HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE
MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BANK KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, September 26, 2008
BAN KI-MOON TO
CONVENE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON MYANMAR
Tomorrow, Saturday 27 September, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon will convene and chair a high-level meeting of the Group of Friends
of the Secretary-General on
Myanmar.
The Group will hear remarks by the Secretary-General
and a briefing by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar,
Ibrahim Gambari, on recent developments in the country.
The Secretary-General looks forward to
constructive discussion.
MIDDLE EAST
QUARTET TO HOLD HIGH-LEVEL MEETING THIS AFTERNOON
This afternoon at 3:30, here at Headquarters, there
will be a meeting of the principals of the Middle East Quartet. Participants
will include: the Secretary-General; United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice; Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; the High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European
Union (EU), Javier Solana; European Commissioner for External Relations
Benita Ferrero-Waldner; French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, on behalf
of the EU Presidency; and Quartet Representative Tony Blair.
The principals are expected to issue a joint
communiqué.
Later this evening, the Secretary-General will host an
iftar dinner, also here at Headquarters. In addition to the Quartet
principals, the Secretary-General of the Arab League and 12 Arab Foreign
Ministers will be in attendance.
AT LEAST $16
BILLION COMMITTED TOWARDS MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The
High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals yielded at least
$16 billion in commitments. The exact figure is still being tallied, but
should be available by the middle of next week.
At least $4.5 billion was committed for education
alone. That includes $3 billion from the World Bank, and $500 million each
from Saudi Arabia and Australia to launch the “Class of 2015” Partnership to
get 24 million children into school by 2010.
The newly-launched
Global Malaria Action Plan received more than $3 billion in commitments,
with more than half of that coming from the Global Fund to fight Aids,
Tuberculosis and Malaria.
A total of $7 billion was committed to reducing
mortality and improving maternal health over the next seven years. And at
least $1.6 billion was pledged to bolster food security.
In his
remarks to the closing plenary, the Secretary-General thanked everyone
for their response, calling it an “inspiring day at the United Nations”. He
urged those gathered to forge ahead to accelerate progress on the Goals,
adding that it was important to seize the opportunity of the upcoming review
conference in Doha on implementation of the Monterrey Consensus.
Later in the evening, the Secretary-General hosted
leaders and senior officials from 30 countries at a dinner to discuss the
food and climate change crises.
At that evening event, leaders expressed their support
for the Secretary-General’s proposals on increasing productivity, especially
for smallholder farmers, and investing more in agricultural development,
research, and technology transfer. They also agreed the urgent need for an
ambitious global agreement on climate change, and that the upcoming
climate talks in Poznan, Poland, should result in a concrete work
programme for negotiations in 2009 and a vision on what a final agreement
should contain.
BAN KI-MOON
EXPRESSES STRONG SUPPORT FOR BOLIVIAN DEMOCRACY
At this moment of challenge and change in Bolivia, the
Secretary-General wishes to
express his strong support for the country’s democracy and democratic
institutions. During his meeting with President Evo Morales this week on the
margins of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly, the Secretary-General
welcomed the Government’s efforts to pursue dialogue with opponents in
search of peaceful, mutually-agreed solutions to the problems facing the
country.
He voiced his expectation that all parties will refrain
from the use of violence to further their positions.
The Secretary-General welcomes the determined
diplomatic efforts of the Association of South American Nations (UNASUR),
the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union and the
Catholic Church, who -- together with the United Nations -- are serving as
witnesses to the process of dialogue in Bolivia.
He further welcomes the creation of a UNASUR commission
of inquiry into the deplorable killings in the Department of Pando, Bolivia,
on 11 September. Those responsible should be punished in accordance with the
law.
COMPLEX DEVELOPMENT EMERGENCY REQUIRES
URGENT ACTION, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS
The Secretary-General today
addressed the annual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of 77
bloc, as well as China, and he highlighted the challenges posed by the
weakening world economy, steep rises in food and energy prices, and climate
change, which all threaten to reverse previous development gains.
This complex development emergency makes it all the
more imperative that we take urgent action, he said. He added that he was
heartened by the renewed pledges made at
yesterday’s High-Level Meeting on the
MDGs.
The Secretary-General also
renewed his appeal to Member States to rapidly conclude the Doha
Round of World Trade talks. A pro-development Doha Round would be a strong
catalyst for integrating developing countries in the international economy.
In these turbulent times, he stressed,
it is more critical than ever to act.
SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED BY OSCE, THEN TAKES UP ISSUE OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS
The Security Council began its work today with an open
briefing by the officer-in-charge of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Council members then moved on to an open debate on the
Middle East, concerning the question of Israeli settlements.
SECRETARY-GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS WIDE-RANGING COOPERATION WITH EUROPEAN UNION
Addressing a lunchtime seminar on UN-European Union
cooperation, the Secretary-General
said that cooperation between the two organizations goes well beyond
crisis management, including such issues as climate change, HIV/AIDS,
gender, migration, emergency relief, development and peacebuilding.
He said that the United Nations and the European Union
share a responsibility to show that multilateralism works -- that it
delivers results and can address the crises of today and tomorrow.
In his latest
report on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other
organizations, the Secretary-General says that the United Nations and the
African Union have deepened their collaborative and mutually reinforcing
relationship with the establishment of the
AU-UN Hybrid Mission in Darfur. Among other topics, he mentions his
strong support for the League of Arab States’ initiative in solving the
political crisis in Lebanon.
DR CONGO: TEAM FROM U.N. MISSION BEGINS
ASSESSMENT MISSION IN EASTERN TOWN
A team from the Mission in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (MONUC) has begun a
mission to Dungu, a town in Orientale, where the situation remains tense
as fighting rages in nearby North Kivu between government and rebel forces.
Lately, civilians in the Orientale province have been
the target of looting raids and abductions by the Lord’s Resistance Army,
causing many to flee and schools to close.
The UN team will assess humanitarian and security
conditions focusing on how they affect the exercise of basic human rights.
Among other tasks, the team will seek to identify the victims of recent
large-scale human rights violations, determine their number and collect
testimonies.
INT'L CRIMINAL COURT CONFIRMS CHARGES
AGAINST TWO FORMER CONGOLESE REBEL COMMANDERS
The International Criminal Court has
ruled that there is sufficient evidence to pursue criminal cases against
Congolese nationals Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.
The two former rebel commanders are accused of jointly
committing the crime of using children under the age of fifteen in active
hostilities, by using the children as body guards and combatants.
The Court said that such involvement of children in
active hostilities took place, among other instances, in a deadly assault on
the village of Bogoro in February 2003. They are also facing a range of
crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, sexual slavery and
rape.
SOMALIA HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AT ITS
LOWEST LEVEL IN NEARLY TWO DECADES
In its latest food security analysis for Somalia, the
UN Country Team
calls the ongoing crisis in Somalia the worst humanitarian situation it
has observed in 17 years. The number of civilians in urgent need of
assistance has reached a staggering 3.2 million, or 43 percent of the
population. This represents an increase of some 77 percent since the start
of the year.
Meanwhile, the
UN refugee agency says that the fighting now underway in Mogadishu and
elsewhere is the most brutal since February 2007. It has forced some 15,000
people into the Afgooye relief camp. On average, 5,000 Somalis have managed
to cross into Kenya every month even though the border between Somalia and
Kenya is officially closed. Kenya, meanwhile, has identified additional land
to erect another camp. The number of uprooted Somalis arriving this year in
the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya has
now surpassed 45,000.
In spite of the worsening conditions, UNICEF intends to
hand out some 8,000 non-food items and press ahead with a feeding programme
for 10,000 children under the age of 5.
In response to a question, the Spokeswoman confirmed
that an aid convoy of trucks carrying food aid and supplies was looted
yesterday in Mogadishu.
WORLD FOOD
PROGRAMME EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SURVEYS HURRICANE DAMAGE IN HAITI
WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran has
begun a two-day visit to Haiti.
She’ll survey the damage caused by recent tropical
storms and hurricanes, which have devastated Haiti’s agricultural sector and
much of its infrastructure. Sheeran believes that now is the time for
concerted support to the Haitian government’s search for a sustainable
solution to hunger and poverty. She’ll be traveling along with the CEO of
Yum! Brands, which has
committed $50 million in cash to WFP. The money will be spent on some
200 million school meals, in Haiti and elsewhere, for children over 5 years.
Meanwhile, WFP says that it has fed half a million
people in Haiti with some 2200 tons of food. Even so, the agency continues
to appeal for some $54 million to continue its relief work in Haiti. So far,
however, only $1 million was received.
U.N. AGENCIES
CALL FOR VIGILANCE ON POSSIBLE SPREAD
OF MELAMINE-CONTAMINATED DAIRY PRODUCTS FROM CHINA
Regarding the ongoing milk crisis in China, the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
today
urged affected countries to ensure safe feeding for millions of infants.
They also called on countries to be alert to the possible spread of
melamine-contaminated dairy products.
Both agencies have used WHO’s International Food Safety
Authorities Network to inform and update the relevant authorities on this
food safety crisis, one of the largest in recent years.
NUMBER OF MOBILE PHONE SUBSCRIBERS
LIKELY TO TOP FOUR BILLION BY END OF 2008
The head of the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), Hamadoun Touré, today
said that worldwide mobile cellular subscribers are likely to reach the
4 billion mark before the end of this year.
He added that this growth in mobile phone use means
that it’s technically feasible to connect the world to the benefits of
information and communications technology.
Such technology has the potential to act as a catalyst
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, he said.
MRS. BAN JOINS
FIRST LADIES TO LAUNCH NEW AUTISM INITIATIVE
The United Nations, together with the Mission of Qatar,
Autism Speaks, and the Autism Society of America, launched today the “UN
World Focus on Autism” conference on the sidelines of the 63rd General
Assembly, with the concept of an annual observance devoted to promote
awareness of the condition.
Co-chairing the event with First Ladies Mrs. Laura Bush
of the United States and Mrs. Dorrit Moussaieff of Iceland, the wife of the
Secretary-General, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, in her keynote speech said that
autism is still dismissed as a lost cause in many parts of the world.
Last year, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a
resolution declaring April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day, devoted to
raising awareness of the signs and the need for early diagnosis of autism.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
TOP LEGAL OFFICIAL RESPONDS TO LETTER FROM MEMBERS OF
MYANMAR’S PARLIAMENT UNION: In response to previous questions about the
request from members of Myanmar’s Parliament Union to receive credentials to
represent Myanmar in the General Assembly. That request came in a letter to the
Secretary-General on 9 September. Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
Patricia O’Brien has responded to the letter, noting the Secretary-General’s
technical role in reviewing the formal criteria for credentials set forth in the
General Assembly’s
Rules of Procedure. She said that the Secretary-General has decided not to
take action on the letter he received, as it does not comply with the formal
legal requirements set out in Rule 27 of those rules of procedure.
WORLD FOOD
PROGRAMME HELPS FLOOD VICTIMS ACROSS NEPAL: The World Food Programme (WFP)
is mobilizing emergency assistance for up to 170,000 people displaced by severe
flooding in western Nepal. WFP will provide a “mixed-commodity basket” of rice,
lentils, vegetable oil and salt. In the meantime, WFP continues its work in
eastern Nepal, where it’s providing relief supplies to some 70,000 people
displaced when the River Koshi burst its banks last month.
THREE MORE
COUNTRIES RATIFY LEGAL TREATIES: According to the
Office of Legal Affairs, the President of Chile this morning ratified the
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty. Austria, for its part,
ratified the Disabilities Convention and its Optional Protocol and the Bahamas
ratified the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three
Protocols.
THE WEEK
AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
27 September – 03 October 2008
Saturday, September 27
The General Assembly continues
its General Debate today and Monday.
At approximately 12.45 p.m.
outside of Conference Room 7, the Secretary-General will speak to the press,
following a high-level meeting of the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General
on Myanmar.
Today is World Tourism Day.
Monday, September 29
This morning, the Security
Council is scheduled to adopt a resolution on the U.N. Mission in Liberia.
At
11 a.m., Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia, holds a press conference on
the outcome of the General Assembly General Debate.
From
3.30 to 5.30 p.m. in the ECOSOC Chamber, the Secretary-General hosts a
ministerial meeting on “Reducing Disaster Risks in a Changing Climate”.
From today through Saturday in
Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency holds its 52nd General
Conference.
Tuesday, September 30
U.N. Headquarters and most
major duty stations are closed for an official holiday (Eid al-Fitr).
Today is the last day of
Burkina Faso’s Security Council presidency.
From today through 17 October
in Paris, UNESCO’s Executive Board holds its 180th session.
Wednesday, October 1
Today is the first day of
China’s Security Council presidency.
From 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. in
the Economic and Social Council, there will be a high-level forum on “Investing
in Landlocked Developing Countries: Trends, Experiences and the Way Forward”.
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in
Conference Room 4, the Guinea-Bissau configuration of the Peacebuilding
Commission holds its 1st meeting.
From today through 10 October,
the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visits Colombia, at the invitation
of the Government.
Today is the International Day
of Older Persons.
Thursday, October 2
Today and tomorrow, the
General Assembly holds a high-level plenary meeting devoted to the midterm
review of the Almaty Programme of Action.
At 1.30 p.m. in Room S-226,
Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under-Secretary-General, Special
Adviser on Africa and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, joins other
speakers to brief on the implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action for
Landlocked Developing Countries.
In Paris, UNESCO is scheduled
to present its Felix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize to Martti Ahtisaari.
Today is the International Day
of Non-Violence.
Friday, October 3
At 12.30 p.m. in Room S-226,
Ambassador Zhang Yesui, Permanent Representative of China and President of the
Security Council for October, briefs on the Council’s programme of work for the
month.
From 1.15 to 2.45 p.m. in
Conference Room 6, there will be a round table on “Regional dimension of transit
transport cooperation”.
Office of the
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
Back to the Spokesperson's Page
