HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Thursday, April
10, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
STRONGLY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON DARFUR PEACEKEEPERS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is very
troubled by the 9
April attack on United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
police personnel outside of the Zam Zam camp for internally displaced persons
near El Fasher.
One UNAMID police officer was injured and two UN vehicles
were hijacked by four unidentified gunmen in the incident.
The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms
such attacks on UNAMID personnel who have been deployed to Darfur to
contribute to peace and stability.
He calls on both the Government of Sudan and the rebel
movements to ensure that UNAMID is able to fully implement its mandate.
According to a press release issued by UNAMID, one UNAMID
police officer was injured and two vehicles hijacked when four unidentified
gunmen attacked a UNAMID Police Patrol Wednesday afternoon only 2 kilometers
north of the Zam Zam camp.
Sudanese police recovered one of the vehicles while the
other remains missing.
The UNAMID Police team was returning from a routine
patrol at the IDP camp when they were stopped by four armed men. The officers
were ordered to dismount their vehicles, and were robbed of personal
belongings and official identification cards. One officer was repeatedly hit
in the neck by one of the assailants using the back of an AK 47, according to
the Mission. The injured officer was later taken to UNAMID’s level II hospital
for treatment. His condition is stable.
An investigation is underway and will continue until the
perpetrators are brought to justice.
UNAMID police in Darfur carryout daily assignments
designed to provide a safer environment for civilians, particularly the more
vulnerable groups, such as the internally displaced and women. The protection
of civilians is one of the main tasks in UNAMID’s mandate in Darfur.
BAN KI-MOON
CONGRATULATES NEPAL ON ORDERLY/PEACEFUL ELECTION
The Secretary-General
congratulates the
people of Nepal on today’s Constituent Assembly election which took place in a
generally orderly and peaceful atmosphere.
He commends the Nepalese for their enthusiastic
participation in this historical event and appeals to all parties to remain
calm while awaiting the results.
BAN KI-MOON COMPLETES SECOND DAY OF
OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA
Today in Moscow, the Secretary-General launched a Global
Compact Network in Russia during a meeting with over 30 top executives of
Russian businesses.
He
welcomed today’s
launch of the Global Compact Network in Russia as “a great sign that Russian
businesses, representing one of the world’s largest economies, are putting
their weight behind the universal values of the United Nations”.
After that, the Secretary-General traveled to the State
Duma, where he met with the Duma’s First Deputy Chairman, Oleg Morozov. They
discussed the important role Parliaments can play and the challenges the
United Nations faces today – not just conflict issues, but poverty, diseases,
climate change, the illegal trade of small arms and gender balance.
Afterward, the Secretary-General went to Moscow
University, where he
delivered a speech in which he affirmed his expectation that Russia’s
engagement in the United Nations will keep pace with the challenges and
opportunities we face.
Since then, he has met with religious leaders from the
Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches, as well as Muslim and Jewish
representatives, before later meeting with Patriarch Alexiy II in the oldest
monastery in Moscow. In those meetings, he discussed the Alliance of
Civilizations; the importance of tolerance, human dignity and social justice;
the protection of holy sites in Kosovo and Islamophobia.
This evening, the Secretary-General first had a
tête-à-tête meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and they are
following that up with a larger meeting and then a
press conference.
Asked about a phone call
between the Secretary-General and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
the Spokeswoman confirmed that they had spoken on Tuesday morning.
BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS DEADLY ATTACK IN
SOUTHERN ISRAEL AND GAZA
The Spokesperson issued the
following statement
yesterday afternoon.
The Secretary-General condemns the terrorist attack today
by Palestinian militants against the Nahal Oz depot in southern Israel, in
which two Israeli civilian contractors working to supply fuel to the Gaza
Strip were killed and others injured.
He is gravely concerned at the prospect of an escalation
in violence, and, while recognizing Israel's legitimate right to self-defense,
deplores the reported civilian casualties among Palestinians during Israeli
military operations this afternoon.
The United Nations calls for the protection of all
civilians in the conflict.
COTE D'IVOIRE: PRE-ELECTORAL
IDENTIFICATION PROCESS IS ON TRACK
The Electoral Division of the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire
(ONUCI) says that good progress is being
made in the identification of the population ahead of general elections.
According to figures released by the Mission today, some
7,400 “audiences foraines” or public hearings were conducted in 11 provinces
with more than half a million applications for birth certificates filed.
Of these, 480,000 applicants were given new birth
certificates, which will allow them to formally seek recognition of their
right to citizenship, which in turn should allow them to cast their ballots
during the elections.
The right to citizenship or its denial to some has been
among the root causes of the conflict in Côte d'Ivoire.
The public hearings are being facilitated by the Mission,
whose radio station has helped garner public interest in the operation by
broadcasting detailed daily reports on its progress.
SIERRA LEONE: PROVINCIAL HUMAN RIGHTS
MONITORS
RECEIVE OFFICES AND EQUIPMENT
Starting tomorrow, the UN Integrated Office in Sierra
Leone (UNIOSIL) will be handing over
resource centers and office equipment to human rights committees in three
districts.
The initiative is funded by the Programme of Assistance
of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which seeks to
enhance the capacity of rural authorities and empower civil society groups to
protect and promote human rights.
The United Nations has also helped train district-level
human rights monitors and will continue to ensure that their work receives
appropriate visibility and follow-up by higher or national authorities
whenever necessary.
PEACEKEEPERS’ CASH DONATIONS ADD NEW
CLASSROOMS
TO A LIBERIAN SCHOOL
The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
has handed over a newly-constructed block of three classrooms and a
Headmaster’s office to a local town not far from the capital, Monrovia.
Construction was made possible through voluntary
individual financial contributions and efforts by Nigerian peacekeepers from
UNMIL’s Nigerian Battalion 15.
BAN KI-MOON TO APPOINT TOP U.N.
OFFICIALS FOR LEBANON AND CYPRUS
The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council
of his intention to appoint Johan Verbeke of Belgium as the Special
Coordinator for Lebanon, the senior official coordinating the UN’s work in
that country; he would replace Geir Pedersen of Norway.
Since September 2004, Ambassador Verbeke has been the
Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations, and, in this
capacity, he has served on the Security Council as well as on the
Peacebuilding Commission.
The Secretary-General also informed the Security Council
of his intention to appoint Tayé-Brook Zerihoun of Ethiopia as the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of
UNFICYP. He will replace Michael
Moller.
Mr. Zerihoun is currently the Secretary-General’s
Principal Deputy Special Representative in the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
He has been serving also as Chief UN Mediator for the Darfur Peace Talks since
October 2007, in support of the efforts of Special Envoy Jan Eliasson.
We await the Security Council’s response to the
Secretary-General’s letters.
MYANMAR IS URGED TO ENSURE
INCLUSIVE AND CREDIBLE CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
In response to questions asked about the UN’s reaction to
the announcement of a date for the referendum in Myanmar, the announcement
yesterday by the Myanmar authorities that the planned constitutional
referendum will be held on 10 May confirms the timeframe announced by the
Government in February.
What is more important for the United Nations and the
international community is that the Government honors its stated commitment to
a free and fair process.
In this regard, the United Nations once more strongly
urges the authorities in Myanmar to ensure that conditions will be put in
place that are conducive to making the referendum inclusive and credible.
BAN KI-MOON HAS CONVEYED TO BEIJING HIS
POSITION ON TRAVEL PLANS
In response to another question about the
Secretary-General’s travel plans regarding an invitation to attend the Opening
Ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, the Secretary-General had conveyed to the
Chinese Government some months ago that he may not be in a position to attend
this important event as a result of scheduling issues.
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s schedule, the Spokeswoman declined to provide further
details for now, noting that the standard practice is to announce the
Secretary-General’s travel plans seven to ten days before he travels. She
said, in any case, a substantive trip to China is being planned.
Asked when Beijing had been
informed of the Secretary-General’s plans, Okabe said that it had been several
months ago.
**The guest at noon was Yvo de Boer, Executive
Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, who discussed the
outcome of the first round of negotiations on a new global climate change
agreement in the recent Bangkok Climate Change Talks.**
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
