United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-05-16

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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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, May 16, 2008

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF HEADS TO MYANMAR THIS WEEKEND

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today provided an informal briefing to the General Assembly on a range of topics, notably the critical situation in Myanmar and the challenges posed by rising food prices and climate change, as well as Chinas earthquake and his recent travels in Africa and Europe.

On Myanmar, the Secretary-General said he has asked Special Coordinator John Holmes to visit Myanmar this weekend.

Holmes, he said, will deliver a third letter from the Secretary-General and attempt to establish contact with the Myanmar leadership with a view toward discussing how the United Nations can assist the governments immediate and longer term relief effort.

He added that he hopes that the meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on 19 May and a further high-level pledging conference that he has suggested for May 24 or 25 will help to mobilize resources in response to this unprecedented crisis for Myanmar, as was the case in response to the tsunami in 2004.

On the China earthquake, the Secretary-General commended Beijing authorities for their fast and effective action and expressed his sincere condolences to the victims and their families.

While fully confident in the Chinese governments capacity to manage the crisis, the United Nations has offered resources from the Central Emergency Response Fund and is dispatching experts from rescue and relief operations.

The Secretary-General also noted the work done earlier this week by the Task Force dealing with the food crisis, which he said is working hard to ensure that key elements of a comprehensive framework on food issues will be available by the time of the High-level Conference on World Food Security in Rome from the 3rd to the 5th of June. He called that conference one of the most important events planned for 2008.

MYANMAR: UNITED NATIONS RUSHES RELIEF SUPPLIES TO REMOTE AREAS

Two weeks since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, the United Nations is continuing its active humanitarian aid efforts.

The International Telecommunication Union has deployed 100 satellite terminals to Myanmar to help restore vital communication links, which are vital for the efficient coordination of humanitarian relief operations. The mobile terminals are easily transported by road and air and can be used both by humanitarian workers and the cyclone survivors themselves.

A UNICEF team, meanwhile, has reached the remote areas of Myanmar, where the situation is dire for children. More than 70 UNICEF assessment and relief missions are in the region, distributing essential survival kits, including plastic sheeting for shelter, water purification materials, medicines, mosquito nets, and cooking materials. The agency warns that children who survived the cyclone are now facing an increasing risk of disease.

A third plane from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reached Yangon yesterday, carrying 40 tons of aid supplies from its stock in Dubai. The goods were distributed late Thursday evening and today to UNHCRs humanitarian partners. Those partners are now continuing the distribution of those supplies to as many as 5,000 families in the Irrawaddy Delta.

Medical care is currently being focused on the survivors staying in the relief shelters. Local non-governmental organizations report that their volunteers are now accessing remote parts of the affected areas.

Asked whether John Holmes would visit the Irriwaddy Delta, the Spokeswoman said his itinerary would become clearer once he arrives in Myanmar; he expects to do so on Sunday. She confirmed, in response to a further question, that Holmes had received a visa for Myanmar.

Asked about the UN response to the referendum held last weekend, the Spokeswoman noted that the Secretary-General had expressed the view that the priority is to assist the people in need in Myanmar. The United Nations did not have observers on the ground to verify referendum results, she added.

Asked about the applicability of the responsibility to protect concept to Myanmar, Montas said that it is up to the Security Council to decide how it applies. For the Secretary-General, she added, the responsibility to protect is an important concept, which he has shown by appointing an adviser who deals with it.

Asked whether UN agencies were being targeted for harassment, the Spokeswoman said she was not aware of any such harassment.

EMERGENCY FUNDS SET ASIDE FOR CHINA QUAKE SURVIVORS

The Secretary-General is pleased to announce a grant of up to $7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund following the earthquake that struck Sichuan, China, on 12 May 2008. The grant will be used by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to help meet the most urgent humanitarian requirements.

The United Nations stands ready to provide further support, as required, to the Government of China in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the disaster.

Meanwhile, UN agencies are responding to the Chinese Governments request for life-saving supplies.

UNICEF is sending tents, blankets and school kits. It is also procuring health, water and sanitation materials, which will be dispatched as soon as possible. The World Food Programme, for its part, is purchasing enough ready-to-eat noodles to feed nearly 120,000 people for a week.

For its part, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction stresses the need to upgrade and retrofit schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure in the worlds earthquake-prone areas, since collapsed buildings are the main killers when earthquakes strike.

Asked whether China is talking to the United Nations about specific aid that it needs, the Spokeswoman said that China had already said that it would welcome aid, but the specifics are still being discussed. She noted that the United Nations has international and local staff on the ground to help with distribution.

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES POSITIVE STEPS IN BURUNDI PEACE PROCESS

The Secretary-General has been informed of the arrival in Bujumbura of a delegation of the Palipehutu-FNL, accompanied by members of the Facilitation and Political Directorate of the Burundi peace process. The Secretary-General welcomes this positive development.

In a statement, he strongly urges the Palipehutu-FNL to engage in good faith in the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanisms and Political Directorate.

The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by the ongoing fighting and the suffering it has inflicted on the population. He calls on the Government and the Palipehutu-FNL to immediately cease military action and to take measures to build confidence in, and support, the peace process.

The Secretary-General expresses his appreciation to the leaders of the Regional Peace Initiative for Burundi and to the South African Facilitation for their tireless efforts.

U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES AGREEMENT TO END FIGHTING IN ABYEI, SUDAN

Ashraf Qazi, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, says he is very concerned about the security situation in Abyei, following recent clashes between members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. As a result of the fighting, thousands of civilians have fled the area.

Qazi welcomes the agreement to end the fighting which was reached between the two parties yesterday at a meeting of the Area Joint Military Committee under the chairmanship of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

He hopes that the agreement will bring to an end the violence in this volatile area, and calls on both sides to respect all its provisions, including an immediate cease-fire and the removal of other armed groups from Abyei town.

He further urges the parties to ensure that civilians and civilian installations are fully protected.

This latest development in Abyei, whose complex problems represent one of the most difficult challenges facing the successful implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan, underscores the importance of fully implementing the Abyei Protocol.

As a first step, Qazi says, the parties need to establish an interim administration to ensure the delivery of much-needed basic services to the community and to act as an effective mechanism for resolving differences and preventing potential conflicts.

CHAD: REFUGEE AGENCY IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT RISING VIOLENCE

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it is very concerned by escalating violence in eastern Chad, including a fatal attack on gendarmes near a refugee camp and increased levels of vehicle hijacking.

UNHCR says it fears that the attack on the Sudanese capital Khartoum by rebels last weekend could further destabilize the security situation in the east and it has reduced its activities and staff movements as a precautionary measure.

Asked about the dispute between Sudan and Chad, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General was trying to contact the African Union on this subject. She said it was a matter of personal importance to the Secretary-General, who had attended the signature in Dakar, Senegal, last year of the agreement between the two Governments.

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES RECOMMENDATION

TO RELOCATE U.N.S SOMALIA OFFICE TO MOGADISHU

The Security Council yesterday afternoon unanimously approved a resolution strongly supporting the approach proposed by the Secretary-General to promote an ongoing and inclusive political process in Somalia.

Among other things, the Council welcomed the Secretary-Generals recommendation, set out in a recent report, to relocate the UN Political Office for Somalia and the country team headquarters from Nairobi to Mogadishu, or an interim location in Somalia.

It also decided that the UN office shall enhance its support to the Transitional Federal Institutions with the aim of developing a constitution and holding a constitutional referendum and free and democratic elections in 2009.

Meanwhile, after week-long consultations in Djibouti, the Somali Transitional Federal Government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia are calling on the Secretary-General and on the Security Council to help them restore normalcy to their war-plagued country.

The parties made the appeal in a communiqué issued by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Somalia, who convened and presided over the meeting in Djibouti.

The parties also agreed to meet again in Djibouti on the May 31st for further discussions.

In related news, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it has completed the distribution of aid to more than 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in over 50 settlements west of Mogadishu.

The aid was delivered to IDPs living along a 30-kilometre stretch of road linking Mogadishu to the town of Afgooye, west of the Somali capital.

According to UNHCR, more than 40,000 civilians have fled the volatile Somali capital since March this year following an increase in violence between the Transitional Federal Government troops and the insurgents. Overall, an estimated 800,000 people have fled Mogadishu since violence engulfed the city in February 2007.

NEPAL: UNITY OF MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES SHOULD CONTINUE

In his report to the Security Council on United Nations assistance in Nepal, the Secretary-General said that, although a further extension of the mandate of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is not anticipated, the United Nations stands ready to provide continuing support for the completion and consolidation of the peace process and for the long-term development of Nepal.

The Secretary-General also highlighted that his Special Representative and the Resident Coordinator will be in discussion with the new Government once it is formed regarding whatever assistance it may request.

Adding that the countrys recent Constituent Assembly election is a milestone in the peace process, he stressed that the immediate tasks of Government formation and preparatory work for drafting the constitution are now of the utmost importance.

The Secretary-General said he is encouraged by the commitment to consensual politics and cooperation that the Maoist leadership and party have continued to project since the election, and stressed that the unity of the main political parties and their ability to work together, as agreed before the election, should continue, and should be extended to other parties.

Reiterating that these are critical times for long-term stability in Nepal, the Secretary-General said the United Nations will remain by the side of the people and leaders of the country, in the historic tasks of political and social transformation on which they have embarked.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNITED NATIONS COOPERATED WITH U.S. AUTHORITIES IN PROBE AGAINST EX-STAFFER: In response to a question, the Spokeswoman noted that Vyacheslav Manokhin, a former UN staff member who was summarily dismissed from service, was sentenced to serve one year in prison by the Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday. The United Nations fully cooperated with the United States law enforcement authorities in their investigation of the allegations against Mr. Manokhin, Montas said.On 27 July 2007, at the request of the U.S. law enforcement authorities and in accordance with his responsibilities under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, the Secretary-General waived Mr. Manokhin's functional immunity from legal process, she added.

BAN KI-MOON DISCUSSES LEBANON WITH VISITING CARDINAL: Asked about the Secretary-Generals meeting on Thursday with Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, the Spokeswoman said that they discussed the overall situation in Lebanon, including issues pertaining to the implementation of resolution 1701, and this week's Friends of Lebanon conference call, in which the Secretary-General participated. Asked whether the Secretary-General would also meet Lebanese opposition leaders, Montas said he had met some opposition leaders when he visited Lebanon and would be willing to do so in the future.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, May 17

Today is World Telecommunication Day and World Information Society Day.

Sunday, May 18

From today through Wednesday, a Global Renewable Energy Forum, organized in part by the U.N. Industrial Development Organization, takes place in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

Monday, May 19

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to receive a briefing on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

All day today, and continuing tomorrow morning, in Conference Room 4, the General Assembly holds its sixth and final informal review session on the six Chapters of the Monterrey consensus, focusing on Chapter III: international trade as an engine for development.

All day in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, the Sierra Leone configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission holds a high-level stakeholders consultation on Sierra Leone.

From today through Saturday, the 61st World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization's supreme decision-making body, meets in Geneva.

From today through 6 June in Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of the Child holds its 48th session.

Today and tomorrow, in Sanaa, Yemen, a Regional Conference on Refugee Protection and International Migration, backed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, takes place.

From today through 6 June, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Mr. Doudou Diène, visits the United States at the invitation of the U.S. Government.

From today through 29 May, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Leandro Despouy, visits the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Government.

Today and tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur, the Global Forum on Access and Connectivity: Innovative funding for ICT for Development takes place.

Tuesday, May 20

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold an open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding.

At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, Carolina Owens from the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict; Victoria Forbes Adam, Director of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers; and Jo Becker from Human Rights Watch launch the Coalitions latest Child Soldiers Global Report.

At 3 p.m., the Economic and Social Council convenes a special meeting on the global food crisis.

Wednesday, May 21

This morning, the General Assembly meets to elect 15 new members of the Human Rights Council.

At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, Andrew Mack, Director of the Human Security Report Project, briefs on the threat of global terrorism.

In Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organisation publishes its Food Price Index for April.

Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

Thursday, May 22

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the U.N. Mission in Nepal. In the afternoon, a briefing and consultations on Burundi are scheduled.

All day, the General Assembly holds a thematic debate on human security. At 1 p.m. in Room S-226, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and keynote speaker Prince El Hassan bin Talal brief press on the debate.

At 11 a.m. in Room S-226, Jorge Taiana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina; Ambassador Jorge Arguello of Argentina; Ngonlardje Mbaidjol, Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Estela de Carlotto from Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo brief on the ratification and entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. There will be a panel discussion at 5 p.m. in Conference Room 6 on the same topic.

In Geneva, the Human Rights Council holds a special session on the global food crisis.

Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

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