HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESPERSON’S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARTIN NESIRKY, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
TUESDAY, 19 JULY 2011
SECRETARY-GENERAL ADDRESSES TRADE MEETING IN GENEVA , DISCUSSES GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY WITH SWISS LEADER
- The Secretary-General addressed the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva today.
- He applauded the international community’s efforts to mobilize resources categorized as Aid for Trade, which today account for as much as one-third of official development assistance.
- But he said that, at a time of tight budgets, the annual rate of increase for Aid for Trade has slowed sharply. The Secretary-General urged the donor community not to fall short of the present level of Aid for Trade, at the very least. He encouraged States to pay special attention to the unique needs of the Least Developed Countries and to fully utilize the potential of Aid for Trade to advance food and nutrition security.
- The Secretary-General also met with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, before departing Geneva. They discussed the work of the Global Sustainability Panel, of which the President is a member, as well as assistance to South Sudan, Swiss support for peacebuilding initiatives in Africa and Haiti, and the Swiss role in various mediation efforts.
- The Secretary-General is on his way back to New York.
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY BEGINS AID DISTRIBUTION IN SOMALIA
- Ninety thousand people in Mogadishu and in areas of southwest Somalia have been given assistance packages, as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stepped up aid distribution across central and southern parts of the country.
- Non-food aid for over 125,000 people is also being handed out from today in other areas, including the Gedo and Lower Juba regions.
- UNHCR says it is also strengthening protection monitoring and the tracking of population movements towards camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, to help plan the right response.
- The situation in Ethiopia’s Dolo Ado camp is very dire, according to the Refugee Agency, and there are extremely high mortality rates in the Kobe refugee camp.
- Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran has left for Ethiopia today and she will also visit Kenya and Somalia.
U.N. ENVOY CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT IRAQ’S FUTURE
- The Security Council was today briefed by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ad Melkert, on the situation in the country.
- Mr. Melkert said he is cautiously optimistic about the future, provided that determined leadership within the country and a stronger spirit of cooperation in the region with Iraq will prevail.
- He also urged all regional countries to step up engagement with Iraq to quickly resolve outstanding differences and identify areas of cooperation.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO MEMBER STATES: ACCLERATE SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM PROCESS
- Asked about Security Council reform, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had spoken consistently about the need to accelerate the process of that reform. The Secretary-General has noted that there has been movement in the past 18 months and that Member States were negotiating actively on a text, he added.
- Nesirky also said the Secretary-General could provide support to the Member States, but that, ultimately, the decision was in their hands.
- Asked about Wednesday’s Security Council debate on international peace and security and the impact of climate change, the Spokesperson underscored the importance of this subject, noting that was why the Security Council was considering this question. He said the Secretary-General would speak at the meeting and outline his position then.
SUDAN: U.N. RELIEF ARM REPORTS INCREASING DIFFICULTIES FOR HUMANITARIAN WORKERS
- In Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that since the expiry of the UN Mission mandate on 9 July, it has become increasingly difficult for humanitarian actors present in South Kordofan State to get timely and accurate information on the security situation outside of Kadugli.
- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also says authorities in South Kordofan continue to demand that relief supplies be channelled through national non-governmental organizations or line ministries, although they are now allowing some increased movement in Kadugli and some surrounding villages.
- To date, the World Food Programme (WFP), working through local partners, has assisted more than 100,000 people affected by the conflict in South Kordofan with emergency food rations.
- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs adds there are unconfirmed reports of a number of civilians leaving Kadugli town in recent days by truck. According to the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS), more than 37,000 displaced people from South Kordofan State have arrived in Khartoum since fighting began on 5 June.
- The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also stresses the urgent need for more mine clearance and removal of unexploded ordnance on roads and in towns, and for mine risk education activities throughout South Kordofan State. It says that a preliminary report of an assessment inside Kadugli town indicates that either landmines or unexploded ordnance contaminates more than one-third of the town.
- In response to a question on South Kordofan, the Spokesperson noted that the Secretary-General had expressed his concern about the violence in South Kordofan and its impact on civilians.
- Nesirky also said Ivan Šimonović, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, as well as Valerie Amos, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, had said that the allegations concerning violence in that State were very disturbing.
- He added the Secretary-General had also stressed the need for unfettered humanitarian access. UN humanitarian agencies have been asking the Government of Sudan for unhindered access, but access restrictions are seriously impeding the UN’s ability to assist people in need, he said.
- He also underlined the UN’s concern over the current monitoring gap in South Kordofan.
U.N. POLITICAL CHIEF EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN TUNISIA , EGYPT TRANSITION PROCESSES
- The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, is in Tunis today, concluding a four-day visit to both Tunisia and Egypt to discuss the state of the democratic transitions and UN assistance.
- While in Tunis, Mr. Pascoe said that the Secretary-General and the world are watching the democratic transition in Tunisia with great interest. He said Tunisia was the vanguard of democratic transition in North Africa and the Middle East, and thus it is in the interest of all to help it succeed.
- Mr. Pascoe also said the transition in Tunisia would take time and patience, but he expressed confidence that Tunisians will be able to conduct a credible election in October. He noted the United Nations was making available its best electoral expertise.
- While in Cairo over the weekend, Mr. Pascoe also expressed confidence that the transition process will move forward. He confirmed that the United Nations is offering Egypt technical and logistical help in carrying out its forthcoming elections.
- In discussions on a range of possible UN support to Egypt, Mr. Pascoe emphasized that Egypt’s democratic transition is a fully nationally-owned process.
- In response to a question on the violence in Tunisia over the weekend, the Spokesperson said that the new office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was established last week in Tunis, would certainly be looking into this. He added that it was for the Tunisian authorities to investigate such matters.
CYPRUS : LEADERS BEGIN SERIES OF INTENSIVE NEGOTIATIONS
- The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders held talks today for the first time since their meeting with the Secretary-General earlier this month in Geneva.
- They will hold nearly 20 all-day meetings as part of intensive negotiations which will last until late October.
- At today’s meeting, the United Nations expressed its condolences to the people of Cyprus for the loss of lives in last week’s explosion and said it is pleased that arrangements have been made to provide electricity from the north to the south of the country.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS ATTACK ON GUINEA LEADER’S RESIDENCE
- The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack today on the residence in Conakry of President Alpha Condé of Guinea. He stresses that no disagreements or differences justify recourse to violence in a democracy. He calls on all Guineans to refrain from all acts likely to undermine the ongoing peaceful and democratic process in the country.
