HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, April 27, 2009
BAN KI-MOON: UNITED NATIONS RESPONDING
“QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY” TO SWINE FLU EPIDEMIC
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read the following
statement at the noon briefing:
"During the last few days, as you know, we have seen
the appearance of a new influenza virus. It has been confirmed in the United
States, Mexico and Canada and is suspected to have moved to other countries.
We are concerned that this virus could cause a new
influenza pandemic. It could be mild, in its effects, or potentially be
severe.
We do not yet know which way it will go. But we are
concerned that, in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy
adults.
This will be a first test of the pandemic preparedness
work the community of nations has undertaken in the last three years.
The UN system is responding, quickly and effectively,
with the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret
Chan, taking the lead.
I have been in constant contact with Dr. Chan and other
senior UN officials over the weekend. Dr. Chan informs me that she has
activated the
Strategic Operations Center at WHO. That includes convening the
Emergency Committee, created under the revised International Health
Regulations in 2005, which met over the weekend.
It will meet again later today to decide whether WHO
should raise its pandemic alert from Phase 3.
If we are indeed facing a pandemic, we need to
demonstrate global solidarity.
The swine flu outbreak shows yet again that, in our
interconnected world, no nation can deal with threats of such dimension on
its own. Poorer nations are especially vulnerable. They have been hit
hard by other crises this year: food, energy, the global economy, climate
change. We must ensure that they are not also hit disproportionately hard by
a potential health crisis.
The World Bank and other UN development and
humanitarian agencies will therefore mobilize to ensure that countries
needing additional financial resources to combat an epidemic will have them.
I will continue to be in close consultation with senior
UN officials and, through Dr. Chan, with affected governments, international
health officials and international organizations such as the International
Red Cross to provide any and all assistance that might be required.
So far, our response has been an example of
multilateral cooperation at its best. I am confident that it will
continue to be so.
Thank you very much for your support.”
W.H.O: SWINE FLU A PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN
According to a
statement issued over the weekend by World Health Organization (WHO)
Director-General Margaret Chan, the current situation constitutes a public
health emergency of international concern.
As of now, WHO – which is currently in emergency
24-hours operations mode – confirms that there have been 40 cases of swine
flu in the United States, 26 lab-confirmed cases in Mexico, six cases in
Canada and one verified case in Spain.
The only cases considered severe have all been in
Mexico, and for that reason, WHO has teams on the ground in that country,
trying to learn more about the source and path of infection and about why
Mexico has been the most affected.
WHO experts are also helping the Mexican authorities,
at Mexico’s request, in their investigations and in strengthening labs.
WHO’s Emergency Committee met over the weekend and is
now meeting at this very moment to continue assessing the situation and to
advise on appropriate responses.
BAN KI-MOON: ECONOMIC CRISIS IS EXPOSING
“DANGEROUS WEAKNESSES” IN GLOBAL SYSTEM
The Secretary-General this morning
addressed the
High-Level Meeting convened by the Economic and Social Council with the
Bretton Woods Institutions and other leading economic bodies, telling them
that their work at this year’s meeting is more urgent than ever. The current
global economic and financial crisis is exposing dangerous weaknesses and
flaws in the international economic system.
He said that the G-20 Summit’s commitment of more than
a trillion dollars to deal with the crisis was a huge step, but only a first
step. Now, he added, we have to examine where the funds will come from, and
make sure that countries make good on their pledges.
The Secretary-General added that recent events have
proven that the current system of global economic governance is not adequate
to today’s challenges. Our institutions and governance structures must
become more representative, credible, accountable and effective.
TOP HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL PRESSES FOR
ACCESS TO CIVILIANS IN SRI LANKA’S CONFLICT ZONE
In Sri-Lanka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes
arrived in Colombo over the weekend for a two-day visit, to seek increased
humanitarian access.
On Sunday, he met with the
UN Country Team,
NGOs and donors in Colombo. In these meetings, the Humanitarian Chief
discussed urgent humanitarian concerns including the situation inside the
conflict zone, problems with the delivery of food and medical supplies into
the conflict zone, conditions of Internally Displaced Persons accommodated
in the IDP camps, and continuing protection concerns on the displaced at the
screening points in transit.
The UN Country Team raised concerns on the delay in the
shipment of more than 1,000 metric tons of food; the urgent need to access
screening points at Omanthai and Kilinochchi; and overcrowding of the IDP
sites, among other issues.
In meetings with Government officials, Holmes stressed
the need for a humanitarian pause to conduct an assessment of the conflict
zone and to bring in emergency supplies including food and medical supplies.
He also underscored the urgent need for access by the
United Nations Country Team to the conflict zone in the northeast, and to
the screening centers through which tens of thousands of displaced persons
are passing on their way to the camps. Holmes also raised the issue of need
for access to IDPs in transit who receive limited assistance, and addressed
the issue of congestion in camps in Vavuniya and the need for more people to
be accommodated with host families, as well as the need for the release of
UN staff.
Today, Holmes traveled to Vavuniya and Omanthai
screening point. He visited a camp for IDPs in Manik Farm, Zone 2, where he
was able to speak to the displaced, who number in total some 38,000-40,000.
At present over 151,000 displaced are in camps and in
hospitals. The UN estimates that there are still at least 50,000 still in
the conflict zone, which is now less than 10 square kilometers.
Meanwhile, a United Nations refugee agency’s emergency
airlift carrying humanitarian aid for tens of thousands of people displaced
by fighting in north-eastern Sri Lanka began Monday morning with the arrival
in Colombo of a plane carrying 2,850 family-size tents from the refugee
agency's stockpiles in Dubai.
The Boeing 747 cargo plane, the first of two scheduled
flights to deliver more than 200 tonnes of UNHCR tents landed in Colombo at
10:45 a.m. local time.
High Commissioner António Guterres also
approved the
immediate release of an extra US$2 million for UNHCR's Sri Lanka operations
helping internally displaced people. The additional funds will provide
shelter, protection and other aid for civilians fleeing the conflict zone in
the north.
In addition, UNICEF
says 50
metric tons of airlifted emergency relief supplies landed today in Colombo.
Asked whether a UN humanitarian assessment team will go
to Sri Lanka, the Spokeswoman said that Holmes is trying to arrange that.
In response to a further question about UN staff detained in Sri Lanka,
Montas said that the United Nations has 13 staff members in the zone of
conflict at present.
SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON DARFUR;
CRISIS NOW “A CONFLICT OF ALL AGAINST ALL”
The
Security Council today received a briefing in an open meeting from the
Joint UN-African Union Special Representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada.
Adada said that Darfur today is a conflict of all
against all, with Government forces clashing with armed movements, who have
fought among each other, along with inter-tribal conflicts. He pointed to
two major sources of risk: the military engagement between the Justice and
Equality Movement and the Sudanese Government, and the poor state of
relations between Sudan and Chad.
Adada warned that political progress in Darfur has been
frozen, and civilians remain at an unacceptable risk of violence. At the
same time, he added, the UN-African Union Mission (UNAMID)
has been working around the clock to prevent new killings and has
increasingly played a preventive role in the conflict.
Meanwhile,
UNAMID Deputy Force Commander, Major-General Emmanuel Karake Karenzi,
last week took the opportunity to bid farewell to UNAMID officials.
Major-General Karenzi, a Rwandan national, has served in UNAMID since its
inception in January 2008. He will be leaving the Mission soon and will be
replaced by Major-General Duna Dumisani from South Africa.
Also, a team from the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations arrived in Darfur yesterday to conduct
an evaluation and assessment of the Mission over the next two weeks. The
purpose of the evaluation is to review the operational objectives of
UNAMID’s military, police and civilian components and look at challenges and
constraints. The evaluation will also provide best practices and lessons
learned in all areas of activity conducted by UNAMID that could be used by
other missions.
SOMALIA ENVOY APPEALS FOR QUICK
DISBURSEMENT OF PROMISED RECOVERY FUNDS
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has
appealed for a quick disbursement of funds pledged last week in Brussels
at the Somalia donors’ conference. He also said that the Somali authorities
must ensure that the funds are spent wisely and responsibly.
The Secretary-General and other conference participants
last week announced that $213 million had been pledged to support Somalia’s
security forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Special
Representative Ould-Abdallah notes that while improving security, youth
employment and aid delivery are essential, peace and stability can only be
firmly secured through continued dialogue as laid out in the Djibouti
Agreement.
DR CONGO: DISARMAMENT DRIVE PICKS UP
SPEED
The Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
reports that Rwandan rebels are now surrendering at a rate of 146 fighters a
month. That’s 4 times last year’s average of 37 fighters a month. More than
660 Rwandan rebels have heeded the call and returned to civilian life since
the start of this year, along with 1000 of their dependents.
This past weekend, another 10 members of the Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) surrendered to a joint
UN/Congolese army patrol near Goma. The rebels brought with them 31 of their
dependents along with a sizable weapon arsenal. The Mission says the new
additions to its disarmament program are now being processed for
repatriation to Rwanda. It calls on remaining FDLR fighters to follow suit.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SECURITY COUNCIL ISSUES
WEEKEND STATEMENT ON IRAQ: Over the weekend, the President of the Security
Council, Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, issued a
statement to the
press on Iraq, saying that the members of the Council condemned in the
strongest terms the terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Diyala on 23 and 24 April
2009, which caused numerous deaths and injuries.
SPOKESWOMAN IS NOT AWARE OF PRISONER EXCHANGE IN
RELATION TO RELEASE OF UN STAFF: In response to a question, the Spokeswoman
said that she was not aware of any exchange of prisoners made in relation to the
recent release of two abducted UN staff, Robert Fowler and Louis Guay.
*** The guest at the noon briefing today was
Rodolphe Adada, Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur.
Office of the
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