SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS WORDS MUST BE FOLLOWED WITH DEEDS AFTER KABUL
CONFERENCE

• The Secretary-General briefed the
  
  Security Council this morning in closed consultations to
  discuss his visit to Afghanistan earlier this week, in which he
  participated in the
  
  Kabul Conference that took place on Tuesday. That meeting,
  he said, marked the official launch of the Kabul Process, which
  will see a transition to greater Afghan responsibility and
  ownership, in both security and civilian areas.
   

• We know this process will be long and
  challenging, the Secretary-General told the Council. The
  Conference took important decisions, which will help get the
  transition process off to a good start.
   

• The Secretary-General said that he was
  encouraged by the outcome of the conference. But he added that
  words must be followed up with deeds – by the Afghan authorities
  and by the international community. We can only move from vision
  to action with greater resolve and more goodwill and hard work,
  he asserted.
   

• The Council President, Ambassador Joy Ogwu
  of Nigeria, said in a press statement after consultation ended
  that the members of the Security Council welcomed the Kabul
  Conference communiqué, which recognized the conference as an
  important milestone in the Kabul process. Council members
  welcomed the commitments made by the Afghan Government and
  looked forward to their timely implementation.
   

• Council members also acknowledged the
  intention of the Afghan Government to engage with Council
  members and the international community in a transparent process
  of de-listing individuals from the Consolidated List under
  Resolution 1267. They expressed their support for the leadership
  shown by Staffan de Mistura and the staff of the UN Assistance
  Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA).

 

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL APPOINTS MEMBERS OF FACT-FINDING MISSION
LOOKING INTO GAZA FLOTILLA INCIDENT

• The President of the United Nations
  
  Human Rights Council has appointed three pre-eminent experts
  to an independent international fact-finding mission to
  investigate violations of international law in relation to the
  31 May flotilla incident. The experts are: Judge Karl T.
  Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Desmond de Silva of
  the United Kingdom, and Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia.
   

• The establishment of this independent
  international fact-finding mission was decided on 2 June 2010 by
  the Human Rights Council, by resolution 14/1.  The Council had
  previously held an urgent debate on the raid on the Flotilla by
  Israeli Defense Forces.
   

• The experts will now define their plan of
  action and make contact with all relevant parties prior to
  traveling to the region. They are expected to report on their
  findings to the Human Rights Council at its fifteenth session
  this September.
   

• Asked whether this panel would be in place
  of the Secretary-General’s proposed inquiry on the flotilla
  incident, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General hopes
  that the Human Rights Council fact-finding mission will enjoy
  full cooperation from all concerned so that it can make a
  positive contribution.
   

• At the same time, Nesirky said, the
  Secretary-General’s discussions continue with all relevant
  parties on his proposal for an international panel.  His
  proposal is still on the table.
   

• Asked about the Secretary-General’s
  reaction to reports of further flotillas coming to Gaza, from
  Lebanon and elsewhere, the Spokesperson noted that the
  Secretary-General has repeatedly said that it is important,
  particularly as proximity talks proceed, to avoid provocations.
   

• Nesirky said that there are established
  routes for needed humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza by land,
  and the Secretary-General has made clear the preference to use
  those routes, so that aid can go to the people who need it.
   

• He added that, although the United Nations
  believes that Israel has taken a good first step by shifting its
  policy to allow more aid into Gaza, much more needs to be done,
  and it is vital that more goods be allowed to enter Gaza.

 

PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS NEEDS TO BE A PRIORITY IN
EASTERN D.R. CONGO

• The head of the World Food
  Programme (WFP)
  and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They said they
  hoped that more people displaced by years of conflict in the
  eastern region of the country would soon find the security they
  need to return to their homes and re-start farming their land.
   

• Josette Sheeran and António
  Guterres
  
  said that, for this to happen, protection needed to be both
  a national and international priority.
   

• WFP and UNHCR are
  supporting populations that have been forced from their land and
  villages by fighting, as well as preparing them for a better
  future if peace and stability endures.

 

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY ALARMED AT TREATMENT OF UPROOTED SOMALIS

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
  is alarmed that the treatment of uprooted Somali civilians has
  deteriorated, both inside Somalia and in the surrounding region.
  Against the background of recent terrorist attacks, the Agency
  cites growing numbers of incidents of xenophobia, round-ups and
  deportations of displaced Somalis.
   

• UNHCR says it is receiving
  frequent reports of verbal and physical harassment in
  communities, as well as arrests, arbitrary detention, extortion
  and even push-backs of Somali refugees.
   

• It is particularly worried
  by the action by the local authorities of Somalia's Puntland
  region in pushing back more than 900 internally displaced people
  (IDPs) to conflict-stricken central Somalia this past Tuesday
  and Wednesday.

 

SLOW RETURNS OF DISPLACED AS SITUATION STILL VOLATILE IN NORTHERN
YEMEN

• The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
  reports that the situation in northern Yemen remains volatile,
  more than five months into a ceasefire between the Yemeni
  Government and Al-Houthi forces.
   

• The Agency estimates that,
  so far, only around 14,000 internally displaced people (IDPs)
  have returned to their areas of origin out of Yemen's displaced
  population of more than 324,000. Many fear retaliation or have
  no place to return to due to the destruction of houses and
  infrastructure.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL FORWARD WORLD COURT’S ADVISORY OPINION ON
KOSOVO TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

• In response to a question, the Spokesperson
  recalled that the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
  has delivered its
  
  advisory opinion on the question “Is the unilateral
  declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of
  Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law?”
   

• The Secretary-General will be forwarding
  the advisory opinion to the General Assembly, which had
  requested the Court's advice and which will determine how to
  proceed on this matter.
   

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

STABILITY ON KOREAN PENINSULA IS CRUCIAL:
The Spokesperson, in response to questions, said that the
Secretary-General was aware of recent remarks from the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and reiterated that stability in
that region is crucial. He stressed the importance of avoiding any
provocative actions, including comments that could escalate
tensions.

 

U.N. CONTINUES TO CALL FOR CREDIBLE
ELECTIONS IN MYANMAR: Asked about the work being done by the UN
good offices mandate for Myanmar, the Spokesperson said that such
work is continuing, and he noted that the United Nations continues
to call for the forthcoming elections in Myanmar to be credible.

 

NEW INTERNAL OVERSIGHT HEAD TO BE NAMED:
Asked about a replacement for departed Office of Internal Oversight
Services (OIOS) head Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the Spokesperson said that
a successor was to be named in the coming days.

 

NO APPOINTMENT TO ANNOUNCE FOR FORMER
AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Asked whether former Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd would be named to a UN post, the Spokesperson
said he had no announcement to make concerning any such appointment.

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS[1]
24-30 July 2010

 

Sunday, 25 July

 

Starting today and until 27 July, the Deputy Secretary-General will
be in Kampala, Uganda for the 15th ordinary session of the Assembly
of the African Union.

 

Monday, 26 July

 

In New York, the UN Working Group on the Use of
Mercenaries will hold its 10^th session meeting until
Friday.

 

Tuesday, 27 July

 

Today, the Security Council will hear a briefing and then hold
consultations on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation
in Darfur (UNAMID).

 

The twelfth round of the Geneva International Discussions will take
place in Geneva.

 

Wednesday, 28 July

 

There are no major events scheduled for
today.

 

Thursday, 29 July

 

This morning, the Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution
on UNAMID. It will then hold consultations on the United Nations
Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS).

 

Friday, 30 July

 

At 12:00 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold Library
Auditorium, Susana Malcorra,

Under-Secretary-General of the Department of
Field Support, will be the guest at the Noon Briefing.