United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-03-19

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE

MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, March 19, 2007

BAN KI-MOON TO LEAVE FOR MIDDLE EAST

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave this week for Egypt, the Occupied Palestinian territories, Israel, Jordan and elsewhere in the

Middle East. On the 28th, he will attend the Arab Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia before departing for Beirut, Lebanon. The Secretary General will be back at Headquarters on the 2nd of April.

The Secretary Generals main priorities for the trip will be the Middle East peace process, stability in Lebanon, Darfur and the UN role within the Iraq Compact.

The Middle East is among the top items on the Secretary-Generals agenda. The United Nations has had crucial political and operational roles in the Middle East for over 60 years. The Secretary General wants to see firsthand the UN peace operations and presences in the region. He also wants to hear firsthand from the people in the region about the problems and challenges they face.

The Secretary-General believes that we are seeing a renewed dynamism in diplomacy in the Arab world. During his visit to the Arab League Summit, he wants to express his support to ongoing efforts to reenergise the Middle East peace process and bring about peace and stability in Lebanon, Iraq, and in the broader Middle East context.

Asked if the Secretary-General would be meeting with members of the new Palestinian government during his trip, Montas said that Ban Ki-moon would meet with President Abbas and other Palestinian government officials.

Asked if the Secretary-General would be addressing the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, the Spokesperson replied that he intends to meet with the Speaker of the Knesset and some Israeli Parliamentarians.

BAN KI-MOON DISCUSSES NEW PALESTINIAN UNITY GOVERNMENT

WITH MIDDLE EAST QUARTET

Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon spoke this morning with the other members of the Quartet for peace in the Middle East.

The conference call included U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Javier Solana, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union; and EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

They discussed the Quartet approach to the new Palestinian unity government between Fatah and Hamas, which was approved by the Palestinian legislature on Saturday.

Asked if the Secretary-General had any opinion on the new Palestinian National Unity Government, the Spokesperson said that Ban Ki-moon would join his Quartet partners in a joint statement later today.

SECRETARY-GENERAL STRONGLY CONDEMNS CHLORINE ATTACKS IN IRAQ

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the recent multiple terrorist bombings using chlorine gas in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, which wounded or sickened more than 350 people.

The Secretary-General is appalled by these attacks, which are clearly intended to cause panic and instability in the country.

The Secretary-General is confident that firm action will be taken to prevent such attacks in the future.

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR KOSOVO BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL

Members of the Security Council heard a

briefing in a closed meeting by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Kosovo, Joachim Rücker, and then held consultations on the same subject.

Asked if the Secretary-General would consider the suggestion by the Russian Foreign Minister that Special Envoy for Kosovo's Final Status Process Marti Ahtisaari be replaced, apparently because the latter has said that he has done all that he can to solve the issue, which remains unresolved, the Spokesperson said that Ban Ki-moon has full confidence in his Special Envoy.

Montas added that the Special Envoy's proposals on Kosovo's final status were presented last week to the Secretary-General, who will soon forward them to the Security Council.

Asked if the United Nations had any comments on allegations included in a leaked confidential German government report to the effect that the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) had been infiltrated by members of local crime syndicates, Montas said that the United Nations first needed some clarity on the content of that report which was not shared with the United Nations.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS DARFUR THIS AFTERNOON

This afternoon, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, is scheduled to brief the Security Council in consultations on Sudan, in connection with the Sudanese Presidents response to the Secretary-Generals letter on Darfur.

EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR TO DEPART ON SUDAN MISSION

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, is scheduled to depart tomorrow on his first field mission since taking up his post on March 1st.

During his two-week mission, Mr. Holmes plans to travel to the Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic.

He will begin his mission in Khartoum, then plans to travel to Juba, in southern Sudan, before going to the Darfur region.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator is then expected to travel to eastern Chad, and the final leg of his three-country mission is northern Central African Republic and the capital, Bangui.

Upon his return, he will brief the Security Council on his mission.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) continues to report attacks on villages in Darfur. Following an attack yesterday on a village north of El Geneina, in West Darfur, villagers in neighboring Jebel Moon are fortifying their defenses amid fears of similar attacks, according to the mission, which has provided more details in todays update.

SECRETARY-GENERAL RECOMMENDS EXTENSION OF AFGHANISTAN MISSION

The Secretary-Generals most recent report on Afghanistan is out as a document.

It will be discussed by the Security Council tomorrow, and the Special Representative, Tom Koenigs, will brief you, too.

In his report, the Secretary-General recommends that the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), due to expire on 24 March, be extended for a further 12 months.

He says that it is time for the international community to reconfirm its commitment to Afghanistan and to move expeditiously to consolidate the accomplishments of the last six years.

The mission, he says, should focus in the coming months on promoting a more coherent international engagement in support of the

Afghanistan Compact; strengthening its humanitarian coordination role and contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights; and extending its good offices role through outreach inside the country and support for regional cooperation.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in Afghanistan today flags a briefing by UNICEF, which reports that more than 6 million boys and girls in Grades one through 12 have returned to school over the past year.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HEARS

PRESENTATIONS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND ON DISAPPEARANCES

The Human Rights Council today held a special event on Violence Against Children, including a video presentation followed by an interactive discussion with the Independent Expert for the United Nations Study on Violence Against Children, Paulo Pinheiro.

At present, the Council is hearing a presentation of a report by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which marks the first of 28 reports to be presented by the human rights special procedures before the current session ends on the 30th of March.

SIERRA LEONE: PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION DEPARTS

ON FIRST IN-COUNTRY MISSION

A seven-member delegation of the Peacebuilding Commission is leaving New York today for Sierra Leone, where the delegates will conduct the Commissions first in-country mission until March 25.

Led by the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands, H.E. Frank Majoor, who chairs the Commissions country-specific configuration on Sierra Leone, the delegation will meet with government officials, multilateral and bilateral partners, and civil society representatives.

The mission aims to obtain first-hand information, identify priority areas and assess challenges to peacebuilding. The delegation will also seek to bring increased attention to peacebuilding efforts in Sierra Leone and promote the main principles and purposes of the Peacebuilding Commission.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

FAO/IAEA DISCUSS PORTABLE BIRD FLU DETECTION KIT: Animal health experts from 15 nations are meeting today in Vienna to discuss new portable labs that experts say could revolutionize the fight against bird flu and other livestock diseases. The main device under discussion is a mobile testing system and reader the size of a small portable television. It can also be used to detect other animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease and Rift Valley Fever. The weeklong talks are part of a joint research project involving the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and selected Member Country diagnosticians. The programme explores potential uses of nuclear and nuclear-related technology in agricultural production, including through the use of isotopic techniques in the diagnosis of disease.

UNDP GOODWILL AMBASSADORS TO HOST MATCH AGAINST POVERTY: Tonight, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane are hosting the Match Against Poverty, in Marseille, France. Forty other players are joining them in a game designed to remind the world that everyone is responsible for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Proceeds will go to projects selected by UNDP in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

PENSION FUND BOARD REPRESENTATIVE REPLACED: Asked why UN Comptroller Warren Sach has replaced Under-Secretary-General for Management, Alicia Barcena, as the Secretary-General's representative on the board of the Pension Fund after Sach had replaced the outgoing Management chief on that same board on 1 March, Montas explained that this reflected an administrative procedure requiring that Sach sit on that board until Barcena took up her official functions and appointed a new representative, which she did by reconfirming Sach in the role.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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