Noon briefing of 5 June 2009

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, June 5, 2009

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS BOMB ATTACK ON MOSQUE IN PAKISTAN

• The Secretary-General condemns today's bomb attack in a mosque in the Upper Dir district of Pakistan, which reportedly killed at least 30 people. He reiterates his rejection of such indiscriminate and reprehensible acts of violence and extends his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Pakistan.
  

• On the humanitarian front, the UN Refugee Agency estimates that 20,000 more people are believed to be fleeing the conflict areas in and around the Swat Valley in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP). They are heading for safer ground in the Mardan, Charssada and Peshawar districts. The new exodus follows the lifting of a curfew on the region earlier today. To accommodate the newly displaced, UNHCR is working with local authorities to develop two new camps established earlier this week.
  

• Camps supplied by the Refugee Agency in Mardan have reached capacity, and the new arrivals are being directed to sites that are further afield.
  

• To pay for operations in Pakistan through the end of 2009, UNHCR is seeking an additional $67 million dollars out of a total appeal budget of $105 million.

BAN KI-MOON VOICES CONCERN OVER PATTERN OF KILLINGS IN GUINEA BISSAU

• The Secretary-General is dismayed by the news of the assassinations of a candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections in Guinea Bissau, Mr. Baciro Dabo, and of a Member of Parliament and former Minister of Defense, Mr. Helder Proenca, along with others. The Secretary-General is concerned about the emerging pattern of killings of high profile personalities in Guinea Bissau. Coming so soon after the assassinations of President João Bernardo Vieira and General Tagme Na Waie, these criminal acts are a tragic setback for efforts to restore the rule of law and democratic processes in the country, but they should not be allowed to deter the forthcoming presidential elections.
  

• These developments underscore once again the importance and urgency of conducting a thorough, credible and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassinations in Guinea Bissau. The United Nations will be consulting with national authorities and the International Contact Group on Guinea Bissau, to explore what more needs to be done to end impunity and restore respect for the rule of law in the country.
  

• Most urgently, the Secretary-General conveys his deepest condolences to the affected families and calls on the national authorities, including the country’s military, to ensure that the human rights of all citizens are upheld and protected.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL ON SRI LANKA

• This afternoon, the Secretary-General will participate in an informal interactive discussion with the members of the Security Council on Sri Lanka.
  

• Asked about the format of today’s informal interactive discussion on Sri Lanka, the Spokesperson said that the members of the Security Council had used a similar format in the past, adding that the Council members had agreed on it.
  

• Asked about the transparency of the arrangement, Haq noted that a press stakeout would be set up for the afternoon discussion. He recalled that the Secretary-General had also briefed the General Assembly on Sri Lanka on Monday.
  

• He disputed the claim that the Secretary-General and other senior officials had been downplaying the casualties in Sri Lanka, noting that the Secretary-General, in his public statements and conversations, had repeatedly expressed his concerns, as did other officials throughout the UN system.
  

• Asked about discrepancies in the number of people estimated to be internally displaced by the fighting, the Spokesperson noted that some of the recent lowering of those estimates resulted from taking into account information that some people had been double counted earlier.

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES CLIMATE CHANGE WITH U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY, WRAPS UP WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP

• The Secretary-General has wrapped up a trip to Washington, D.C. this morning and is on his way back to New York.
  

• This morning, he discussed climate change with US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. They talked about international cooperation to deal with climate change, including mitigation efforts in developed countries and efforts to bring in the broader international community, including through cooperation with developing countries.
  

• On Thursday, the Secretary-General met with US Vice President Joseph Biden. They discussed US financial support for the United Nations, a topic on which the Vice President was supportive. They also talked about Pakistan, including the humanitarian situation there; Afghanistan; the Balkans; Sudan, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Darfur; Sri Lanka; Myanmar; the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; non-proliferation and disarmament; and climate change.
  

• The Secretary-General also met with a bipartisan group of Senators in a meeting hosted by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin. The Secretary-General spoke of the need for US leadership on climate change and discussed US financial support of the United Nations. They also discussed issues ranging from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur to Iran.

BAN KI-MOON STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF JAPAN’S LEADERSHIP ON REDUCING GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS

• On Thursday night, the Secretary-General had a telephone conversation with Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan, about the recent situation on the Korean peninsula following the nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and about climate change.
  

• On the DPRK, the Secretary-General reaffirmed his conviction of the urgent need to resume dialogue, including the Six-Party Talks. He expressed the UN’s readiness to provide any assistance required.
  

• Regarding climate change, the Secretary-General thanked the Prime Minister for his country’s strong commitment to resolving climate change – through its strong domestic actions and support for reaching an effective, inclusive, international agreement.
  

• The Secretary-General stressed the importance of showing leadership by setting an ambitious mid-term emissions reduction target for his country for 2020. He further underlined the importance of this being in line with the targets, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said are necessary to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences from climate change. Japan has said it will announce its mid-term targets soon.
  

• The Secretary-General welcomes Japan’s leading role in setting an ambitious domestic target, as it could well influence the targets set by other countries and generate critically needed positive momentum in the UN climate change talks.

DARFUR: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL

• In an open meeting this morning, the Security Council heard from the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, about his continuing investigation into the alleged crimes committed in Darfur.
  

• Moreno-Ocampo said that over the coming six months, his office will continue to monitor crimes and to galvanize efforts to arrest fugitives. He said he does not plan to open a new investigation during those six months. He also noted the responsibility of the Government of Sudan to arrest indicted suspects.
  

• Following that open briefing, the Security Council continued its discussion of the Court’s actions regarding Darfur in a private meeting.
  

• Meanwhile, General Martin Luther Agwai, the Force Commander of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), today visited the North Darfur town of Umm Barru to assess the situation there, following the recent deadly clashes between Sudanese Government forces and members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
  

• During his visit, General Agwai met with the Mission’s military and police personnel deployed in the area. The Force Commander was briefed on the general security situation in the area following the fighting last month. He also held discussions with civilians who moved to the vicinity of the UNAMID camp site near Umm Barru as a result of the clashes.

SOMALIA: NUMBER OF DISPLACED REACHES 96,000

• More Somalis are continuing to flee the capital, Mogadishu, because of the continued heavy fighting in the city between Government forces and armed opposition groups. According the UN Refugee Agency, (UNHCR), the latest number of people forced out of their homes in the city is now more than 96,000.
  

• The majority of the newly displaced are still in the city, looking for shelter in more secure areas because they have no means to leave. Another group of the internally displaced persons has fled to the so-called Afgooye corridor, about 30 kilometres south-east of Mogadishu.
  

• According to UNHCR’s local partners, other displaced Somalis continue to flee the country, with many risking their lives traveling with smugglers across the Gulf of Yemen. Hundreds are traveling into Ethiopia and in recent weeks neighbouring Kenya has seen a doubling of the number of new Somali arrivals, to nearly 200 a day.
  

• UNHCR continues to rush assistance to the displaced. The Agency is leading a task force to coordinate the activities of all the humanitarian actors dealing with this new emergency.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MAURITANIAN PARTIES

• In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General welcomed the signing of the agreement between the Mauritanian parties in Nouakchott. The agreement constitutes a solid basis for a return to constitutional order and the consolidation of democracy in Mauritania. He congratulated the parties for the spirit of compromise demonstrated during the negotiations.
  

• The Secretary-General will closely follow developments in Mauritania leading up to the Presidential election scheduled for 18 July 2009.

CHOLERA OUTBREAK ON THE WANE IN ZIMBABWE

• In Zimbabwe, there are indications that the cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people is now on the wane, with the number of cases and deaths continuing to fall. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA), stresses that concerted efforts are still required in specific areas which continue to report a high number of new cases.
  

• As of the end of May, the cumulative number of cholera cases since August last year stood at 98,429, with the number of deaths stabilizing at 4,276. New cases are still being reported mostly in Harare, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.
  

• OCHA highlights the fact that the problem of lack of safe water and sanitation facilities, which was main the cause of the epidemic, has still not been addressed in most parts of the country.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ENCOURAGES ALL TO WORK FOR GREENER AND CLEANER PLANET ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

• Today is World Environment Day. The theme this year is “Your planet needs you.”
  

• In a message to mark this occasion, the Secretary-General says that while the Earth faces the grave threat of climate change, there is an opportunity to change course. He calls on governments to “Seal the Deal” for a new climate agreement in Copenhagen, in December.
  

• The Secretary-General adds that the planet needs more than just action by governments and corporations. It needs each of us, he says, and he encouraged all people to take concrete steps toward making the planet greener and cleaner.
  

• Mexico is the host this year of World Environment Day. Most celebrations are taking place in that country but other activities are being held worldwide. The global premiere of the new film 'HOME', by photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, will be one of the major worldwide events taking place with more than 100 screening locations around the world.
  

• Also on World Environment Day, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Portugal have announced that they will promote low-carbon, green growth by joining the Climate Change Network – an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aimed at global action to de-carbonize economies and societies.
  

• UNEP has a new report out today which says that boosting investments in the conservation, rehabilitation and management of the Earth’s forests, peatlands, soils and other key ecosystems could deliver significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

COUNTRIES SUBMIT PROPOSALS ON CLIMATE CHANGE TREATY

• In Bonn, countries are continuing their discussions on an international climate change deal, to be agreed in Copenhagen, next December, in a constructive spirit, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  

• It also says that the US, Japan, Australia and Tuvalu have requested the UN Climate Change Secretariat to circulate their proposals for a new international climate change treaty to the capitals of the world by Saturday evening. Costa Rica has also just announced that it will submit the full version of the existing negotiating text.
  

• Meanwhile, negotiations in the Kyoto Protocol Working Group are focusing mostly on the issue of reduction targets for industrialized countries post-2012. UNFCCC says that these discussions are moving forward well. It adds that the Group is examining the tools available to industrialized countries, such as the rules for the use of land and forests by rich countries, in order to meet their future commitments.

W.H.O. RECOMMENDS GLOBAL USE OF ROTAVIRUS VACCINES

• The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending the globally use of rotavirus vaccines in immunization campaigns. This would provide protection against the most common cause of lethal diarrhea -- a virus that is responsible for more than 500,000 deaths a year among children. Some 85% of these deaths occur in Africa and Asia.
  

• This new WHO recommendation extends an earlier one on vaccination in the Americas and Europe, where clinical tests had demonstrated the safety and efficacy of using this vaccine. New data has now evaluated the vaccine’s efficacy in countries with high child mortality.
  

• WHO says that this new policy will help ensure access to the vaccines in the world’s poorest countries.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSED IMPORTANCE OF LEBANESE ELECTIONS: Asked about this weekend’s elections in Lebanon, the Spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General, in his recent report on the implementation of resolution 1559, had highlighted the importance of the elections and had called on all sides to ensure a calm and peaceful vote.

ARRESTED U.N. STAFF MEMBER PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: Asked about the arrest of a UN staff member on allegations of child pornography, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations is aware of the arrest and that the staff member has been placed on administrative leave in accordance with established procedures until further action is taken. There was no further information at this time, he added.

SEVENTY COUNTRIES TO PARTICIPATE IN W.F.P. END HUNGER WALK: In an effort to raise awareness and money for hungry school children in some of the poorest countries in the world, the World Food Programme (WFP) is leading the seventh annual Walk the World Event this Sunday in some 70 countries. Among those who will participate in the walk are employees from supporting companies, their friends and families, celebrities, local dignitaries, WFP employees and in some countries, the children who have actually benefited from the WFP school feeding programme.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
6 June – 12 June 2009

Saturday, 6 June

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Sunday, 7 June

Starting today and until 10 June, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold the International Conference on Children's Health and the Environment, in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Monday, 8 June

Today is World Oceans Day. To mark the occasion, at 1 p.m. in S-226, there will be a press conference on challenges regarding the world’s oceans. There will also be an expert panel discussion on the theme “Our oceans, our responsibility,” from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber; and the screening of the documentary “A Sea Change,” at 6 p.m. in Conference Room 1.

This morning, the Security Council will hear a briefing on United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL).

Today and tomorrow, the Incentive2Innovate Conference, at UN Headquarters, will bring together leaders from the private sector, foundations, NGOs, and the UN to highlight the innovation necessary to solve today’s challenges and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The conference is organized by the UN Office for Partnerships (UNOP) along with the X PRIZE Foundation, BT Global Services and the John Templeton Foundation.

Tuesday, 9 June

Today the Security Council will hear a briefing and then hold consultations on the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB).

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy will be on official travel to West Africa until 23 June. The trip includes visits to Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Liberia.

Wednesday, 10 June

At 10 a.m., in the General Assembly Hall, the General Assembly will hold a plenary meeting to elect the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session.

From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., the Sierra Leone configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission will hold a high-level special session in Conference Room 4. The Secretary-General is expected to participate, as well as the President of Sierra Leone, via videolink from Freetown.

In Geneva, on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) will launch a new report highlighting the exploitation of girls in child labour and warning that the crisis could force more girls out of education and into child labour.

Thursday, 11 June

At 11 a.m. in S-226, the Secretary-General will hold his monthly press conference.

This morning, the Security Council will hear a briefing on Sudan, followed by consultations on the same subject. It will also hold consultations on the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.

In Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) will launch the Global status report on road safety.

Friday, 12 June

There are no major events scheduled for today.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055