HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, June 12, 2009
SECURITY COUNCIL IMPOSES ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS ON
NORTH KOREA
The Security
Council this morning unanimously
adopted a resolution imposing additional sanctions on the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Earlier today, Council members met with the troop
contributing countries for the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
and received a briefing on that Mission by Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet. After its meeting on the DPRK, the
Security Council held consultations on Georgia.
BAN KI-MOON PROMOTES UN-US COOPERATION IN
ST.-LOUIS, MO.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in
St. Louis, Missouri, today, and he will speak at St. Louis University
this afternoon, to talk about the ways that the United Nations and the
United States can work together in pursuit of common goals.
He will talk about his visit to the American
heartland and discuss the challenges that are common to all of us, from
rising food prices to climate change.
The Secretary-General met this morning with
representatives of corporations, growers’ organizations and research
institutes. They explored how to increase agricultural productivity in the
developing world and how to create synergies between smallholder and
commercial farming. They also talked about climate change and technology,
including biotechnology. All agreed to keep the collaboration going and to
explore how to bring the power of these players to the table.
NEW DEPUTY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR LIBERIA IS
APPOINTED
The Secretary-General has appointed Moustapha
Soumaré of Mali as his Deputy Special Representative for Recovery and
Governance of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Moustapha Soumaré will also serve as the United
Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. He will replace
Jordan Ryan, who now serves as the Assistant Administrator of the UNDP and
Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.
The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Ryan’s
outstanding performance and leadership that greatly contributed to improved
coordination and integration of the entire United Nations system in Liberia.
Mr. Soumaré will bring with him a wealth of
development and leadership experience. He is currently the Deputy Assistant
Administrator of UNDP and Deputy Regional Director for the Regional Bureau
for Africa, New York.
HEAD OF
PEACEKEEPING MEETS WITH COTE D’IVOIRE PRESIDENT
Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Alain Le Roy continued his official working visit to
Cote d’Ivoire with separate meetings with President Lauren Gbagbo and
Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. They were expected to discuss the UN’s
peacekeeping role in the Ivorian peace process ahead of the presidential
election planned for late November.
Le Roy had yesterday met with key political
actors, including opposition leaders and with the Special Representative of
the Facilitator of the Ivorian peace process.
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.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC JOINS FIGHTS AGAINST LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY
The Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
says that the Central African Republic has joined the DRC and Uganda in
a meeting of military strategy coordinators working to defeat the Lord’s
Resistance Army.
That meeting took place yesterday in Kisangani in the presence of the UN
Force Commander, Gen. Babacar Gaye.
Together, the military officials and intelligence experts reviewed the
Congolese army’s push to expel the LRA from the northeastern Province
Orientale, an operation backed and monitored by UN peacekeepers.
In a joint communiqué after that meeting, the three armies said that current
operations against the LRA have been successful in weakening it. They
appealed for increased cooperation and intelligence sharing between their
forces. They also commended the UN Mission for its “very important and
decisive” support, and noted that the “protection of civilian populations is
absolute priority and measures are being putting in place.”
NEW AID GROUPS ARE ALLOWED TO OPERATE IN SUDAN
The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
has clarified media reports published on 11 and 12 June 2009 reporting that
four expelled non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been granted the
right to operate again in Sudan by the Sudanese authorities.
The four NGOs referred to in the reports should
not be characterized as “returning” NGOs.
While from related organizational families, they
are not the same, and have been registered in Sudan as new INGO implementing
groups and authorized to open new operations in the Sudan on that basis.
GAZA: ISRAEL MAINTAINS RESTRICTIONS ON FLOW OF
GOODS
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) reports continuing restrictions on the flow of goods into and
out of Gaza.
During the week that ended on 9 June, a total of
512 truckloads of goods entered Gaza, less than one fifth of the weekly
truckloads that went in early 2007, before the Hamas takeover. The entry of
essential goods, including materials for reconstruction, spare parts for
water and sanitation projects, and industrial and agricultural materials,
remains either restricted to limited quantities or barred outright.
No petrol or diesel fuel has been imported into
Gaza through the Nahal Oz fuel pipeline since 2 November 2008, except for
limited quantities for the UN Relief and Works Agency,
UNRWA. Since
that date, most petrol and diesel in Gaza available on the open market for
public use is transferred through the tunnels under the border with Egypt.
PAKISTAN: WORLD
FOOD PROGRAMME RESUMES AID DISTRIBUTION
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs says that the process of verifying and registering internally
displaced persons in Pakistan
is ongoing. According to the latest figures from the National Database and
Registration Authority, 1.9 million IDPs have been registered so far,
including people who had been displaced last year.
The World Food Programme (WFP) restarted food
distribution yesterday, after a five-day break. The break followed the
completion of May food rations, and allowed the Government of Pakistan to
verify and update the registration list of displaced persons.
Meanwhile, six new humanitarian hubs have been
set up in Mardan district as of Wednesday, to provide temporary storage and
distribution facilities for food and non-food item to IDPs staying with host
communities.
The United Nations held a special ceremony today
to pay homage to its staff members and Pakistani co-workers who lost their
lives in the devastating terrorist attack in Peshawar on 9 June.
Asked about casualties among national and
international UN staff, the Spokeswoman said that two international staff
had been killed in the Peshawar bombing, while a number of national staff
had been injured. She noted that some Pakistanis working on a project for
the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) had also been killed.
SRI LANKA:
ACCESS TO DISPLACED CIVILIANS HAS IMPROVED
On
Sri Lanka, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
reports access to camps housing displaced people in Vavuniya has improved,
though some delays are still being experienced.
OCHA also reports that construction work in Menik
Farm zone 5 has commenced and that the Government of Sri Lanka has announced
that an additional site (zone 6) will also be opened shortly.
As of earlier this week, more than 4,000 people
were moved to a new site in Vavuniya to help ease congestion, says OCHA.
Land clearing is ongoing in the two other new sites in Vavuniya.
OCHA also reports food distribution operations in
Vavuniya and in Jaffna, as well as stepped up activities in medical
assistance to displaced centers in welfare centers and the construction of
new facilities and distribution of emergency health equipment and drugs.
As of yesterday, OCHA says the Common
Humanitarian Action Plan for Sri Lanka is 44 percent funded, with some $69
million received out the $155 million required.
REFUGEE AGENCY
PROVIDES UPDATE ON KAREN VILLAGERS FROM MYANMAR
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says its staff have
visited five sites in northern Thailand where Karen villagers are taking
shelter after fleeing eastern Myanmar since 3 June.
The agency says it has now verified the presence
of 2,000 recent arrivals. The Karen villagers are taking shelter mostly in
temples, in a communal hall and in private Thai homes in four villages.
By and large, the Karen villagers say they fled
in fear of conscription by armed forces or of forced labour as porters for
armed forces.
According to UNHCR, those who mentioned military
action mostly said they fled in anticipation of fighting as the Myanmar army
and their allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, approached rebel Karen
National Union bases and villages. Only a few said their villages had
actually been shelled, but while UNHCR staff interviewed the recent arrivals
on the Thai side of the border on Tuesday and Thursday, they heard shelling
on the Myanmar side.
WORLD FOOD
PROGRAMME APPEALS TO GROUP OF EIGHT TO ASSIST THE HUNGRIEST POOR
Governments from the Group of Eight (or G-8)
industrialised nations are being
urged to remember the needs of the hungriest people worldwide and
provide urgently needed assistance to deal with global hunger and other
humanitarian needs.
The call was made today by the Executive Director
of the World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran, to a meeting of G-8
Development Ministers in Rome.
“The world’s most vulnerable are being hit by the
combined effects of the global financial downturn and stubbornly high food
prices in many developing world markets,” says Ms. Sheeran, as she called on
the G-8 to support WFP, which depends entirely on voluntary donations.
She warns that hunger can lead to dangerous
destabilisation, and impact global peace and security.
PROGRESS IS
BEING MADE IN CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS
In Bonn today, the second of five major
negotiating sessions toward a new global response to climate change is
wrapping up. The latest round has advanced the process of reaching an
agreement in Copenhagen this December.
Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
said, “A big achievement of this meeting is that governments have made it
clearer what they want to see in the Copenhagen agreed outcome.” He added,
“In my view, an ambitious and effective agreed outcome in Copenhagen is in
sight.”
During the meeting, countries agreed on a set of
texts that are serving as the basis of negotiations, and have been offering
amendments and suggestions that will shape the Copenhagen outcome. Further
drafting and refinements will be made at the next round of deliberations in
August.
DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT NORWAY
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro will
travel to Tromso, in Northern Norway, on Monday 15 June where she has been
invited to address the Council of Europe’s Conference for Ministers of
Justice. This year’s Conference theme is on Breaking the Silence of
Domestic Violence.
She will speak on the work of the United Nations
to end violence against women and girls, and will in particular highlight
the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign, which calls on world leaders to spur
action through national campaigns and to achieve five key outcomes by 2015.
The Deputy Secretary-General will then proceed to
Oslo where she will meet with Ministers and Officials from the Norwegian
Government, with a particular focus on issues related to progress on the
MDGs, the global economic crisis, the Climate Change Summit later this year
in Copenhagen and Gender Equality issues. The DSG will also participate in a
roundtable event with representatives from Civil Society and Academia.
The Deputy Secretary-General will depart Norway
on the evening of Friday 19 June.
UNDP CHIEF BEGINS VISIT TO DR CONGO
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark is travelling today
to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she will meet with government and
local leaders.
She will also visit UNDP programmes in Kinshasa
and in the east of the country.
Yesterday, Miss Clark was in Liberia, where she
met with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. The UNDP Administrator
commended President Johnson-Sirleaf for the country’s progress during her
presidency. Miss Clark reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to support Liberia’s
peace building process. She attended a town hall meeting with key government
ministers and local leaders in Kakata, western Liberia, where she launched
the Youth for Volunteer programme, to train ‘Youth Peace Ambassadors’. This
programme aims to identify and resolve potential violent conflicts in
communities.
Miss Clark travels to Ethiopia Monday.
GOLAN HEIGHTS:
BAN KI-MOON SEEKS MANDATE EXTENSION FOR U.N. OBSERVER FORCE
In a report
to the Security Council, the Secretary-General reports that the situation in
the Golan Heights has remained generally quiet and that the UN Disengagement
Observer Force (UNDOF)
has continued to perform its functions effectively.
He recommends that the Security Council extend
the Force’s mandate by six months, until the end of December.
TODAY IS WORLD
DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
Today is
World Day Against Child Labour - a day set aside to promote awareness
and action to tackle child labour.
In a message for the Day, the Director-General of
the International Labour Organisation, Juan Somavia, says this year’s focus
is on girls trapped in child labour, toiling in the fields from sunrise to
sunset. ILO is also highlighting the plight of girls working unseen in
domestic labour or those living and working on the streets around the world.
The ILO estimates that some 100 hundred millions
girls are in child labour, with 53 million in hazardous work. Most
importantly, the organisation says that investing in girls’ education and
training is an investment in equality and social progress. It adds that a
girl with education is better equipped to break the cycle of child labour
and poverty.
The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, which is also
marking the day, has
called for action to tackle the underlying poverty that leads to child
labour. UNICEF stresses that improving access to quality education,
particularly for girls in poor and rural areas, is a key part of an
effective overall approach.
BAN KI-MOON,
BILL CLINTON TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON HAITI ON MONDAY
The Secretary-General and former U.S. President
Bill Clinton will be holding a joint press conference on Monday, 15 June, at
11:15 am in room 226, to formally announce President Clinton's appointment
as UN Special Envoy for Haiti.
The Secretary-General will speak briefly about
the need for a Special Envoy for Haiti and why he appointed President
Clinton in this capacity. President Clinton with then deliver remarks on his
vision for his role as Special Envoy.
BAN KI-MOON TO HOST GLOBAL HEALTH FORUM ON MONDAY
On Monday, the Secretary-General will host a
forum on “Advancing global health in the face of crisis.” The forum aims
elevate the global health debate and engage leaders from all sectors to
build on the momentum and work in intense coordination to maximize the
impact of global health interventions on the ground.
The forum will open at 10 a.m. in the Trusteeship
Council Chamber, with statements by the Secretary-General and the
Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan.
Other participants at the forum will include
ministers, heads of UN agencies, leading experts and representatives from
civil society, the private sector, philanthropy and academia.
At 10:30, the Secretary-General and Dr. Chan will
hold a press stakeout outside the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
100-DAY
COUNTDOWN TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY BEGINS TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will launch the
“WMD-WeMustDisarm” multiplatform campaign, beginning the 100-day countdown
to the International Day of Peace. The General Assembly decided to
commemorate the day annually on 21 September as a day of global ceasefire
and non-violence. This year, the theme focuses on nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation.
Joining the Secretary-General in promoting the
campaign are: UN Messenger of Peace and Academy Award-winning actor and
producer Michael Douglas, who has championed the cause of disarmament for
the UN since 1998; and Rainn Wilson, featured actor in the American
television comedy, The Office, who has more than 800,000
followers on Twitter;
Over the next 100 days leading up to 21
September, they, along with the Secretary-General, will raise awareness of
the costs and dangers of nuclear weapons by issuing a daily message, via
Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, email and radio, urging the world to disarm. The
Secretary-General is taking the lead by issuing the first 10 ‘tweets’ of the
campaign.
The Spokeswoman also encouraged any one wishing
to get involved to send tweets on nuclear disarmament and non
proliferation, re-tweet the Secretary-General’s messages, sign up to
dedicated Facebook or MySpace pages, or all of the above.
In his message to mark the 100-day countdown to
the International Day of Peace, which will be available after this briefing,
the Secretary-General said, “As we observe the International Day of Peace
with world leaders gathered in New York for the 64th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly, I will proclaim one strong, simple message: We
Must Disarm!”
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
This document is for planning
purposes only and is current as of 12:31 Friday, 12 June, 2009.
Saturday, 13 June
Today, Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations, Alain Le Roy, will hold a press conference in Abidjan, Côte
d’Ivoire.
Today the Secretary-General will launch the
“WMD-WeMustDisarm” multiplatform campaign, beginning the 100-day countdown to
the International Day of Peace (21 September). This year, the theme focuses on
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Sunday, 14 June
Today is World Blood Donor Day.
Monday, 15 June
Today, the Secretary-General will host a forum on
“Advancing global health in the face of crisis.” The Forum will open at 10 a.m.
in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, with statements by the Secretary-General and
the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan. At
10:30, they will hold a press stakeout outside the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
At 11:15 a.m., in Room S-226, the Secretary-General
and former U.S. President Bill Clinton will hold a joint press conference to
formally announce President Clinton's appointment as UN Special Envoy for Haiti.
From 1:15 to 2:45 p.m., the 2009 Report on the Global
Campaign for the Health MDGs will be launched in the Delegates’ Dining Room.
The Security Council is expected to adopt a
resolution on Georgia today.
From today to 17 June, Under Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, will be in Liberia, where he will meet
with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other government officials. He will
also be making a field visit to Gbarnga in Bong County and meeting with UNMIL’s
leadership.
In Vienna, the IAEA Board of Governors will convene a
regular meeting in the Agency's Headquarters at 10:30 a.m. Reports by the
Director General on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the
Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Syrian Arab Republic will be presented.
In Geneva, Margareta Walhstrom, Assistant
Secretary-General for Disaster Reduction and Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR
Champion, will hold a press briefing on a new UN Index on the least and most at
risk territories.
Tuesday, 16 June
From 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Department of Public
Information will hold its 2009 Unlearning Intolerance Seminar on “Cyber Hate:
Danger in Cyber Space”, in Conference Room 2. The Secretary-General will make
opening remarks.
At 10 a.m., in the General Assembly Hall, the
General Assembly will hold a plenary meeting on the implementation of the
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.
The Secretary-General is expected to hold a joint press stakeout with Michel
Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS), at 10.30 a.m. outside the General Assembly Hall.
From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the ECOSOC Chambers, the
United Nations University in collaboration with UN-DESA Division for Sustainable
Development, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Development Centre, and the UN Office of Special Affairs in Africa (OSAA) will
host a panel discussion and presentation of the African Economic Outlook 2009.
At 11 a.m. in Room-S226, there will be a press
conference by Trygve G. Nordby from Humanitarian Diplomacy Division of the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Maarten
van Aalst from the IFRC Climate Center, Yvonne Clarke from Jamaica Red Cross and
Simon Mason from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society
(IRI). They will launch the IFRC World Disasters Report 2009.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Children and Armed Conflict, and the UNICEF Executive Director will launch
the publication of the 10-year strategic review of the study “The Impact of
Armed Conflict on Children,” by G. Machel. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., a panel
discussion entitled “Everybody has a role to play to better protect children
from war” will take place, followed by a reception sponsored by the Permanent
Mission of Benin and the Permanent Mission of Norway. The event will take place
in the Danny Kaye Visitors’ Center of the UNICEF House.
Starting today and until 18 June, in Nairobi, Kenya,
the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) and the
Jacobs Foundation will hold a Forum on Productive Youth Development through
Sport in Africa.
Wednesday, 17 June
The Security Council will hold a debate on the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Today is World Day to Combat Desertification and
Drought.
Tonight, the Secretary-General will be awarded the
Global Humanitarian Award by the Foreign Policy Association.
Thursday, 18 June
This morning, the Security Council will hold a debate
on the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
The Deputy Secretary-General addresses the Council of
Europe's Conference for Ministers of Justice in Tromso, Norway, on the theme
'Breaking the Silence of Domestic Violence.'
An interactive thematic dialogue of the General
Assembly on “Energy efficiency, energy conservation and new and renewable
sources of energy” will be held at 10 a.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
At 5 p.m., in the ECOSOC Chamber, the
Secretary-General of Interpol, John Noble, will deliver a presentation to the
Permanent Representatives of Missions to the United Nations on the Interpol
General Assembly, which will be held in Singapore in October. Mr. Noble will be
accompanied by members of the Interpol Executive Committee as well as the UN
Police Advisor, Andrew Hughes.
Friday, 19 June
This morning the Security Council will hold
consultations on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and on
United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA).
At 1 p.m. in Room-S226, there will be a press
conference by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Congo on the first
Sickle-cell Anaemia Awareness Day.
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