HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY
MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
September 14, 2009
BAN KI-MOON WILL
JOIN IN PRAYER FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY ON EVE OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENING
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to join in a
prayer for peace and prosperity at the Holy Family Church, as tradition on
the eve of the opening of a new General Assembly session each year, just
before leaders from around the world join at the UN to discuss how to
achieve these goals.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General will reiterate
that while the United Nations is responding by helping countries meet the
Millennium Development Goals, it cannot heal the wounds that families
are suffering from economic hardship.
He will call on all religious groups to unite faiths so
that they can strengthen ability to reach the UN’s life-saving goals, and
help shape the world.
This morning, the Secretary-General attended the book
launch of “UN Ideas That Changed the World” published by the
UN Intellectual History Project.
In his
remarks, the Secretary-General commended the publication of the book
that records the great ideas that have emanated from the great organization
of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also highlighted that some of
the ideas the world accepts as common wisdom today, were controversial when
first articulated. He added that those ideas are what they are today because
UN fought for and championed them.
This 336-page volume is the 17th of its kind, in a
series published showing the culmination of a 10-year research effort to
trace the intellectual history of the United Nations.
BAN KI-MOON WILL SEND TOP POLITICAL OFFICIAL TO SRI
LANKA
The Spokeswoman, in response to a question,
confirmed that the Secretary-General had spoken by phone this morning with
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
[Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
the guest at today’s briefing, said that the Secretary-General had raised
the expulsion of a UNICEF staff member and the detention of two other staff
in Sri Lanka. He had discussed sending Pascoe to Sri Lanka.]
I.A.E.A.
CONFERENCE OPENS; BAN KI-MOON HAILS OUTGOING CHIEF, PLEDGES SUPPORT TO SUCCESSOR
Vienna today, the International Atomic Energy Agency
began its 53rd general conference. Sergio Duarte, the High Representative
for Disarmament Affairs, read out a
statement on the Secretary-General’s behalf, in which the
Secretary-General hoped that the 25 non-nuclear-weapon States that are party
to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but which have not brought their
comprehensive safeguards agreements into force will do so before the
2010 NPT Review Conference.
The General Conference also provides a useful
opportunity to reaffirm international support for resuming the six-party
talks aimed at the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the
Secretary-General added.
The Secretary-General also thanked Dr. Mohamed
ElBaradei for his many years of outstanding service to humanity and to
international peace and security. He extended his full support to the new
Director General, Ambassador Yukiya Amano, as he prepares to confront the
many challenges ahead.
Asked about the latest proposal on nuclear negotiations
concerning Iran, the Spokeswoman recalled that the Secretary-General has
consistently called for Iran to resolve issues concerning its nuclear
programme through negotiations. He has asked Iran to abide by the
resolutions of the Security Council and to cooperate with the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
BUMPY ROAD
AHEAD IN SIERRA LEONE’S “REMARKABLE” RECOVERY
The Security Council held an open meeting and
consultations this morning on the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in
Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL).
In his briefing to the council members, the
Secretary-General’s Executive Representative for Sierra Leone, Michael van
der Schulenberg, cautioned that, though Sierra Leone had embarked on a
remarkable journey towards a stable, peaceful and democratic country, this
journey would be bumpy, long and even, at times, dangerous.
What Sierra Leone needs to succeed is, time, patience,
determined national leadership and continued international support, van der
Schulenberg stressed.
Also in the Council this morning, members held
consultations on Resolution 1874 regarding the Democratic Peoples Republic
of Korea.
KENYA: ANGELINA
JOLIE HIGHLIGHTS TOUGH CONDITIONS IN VISIT TO OVERCROWDED REFUGEE CAMP
Angelina Jolie, the UN refugee agency’s Goodwill
Ambassador, paid a
visit this weekend to the world’s largest refugee site, the Daadab
refugee camp, located on the Kenya-Somali border. She described conditions
in the camp as ‘one of the most dire’ she had seen.
During her day-long visit among some of the 285,000
refugees, Jolie met a number of families, including a mother who had just
arrived in the camp, after walking for days with her three young children to
flee war-torn Somalia.
After visiting a number of shelters she observed that
toilets were overflowing and that refugees were living amongst garbage
because of a lack of space.
UNHCR recently began moving 12,000 refugees to the
Kakuma camp in northern Kenya as an emergency measure for new arrivals.
ZIMBABWE:
ASSISTANCE DRIVE TO BOOST SMALL FARMERS’ OUTPUT
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation,
(FAO), has started a
major operation in Zimbabwe in support of small scale farmers, as part
of FAO’s joint efforts with the European Union (EU) to fight hunger this
year.
FAO has procured 26,000 tons of seeds and fertilizers
for distribution to 176,000 vulnerable farmers — representing between 10 to
15 percent of communal farmers in the country.
FAO says that, with good seasonal rains, timely
implementation and effective coordination, farmers’ production in Zimbabwe
could more than double this season, compared to the previous year's national
average production level.
FAO has received a total of around 200 million euros
for work in 25 countries, of which 15.4 million euros goes to Zimbabwe.
GAZA
UNDERGROUND WATER SUPPLIES IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE
The underground water supplies, upon which 1.5 million
Palestinians depend for agricultural and drinking water, are in danger of
collapse, according a new
report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The potential breakdown is a result of years of
over-use and contamination, which have been exacerbated by the recent
conflict, UNEP says.
The agency adds that, unless the trend is reversed now,
the damage could take centuries to undo. It also notes that, since the water
supplies are linked to those of Egypt and Israel, those countries must be
involved in any efforts to fix the situation.
As it stands now, pollution levels are such that
infants in the Gaza Strip are at risk from nitrate poisoning.
Asked what the
Secretary-General could do to lift the blockade of Gaza, the Spokeswoman
said that he is in constant touch with officials on the ground to do what he
can to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people.
YEMEN:
HUMANITARIAN FACT-FINDING MISSION IS UNDERWAY
Rashid Khalikov, the Director of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is on the last day of a four-day
fact-finding mission to Yemen. He has been visiting areas where people
displaced by the conflict in northern Yemen have settled. On his arrival,
Khalikov said that it is hard to have a comprehensive picture of the
humanitarian situation because of the continued insecurity.
Earlier this month, a flash appeal for 23.7 million
dollars for Yemen was launched, but it has not received any funding to date.
Khalikov expressed his concern about the lack of funding, saying we urgently
need the international community’s support to prevent the situation from
deteriorating further.
HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL BEGINS ITS REGULAR SESSION
This morning in Geneva, the Human Rights Council
opened its 12th regular session. It started with a high-level segment,
during which it heard statements from representatives of Sri Lanka, the
United States and Thailand.
Asked about the release of the report by the UN
fact-finding mission on the recent Gaza conflict, which was mandated by the
Human Rights Council and led by Justice Richard Goldstone, the Spokeswoman
said that the Human Rights Council was scheduled to discuss the report on 29
September.
**Our guest at the noon briefing was UN
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe who briefed on
recent political developments.
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