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Wednesday,
September 10, 2008
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SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP AT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
UNIVERSITY

• The Secretary-General this afternoon traveled to
  Madison, New Jersey, where he received an honorary Doctor of Humane
  Letters degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is the second
  Secretary-General to receive an honorary degree from the University; the
  first UN Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, also got one.

• He also delivered the keynote address at the
  University’s Academic Convocation, talking about global citizenship. He
  highlighted the need for action to deal with climate change, to
  implement the
  and to address security issues like
  terrorism and organized crime. He argued that it is in our national, and
  our personal, interest to think globally.

U.N. RELIEF
COORDINATOR CONCERNED ABOUT SERIOUS VIOLENCE IN DARFUR

• John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for
  Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, is deeply
  concerned about reports of continued serious violence in
  . Of particular concern is a military offensive in North
  Darfur and Jebel Marra, which has included sustained aerial bombardments
  in the Birmaza and Disa areas in recent days and attacks on
  humanitarians by armed groups in the region.����

• The towns of Birmasa and Disa serve as important
  hubs for medical, water and commerce for tens of thousands of people.
  Insecurity in North Darfur has led to the suspension of vital
  humanitarian aid, compromising the health and well being of entire towns
  and villages, and affecting up to 450,000 people.��

• Holmes urges all parties to the conflict to cease
  hostilities immediately and engage in meaningful discussions with Joint
  Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé towards a negotiated settlement.

• All parties to the conflict are reminded of their
  responsibilities under international humanitarian law to protect
  civilians, to differentiate between civilian and military targets, and
  to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to the millions in need in the
  region.��

UNITED
NATIONS APPEAL FOR $108 MILLION FOR RELIEF IN HAITI

• The UN has today
  an
  for Haiti, which has been hit by a series of tropical storms
  in recent weeks.�� The nearly $108 million appeal will provide
  humanitarian and early recovery assistance over the next six months.��

• According to needs assessments, up to 800,000
  people, or nearly 10 per cent of the country’s population, are in dire
  need of assistance. An estimated 70,000 people are living in temporary
  shelters, and nearly all of the agricultural land has been flooded. This
  means that the entire current harvest has either been lost or severely
  damaged.

• Meanwhile, the
  is coordinating logistics for the humanitarian
  community in Haiti. With roads damaged and bridges collapsed, WFP says
  it is only able to transport food by air and sea. It has sent three
  vessels and several helicopters to Gonaives, where it is making daily
  distributions.

• WFP also has teams in the country’s south and west,
  which began distributing food after the earlier Hurricane Gustav. So far
  282 metric tonnes of food have been delivered to Haiti, with WFP and
  UNICEF together providing high-energy biscuits, rice, beans, and
  vegetable oil, as well as safe drinking water, blankets and hygiene
  kits.

HOLMES:
WEST AFRICANS AFFECTED BY FLOODS MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN

• The international community must not forget West
  Africans who have been hit by severe floods, Under-Secretary-General for
  Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said
  today.

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
  Affairs (OCHA)
  that a series of workshops on flood preparedness and
  management, which it held in the affected countries ahead of the rainy
  season, helped reduce the floods’ impact this year. For example, 800,000
  people were affected by floods last year -- compared to 130,000 this
  year.

• OCHA is also working with the Economic Commission
  of West African States (ECOWAS) to set up a regional stockpile of relief
  supplies in Mali as a disaster preparedness measure.

SPECIAL
ADVISER ON CYPRUS MEETS SENIOR OFFICIALS IN TURKEY

• The Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus,
  Alexander Downer, is in Turkey today. He met today with President
  Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ali
  Babacan and other senior Foreign Ministry officials for a useful
  exchange of views on the Cyprus issue.

• Downer appreciated the opportunity to hear the
  perspectives of the Turkish Government on the recent renewal of
  full-fledged negotiations between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot
  leadership and looks forward to continuing to engage in a dialogue on
  the matter.��

• Downer is scheduled to be in Cyprus on Thursday to
  attend the first substantive meeting between Greek Cypriot leader
  Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in the
  context of the negotiations.

GREECE-FYROM
TALKS TO TAKE PLACE IN NEW YORK THURSDAY

• Matthew Nimetz, the Secretary-General’s Personal
  Envoy for the talks between Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of
  Macedonia (FYROM), plans to meet on Thursday with the parties in New
  York. The purpose will be to continue discussions on the name issue.

• In the morning, there will be a joint meeting.
  Representing Athens will be Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis.
  Representing Skopje will be Ambassador Nikola Dimitrov and Martin
  Protoger, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.

• The joint meeting will be followed by separate
  meetings with the parties during the afternoon.

U.N. ENVOY
WELCOMES DECISION TO EXPAND ARMY IN AFGHANISTAN

• Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s Special
  Representative for
  today welcomed the decision by that country’s Joint
  Coordination and Monitoring Board to expand the Afghan National Army,
  increasing its strength to 134,000 personnel.

• Eide said that the increase is a huge step towards
  ensuring that the Afghan Government has the number of soldiers it needs
  to gradually take over responsibility for the country’s security.

BAN KI-MOON
APPROVES $10 MILLION IN PEACE-BUILDING PROJECTS FOR NEPAL

• The Secretary-General has approved $10 million from
  the
  for projects in Nepal.

• Pending the establishment of the new Government,
  areas that are strong candidates for support include the Constituent
  Assembly and human rights and protection efforts; recovery of
  communities affected by conflict; and conflict prevention and
  reconciliation issues.

DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT LEBANON

• Asha-Rose Migiro will be traveling to
  Lebanon today to attend the 12th meeting of the Regional Coordination
  Mechanism (RCM) hosted by the Economic and Social Commission for Western
  Asia (ESCWA) from 13 - 14 September.

• The Mechanism is intended to coordinate the work of
  UN Agencies in the region in order to strengthen coherence, enhance
  synergies and avoid duplication of activities.

• As this will be her first visit to the country, she
  will pay a courtesy call on Lebanese leaders, including President Michel
  Suleiman, House Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

UNFPA
ASSISTS TIMOR-LESTE ON FISTULA SURGERY

• Under its programme of support to the Ministry of
  Health of Timor-Leste, the United Nations Population Fund ()
  on Thursday will hand over to the Maternity Department two ultrasound
  machines as well as specialized instruments and supplies for fistula
  surgery.��

• Meanwhile, the Timorese President of the National
  Assembly today officially launched the “Say No to Violence against
  Women” campaign. The signing ceremony is in support of the
  Secretary-General’s multi-year campaign to end violence against women,
  which aims to engage leaders and mobilize men and boys as partners with
  women and girls to put a stop to violence against them.

• The signing of the campaign will be complemented by
  various activities aimed at raising public awareness on gender-related
  violence and also collecting signatures. UNIFEM hopes to amass 30,000
  signatures from across the country by end of October.

WHO
SUPPORTS CHOLERA CONTROL EFFORTS IN IRAQ

• The
  is offering the UN's increased support to
  cholera control activities, following an announcement by the
  Iraqi Government of 21 new confirmed cholera cases in the governorate of
  Babil, with another 90–95 suspected cases under investigation.

• The Babil outbreak means Iraq now has 28 confirmed
  cholera cases in total. Three deaths are now confirmed as
  cholera-related through laboratory analysis, but the actual toll may be
  higher.

• WHO and other UN agencies have been supporting
  cholera-affected governorates since the disease resurfaced three weeks
  ago.

FORMER
SERBIAN PRESIDENT GRANTED PROVISIONAL RELEASE

• The
  has
  granted the former President of Serbia, Milan Milutinovic, temporary
  provisional release from detention so that he can undergo a medical
  procedure in Serbia.

• Milutinovic, who is on trial on allegations of a
  campaign of terror and violence directed against Albanians and other
  non-Serbs living in Kosovo in 1999, will be under 24-hour electronic
  surveillance by the Serbian authorities while he is on temporary
  release. His trial, which began in 2006, had its closing arguments end
  this past 27 August.

SPOKESWOMAN
STRESSES SAFETY OF U.N. HEADQUARTERS

• Asked about a decision by the City of New York to
  bar its public school students from visiting UN Headquarters because of
  safety concerns, the Spokeswoman noted that the United Nations modified
  its guided tour route, in effect since 1 August 2008, in direct response
  to concerns about safety raised by Commissioner Marjorie Tiven.

• She said that the UN’s New York City-based safety
  advisers have confirmed that the building is totally safe for visitors,
  delegations and the staff.

• Close to 50,000 students visit the United Nations
  each year, including many from the New York City area, Montas said. They
  are among the nearly 500,000 people from around the world that visit the
  Organization.

• It is a pity that New York City's public school
  children would miss the opportunity to visit one of New York's greatest
  attractions, and to learn about its contributions to peace, the
  Spokeswoman said.

• She added that the United Nations is confident that
  the UN facilities are very safe and looks forward to the opening of the
  General Assembly later this month and the arrival of delegates from all
  over the world, as in the previous 60 years.

• Asked how much the recent fire safety measures
  cost, the Spokeswoman said it was about $3 million.

• She noted, in response to further questions about
  problems that people with disabilities have in dealing with the new fire
  doors, that many of the fire doors at UN Headquarters have buttons to
  press that make it easier for people with disabilities to open them. She
  acknowledged, however, the problem with the newly-installed doors. These
  concerns are legitimate and will be conveyed to the building management
  office, she added.

ONLY
GENERAL ASSEMBLY CAN DETERMINE CREDENTIALS FOR STATES

• Asked about a letter from Myanmar politicians to
  the Secretary-General, asking that elected politicians be recognized at
  the United Nations instead of the current Government, the Spokeswoman
  said that the matter was one for the General Assembly, and specifically
  its Credentials Committee, to determine.

• She noted that the Credentials Committee meets at
  the start of each Assembly session. The Secretary-General, Montas said,
  can only convey the letter from Myanmar to the Assembly.

• In response to further questions, the Spokeswoman
  noted that Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari would brief the Security
  Council on Thursday on Myanmar, and intended to speak to the press at
  some point afterward.

OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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ANNOUNCEMENT NEAR ON WESTERN SAHARA ENVOY: Asked
about reports that US diplomat Christopher Ross would be named the
Secretary-General’s next Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, the Spokeswoman
said that a decision was nearing on an appointment for that position, but
there was nothing to announce yet.
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HEAD OF JOINT U.N.-A.U. PANEL TO BE NAMED: Asked
about reports suggesting that former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi
would be appointed an envoy to Africa, the Spokeswoman noted that she
expected to announce on Friday who would head a joint UN-African Union panel
on security issues in Africa, mandated by the Security Council. That panel
is scheduled to begin work next Monday.
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TEMPORARY STRUCTURE TO BE BUILT ON U.N. NORTH LAWN:
Asked about a structure that is to be built on the UN’s North Lawn to
accommodate the General Assembly while UN headquarters is refurbished, the
Spokeswoman said that it would be strictly a temporary building so that the
Assembly’s work could continue in the coming years.
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U.N. MISSION IN CONGO NOT INVOLVED IN FIGHTING IN
NORTH: Asked about recent fighting in the northern Democratic Republic
of the Congo against Lord’s Resistance Army fighters, the Spokeswoman said
that the UN Mission in that country was not involved in the fighting.
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SPOKESWOMAN STRESSES CONTINUING EFFORTS TO HELP
SREBRENICA VICTIMS: Asked about a recent decision taken by a Dutch court
regarding the Srebrenica massacres in 1995, the Spokeswoman declined to
comment on the court’s decision but noted that serious discussions continue
on ways to help the families of the Srebrenica victims.
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U.N. TRANSMITTED MISCONDUCT INFORMATION ON FORMER
STAFF MEMBER TO FRANCE, CONGO: Asked about a French national who was a
former MONUC staff member and who was on trial in France for rape and grave
sexual misconduct towards minors in the Central African Republic and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokeswoman said that the French
courts were responsible for the judicial procedures. She later added that
the UN Mission had led an internal inquiry on the allegations against that
staff member and had transmitted to the authorities in the DRC and in France
all the information it had collected. The Mission is happy to see that the
case is being followed up by the French courts. The United Nations reaffirms
its "zero tolerance policy" towards such crimes.

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