Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 17 April 2009

.HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, April 17, 2009

BAN KI-MOON IS EXPECTED TO STRESS IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY AT AMERICAS SUMMIT

  • Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where he will address on Saturday the 34 Heads of State and Government attending the Fifth Summit of the Americas, during a working luncheon.

  • The Secretary-General will speak of sustainability, one of the themes of the Summit.

  • According to the Secretary-General, today’s economic crisis, if not handled properly, could evolve into a full-scale political crisis — defined by social unrest, weakened governments and angry publics who have lost faith in their leaders and their future.

  • Addressing the climate change issue, he is expected to refer to the impact of such changes on the Americas, from the shrinking glaciers in the Andes, to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and the rising sea levels endangering the small islands of the Caribbean. He will also stress the need to protect populations, including indigenous peoples, and to create financial incentives to preserve forests and the livelihoods of those who depend on them. By tackling climate change, he will say, we also deal with the economic crisis — green jobs for green growth.

  • From Trinidad and Tobago, the Secretary-General is expected to return to New York, before attending the Durban Review Conference in Geneva.

BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR “NEW MULTILATERALISM” TO COMBAT GLOBAL THREATS

  • The Secretary-General this morning spoke at a colloquium at Princeton University, warning that we face a landscape shattered by global economic crisis and collapse, regional conflict, and escalating humanitarian needs. Absent decisive action, he said, we face a real prospect of our existing system unraveling.

  • The Secretary-General proposed a new multilateralism, which must focus on securing global public goods, including global financial and economic stability, a major push against poverty, restoring peace and stability, addressing climate change, advancing global health, countering terrorism and ensuring disarmament and non-proliferation.

  • An effective and empowered United Nations, he said, is central to meeting the dominant global challenges of the 21st century.

  • In an interdependent world, he added, the common interest is the national interest. Either we will succeed together or fail alone.

SRI LANKA: REFUGEE AGENCY STEPS UP EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN CONFLICT-HIT NORTH

  • In Sri Lanka, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stepped up its emergency response in the north, where displacement numbers are growing as a result of heavy fighting between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

  • Latest estimates show that more than 63,000 people have fled the conflict zone in the north-eastern coastal pocket and are being accommodated at several transit and internal displacement sites in the districts of Vavuniya, Jaffna and Mannar.

  • Meanwhile, the Government says some 1,800 displaced persons with special needs, particularly the elderly, have been released from the sites, and some 1,345 separated families have so far been reunited.

  • While commending these initiatives, UNHCR calls upon the Government to accelerate progress on other outstanding protection concerns, including maintaining the civilian character of the internally displaced person sites and the separation of ex-combatants from the civilian population; expediting the screening process in internally displaced person camps; and subsequently allowing freedom of movement.

  • The United Nations, however, remain deeply concerned about the plight of the civilian population still trapped inside the conflict zone. Those fleeing into government controlled areas provide similar accounts of the dire humanitarian conditions prevalent inside the area.

  • Calling on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to immediately allow these people to move to areas where they feel safe, the UN also urges both parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law and ensure that the safety of the innocent civilian population is the top priority.

  • Asked about Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar’s visit to Sri Lanka, the Spokesperson said that Nambiar had met with a number of Government officials today, including President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Foreign and Defense Ministers. He said there had been some movement in dealing with the issue of getting civilians to leave the conflict zone.

  • In that regard, he noted that the United Nations has been pursuing contacts to achieve several objectives. Among them, Haq said, has been the repeated call on the Sri Lankan Government not to use heavy weaponry in the no-fire zone and on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to allow the civilians who wish to leave the conflict zone to do so.

AGREEMENT REACHED ON OUTCOME DOCUMENT FOR UPCOMING ANTI-RACISM CONFERENCE

  • The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay warmly congratulated delegates Friday on reaching agreement on the text of a draft outcome document to be forwarded for consideration and adoption at next week’s Durban Review Conference in Geneva.

  • "I am certain that because it was so well deliberated it will have an easy passage through the conference," Pillay said of the 16-page draft outcome document. "It has not been an easy process, but it is excellent that delegates have agreed on the key issues. This process is very important for the sake of all the millions of people who suffer from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance every day, of every week, in every part of the world."

  • Meanwhile, the Review Conference’s Preparatory Committee has reached agreement on the event’s outcome document. According to the Conference’s spokesperson, there had been a “palpable sense of greater optimism” following the latest discussions on that text.

  • As of this morning, nearly thirty-eight hundred people had registered to participate in the Review Conference. That number includes over 100 heads of delegation from Member States and more than 2,500 representatives from non-governmental organizations.

U.S. SENATOR PLEDGES SUPPORT TO DARFUR MISSION

  • The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that UNAMID forces continue to conduct their routine duties and closely monitor the situation in and around villages and camps housing displaced persons.

  • Meanwhile, Sweden’s Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Marika Fahlen, today arrived in the North Darfur capital, El Fasher. She is in Darfur to update herself with, among other pertinent issues, the humanitarian and security situation in the region, preparations for the forthcoming national elections to be held in February 2010, seek possible solutions to the return of the displaced people to their original homes and assess the peace process. She met with the Governor (Wali) for North Darfur who told her that local humanitarian ministries and agencies are doing their best to fill any vacuum left by the non-governmental organizations’ expulsion.

  • U.S. Senator John Kerry is also visiting Darfur. He was briefed on the overall political and humanitarian situation. The briefing was followed by discussions during which Senator Kerry paid tribute to the good work done by UNAMID on the ground, which he said, “deserves respect and appreciation.” He promised to do everything to help assist in order to enable UNAMID to fulfill its duties in better conditions.

SOMALIA: U.N. ENVOY DEPLORES ATTACKS AGAINST GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has issued a strong condemnation of recent attacks targeting government officials. A member of parliament was killed in one such attack just a few days ago. And Ould-Abdallah says that the killings aim to delay the ongoing effort to reconcile the country and restore state authority. “However I am confident that this time they will not succeed,” he added.

  • Also, on Thursday next week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to co-chair and address a Somalia donor conference in Brussels. The event’s purpose is to solicit funds to support the Somali security institutions and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

  • Asked whether the donors’ conference in Brussels would deal with the issue of piracy, the Spokesperson said it may come up, although he noted that the focus of the conference was on ways to support, financially and otherwise, the African Union Mission.

COTE D’IVOIRE: EXPERTS HIGHLIGHT SIGNIFICANT RISK OF VIOLENCE

  • The midterm report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire is now out as a document. Among other things, the Experts found that quasi-private militias have maintained control over natural resources in the north. The natural resources are exported through a network of local and foreign actors, the latter of which help secure fuel, vehicles and weapons for the militias.

  • The Experts also found a significant risk of a rapid spiral back into violence should the political situation deteriorate and the business and economic interests of some parties be threatened by events. These parties include powerful politico-military commands controlled by elements in both the government and the armed opposition. The Security Council-imposed arms embargo, meanwhile, has not fully prevented certain groups from rearming and others to remain armed heavily enough to engage in sustained military hostilities.

HAITI PLEDGES SHOULD BE DISBURSED SOON

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti, Hédi Annabi, expressed the hope that the pledges made at last Tuesday’s Washington conference would be disbursed quickly.

  • The head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said he also hoped the plan presented by the Haitian Government could be implemented soon. He added that it would help respond to the immediate reconstruction needs in the country and would attract investments that are indispensable to putting Haiti on a sustainable development path.

  • Annabi also stressed that improving the economic and social situation was essential to consolidating stability in the country.

NEW EMERGENCY OPERATION IS LAUNCHED TO HELP DISPLACED PAKISTANIS

  • The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it will continue providing food assistance to Pakistan’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) until November 2009 under its new emergency operation.

  • With a total value of $64.2 million, WFP will be able to provide over 97,000 tons of food to up to 600,000 beneficiaries who have fled from Federally Administered Tribal Areas and some districts of North West Frontier Province because of insecurity.

  • The number of displaced people eligible for humanitarian assistance has been increasing due to progress with their registration and also because their resources are becoming exhausted, particularly those who stay in host communities.

  • Although some IDP families are said to have returned to their home areas, the number of people in IDP camps is still increasing. WFP assistance will be available to IDPs in communities and camps as well as those who decide to return home.

U.N. AGENCIES HELP FLOOD SURVIVORS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that UN agencies are helping disaster survivors in southern Africa, where floods have killed more than 150 people in Angola, Namibia, Madagascar and Zambia.

  • In flood-hit areas of Angola, for example, UNICEF is working to improve access to safe drinking water. It has also distributed food and basic supplies to survivors. The agency is also planning to provide water and sanitation facilities to relocation camps.

  • For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the Angolan Government’s efforts to assess the needs of flood-hit populations.

  • OCHA adds that the flooding in southern Africa, which has also affected Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique, could worsen as the region is hit with higher than average rainfall over the next few months.

REFUGEE AGENCY IS ENCOURAGED BY PROSPECT OF DISPLACED CONGOLESE & RWANDANS RETURNING HOME

  • The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is encouraged by the stated intention of both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to work toward the return of some 150,000 their nationals back to their respective countries. Yesterday in Goma, officials from the two the countries met to begin hashing out plans at a meeting facilitated by UNHCR.

  • The agency says that both delegations recognize the scope of existing challenges, including persistent instability in northeastern DRC, which has prevented the effective return of some 53,000 Congolese refugees in Rwanda. The delegations also agreed to speed up the identification of Rwandans in eastern DRC to facilitate their return back home.

UNESCO IS CONCERNED BY PRESS RESTRICTIONS IN FIJI

  • The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today expressed its grave concern about the suspension of press freedom in Fiji under thirty-day Public Emergency Regulations that recently came into force.

  • UNESCO says that under these new regulations, editors are not allowed to publish or broadcast any material that shows the military in an unfavorable light. Sensitive stories must be approved by government officials before publication and media organizations ignoring these directives may be shut down.

  • “Such measures will not promote a solution to the nation’s social and political problems,” said UNESCO Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura. He urged authorities to allow open debate—stressing that freedom of the press is essential to democracy, good governance and rule of law.

FIELD SUPPORT DEPARTMENT GETS NEW DEPUTY CHIEF

  • The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Anthony Banbury of the United Sates as Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support.

  • Banbury assumes the position held by Jane Holl Lute, also a U.S. national, and will function as the Deputy of Susana Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Field Support. In this capacity, he will be responsible for developing cross-cutting field support policies and strategies as well as overseeing day-to-day operations across the full range of mission support areas.

  • Banbury brings to this job more than 20 years of experience in political, peacekeeping, and management roles across several different regions and organizations. Prior to this appointment, Banbury served for six years as the Asia Regional Director for the World Food Programme, where he led and managed operations in 14 countries valued at $3 billion annually. He has also spent several years working for the U.S. Government, at the National Security Council in the White House and within the Department of Defense, where he covered a range of issues including United Nations peacekeeping.

  • From 1988-1995, Banbury held positions in the UN Border Relief Operation in Thailand, the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia and the UN Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. In 1996-1997, Banbury worked in the Secretariat, in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and in the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

  • Banbury was educated at Tufts University where he studied political science, and he holds a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a Diploma of Higher Studies from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, University of Geneva. Born in the United States in 1964, he is married with four children.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS CONFIDENCE-BUILDING PERIOD FOR IRAQ AND KUWAIT: The Security Council President, Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, read a statement to the press yesterday afternoon following the briefing they received from High Level Coordinator Gennady Tarasov about missing Kuwaiti and other persons and property in Iraq. The Council President said that Council members supported the Secretary-General’s proposal for a confidence and cooperation building period between Iraq and Kuwait, and they agreed to finance the High Level Coordinator’s activities for a further six months.

AFGHANISTAN: UNESCO EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER DRAFT LEGISLATION: The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koïchiro Matsuura, has written a letter to Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan today, which expresses grave concern over the possible entry into force of legislation adopted by Parliament on the personal status of the Shiite community in Afghanistan. Several articles of the new law undermine the right to education, the principle of gender equality, and the rights of the child, all of which UNESCO upholds. In his letter, Matsuura welcomed the considerable progress achieved by the Afghan Government in numerous areas, including education. In view of progress achieved, the Director-General voiced concern over the draft legislation, which, he felt, contains provisions that run counter to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Director-General is requesting President Karzai to prevent the entry into force of this draft law.

WOMEN AND MEN AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY BY NATURAL DISASTERS: Women and men are affected differently by disaster. For example, 90 per cent of the people killed in the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh were women. It was the same in the United States, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. African-American women were among the worst affected. Women are often the main victims of disasters as they account for more than 70 percent of the world’s poor. A three-day conference to be held in Beijing, China, will discuss how women and men can participate equally in driving early warning systems, risk assessments, preparedness exercises and national and local plans to implement disaster risk reduction policies.

EMPOWERING WOMEN BUILDS BETTER LIVES FOR EVERYONE: On the occasion of the 2008 International Women´s Day, the UN Delegations Women´s Club tonight hosts a multi-cultural event dubbed Women for Peace, as part of its campaign to promote, strengthen and advance the goals of the Global Movement of Peace within the context of the Decade for a Culture of Peace. In his message to the event, the Secretary-General reiterated his pledge to continue his utmost to keep the United Nations at the forefront of this effort. Highlighting that the cause of gender equality should unite the world, he stressed that empowering women is a condition for building better lives for everyone. During the gala, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, wife of the Secretary General and the Patron of Women for Peace, will present the 2009 Women for Peace Recognition Award, on behalf of the Women for Peace Executive Committee and its Honorary Members.

This year´s Gala has been planned with the efforts of spouses of ambassadors to the United Nations, spouses of other UN diplomats and associates who have dedicated their time, commitment and knowledge to implement this project successfully.

INDEPENDENT FIRM TO MONITOR ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS: Asked about staff concerns about asbestos abatement at UN Headquarters, the Spokesperson said that, in addition to the firm carrying out the abatement activities, there would be an independent firm, ATC Associates, which would monitor the asbestos abatement process. Asked about security assessments for UN compounds, Haq noted that it is standard policy for the United Nations to assess the security of all UN premises to make sure that they comply with safety standards. He added, in response to a question about whether the Secretary-General had maintained contact with UN staff on these issues, that the Secretary-General consistently tries to stay in dialogue with staff on key concerns and would continue to do so.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, 18 April

The Secretary-General is in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where he will address the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

Monday, 20 April

The Secretary-General will open the Durban Review Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference, which will run through 24 April, will evaluate progress made towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The Secretary-General will also hold a press conference with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

This morning, the Security Council will hear a briefing followed by consultations on the Middle East.

The eighth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests opens today at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 1. The session runs through 1 May 2009.

The Economic and Social Council will hold a panel discussion on “Civil society perspectives on the Financing for Development Agenda”, following the meeting of its 2009 organizational session, at 3 p.m., in the Economic and Social Council Chamber.

Starting today and through 1 May, the tenth session of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families will be held in Geneva. The Committee will review efforts by Azerbaijan, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Philippines to implement their obligations under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

More than 200 participants will gather in Beijing, China, for a three-day conference on Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction, co-organized by the All China Women’s Federation and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

At 2 p.m. in Room-S226, the UN Non-governmental Liaison Service sponsors a press conference by Roberto Bissio from Social Watch, Jo-Marie Griesgraber from New Rules for Global Finance and John Foster from North-South Institute on the global economic crisis.

Tuesday, 21 April

The Secretary-General is in Valletta, Malta, where he will meet with the President, and Prime Minister, before addressing the country’s parliament. During his visit, he will also receive an Honoris causa doctorate in recognition of his contribution in raising awareness on climate change.

This morning, the Security Council will hold an open debate on “Maintenance of international peace and security: mediation and settlement of disputes”.

Today, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a Web site featuring unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world.

Wednesday, 22 April

This morning, the Security Council will hold consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

At 10 a.m. the General Assembly will hold a plenary meeting to consider a draft resolution on the establishment of International Mother Earth Day. At 12.30 p.m. in Room-S226, Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, and President of the General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann will brief the press on the plenary meeting.

Thursday, 23 April

The Secretary-General is in Brussels, Belgium, for the donors’ conference on Somalia.

The guest at the noon briefing, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, presents the latest Annual Report of the Secretary General on the situation of children and armed conflict and briefs on her recent trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This afternoon, the Security Council will hold consultations on the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS).

Friday, 24 April

The Security Council will hear a briefing and hold consultations on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).

From 9 to 10 a.m., in the Hank Shannon Conference Room (DC1 building), there will be a commemoration of the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and the official launch of the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network programme.

From 3 to 6 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, there will be a special event on the theme “The tsunami global lessons learned” to present the report “The tsunami legacy: Innovation, breakthroughs and change.” Participants will include Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, former US President Bill Clinton, and newly appointed UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

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