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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, January 5, 2009
SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS SITUATION IN GAZA HAS WORSENED DRAMATICALLY SINCE
ISRAEL’S GROUND INVASION
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a town hall meeting
with UN staff this morning, said that the situation in
Gaza and southern Israel has worsened dramatically in the past 48
hours. Civilian suffering was already alarming, he said, but Israel’s
launch of a ground operation has only made it worse.
The Secretary-General has spoken with Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and expressed his extreme concern and disappointment.
He stressed the need for Israel to do everything possible to protect
civilians and to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need. He
said there must be an immediate end to violence on both sides.
In a
statement issued on Sunday, the Secretary-General regretted that the
Security Council has not been able to reach a consensus, including during
its emergency session held on Saturday evening, in order to bring about an
end to the violence.
The Secretary-General will be working actively with
members of the Council and other key players, in particular Arab leaders
whom he will see at 3:00 today, to facilitate the emergence of a consensus.
The Secretary-General added that he is extremely
concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation on the ground. We
are in close contact with the Israeli authorities to press them to open not
only the Kerem Shalom crossing, but also Karni and Nahal Oz, to allow in,
particularly, wheat grain and fuel for the power plant, as well as other
essential supplies.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s conversations with
Israeli officials, the Spokeswoman added that the Israeli side said it would
work to strengthen humanitarian mechanisms. She added that there was no
indication that Israel would halt fighting, despite the Secretary-General’s
urging.
U.N. STRESSES
NEED FOR MORE FOOD AND FUEL TO GET INTO GAZA
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied
Palestinian territory, Maxwell Gaylard, said that the fuel crossing at Nahal
Oz was opened today for the transfer of urgently needed industrial fuel with
the assistance of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA).
We hope that this crossing will now remain open in
order for sufficient supplies to enter over the coming days, and for the
Gaza power plant to continue to operate on a more sustained basis.
As of today, Gaylard said at a press briefing, our
estimates are that the Palestinian fatalities are five hundred and rising,
and the injured are 2,500 and rising. He added that movement within the
Strip is a severe challenge. Ambulances and medical workers are facing
increasing difficulty reaching the wounded, and some have been killed in
doing so. Getting medical supplies to where they need to be is also
extremely challenging.
For its part, UNRWA says that it is struggling to
maintain its services in Gaza, but it has opened all but two of its food
distribution centres there, as well as all but five of its 18 health centres.
The Relief and Works Agency has also opened seven shelters around the Gaza
Strip, which are currently housing some 4,000 people affected by the recent
fighting.
UNRWA emphasizes the need for humanitarian breathing
space. It calls upon Israel to allow industrial quantities of wheat to pass
through the conveyor belt at the Karni crossing. It also calls for more fuel
to get into Gaza; at present, the Agency says, one million people in Gaza
are without electricity, while a quarter of a million people lack fresh
water.
SECURITY
COUNCIL MEETS ON GAZA SITUATION
The
Security Council had its first meeting of the year on Saturday night,
when it held consultations, under France’s presidency, on the situation in
the
Middle East.
The consultations ended without agreement on a
statement on Gaza, but the Council President, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert
of France, said that there had been a “convergence of views” on the need for
“an immediate, permanent and fully respected cease-fire.”
The Council expects to hold consultations Tuesday
morning on its programme of work for January.
U.N. IRAQ ENVOY
CONDEMNS RECENT ATTACKS ON PILGRIMS
Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Iraq, condemns in the strongest terms the attacks targeting pilgrims
both on Sunday and today. De Mistura described these actions, which included
an attack that resulted in the killing of at least forty pilgrims on Sunday,
as “appalling and unjustified crimes.”
He extended the United Nations’ sincere condolences to
the aggrieved families and its wishes for the full and speedy recovery of
the wounded.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED OVER REPORTED THREATS AGAINST IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS
ACTIVIST
The Secretary-General is greatly
concerned about reports that Iranian lawyer, human right activist and
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has been threatened in recent days,
her Center for the Defense of Human Rights broken into and materials taken,
and that hostile crowds have mobilized today outside her office and home.
He calls on the Iranian authorities to take immediate
measures to prevent any further harassment and to ensure Shirin Ebadi's
safety and security.
PROGRESS
REPORTED ON CYPRUS DISCUSSIONS
The Cypriot leaders met for about three hours this
morning under UN auspices. The first hour was devoted to a tête-à-tête
meeting.
Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Cyprus, said afterward that the leaders have reached full agreement on
the issue of harmonization and cooperation between the federal government
and the constituent states, or the federal units. They are also very close
to full convergence on the issue of hierarchy of norms and have decided to
continue discussion on the matter in order to overcome the remaining
obstacles.
The two leaders will meet next on Monday, 12 January,
and have agreed to take up the issue of past Acts at that meeting. Special
Adviser Alexander Downer will attend that meeting.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES GHANAIANS ON ELECTIONS
The Secretary-General warmly
congratulates the people and Government of Ghana on the peaceful and
orderly resolution of the recently concluded presidential and legislative
elections. He acknowledges the dedication and professionalism of Ghana's
Electoral Commission, which has skillfully managed the process. He commends
the political parties and their leadership for their statesmanlike conduct
during the final stages of this exercise.
Ghanaians can and should take pride in this democratic
achievement. With their continuing show of commitment to the democratic
process, Ghana and its leaders are setting an admirable example.
U.N. AGENCIES
RESPOND TO HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA),
citing figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
and national authorities, says that more than 300 people have been killed in
attacks in areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo where
military action against the Lord’s Resistance Army is ongoing.
Humanitarian organizations are particularly concerned
about the situation in North Kivu, specifically the forced recruitment of
children, large numbers of unaccompanied children with insufficient
protection, and the extensive food needs among displaced people.
The World Food Programme (WFP)
has so far distributed approximately 21,000 tons of food to more than 7,000
displaced people in Dungu Province. Distributions of 90 more tons of food to
displaced persons in North Kivu are set to begin soon.
U.N.
COORDINATOR GRAVELY CONCERNED OVER VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL SOMALIA
Mark Bowden, the UN Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator for Somalia, today
expressed grave concern at the number of civilian casualties and the
massive displacement caused by recent fighting in central Somalia.
Violence this past week in the Galgaduud Region has
reportedly resulted in 40 civilian deaths and the displacement of
approximately 50,000 people. In two of the region’s towns, 90 per cent of
the population has fled; many of them had already been displaced by fighting
in Mogadishu.
Bowden called for a cessation of hostilities to allow
urgently needed humanitarian assistance to be provided wherever it is
required in Somalia.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
TWO MORE POLICE CONTINGENTS ARRIVE IN DARFUR: The
UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)
says that it received two contingents from the Nigerian formed police unit last
week, consisting of 140 personnel each. The Nigerian police will be deployed in
Zalingei and El Geneina in West Darfur. That brings the number of formed police
units in Darfur to five, following the earlier arrival of units from Bangladesh,
Indonesia and Nepal. UNAMID expects to have 19 such units once it is at full
strength.
PERMANENT CONTRACTS NOT PART OF U.N. CHARTER: Asked
about changes in the structure of UN contracts, the Spokeswoman noted that the
system of contracts has been simplified, from 11 types of contract previously to
three today. There continue to be temporary, fixed-term and continuing
contracts, she noted, but she disputed the idea, as expressed in one question,
that any shift away from permanent contracts could be a violation of the UN
Charter. Permanent contracts are not part of the Charter, she said.
*The guests at noon were John Ging, Director of
Operations in Gaza for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA)
via video-link from Gaza; and John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, who briefed on the
humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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