HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
Wednesday,
January 16, 2008
BAN KI-MOON
RETURNS TO NEW YORK TODAY, LEAVES FOR SWITZERLAND NEXT WEEK
The
is on his way back to
New York from Madrid.
On Wednesday morning, he met
with Jorge Sampaio, the High Representative for the
, and then with
the First Vice President and the Foreign Minister of Spain before leaving
Madrid. He is expected to be back in New York later today.
In addition to his other
bilateral meetings yesterday, the Secretary-General also met yesterday evening
with the Prime Minister of Algeria.
The Secretary-General is scheduled to leave again next
week for Geneva where he will on Tuesday visit the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights as the UN is launching this year a series of
events worldwide to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights. In Geneva, he will address the Conference on Disarmament and
launch the Consolidated Appeal for 2008. One highlight of his visit to Geneva
will be a memorial service for the victims of the Algiers bombing.
He will then leave for Davos to attend the World Economic
Forum.
PANEL TO ADDRESS STRATEGIC ISSUES
PERTAINING TO U.N. STAFF SECURITY
Asked about reports that the
Prime Minister of Algeria had criticized the Secretary- General's decision to
establish an investigative panel into last
DzԳٳ’s
, the Spokeswoman noted that the independent panel is tasked
with establishing all the facts concerning the Algiers attacks but its scope
is much wider, as it will address strategic issues vital to staff security in
UN operations around the world. The panel’s mandate will not be limited to
Algiers, she stressed.
Asked whether the Secretary-General had consulted
with Algeria before announcing the panel’s establishment, the Spokeswoman said
she was unaware of any specific discussion before the panel was announced,
although the United Nations had been in regular contact with the Algerian
authorities. She noted that the Secretary-General had taken the decision to
set up the panel because staff security is of the utmost importance.
She noted that the Secretary-General had met with
the Algerian Prime Minister in Madrid and discussed the establishment of the
panel, but she declined to comment on what the Prime Minister reportedly said.
Asked how the panel can succeed in its work without
Algeria’s cooperation, Montas said that the United Nations would seek maximum
cooperation for the panel’s work.
U.N. OFFICIAL DEPLORES ACTS OF VIOLENCE
IN GAZA & ISRAEL
The UN’s Special Coordinator for the
̽ѡ Process, Robert Serry, made his first visit to Gaza
yesterday in his present capacity.
In remarks to the press, he said he had been informed
that a major Israeli incursion into Gaza had left at least 14 people dead and
over 40 injured, and that among the dead were civilians. The scale of the
bloodshed was deeply alarming, he said. He added that he particularly deplored
the killing and injuring of civilians.
The Israel Defense Forces must ensure that they strictly
comply with international humanitarian law and that their operations do not
endanger civilians, he stressed.
Serry also said he had been informed that a civilian,
apparently an Ecuadorian national, had been killed by Palestinian sniper fire
into Israel and that rockets had again been fired at the Israeli town of
Sderot. He deplored both acts and said he failed to see what Gazans were going
to win if the present situation continued.
Expressing deep worry about the deteriorating
humanitarian situation in Gaza, Serry said that Gazans were paying a heavy
price for the actions of a few. He also appealed to all parties to end the
violence.
Asked about the situation in
Gaza, the Spokeswoman expressed the UN's concern, and she noted Serry’s recent
comments.
SUDAN: ENVOYS MEET WITH DARFUR REBEL
GROUP FOR FIRST TIME
On the second day of their visit in
, the United Nations and African Union Special Envoys for Darfur,
Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, met with the United Resistance Front (URF)
in an undisclosed location in Northwest Darfur. The four-hour meeting was the
first with the URF, which said it was now ready to present its political and
military structure, as promised in Juba last November.
The special envoys will continue their tour of the region
tomorrow with a visit to the commanders of Abdul Wahid's faction of the Sudan
Liberation Army (SLA).
Meanwhile, Rodolphe Adada, the UN/AU Joint Special
Representative for Darfur, today paid a courtesy call on the new Sudanese
Foreign Minister, Deng Alor. The two agreed to maintain regular contacts to
remove any difficulties that stand in the way of the smooth deployment of the
and to help with expediting the ongoing Darfur peace process at all levels.
POLITICAL IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED IN IRAQ
In his latest
to
the Security Council on Iraq, the Secretary-General says that the reduction in
the overall number of attacks reported across Iraq is a welcome development.
However, he adds that, in order to sustain recent
security improvements, similar improvements in the political arena are needed,
and, to date, the political process has not shown the degree of progress that
many had hoped for.
The Secretary-General says that his Special
Representative, Staffan de Mistura, will continue to direct UN good offices
towards encouraging genuine engagement by the leaders of Iraq on the core
political disagreements. He is also closely reviewing every aspect of the
work to
see how progress can be made in implementing the expanded role it was given in
resolution 1770.
PROGRESS MADE
IN INTEGRATING GENDER ISSUES INTO PEACEKEEPING
Gender advisers and focal points from all UN peacekeeping
missions are taking part in an annual training and strategic planning workshop
at UN Headquarters this week. Topics being discussed include best practices,
gender mainstreaming, and other global priorities.
Addressing the session yesterday, Under-Secretary-General
for ̽ѡkeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno noted the progress made in
integrating gender issues more systematically in peacekeeping. These include:
increasing the numbers of women elected to office; supporting the adoption of
gender-sensitive laws on rape, domestic violence and inheritance rights; and
supporting national police in recruiting more women to security services.
There has also been modest progress in appointing women
to senior roles in peacekeeping, as well as increased deployment of women by
troop and police contributing countries, he noted.
Nevertheless, challenges remain in translating the
growing body of policies and guidelines into practice, as well as in
confronting passive resistance to gender issues among peacekeeping personnel.
U.N. AGENCY APPEALS FOR FUNDS TO HELP CYCLONE SURVIVORS
IN BANGLADESH
The World Food Programme (WFP) has
an urgent appeal for an additional $22 million so that it can
continue providing emergency assistance to more than two million people
affected by Cyclone Sidr.
WFP has so far delivered 20,000 tons of emergency food
since the November storm. But it needs at least another 30,000 metric tons of
food for the poorest of the survivors, who are trying to rebuild their homes
and replant their fields for the next harvest.
ARRESTING REMAINING FUGITIVES FROM FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA A PRIORITY FOR NEW PROSECUTOR
In a
issued in The Hague earlier, Serge Brammertz, the new prosecutor of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, thanked his
predecessors for their leadership. He also pledged to continue their work by
ensuring the successful conduct of all current and pending criminal
proceedings.
With 26 suspects on trial, nine in appeals proceedings
and 11 others awaiting trial, Brammertz said that one of his top priorities is
to obtain the arrest and transfer of the four remaining fugitives,
particularly Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.
Starting next week, Brammertz said he will be meeting
with relevant authorities in the former Yugoslavia and representatives of
other States and international bodies to discuss cooperation.
BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS LEBANON ATTACK
In a
issued
yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack
earlier that day in Beirut, which reportedly killed at least three civilians
and wounded at least twenty others, as well as having impact on a diplomatic
vehicle from the US Embassy in Lebanon.
The Secretary-General deplored this act of terror, adding
that it is imperative that the Lebanese authorities find the perpetrators of
this cowardly crime and bring them to justice.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRIVATE & GOVT. FUNDS NEEDED FOR FILM FUND:
Asked whether the United Nations has provided money for a $100 million film fund
announced by the Alliance of Civilizations, the Spokeswoman said it had not. She
noted that private and government funding would be expected to pay for that
project.
SECURITY COUNCIL TAKES UP KOSOVO: At 3:00 this
afternoon, the will
hold an open meeting to discuss the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
That meeting will then be followed by a private meeting, also on Kosovo. The
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Kosovo, Joachim Rücker, will
attend both meetings.
NEW REPORT ISSUED ON BEST PRACTICES IN PEACEKEEPING:
In the Secretary-General’s latest
to the
General Assembly on best practices in peacekeeping, he presents an overview of
UN policy on identifying, among other things, how expertise and experience in
best practices are being used. The Secretary-General also evaluates the
methodology and tools used to manage best practices in peacekeeping operations
since the introduction in 2005 of a new system for these activities.
NUCLEAR INSPECTORS VISIT SOUTH AFRICA: A team of
International Atomic Energy Agency ()
experts is visiting South Africa at the invitation of the Government to exchange
views on the lessons learned from an incident on 8 November, 2007, when armed
men broke into the Pelindaba nuclear facility of the South African Nuclear
Energy Corporation (NECSA). In issuing the invitation last November, South
Africa said that the exchange could also benefit other IAEA members states in
the "implementation of their nuclear security policies and the improvement of
relevant guidelines".
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE WEEK OPENS TOMORROW: Holocaust
Remembrance Week will kick off at UN Headquarters tomorrow with the opening of
an art exhibit. The display, entitled “Memorial Drawings: Remembering the
Holocaust Victims and their Liberators,” will open at 6:00 p.m. near the
conference rooms.
NO RESPONSE TO PAKISTAN LETTER:
Asked whether the Secretary-General has responded to a
letter from the Pakistan People’s Party that asks for a UN investigation into
former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the Spokeswoman said he
has not. She noted that, in the case of the UN investigation regarding the
killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the relevant tribunal
was created by the Security Council.
NO CONFIRMATION OF AFGHANISTAN ENVOY:
The Spokeswoman, in response to a question, declined to confirm whether Paddy
Ashdown would be named the next Special Representative for Afghanistan. Once
consultations have ended on an appointment, she said, the Security Council would
be informed of the Secretary General's intention to appoint someone.
*** The guest at noon was John Holmes, the UN's
Emergency Relief Coordinator. He briefed on humanitarian efforts in Kenya and
launched a flash appeal for that country.
Office of the Spokesperson for the
Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
