts to wipe out the last bastions of
polio and to stop tuberculosis advanced.
Landmarks, such as major
success in the fight to cut measles deaths in Africa, also captured news
headlines, according to WHO.
OVER
60,000 REMAIN DISPLACED BY STORM IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
says that more than 60,000 people remain displaced in the Dominican
Republic following Tropical Storm Olga.
UNICEF is distributing
food packages and hygiene items to the survivors. The UN Population Fund is
also providing hygiene items, as well as cleaning equipment and medical
supplies.
The World Health
Organization and Pan American Health Organization are providing supplementary
staff to the relief effort and are helping with health and sanitation
management in shelters.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
