HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON
FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
BAN KI-MOON TO HOLD PRESS
CONFERENCE TOMORROW
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon is scheduled to hold
his monthly press conference at UN headquarters.
There will no noon briefing
tomorrow.
PAKISTAN: BAN
KI-MOON STRONGLY CONDEMNS BRUTAL ACT OF TERROR AGAINST INNOCENT PEOPLE
As more information emerges about yesterday’s terrorist
attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan,
the Secretary-General is further
dismayed by the news that the confirmed death toll is rising and
includes two UN staff members – Mr.
Aleksandar Vorkapic
of the UNHCR and Ms.
Perseveranda So of
UNICEF. Four UN colleagues – two from WFP, one from WHO and one from
UNICEF - were injured.
A number of Pakistani nationals supporting UN
programmes were also killed and injured. The search for casualties is
continuing.
The Secretary-General reiterates his strong
condemnation of this brutal act of terror against innocent people, many of
whom were in Peshawar to carry out humanitarian work.
The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences
to the families of the deceased and wishes those injured a speedy recovery.
Last night, the Secretary-General
condemned
the attack as “a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify.”
UN agencies including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR),
UNICEF, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
and the World Food Programme (WFP)
have issued statements condemning the attack in Peshawar.
For security considerations, WFP has
delayed the resumption of its food distributions at humanitarian hubs and
settlements for internally displaced persons by 24 hours. All WFP food
distributions for the humanitarian emergency operation will resume tomorrow.
Fikret Akcura, the UN Resident
Coordinator in Pakistan, said in a statement that the United Nations is
determined to continue its support to more than two million Pakistanis who
have been affected by the ongoing displacement crises.
BAN
KI-MOON CONCERNED ABOUT HEIGHTENED TENSIONS IN NIGER
The Secretary-General
expressed his concern over recent developments in Niger and the
heightened political tension in the country following the President’s
decision to dissolve Parliament. These developments come at a time when
Niger had made significant progress in the efforts to resolve the Tuareg
conflict and to consolidate democratic and economic progress.
The Secretary-General urges all parties
to act in full respect of the country’s Constitution and to refrain from any
action that would undermine Niger’s democratic gains, as well as the
stability of the country. He welcomes the recent initiatives launched by
Regional Leaders and urges Niger’s stakeholders to extend the fullest
cooperation to those initiatives in order to resolve the current problems
peacefully.
IRAQ: ENVOY
CONDEMNS “CRUEL” CAR BOMBING IN NASIRIYAH
Staffan de Mistura, the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Iraq, today condemned in the strongest terms the car bombing in
Nasiriyah, which left more than 35 people dead and scores of others wounded.
He described the bombing as “a cruel crime against innocent civilians that
aims to derail Iraq’s stability.”
De Mistura extended the
United Nations’ sincere condolences to all the bereaved families and his
wishes for the speedy and full recovery for the wounded.
SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES DRAFT
RESOLUTION ON NORTH KOREA
The
Security Council held consultations just a short while, to discuss a
draft resolution concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The Security Council yesterday afternoon concluded its
discussion of
Burundi by issuing a press statement, commending the advances in that
nation’s peace process. Council members urged all the Burundian parties to
pursue their efforts to address the remaining challenges, in particular the
completion of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process.
The Council President also read a press statement
condemning in the strongest terms the killing last Friday of one of the
presidential candidates in
Guinea-Bissau and of the country’s former Defense Minister. Council
members called on the Government of Guinea-Bissau to bring to justice those
responsible for these violence attacks and expressed their deep concern over
the resurgence of political violence.
BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR
CONTINUED ASSISTANCE TO SIERRA LEONE
Earlier today, the Secretary-General
has
called on the international community to provide continued support to
the people and Government of Sierra Leone, as they strive for the dividends
of peace after years of war.
Speaking at today’s high-level special
session of the Peacebuilding Commission on Sierra Leone, the
Secretary-General said that though the country has made remarkable progress
since the war, the situation remained fragile.
“Seven years after the end of the civil
war, the people of Sierra Leone expect to see tangible improvements in their
lives and their country’s welfare,’ he said.
The Secretary-General commended the
President, Ernest Bai Koroma, his government and the opposition leaders for
their joint efforts in dealing successfully with the outbreak of political
violence in March this year.
He hailed the adoption of the Joint
Communiqué of the Political Parties as an event that has renewed hope in
Sierra Leone’s journey to peace and prosperity. He also welcomed the UN’s
Joint Vision strategy in support of the government’s Agenda for Change.
ENVOY PLEADS
FOR SPEEDY DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS PLEDGED FOR SOMALIA RECOVERY
The International Contact Group on
Somalia, (ICG), has, at the end of a two-day meeting in Rome, called on
the international community to take concrete action in support of the
progress being made by the Somali Government.
Under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the ICG urged
those who made pledges at the recent Brussels Donors Conference to disburse
and expedite the use of funds and pledged without further delay. These funds
should enable the Somali security sector to become more effective and also
strengthen the capabilities of the African Union peacekeeping mission in
Somalia, AMISOM.
The ICG communiqué also expressed grave concern about
the deteriorating humanitarian situation, especially the plight of the
displaced and of refugees.
The ICG also supports initiatives aimed at combating
piracy, which it described as an international security threat that also
affects the Somali people.
TOP U.N.
POLITICAL ADVISOR TO DISCUSS PEACE & SECURITY WITH CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
LEADERSHIP
The Under Secretary-General for
Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, is expected early tomorrow in Bangui
for a working visit.
According to the UN peacebuilding office in the Central
African Republic (BONUCA),
Mr. Pascoe will be meeting with senior government officials for
consultations on the current political and security situation and relations
between the UN and the country. Security sector reform and disarmament of
armed groups will also be discussed.
Mr. Pascoe is also expected to confirm the date of
arrival in Bangui of the newly-appointed Special Representative of the
Secretary General there, Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia.
He will also meet members of the foreign diplomatic
corps to discuss issues of development and peace consolidation.
TOP U.N. PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL BEGINS
WEST AFRICA VISIT
The Under Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Alain Le Roy, is traveling to West Africa
and is scheduled to arrive in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, this evening.
In addition to Côte d’Ivoire, Mr. Le Roy will travel to
Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali and Nigeria, where he will meet with Government
officials and local authorities. The trip includes familiarization visits to
two peacekeeping operations in the region, the UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL,
and the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire, UNOCI.
This trip, which ends on Friday 19 June, is Mr. Le
Roy’s first visit to West Africa as Under Secretary-General.
SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS IS BEING MADE
AT CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS
Negotiations in Bonn on an international climate change
deal, to be concluded in Copenhagen in December, continue to make slow but
steady progress, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).
It says that more than 200 pages of comments and
suggestions for the text that will ultimately be adopted in Copenhagen are
now on the table.
UNFCCC adds that countries have made significant
progress in two areas: how to approach the issue of reducing deforestation
and how to facilitate and finance technologies that can help developing
countries address climate change. This, it stresses, will pave the way for
these key issues to be included into the eventual outcome document.
The talks are to conclude Friday.
MYANMAR EDUCATION SECTOR NEEDS SUPPORT
More support is required for the education sector in
Myanmar. That was the key message in the donor meeting on Education,
organized by the
United Nations in Yangon.
In a press release issued in Yangon, the top UN
official in Myanmar, the resident coordinator, says there are shortages of
learning material and qualified teachers. Further education or vocational
training opportunities for dropout students from general education are
limited.
In addition to the meeting, the participants took a
field visit today to several villages in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta.
So far 1,400 of the more than 4,000 schools destroyed
and/or damaged by Cyclone Nargis have been repaired. The objective is to
build back all the destroyed schools with permanent structures designed to
reduce the risk of possible future disasters, by April 2011. According to
the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness plan, some $150 million is needed
for the Education sector for the next three years.
ECONOMIC CRISIS
COULD HAVE POOR FAMILIES FORCE DAUGHTERS INTO CHILD LABOUR
The global financial crisis could push an increasing
number of children, particularly girls, into child labour. That’s according
to a new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO), ahead of
the World Day Against Child Labour, Friday.
More than 100 million girls are already involved in
child labour worldwide, says ILO, adding that an increase in poverty,
resulting from the crisis, could mean families will be faced with a choice
as to which children stay in school, often to the detriment of girls. Other
factors which could push up the numbers in child labour include cuts in
national education budgets and a decline in remittances of migrant workers.
MORE PEOPLE PLANTING MORE TREES AROUND
THE WORLD
The Billion Tree Campaign has mobilized thousands of
people around the world to put more trees on the planet,
says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and has already
surpassed the four billion mark, in a crucial step towards its target of
seven billion trees to be planted by the end of 2009.
To date, 166 countries around the world have been
planting trees, and groups such as the World Organization of the Scouts
Movement and UN Peacekeepers have also joined the campaign on World
Environment Day.
BAN KI-MOON CONGRATULATES GENERAL
ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT-ELECT
The Secretary-General this morning
congratulated Ali Abdessalam Treky of Libya on being elected President
of the 64th session of the
General Assembly. He also congratulated the current President on his
valuable contribution.
From climate change to hunger, from the economic crisis
to the urgent need to reach the
Millennium Development Goals, the General Assembly will be challenged to
forge new levels of international cooperation to solve our common problems,
the Secretary-General said. He adds that his own experience tells him that
the Assembly can rise to this challenge.
“BOLD AND
SWIFT” ACTION NEEDED TO COUNTER ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS IN AFRICA
The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
and the African Union Conference of Ministers of Finance and Economy said in
a joint statement today that the continent must take “bold and swift” action
to cushion the impact of the global financial and economic crisis. The call
came following the conclusion on Sunday of a gathering of African finance,
planning and economy ministers in Cairo.
Speaking at the event, Under Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Abdoulie Janneh,
said the economic crisis is a setback, but also an opportunity for
innovation, self reliance, and practical solutions. Janneh joined other
participants in reaffirming their commitment to improve economic and fiscal
reforms and improve governance and accountability.
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