United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-08-08

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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 FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES MEETING BETWEEN DPRK AND REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the announcement today in Seoul of a planned summit meeting on 28 August in Pyongyang between the leaders of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. The Secretary-General believes that such a meeting offers a significant opportunity for the promotion of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean reconciliation.

He wishes to commend the two leaders for their initiative and hopes that this positive development will give further impetus to the progress made recently within the framework of the Six-Party Talks.

Asked if the Secretary-General intends to travel to the Korean Peninsula in light of the latest development, the Spokesman said that there were no plans for the Secretary-General to travel to the region.

Ban Ki-moon, Haq added, continues to urge the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea to keep up their efforts toward reconciliation. The United Nations, Haq said, will continue to monitor the situation.

FLOODS: U.N. AGENCIES MONITOR DELIVER AID THROUGHOUT SOUTH ASIA

On South Asia, the Secretary-General has expressed his deep sadness at the hundreds of lives lost and the millions affected by floods. He extends his condolences to the families of those who perished. He is also concerned by the economic devastation faced by the survivors.

While commending the prompt and effective response to the flooding by the affected countries, the Secretary-General reaffirms the United Nations readiness to assist.

On the humanitarian front, the World Health Organization (WHO) is closely

monitoring the health situation in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, where increased cases of water- and food-borne diseases have been reported.

In Bangladesh and Nepal, WHO has already pre-positioned and stockpiled diarrhoeal kits, cholera kits, water-quality testing kits as well as emergency supplies such as water purification tablets and antibiotics. It says it stands ready to assist governments in meeting the public health needs of the affected populations.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has started to distribute food to flood victims but says it is concerned about the longer-terms effects of the flooding. Families have lost crops and livestock, houses and roads have been destroyed and livelihoods disrupted.

WFP is urging donors to provide support for early recovery assistance programmes, such as food for work.

Asked to describe the extent of the flooding in South Asia, the Spokesman said that UN relief agencies deployed in the area have said that this flood is the worst on record for some of the affected countries.

The country most affected by the floods is India, where about 18 million people have been hit by the disaster, particularly in the states of Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh. But the country has not made an official request for international assistance, Haq said.

He added that in Bangladesh, up to 8 million people are estimated to have been affected, particularly in areas around the capital, Dhaka. At this stage, the Government has not made an appeal for international assistance, but WFP and UNICEF have already begun the limited distribution of biscuits.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, some 2.5 million people have lost their livelihoods as a result of the floods. The Government has not asked for emergency assistance, but welcomed WFP deliveries of food in some of the worst-hit areas.

Haq also said that WHO and WFP, as well as other UN agencies, stand ready to assist the governments in the region. However, WFP reports that, to date, the only country to request international food assistance has been Nepal, where the UN Mission in the country has also used its helicopters provide emergency aid to flooded areas.

In response to a further question, the Spokesman said that in many countries deforestation and other factors damaging to the environment were in part to blame for the devastation caused by the floods. He said that is why the United Nations has been encouraging countries to develop strategies to reduce deforestation.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS

The Secretary-General this morning is meeting with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur, to discuss developments in the Caribbean and the work of the Caribbean community (CARICOM). He is also to meet later today with the Attorney General of Barbados, Dale Marshall.

Last night, the Secretary-General had a working dinner in Bridgetown with the envoy of the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair, to discuss the work of the Quartet.

The Secretary-General is expected to return to New York on Thursday.

Asked for a readout of the Secretary-General's meeting on Tuesday with Blair, the Spokesman said that it was a working dinner during which they discussed issues in the region and the work of the Quartet.

U.N. ENVOY FOR DARFUR CONTINUES FIVE-DAY VISIT TO SUDAN

Jan Eliasson, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Darfur, is

continuing his five-day visit to Sudan by going today to El-Geneina and Nyala in Darfur. He will then visit the capital of Darfur, El-Fasher, starting on Thursday.

His trip to the three states of Darfur includes meetings with representatives of internally displaced persons, tribal leaders, Arab nomads, civil society groups and the local authorities. He then plans to travel to NDjamena, Chad, on 10 August, to meet President Idriss Deby.

On Tuesday in Khartoum, Eliasson met with Sudanese Presidential Advisor Nafie Ali Nafie and Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Mutrif Siddiq and briefed them on the Arusha meeting with leading personalities of the movements that had not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement.

The UN Mission in Sudan reported that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Tuesday that its air operations to help internally displaced people from Khartoum return to their areas of origin in the country has ended. A total of 1,530 IDPs returned by air to the Central and Western Equatoria States since the air operations began in mid-July.

TIMOR-LESTE: U.N. CONDEMNS ONGOING VIOLENCE

The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) reports that heavy violence continued over the past 24 hours, where buildings and private homes in the Baucau and Viqueque districts have been set on fire and widespread stoning of vehicles and buildings also persisted.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Atul Khare, strongly condemned the violence.

UN police officers in conjunction with the Timorese police and the International Security Forces have been fully deployed to stop the violence. Since Tuesday, 45 people have been arrested for their participation in the violence.

U.N. TO HELP RESUMPTION OF FARMING IN SOUTH LEBANON

In South Lebanon, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is

launching a $3.3 million programme to help farming resume after months of interruption caused by last years war and unexploded ordnance.

Ten percent of the cluster bombs have now been cleared, allowing a resumption of farming activities in a number of districts, reports FAO.

The agency will help farmers rehabilitate their greenhouses by providing them with fertilizer and seeds, among other things. It will also help livestock keepers to re-stock and assist them in improving their productivity.

According to FAO, half of the working population in South Lebanon relies wholly on agriculture to make a living.

U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR VISITS INTERNALLY DISPLACED CIVILIANS IN SRI LANKA

UN Emergency Relief

Coordinator John Holmes today visited the eastern part of Sri Lanka, where more than 160,000 civilians were internally displaced between October and May. While visiting an IDP settlement near Batticaloa, Holmes said it was tragic that those affected by the tsunami three years ago had to flee again due to renewed conflict.

In meetings with local authorities, Holmes stressed the need for improved cooperation between the Government, UN agencies and NGOs in supporting the return of the displaced. He called on local authorities to open all areas to humanitarian operations and to restore public services.

Before wrapping up his four-day visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow, Holmes is expected to meet with the countrys President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HIGHLIGHTS QUEST FOR CULTURE OF PEACE

The Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, this morning delivered the opening remarks at a three-day conference, at UN Headquarters, that marks the 25th anniversary of the International Institute on Peace Education.

She said that the Institutes mission to use education for peace in its broadest sense reflects the evolution that has taken place over the past few decades in the way we define collective security. And the understanding of peace education has changed from what was once a mission to eliminate the risk of global extinction through nuclear war to become, today, a broader quest to build a Culture of Peace.

HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS URGES ACTION ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS DECLARATION

Thursday is the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous People. Events taking place at UN Headquarters include a welcome and spiritual ceremony from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Visitor's Lobby, which will feature Native American song performances and a sacred pipe ceremony. Also taking place is a panel discussion on Honoring Indigenous Youth and Languages" from 2:30 to 5 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and Special Rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen are calling on the international community to address the pressing concerns of the worlds 370 million indigenous people, including poverty and marginalization. They also

urge the General Assembly to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. HOPEFUL THAT TALKS ON WESTERN SAHARA WILL CONTRIBUTE TO EASE TENSIONS: Responding to a question on potential regional tensions brought about by the dispute over the status of Western Sahara, the Spokesman said that the United Nations and the Secretary-General are hopeful that the continuation of talks between Morocco and Western Sahara would contribute to ease those tensions. Haq also confirmed that talks planned to resume this Friday and Saturday in the New York region will proceed on schedule, although the meeting is closed to the press.

EXPANSION OF U.N. ROLE IN IRAQ DEPENDS ON NEW MANDATE: In response To questions, the Spokesman said that the personnel of the UN Mission in Iraq could be expanded depending on the terms of a new mandate for the Mission now being negotiated in the Security Council, and depending also on security conditions in Iraq. He added that the Secretariat was holding internal consultations on how to enlarge the UN's presence in Iraq should the Security Council require such an expansion, but emphasized that it would continue to assess security conditions as it makes decisions regarding staff deployment.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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