Thursday,
April 29, 2010
 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON ALL TO STAND UP FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION, ON
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

• This coming Monday is World Press Freedom day, and
  in
  
  remarks delivered at an observance event at UN Headquarters today,
  the Secretary-General noted progress made in the area of freedom of
  information, which is also the theme of this year’s observance.
   

• He said that while there is a global trend towards
  new laws which recognize the universal right to publicly held
  information, these new laws don’t always translate into action. Requests
  for official information are often refused or delayed, all too often
  because of a culture of secrecy and a lack of accountability.
   

• He called on governments, civil society and people
  around the world to recognize the important work of the media, and to
  stand up for freedom of information, and for more effort to change
  attitudes and to raise awareness.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS SENIOR OFFICIALS FOR HAITI

• The Secretary-General has announced the appointment
  of Nigel Fisher of Canada as his Deputy Special Representative ad
  interim for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH),
  where he will also serve as United Nations Resident Coordinator and
  Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim. Mr. Fisher will succeed Ms. Kim
  Bolduc of Canada. The Secretary-General is grateful to Ms. Bolduc for
  her dedication and service in Haiti, particularly her leadership in the
  immediate moments that followed the tragic earthquake on 12 January.
   

• Mr. Fisher brings to the position extensive
  cross-cultural leadership experience in the fields of international
  development, human security and child development, with particular focus
  on innovative humanitarian and developmental action in conflict and post
  conflict situations.
   

• The Secretary-General has also announced the
  appointment of Kevin Kennedy, an American and Irish national, as his
  Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization
  Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
   

• Mr. Kennedy succeeds Mr. Luiz Carlos da Costa of
  Brazil, who tragically perished in the 12 January 2010 earthquake. The
  Secretary-General remains indebted to Mr. da Costa, who was a pillar of
  United Nations peacekeeping and a mentor to generations of UN officials.
  Mr. da Costa brought many of the finest and most talented staff to the
  United Nations. His extraordinary professionalism and dedication were
  matched only by his charisma and warmth, and his devotion to his many
  friends.
   

• Mr. Kennedy brings to the position extensive
  experience in the organization of the international community’s response
  to humanitarian emergencies worldwide at the strategic, political,
  policy and field levels. 

SIXTY
THOUSAND HAITIAN CHILDREN TO RECEIVE VACCINATION AS PART OF VACCINATION WEEK

• An estimated 60,000 Haitian children under the age
  of five will
  
  receive life-saving immunization in the next few days, as part of
  the Vaccination Week of the Americas, an annual vaccination initiative
  covering 44 countries and territories in North, Central and South
  America and the Caribbean.
   

• The vaccination drive in Haiti, being led by the
  Ministry of Health with the support of
  
  UNICEF,
  
  WHO and the Pan American Health Organization, will start on
  Saturday, 1 May. Children will receive vaccinations against polio,
  diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, and rubella.
   

• UNICEF says that following the earthquake that
  struck Haiti in January, routine immunization efforts were severely
  affected. It adds that this round of vaccinations will supplement an
  ongoing campaign that began in February and which has already reached
  more than 220,000 children under the age of eight.

SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF SUDAN MISSION, HEARS BRIEFING ON LEBANON

• The
  
  Security Council this morning voted to extend the mandate of the UN
  Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  for another year.
   

• After that, Council members heard a briefing from
  Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen about the implementation of Resolution
  1559, concerning Lebanon. He presented the Secretary-General’s recent
  
  report, which says that Lebanon is currently witnessing its longest
  period of domestic stability. The Secretary-General calls on all
  Lebanese to continue to work together in a spirit of coexistence and
  democracy to safeguard the achievements they have made since 2004.

U.N. STARTS
DISTRIBUTING LAPTOPS TO PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN IN GAZA

• The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
  Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
  is teaming up with the non-profit group One Laptop per Child to
  distribute laptop computers to nearly half a million Palestine refugee
  children at UNRWA-run schools by 2012.
   

• Today in the city of
  Rafah, officials from One Laptop per Child, UNRWA and other groups, as
  well as teachers and children, are celebrating the deployment of the
  first 2,100 laptops at the Rafah Co-Education Elementary School D.
   

• The Relief and Works Agency operates one of the
  largest school systems in the Middle East and has been the main provider
  of basic education to Palestinian refugees for over six decades.
   

• Asked about the
  Secretary-General’s communications with the Security Council about the
  humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Spokesperson said that the
  Secretary-General regularly reports to the Council on the Middle East
  and his own contacts with leaders about the peace process there. He
  added that the Secretary-General had visited the region, including Gaza,
  and had briefed the Council on his visit in detail.

SUDAN: U.N.
MISSION INVESTIGATING REPORT OF CLASHES IN SOUTHERN DARFUR

• In response to a question asked Wednesday about
  clashes between the SPLA and Reizegat, the Spokesperson said that these
  reports are about the same incident, which was reported to have occurred
  a few days ago in the border area of Western Bahr El Ghazal and Southern
  Darfur states, where there were a significant, but still unconfirmed,
  number of casualties reported.
   

• The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  is investigating this situation closely, and communicating with the
  parties concerned, but verifying the reports on the ground has been
  difficult from both the north and the south.
   

• The Mission calls on all parties concerned and in
  line with the mandate of the mission to ensure full access to the area,
  to help establish the facts and defuse tensions. The safety and security
  of civilians remain the primary responsibility of the Government of
  National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan.

U.N.
HUMANITARIAN CHIEF STARTS FIVE-DAY VISIT TO D.R. CONGO

• The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
  Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, starts a five-day
  mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
  today.
   

• He will travel to South Kivu, Orientale Province,
  and Equateur Province, three of the country’s provinces most affected by
  armed violence.
   

• During his mission, the UN’s humanitarian chief
  will discuss humanitarian priorities and the necessary responses, in the
  context of increasing insecurity for humanitarians in some areas.
  Protection of civilians is also at the top of his agenda.  

U.N. HAS
TAKEN UNPRECEDENTED STEPS TO REDUCE ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT

• In response to a question asked on Wednesday on a
  report by the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), the Spokesperson said that in
  the three years since the Secretary-General called for “greening the
  UN”, the Organization has taken unprecedented steps to reduce its carbon
  footprint and to make its operations more sustainable.
   

• The Organization is pushing for higher
  sustainability standards under the Capital Master Plan, which will
  significantly reduce energy use. And all the entities of the UN have
  worked together to develop common standards to measure their progress to
  reduce emissions.
   

• More details on the initial steps taken by the UN
  to manage emissions can be found in the first greenhouse
  
  inventory that was launched at the Copenhagen Conference called
  “Moving towards a Climate Neutral UN.”
   

• The UN is a large organization and it will take
  time to achieve the goal of climate neutrality. The report provides some
  useful suggestions on how to do it sooner and those suggestions are
  being looked at.

UNESCO
DIRECTOR-GENERAL CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO DEATH OF IMPRISONED CAMEROON
JOURNALIST

• The Director-General of the
  
  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
  Irina Bokova, today
  
  voiced grave concern about the death in detention of Ngota Ngota
  Germain, editor of the weekly Cameroun Express, and asked that a full
  investigation be conducted into the circumstances of his death.
   

• “The detention and death of journalists represents
  a loss for any society; the loss of a pair of eyes and of a voice that
  can inform the public about issues that concern us all. I trust that the
  authorities will do all they can to shed light on this tragic death and
  on the conditions of Ngota Ngota Germain’s detention,” Bokova said.
   

• Held in detention in Kondengui jail in Yaoundé for
  nearly two months, Mr Germain suffered from asthma and high blood
  pressure, according to Reporters without Borders.

OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO WASHINGTON TO
HIGHLIGHT MDGs: The Deputy-Secretary-General will leave for Washington
DC this afternoon. There, she will participate in a round table on the

Millennium Development Goals hosted by the UN Foundation. The aim is to
help to develop concrete ideas in the lead up to the MDG Summit, this
September.

U.N. URGES NEPAL GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS: Richard Bennett, the head of the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights in Nepal, urged the Government of Nepal to ensure that
fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are fully
respected and protected during upcoming protests. Equally, he said, the
organizers of the protest programmes must ensure that the demonstrators
behave calmly and respect the rights of others, including the general
public.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HOPES IRANIAN PRESIDENT WILL
BRING POSITIVE MESSAGE TO N.P.T. CONFERENCE:
Asked about the Secretary-General’s response to the possible attendance at
the Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had expressed
his hope that the President would bring a positive message to that meeting.

FULL MEMBERSHIP OF
AFGHANISTAN BOARD OF INQUIRY IS NOT PUBLIC:
Asked about the composition of the Board of Inquiry regarding the 28 October
2009 attack in

Afghanistan, the Spokesperson noted that the full membership of the
Board had not been made public. He added that the Board worked on an
internal management inquiry that is required under established procedures.

*** The guest at the noon briefing was Ambassador
Libran N. Cabactulan of the Philippines, the President-elect of the NPT
review conference.