HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Friday,
February 1, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
DEEPLY CONCERNED BY LATEST FIGHTING IN CHAD
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
is deeply
concerned at the
resumption of fighting in Chad.
He reiterates the United Nations’
condemnation of the use of military means to seize power.
He also deplores any action that could
worsen the already grave humanitarian situation, especially in eastern Chad
where the international community is actively engaged in activities to provide
relief and secure the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of refugees and
displaced persons in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic.
The Secretary-General calls on all
parties to abide by their commitments under the different peace accords signed
by them and to urgently resort to dialogue to reach a peaceful and negotiated
settlement of the latest crisis.
Meanwhile, more than 40 aid workers have been
relocated from the eastern Chad town of Guereda following a series of
armed attacks in the area amid growing concern over the security situation in
the country. The aid workers are being temporarily relocated by air and road
to the town of Abeche, the main center for humanitarian operations in eastern
Chad, where the UN refugee agency manages 12 sprawling refugee camps for some
240,000 refugees.
In a separate development, an estimated 5,800 refugees
from the Central African Republic had arrived in several border villages in
southern Chad over the past few weeks, fleeing attacks by bandits in the north
of the Central African Republic. With the new arrivals, there are now some
50,000 refugees from the Central African Republic in southern Chad, according
to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
SECRETARY-GENERAL
APPALLED BY IRAQ BOMB ATTACKS
The Secretary-General is
appalled by the
bomb attacks in Baghdad today, which reportedly left more than 70 people dead
and many more wounded.
These attacks, the deadliest in
the city in many months, were particularly callous in targeting innocent
civilians gathered at two popular pet markets.
In the face of these
provocative attacks, the Secretary-General stands in solidarity with the
people of Iraq. He hopes that Iraqi leaders will work together in a spirit of
national reconciliation to prevent further violence and sustain the recent
improvements that have been made on the security front.
Also today, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, described the double bombings as
“a heinous crime that targeted innocent civilians, and deserves universal
condemnation.” Systematic or widespread attacks against a civilian population
are tantamount to crimes against humanity, he said.
Asked about UN plans to
increase staffing in Iraq, the Spokeswoman noted, as de Mistura has also
mentioned, that the United Nations has been given an expanded mandate in Iraq
by the Security Council, so that, as conditions permit, it will do what it can
to help the Iraqi people.
BAN KI-MOON MEETS KENYAN LEADERS IN
NAIROBI,
CALLS FOR END TO CIVIL STRIFE
The Secretary-General today traveled to Nairobi, where he
met with his predecessor, Kofi Annan, the chair of the Panel of Eminent
African Persons, to discuss the crisis in Kenya and emphasize his full support
for the Panel’s work. He followed that by meeting with Raila Odinga, head of
the Orange Democratic Movement. Yesterday, he had met with President Mwai
Kibaki in Addis Ababa.
The Secretary-General
told reporters
afterwards that he had appealed to both leaders to stop the civil strife in
the country, which has led to an intolerable level of deaths, destruction,
displacement and suffering, which, he said, is unacceptable.
He warned that the people and leaders of Kenya,
particularly political leaders, have the responsibility to wake up and reverse
this tragic path before it escalates into the horrors of mass killings and
devastation that we have witnessed in recent history. He appealed to all
political leaders to look beyond individual or partisan interests.
Prior to the press conference, the Secretary-General had
also met with a Kenyan civil society group, the Citizens for Peace and
Justice, as well as with UN staff and the heads of agencies based in Nairobi.
He will return to New York over the weekend.
Regarding the humanitarian situation in Kenya, teams from
the World Health Organization (WHO) are
visiting hospitals and camps for internally displaced people in the towns
of Eldoret and Nakuru, in order to assess the health situation. The teams are
also coordinating health activities and monitoring disease outbreaks. WHO
reports that, for security reasons in several areas, health workers have been
unable to report for duty.
Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) says it has
ferried supplies
to three displacement sites near Nairobi, following the evictions of nearly
10,000 non-indigenous communities working mainly in tea plantations and flower
farms around the town of Tigoni. The supplies included more than 1,800 family
kits, enough for 9,000 people.
For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) is still
working to distribute food, but violence on the main roads and rising fuel
prices are complicating the agency’s work.
GAZA SCHOOLS TO OPEN TOMORROW WITH NO
HEAT OR TEXTBOOKS
The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle
East Peace Process (UNSCO) reports that
the crossings remain closed today; no trucks were able to enter Gaza from
Israel.
According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
Gazans are currently dealing with unusually cold weather. But power supply
remains out for most of the day. Over the last 10 days, UNRWA has managed to
supply 112,500 liters of fuel to the Gazan officials dealing with waste
management. But this has fallen far short of demand, resulting in garbage
piling up along the streets.
According to UNICEF, schools are to reopen in Gaza
tomorrow, following the winter break. But the schools will probably have no
heating or electricity. Students at UNRWA schools will also have no books, as
Israel has thus far not allowed UNRWA to take paper into Gaza.
Last December, when the
Consolidated Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory was launched,
UNRWA appealed for $237 million in urgently needed humanitarian aid. To date,
it has only received one per cent of that.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General will continue to urge Israel to allow aid into Gaza, the
Spokeswoman said that he has been following up on that issue forcefully.
Even in recent days as he has
dealt with crises in Africa, she said, he has been talking with leaders in his
efforts to bring an end to the crisis in Gaza. She noted the phone call he
made on Thursday with the other principal members of the Middle East Quartet.
PANAMA ASSUMES SECURITY COUNCIL
PRESIDENCY
With the start of a new month, there is a new President
of the Security Council, and this
month it is Panama.
There are no Council meetings or consultations today, but
Panamanian Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias is holding bilateral consultations
with other Council members on the programme of work, discussing what the
Council will do over the coming month.
U.N. AGENCIES RUSH SUPPLIES TO TAJIKISTAN
AMID HARSH WINTER
Regarding Tajikistan, which is suffering its coldest
winter in 25 years, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
says electricity has been cut to only a few hours a day in most of the
country, including the capital, Dushanbe.
UNICEF is distributing power generators and has launched
an appeal for more than $700,000 dollars to help meet the needs of children.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is
rushing stoves,
blankets, jerry cans and other basic supplies to more than one thousand
desperate refugees, most of them from Afghanistan.
MORE THAN $100 MILLION GIVEN TO
FORGOTTEN HUMANITARIAN CRISES
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes today
allocated more than $100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund
(CERF) for “forgotten humanitarian crises”. The money will go to life-saving
programmes in 15 countries.
The largest recipients of these grants are Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Pakistan and Niger.
In the last two years, the CERF has allocated more than
$600 million to projects in 60 countries affected by natural disasters and
conflicts.
SENIOR OFFICIALS TO SIGN COMPACTS TO
INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY
As part of the Secretary-General’s ongoing efforts to
increase accountability within the Secretariat, he will on Monday preside over
a ceremony during which his senior managers will enter into a compact with
him.
These compacts outline each manager’s priorities for the
coming year, as well the targets for measuring their performance.
Each of these compacts has already been reviewed by the
members of the Management Performance Board, which is chaired by the Deputy
Secretary-General. This group will also review each compact at the end of the
year and make recommendations to the Secretary-General.
This important step is only one part of the
Secretary-General’s vision of establishing full and effective accountability,
not only within the Secretariat but also between the Secretariat and Member
States and, furthermore, between the Organization as a whole and the global
public.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NO NAMES
CONFIRMED YET FOR ALGIERS PANEL: Asked
whether Lakhdar Brahimi would head the investigative panel on the 11 December
attack in Algeria, the Spokeswoman declined to confirm any names for the panel,
saying that the names would be announced once they are ready.
NEPAL COORDINATOR
WASN’T SPEAKING ON INSTRUCTIONS: Asked
about comments made in the media by Matthew Kahane, UN Resident Coordinator and
Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal, the Spokeswoman clarified that Kahane was not
speaking on instructions. She said that a clarification is expected soon.
PROCEDURES
PREVENTED CLOONEY FROM ADDRESSING MEETING:
Asked why Messenger of Peace George Clooney had not spoken to troop contributing
countries for several UN Missions on Thursday, the Spokeswoman cited procedural
reasons. She added that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations hopes to have
Clooney talk to troop and police contributing countries in the future.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Saturday, February 2
Through tomorrow, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
Kyung-wha Kang visits Nepal to see firsthand the activities of the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights in that country (visit began 30 January).
Sunday, February 3
From today through Tuesday in Dubai, the World Intellectual
Property Organization and INTERPOL convene the Fourth Global Congress on
Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy.
Monday, February 4
At 10 a.m. in the Secretary-General’s Conference Room, the
Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General preside over a ceremony in which
senior managers will enter into compacts outlining their priorities and
managerial targets for 2008.
At 1 p.m. in Room S-226, Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias
of Panama briefs the press, in his capacity as the President of the Security
Council for February, on the Council’s programme of work for the month.
From today through 13 February, Prof. Yakin Ertürk, the
Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on Violence against Women, its
Causes and Consequences, conducts an official visit to Saudi Arabia, at the
invitation of the Government.
Tuesday, February 5
At 10 a.m. the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) holds
the second meeting of its Organizational session for 2008 in the ECOSOC Chamber.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 6, the
Peacebuilding Commission holds an open, informal meeting of its Guinea-Bissau
configuration.
All day in Conference Room 4, a Civil Society Forum on
“Making Copenhagen work: Decent work for a decent life” takes place.
From 1.15 to 2.30 p.m. in Conference Room 6, the World Bank
and the International Fund for Agricultural Development present the “World
Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development”.
From 1.15 to 2.30 p.m. in Conference Room 4, there will be
a Round-table discussion on “Women and peace talks: Meeting the challenges”, in
preparation for the 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of
Women.
From today through 8 February, High Commissioner for Human
Rights Louise Arbour visits Mexico. During her trip, she is scheduled to sign
an agreement with the Mexican authorities on the renewal of her office’s
presence in the country.
Wednesday, February 6
From today through 15 February,
the 46th Session of the Commission for Social Development meets on
the theme “Promoting Full Employment and Decent Work for All”. At 10 a.m. in
Conference Room 4, the Deputy Secretary-General is scheduled to speak at the
opening session.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 6, the
Peacebuilding Commission holds an open, informal meeting of its Burundi
configuration.
The UN Conference on Trade and
Development releases its Information Economy Report 2007-2008, which focuses on
“Science and technology for development : the new paradigm of ICT”.
In Tokyo, Executive Director of
the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Antonio Maria Costa launches the
Afghanistan Opium Winter Rapid Assessment Survey.
Thursday, February 7
At
11 a.m. in the O’Keefe Room of the New York Marriott East Side, 525 Lexington
Ave., World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan and New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hold a news conference to highlight the key
findings and recommendations of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic.
Friday, February 8
From 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in
Conference Room 7, there will be a High-level working session on “Age of
connectivity: Cities, magnets of hope”.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
