Friday, August 27, 2010

 

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF U.S.
NATIONAL IN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

 

● The Secretary-General

welcomes the release of a US national during the visit to
Pyongyang by former US President Jimmy Carter. He appreciates the
decision of the

 

● Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to
release Mr. Aijalon Mahli Gomes on humanitarian considerations. The
Secretary-General commends former President Carter for his
humanitarian mission.

 

● Taking this opportunity, the Secretary-General
encourages emergency humanitarian aid to the DPRK which has been
affected by the recent flooding. He has been closely following with
concern on the flood situation in the DPRK and its possible impact
on the already vulnerable humanitarian situation there and the
funding gaps faced by the UN Humanitarian Country Team.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL COMMENDS PEOPLE OF
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS FOR ELECTIONS

 

● The Secretary-General

commends the people of Solomon Islands for participating in
peaceful, orderly parliamentary elections this month, leading to the
election of the Prime Minister by Parliament on 25 August. This
demonstrates the commitment of Solomon Islanders to peace and
democracy.

 

● The Secretary-General is pleased that the
United Nations was able to respond positively to the request of the
Government of Solomon Islands for assistance in this process, and
contributed to the conduct of the elections by successfully
coordinating the deployment of international observers.

 

● The Secretary-General notes the statements of
observer groups detailing both the successes and the areas that
require attention in any proposed electoral reforms in Solomon
Islands. He encourages the Government to address and implement these
recommendations in order to improve the electoral process for the
future.

 

BAN KI-MOON CONGRATULATES KENYANS FOR
NEW CONSTITUTION

● The Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, is in Nairobi today where he

represented the Secretary-General at the historic promulgation
of Kenya’s new constitution.

 

● Under-Secretary-General Pascoe conveyed the
Secretary-General’s heartfelt congratulations to the Kenyan people
and leaders for their vision, statesmanship and achievement as they
open a hopeful new chapter in the democratic life of their nation.

 

● Following these ceremonies, Pascoe will travel
to Cairo for a meeting of Special Envoys, Representatives and other
officials involved in African peacemaking, as part of events marking
the African Union’s Year of Peace celebrations.  He will then travel
to Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and back to Kenya for discussions on
peace and security issues in the Horn of Africa, including the
situation in Somalia.

 

● Concluding his trip in Burundi,
Under-Secretary-General Pascoe will hold discussions on the peace
consolidation process in that country.

 

• Asked about the presence
  of President Bashir of Sudan in Kenya, the Spokesperson said
  that all State Parties to the Rome Statute had an obligation to
  cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC). He
  added that the Secretary-General urges all states parties to
  cooperate with the Court, in accordance with Security Council
  1593.

 

FRESH FLOODS CAUSE ONE MILLION NEWLY
DISPLACED IN PAKISTAN

 

● Pakistanis is marking one
month from the gradual onset of

floods that have devastated the country since late July. More
areas are being freshly

flooded.

 

● Over the last two days, an
estimated one million people have been displaced in Sindh Province
by new flooding.

 

● “We are working day and
night to bring relief to millions of women, men, and children, but
the floods appear determined to outrun our efforts”, said Martin
Mogwanja, Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, “We have been
scaling up, but must scale up even further”.

 

• The Indus River is
  raging at 40 times its normal volume, with the largest sea surge
  of water now in the Thatta District of Pakistan’s southern Sindh
  Province.  Since Wednesday, an estimated one million people were
  forced to leave their homes by the advancement of raging waters.

 

D.R.CONGO: HUMAN RIGHTS MAPPING REPORT IN LAST
STAGES OF BEING FINALIZED

• In response to a
  question on a possible pullout of troops from Rwanda in
  peacekeeping missions following the leak of a Human Rights
  mapping report in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
  Spokesperson said this report was a draft one and that a final
  version of the report would be published soon. He added that the
  UN was surprised and disappointed that the French newspaper
  Le Monde decided to publish this draft report although it
  knew that the final version was coming.
   

• Nesirky said that,
  contrary to what was reported by Le Monde, President
  Kagamé had not threatened to withdraw peacekeepers in a
  tête-à-tête meeting with the Secretary-General in Madrid. He
  said there had been correspondence but not involving the
  President.
   

• Asked further about the
  report, the Spokesperson said that this report was an important
  and significant one that had taken years to bring to fruition.
  He added that the report, which spanned a ten-year period and
  totaled over 500 pages, had been initiated by the Office of the
  High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with more than 30
  people deployed across the DRC for months. He said that its aim
  was to help the people of the region in establishing
  transitional judicial systems and assist in the fight against
  impunity.
   

• Nesirky said that the
  report was now in the last stages of being finalized and that it
  was following a normal process for any document of this type,
  including consultations with various people within the
  Secretariat. He also said that a draft was shared with the

 

U.N. INVESTIGATION TEAM TO BE DEPLOYED
TO D.R. CONGO

• In response to a question from yesterday, the
  Spokesperson said that the joint MONUSCO/human rights office
  investigation team had been deployed in Walikale territory and
  is expected to finish its work around 2 or 3 September.
   

• Asked about the UN’s
  response concerning the rape incidents in Walikale territory,
  the Spokesperson said that the United Nations had expressed deep
  concern about this. That’s precisely why Assistant Secretary-Geneal
  Atul Khare is on his way to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  and why the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
  Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström will be looking
  into the response and follow up, he said.

 

GAZA FLOTILLA FACT-FINDING MISSION
CONCLUDES VISIT TO TURKEY

● The
international, independent fact-finding mission of high-level
experts appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council to
inquire into the Gaza flotilla incident has

concluded a one-week visit to Turkey.

 

● During the
week, the three high-level experts interviewed witnesses and
government officials who provided first hand information on the
incident that took place on 31 May 2010. In addition, technical and
legal experts accompanying the mission held meetings with forensic
and judiciary officials and also inspected the ship Mavi Marmara.

 

● The
fact-finding mission will start a visit to Jordan (29 August - 4
September) to interview witnesses based in Jordan and in neighboring
countries.

 

● As requested
by the Human Rights Council resolution, the Mission is taking steps
to present a report at the next session of the Council in September.

 

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR
URGENT MEASURES IN WAKE OF LATEST MEXICO KILLINGS

 

● The UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday strongly

condemned the killing of 72 migrants in the North of Mexico. “I
am deeply shocked about these killings, which highlight the critical
situation of migrants in the country,” she said.
 

● Last year,
the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants indicated
that an estimated 400,000 migrants transit through Mexico each year,
most of them victims of trafficking by transnational gang networks
also involved in smuggling and drugs.
 

● “I recognize
the Government of Mexico has made strong efforts to curb the growing
climate of violence," Pillay said. "Nevertheless, due to the dire
circumstances I call on the authorities to undertake all necessary
steps to protect the life and integrity of migrants, in particular
women and children, in line with Mexico’s international
obligations.”

 

● The High
Commissioner also called on the authorities "to conduct as a matter
of urgency a thorough, transparent and independent investigation
into these killings, and to preserve the dignity of the victims by
ensuring their identification and return to their families." She
also urged them to prosecute and punish those responsible and adopt
preventive measures. "Ensuring that there is no impunity is crucial
to avoid a repetition of such a heinous crime," she said.

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS TIME TO CLOSE
NUCLEAR TEST SITES AND SEEK WORLD WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS

 

● The first observance of the International Day
against Nuclear Tests will be on 29 August 2010, marking the
anniversary of the day in 1991 when the President of Kazakhstan
closed the test site at Semipalatinsk, where 456 nuclear tests
conducted during the Cold War era. In the 64th session of the
General Assembly in 2009, the Government of Kazakhstan proposed the
establishment of the Day, backed by unanimous support for resolution
64/35.

 

● In his

message to the High Level Thematic Conference on the
International Day against Nuclear Tests which is taking place in
Astana, Kazakhstan, the Secretary-General asked the entire
international community to reflect deeply on the consequences of the
nuclear weapons tests that occurred in Semipalatinsk and around the
world.

 

● The Secretary-General said it’s time to close
all nuclear test sites and address the harm they have caused and to
bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force, and a
time for all to seek the security of a world without nuclear
weapons.

 

 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

DR.C. MISSION PROVIDED
GOOD OFFICE IN HOSTAGE CASE: In answer
to a question regarding the reference made by Special Representative
Meece to a hostage situation on August 1, the Spokesperson said the
Special Representative was referring to an Indian pilot with a
commercial airline which had been taken hostage and MONUSCO was
providing good offices.

 

GENERAL GAYE COOPERATING
WITH JUDICIAL PROCEEDING: Asked about
the appointment of General Babacar Gaye as military advisor for
peacekeeping operations despite an international warrant for arrest
issued in France against him, the Spokesperson said that General
Gaye has and will continue to cooperate on any and all judicial
proceedings where his participation is useful and relevant.

 

 

 

 

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

This document is for planning purposes
only and is current as of 12:28

Friday, 27 August, 2010. 

 

28 August-3 September 2010

Sunday, 29 August

 

Today is the International Day against
Nuclear Tests.

 

Starting today and until 7 September, the
Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, will
visit the Syrian Arab Republic in what will be the first mission to
the country by an independent expert appointed by the UN Human
Rights Council.

 

Monday, 30 August

 

Today, the Security Council is expected
to adopt a resolution on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

 

At 10:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library Auditorum, there will be a press conference by the
InterAcademy Council (IAC) about the independent review of the
processes and procedures of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). Participants include:  Robbert Dijkgraaf, IAC
Co-Chair and President, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Science;  Harold Shapiro, Chair of IAC Committee to Review IPCC and
economist/former president, Princeton University (USA);  Roseanne
Diab, Vice-Chair of IAC Committee to Review IPCC and executive
officer, Academy of Science of South Africa;  Peter Williams, Member
of IAC Committee to Review IPCC and treasurer/vice-president of The
Royal Society, London (UK). The Press Conference will be moderated
by Dan Shepard, Department of Public Information. The report,
Climate Change Assessments: Review of the Processes and Procedures
of the IPCC, will be publicly released at a press conference at
11:00 a.m. today.

 

At 11:00 a.m., in the Dag Hammarskjold
Library Auditorium, there will be a press conference about the
report "Climate Change Assessments: Review of the Processes and
Procedures of the IPCC". Participants include: Dr. Rajendra
Pachauri, IPCC Chairman; Professor Thomas Stocker, co-chair Working
Group 1 (the physical science basis), based in Bern Switzerland;
Professor Chris Field, co-chair Working Group 2 (Impacts,
adaptation, vulnerability), based in Standford (California), USA;
Professor Youba Sokona, co-chair Working Group 3 (Mitigation of
climate change), based in Bamako, Mali. Moderators will be Dan
Shepard, Department of Public Information in New York, and Corinne
Momal-Vanian, United Nations Information Center Geneva.

 

Tuesday, 31 August

 

The General Assembly will hold a
high-level meeting will be held, at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 3
(NLB), to launch the United Nations Global Plan of Action against
Trafficking in Persons.

 

The guest at the Noon briefing will be
Noon Guest Ms. Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

 

Today, UNCTAD will launch its report on
Assistance to the Palestinian People.

 

Wednesday, 1 September

 

Today, Turkey will assume the monthly
rotating Presidency of the Security Council.

 

The third session of the Conference of
States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities will be held on today, tomorrow and Friday, in
Conference Room 4 (NLB).

 

Thursday, 2 September

 

There are no major events scheduled for
today.

 

Friday, 3 September

 

In Geneva, the UNRISD will launch its
flagship report, Combating Poverty and Inequality.