HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
SECRETARY-GENERAL STRONGLY CONDEMNS DEADLY ATTACK ON PEACEKEEPERS IN NORTH
DARFUR
On 8 July at approximately 14h45 local time, a UN-African
Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)
joint police and military patrol was ambushed by unidentified militia between
Gusa Jamat and Wadah (100 km east of Shangil Tobayi, North Darfur). The
attackers used heavy weapons and engaged the UNAMID convoy in an exchange of
fire for more than two hours. Seven peacekeepers were killed and twenty-two
were wounded, seven of them critically.
The Secretary-General
condemns in the
strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against
AU-UN peacekeepers in Darfur and calls on the Government of Sudan to do its
utmost to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to
justice. The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the
families of the peacekeepers who lost their lives, and reiterates his
appreciation for their service, valour and commitment to the search for peace
in Darfur.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to respect
their agreements, to redouble their efforts to ensure the safety and integrity
of the peacekeeping force and reach a comprehensive settlement to the crisis
in Darfur as soon as possible. The Secretary-General reiterates his appeal to
the international community to provide all necessary support to the
peacekeeping force in Darfur.
BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES G8 STATEMENT BUT
URGES FURTHER COMMITMENTS
The Secretary-General is flying back to New York now,
after he participated earlier today in the Summit of the Group of Eight
leaders in Hokkaido, by attending the meeting of the Major Economies on
Climate Change.
Before leaving Japan, he issued a
statement saying
that he was grateful at the focused discussions by the Group of Eight (G8) and
other world leaders at the Summit on the three interrelated global crises of
climate change, food security and development. The discussion, he said,
provides initial direction for global efforts that must be accelerated in the
coming weeks and months.
The Secretary-General welcomed the statement of the G8 on
climate change and the environment, including the long-term goal of reducing
emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050. This, against a 1990 baseline, is a
clear step forward, but we must go further, he said.
He added that he was happy to see the strong commitment
of the G8 to address the global food crisis in a Global Partnership for Food,
facilitated and coordinated by the United Nations.
The Secretary-General appreciated particularly the
endorsement received for his High-Level Task Force and its Comprehensive
Framework for Action. He added that we must use the current crisis as an
opportunity to significantly step up public and private investment into
agricultural production and research, and into rural infrastructure at levels
above $25 billion per year.
The Secretary-General emphasized that, following the
summit, the challenge now is to move beyond discussions to action.
The Secretary-General also had a bilateral meeting with
the Indonesian President before departing from Japan, ending his three-nation,
13-day trip to North Asia.
SECURITY COUNCIL TAKES UP LEBANON AND
AFGHANISTAN
The Security Council
this morning received a briefing in closed consultations from
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe about the
Secretary-General’s recent
report on
the implementation of resolution 1701, concerning Lebanon. Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber,
the Director of the Asia and Middle East Division of the Department for
Peacekeeping Operations, also briefed the Council on the work of the UN
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
In the report, the Secretary-General says that he looks
forward to the speedy establishment of a national unity Government in Lebanon
and to the revitalization of the country’s constitutional institutions.
Then, at 3:00 this afternoon, Kai Eide, the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Afghanistan, will brief the Security
Council in an open meeting on the UN’s work in that country.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who visited
Afghanistan recently, will also brief.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS PAKISTAN
TERRORIST ATTACKS AND KILLING OF U.N. OFFICIAL IN SOMALIA
The Security Council
President, Ambassador Le Luong Minh of Viet Nam, yesterday read out two press
statements, on Somalia and on Pakistan, following the Council’s consultations.
On
Pakistan,
he said, Council members condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist
suicide attack that took place in Islamabad on Sunday, as well as the
terrorist attacks that occurred in parts of Karachi the following day.
Council members also
condemned
in the strongest terms the killing over the weekend of the officer in charge
of the UN Development Programme office in Mogadishu and the wounding of other
people, including his brother and son, in the same attack. They reaffirmed the
imperative to respect in all circumstances the safety and security of UN and
humanitarian relief personnel.
U.N.-CONTRACTED DRIVER KILLED IN SOMALIA
For the fourth time this year, a World Food Programme (WFP)-contracted
driver has been
killed in Somalia.
Ahmed Saalim was traveling as part of a convoy of WFP-contracted
trucks in the Lower Shabelle region on Monday. He was shot after fighting
broke out between convoy escorts and militiamen at a checkpoint.
WFP sends its condolences to Saalim’s family and appeals
for such killings to stop. WFP also urges all parties to allow the safe
passage of humanitarian staff and assistance at a time when the need for such
aid is on the rise.
Monday’s shooting occurred just one day after the head of
the UN Development Programme in Somalia was shot and killed outside a mosque
in Mogadishu.
U.N. ENVOY SUPPORTS EGYPT'S EFFORTS TO
SOLIDIFY CALM IN GAZA
The UN Special
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, today wrapped
up a series of visits to Cairo and Amman, having previously met with President
Mahmoud Abbas and senior Israeli officials.
During his travels, Serry discussed all aspects of the
Middle East peace process and voiced the UN's support for Egypt's efforts to
solidify calm in Gaza and improve conditions for the civilian population.
Serry further underlined the Secretary-General's support
for the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian political negotiations, President Abbas'
efforts on Palestinian unity, and the indirect Israeli-Syrian peace talks.
U.N. ENVOY TO HOLD TECHNICAL
CONSULTATIONS WITH BOTH SIDES ON F.Y.R.O.M. “NAME ISSUE”
The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the talks
between Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Matthew Nimetz,
will be holding technical consultations in New York with both sides
separately.
Nimetz will meet with a delegation from Skopje on
Thursday, 10 July, and with a delegation from Athens on Monday, 14 July.
The purpose of these meetings is to hold working sessions
focused on elements of a possible agreement. No joint meeting or statement is
expected.
SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTLINES CONDITIONS
FOR DRAWDOWN OF D.R. CONGO MISSION
In his latest
report on
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is out as a document today, the
Secretary-General says that key benchmarks for a gradual drawdown of the UN
Mission (MONUC) include a
resolution of the crisis in the Kivus and the development of legitimate
Government institutions.
On the situation in the east, the Secretary-General says
that success in the Goma and Nairobi processes will depend on the sustained
political engagement of all parties. He encourages the parties to make use of
the Amani Programme, which was created to implement recent agreements, to
build confidence among themselves and address the plight of the refugees and
internally displaced persons. On the other hand, the Secretary-General is
concerned that, while the ceasefire has generally held, recent clashes and the
continued recruitment by armed groups threaten to destabilize the northeast
again.
U.N. AGENCY EXPANDS FOOD CRISIS
INITIATIVE TO 48 MORE COUNTRIES
Regarding the global food crisis, the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) today vastly
expanded
its initiative to help small farmers and vulnerable households deal with
rising prices. FAO approved US$21 million worth of projects in 48 countries,
bringing the total number of countries now covered by the initiative to 54.
The projects will provide farmers with seeds, fertilizer,
and other agricultural inputs for one year. The immediate objective is to
ensure the success of the next planting season. But the longer-term goal is
to show that increasing the supply of key agricultural inputs allows small
farmers to rapidly increase food production.
U.N. CONFERENCE FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS TO BE HELD IN PARIS FOR FIRST TIME
For the first time, the meeting of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) hosted each year by the Department of Public Information
(DPI) will be held in Paris to mark the 60th anniversary of the adoption of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948 in the French
capital.
This 61st annual DPI/NGO Conference from 3 to 5 of
September is being held outside of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. It will bring together more than 2,000
participants from some 90 countries around the theme “Reaffirming Human
Rights: The Universal Declaration at 60”.
A new
website has just
been launched this week to provide useful information – in English and French
- to the NGO community and other civil society members interested in
participating in and/or contributing to the work of the 61st annual DPI/NGO
Conference.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. AND AFGHANISTAN LAUNCH APPEAL FOR $400 MILLION IN
FOOD AID: The United Nations and the Government of Afghanistan today
launched an appeal in Kabul, asking for $404 million to feed 4.5 million of
the most vulnerable people in that country, following poor harvests, drought and
the rise in worldwide food prices. Bo Asplund, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator
in Afghanistan, said that there is an
urgent need to provide life-saving assistance to Afghanistan’s people, the needs
are great and the time is limited.
IRAQ LAUNCHES POLICY TO IMPROVE SITUATION OF DISPLACED
PERSONS AND RETURNEES: The Government of Iraq today launched a policy to
improve the situation for displaced persons and returnees, following wide-scale
consultations with displaced persons around the country by Iraq’s Ministry of
Displacement and Migration and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
in coordination with other partners.
SECRETARY-GENERAL REVIEWS JUBA PEACE TALKS:
Available today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the president of the
Security Council that includes a full report on the Juba peace talks between the
Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The report, which was
written by Chief Mediator Riek Machar, the Vice-President of the Government of
Southern Sudan, reviews the current situation and makes a number of
recommendations on the way forward.
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BRIEF GENERAL ASSEMBLY ONCE
CANDIDATE FOR TOP HUMAN RIGHTS POST SELECTED: Asked about the selection of a
new High Commissioner
for Human Rights, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General would
brief the General Assembly about that topic once he has announced the single
candidate that would be submitted for Assembly approval. She noted that the
Secretary-General had received inputs from Member States during the process of
selecting a High Commissioner, but that the process of interviewing candidates
for the post was still on going.
BRIEFINGS IN BANGKOK ON MYANMAR HAVE DECREASED:
Asked about the decrease in the frequency of press briefings in Bangkok about
the humanitarian situation in Myanmar, the Spokeswoman noted that the frequency
of such briefings had become less intense after humanitarian workers started
going into Myanmar, but that such briefings were still taking place in Bangkok.
NO COMMENT ON IRANIAN MISSILE TESTS: The Spokeswoman
declined to comment on the recent missile tests conducted by Iran.
CONSTRUCTION AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS RELATED TO FIRE
SAFETY: The Spokeswoman reiterated, in response to a question, that some
construction activity was taking place at UN Headquarters to bring the building
up to fire safety standards.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT INCREASING MIDDLE EAST
TENSIONS: Asked about tensions in the
Middle East, including between Israel and Iran, the Spokeswoman said that
the Secretary-General is aware of an increase in tensions and has been
concerned.
U.N. POLICY ON CHINA GOVERNED BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTION: In response to a question on whether the United Nations would
accredit Taiwanese journalists, the Spokeswoman recalled that the UN policy on
China is governed by General Assembly resolution
2758 of 1971, concerning a one-China policy.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
