United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-05-22

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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 MARIE OKABE

DEPUTY

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, May 22, 2008

BAN KI-MOON BEGINS TRIP TO MYANMAR

STRESSING NEED FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL AID TO GET IN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Yangon, Myanmar today and was flown by military helicopter over the heavily devastated Irrawaddy Delta.

The tour that lasted four hours included two stops one at a makeshift relief camp, where he met survivors of the village of Kyondah. There, he told one of the families, The whole world is trying to help Myanmar. The other stop was at a distribution center stocked with dozens of bags of rice and cartons of sealed bottles of drinking water.

In a meeting earlier with Prime Minister Thein Sein, the Secretary-General stressed that foreign aid experts needed to be rushed in because the crisis had exceeded Myanmar's national capacity. He felt that at least six months of assistance to feed people in need and give them medical care was needed and should be led in parallel with the recovery effort.

He appealed to the Prime Minister to open the doors to international humanitarian experts to coordinate the relief effort that has left many local staff exhausted and overstretched.

He started the day in Yangon by signing a book of condolences to the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

He later visited the 2,000-year-old Shwedagon pagoda, the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. Walking barefeet in a show of respect for Buddhist tradition, he offered flowers to the statue of Buddha. He also offered some money to the trustees of the pagoda for the victims of the cyclone.

"The United Nations and the whole international community stand ready to help you overcome this tragedy," he said. "That is why I am here. The main purpose of my coming to Myanmar is to demonstrate my solidarity and bring a message of hope.

On Friday, the Secretary-General is scheduled to head to the new capital of Naypyitaw, about 350 kilometres north of Yangon, for talks with Senior General Than Shwe.

He is also planning to meet with humanitarian workers.

He plans to return to Bangkok Friday night.

The Secretary-General plans to return to Yangon on Sunday to preside over a UN-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) pledging conference for Myanmar.

Asked if the Secretary-General had pressed the Myanmar leadership to allow more assistance into the country, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General, met with the Prime Minister and other officials and stressed the need to get more assistance to the victims as quickly as possible and to focus as well on the medium- to long-term recovery needs of the victims and affected regions.

In response to a question if he counts on ASEAN to be the main diplomatic vehicle to convince the Myanmar authorities to open more access for assistance, Okabe said the Secretary-General is working closely with the ASEAN member states. She added that the UN and ASEAN will be co-chairing Sunday's pledging conference in Yangon. "The Secretary-General believes that this is the appropriate mechanism, at a practical level, to get to the victims as quickly as feasible," she said.

In response to a question, Okabe said that John Holmes, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, was part of the Secretary-General's delegation in Myanmar. She said she could not confirm at this point the exact composition of the Secretary-General's delegation at the meeting tomorrow with Senior General Than Shwe.

Okabe, in response to questions, stressed that Ban Ki-moon's current mission to Myanmar is strictly of a humanitarian nature. "The mission is to save as many lives as possible in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis," she said.

INT'L MEDICAL TEAMS ASSIST IN MYANMAR RELIEF EFFORT

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says five international medical teams, from Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh, and Laos, are now providing medical care to those in need and support to national healthcare staff in the affected areas of Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions.

The sixth team, from Singapore, is expected to arrive today.

Since the cyclone hit, the World Food Programme has dispatched 2,110.9 metric tones of food to affected areas, of which 1,393 metric tones have been distributed among approximately 348,000 beneficiaries.

The logistics operation is now operating a 4,000 square-metre warehouse in Yangon, managed by DHL, along with a fleet of 30 trucks, four barges with four barge pushers, and two boats. In five local hubs, six Mobile Storage Units have been or are being constructed.

Meanwhile, preparations for the pledging conference are well underway with tomorrow being the deadline for registration by interested participants.

So far, 31 countries along with nine U.N. agencies and the ASEAN Secretariat have registered to attend. We expect the programme to be finalized tomorrow.

EMERGENCY FUND ALLOCATION FOR CHINA IS INCREASED TO $8 MILLION

On Friday, we announced that the Secretary-General was granting up to $7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for humanitarian efforts following the earthquake in China. Just to update you, the CERF allocation has increased to $8 million dollars based on the higher value of projects ultimately approved.

Meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) is rushing enough additional medical supplies to treat 130,000 people. It is also sending an expert team to work with the government on rebuilding hospitals and other health-care services. WHO is also providing disinfection tablets, drinking-water treatment units and mobile toilets.

And the International Telecommunication Union has deployed 100 mobile satellite terminals to help restore vital communication links and enable better coordination of relief operations.

SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN NEPAL

The Security Council held consultations this morning on Nepal. The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Nepal, Ian Martin, briefed Council members.

Also in consultations this morning, the Council took up the issue of Somalia sanctions and other matters.

Then, at three this afternoon, the Security Council was scheduled to hold short consultations in connection to the situation in the Middle East (Lebanon), preceding a formal meeting on Burundi.

That will be followed by consultations on Burundi -- during which the Secretary-Generals Executive Representative for Burundi, Youssef Mahmoud, will brief -- and other matters.

HUMANITARIAN SPACE AND ACCESS BEING CHALLENGED IN DARFUR

The UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that a Nigerian Battalion was ambushed yesterday afternoon along El Geneina new airport road in Darfur by approximately 50-60 men on horses, dressed in military camouflage. They were armed with AK-47 rifles, rocket propelled Grenades and machine guns. They abducted some rifles, ammunition, phones and cash.

And UNAMID has sent a fact-finding mission to an area of North Darfur where fighting had been reported over water resources that led to the reported killing of nine civilians.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reports that humanitarian space and access are being challenged by increased attacks on aid agencies and staff and theft of supplies and equipment. These attacks serve only to worsen the condition of Darfurians, they say.

For example, according to the latest humanitarian bulletin issued by that mission, the hijacking of the North Darfur State Water Corporations drilling rig by an armed group in March means that 180,000 people may not have access to clean water this year.

UNAMID has also issued a press release saying that the leadership and staff of the mission are deeply saddened by the reported death of 46 former peacekeepers of the Nigerian contingent in a road accident yesterday. The soldiers had returned to Nigeria from Sudan, where they had just completed their tour of duty, as part of UNAMIDs Battalion based in Darfur.

REPORT FINDS RISING POVERTY, DECLINING EMPLOYMENT

IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES

The International Labour Office (ILO) has

released its annual report on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories, including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights.

According to the report, only one in three people of working age in the territories is employed full-time or part-time. Unemployment hovers above 20 per cent.

Working poverty is rising, genuine employment is declining, and frustration is growing, the report says.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY GIVES RELIEF SUPPLIES TO

VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday distributed 2,000 blankets and 2,000 mats among victims of a wave of xenophobia in South Africa's Gauteng province.

On the advice of South African authorities, many of the displaced have sought protection at police stations across the northeast, but are sleeping in the open. In the town of Germiston, for example, some 2,800 people, including more than 100 children, found shelter in the local community hall. Some of the UNHCR blankets and mats were handed out there.

The distribution of blankets and mats continues at police stations in the north-east in coordination with South African authorities, who have opened Joint Operation Centers to coordinate aid delivery by humanitarian agencies and individuals sympathetic to the victims.

UNHCR, meanwhile, notes that most of the displaced are migrants from neighboring countries, but there are also refugees and asylum seekers among them.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS SPECIAL MEETING ON WORLD FOOD CRISIS

Today in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is holding a

special session on the food crisis.

Addressing the gathering this morning, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour

stressed that, while the immediate needs involved humanitarian aid, States should also focus on the longer-term human rights dimension of the food crisis.

Failure to act in a comprehensive manner, Arbour said, could trigger a domino effect by putting at risk other fundamental rights, including the right to health or education, as people are forced to forego other necessities in order to feed themselves and their families.

Arbour also recommended that the hardest-hit groups be fully involved in crafting responses to the crisis. Such an approach would help clarify the imbalances in society that have triggered and exacerbated the food crisis.

DESPITE RECENT DECLINES, FOOD PRICES LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH

In its latest Food Outlook, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that, despite increased production and possibly record harvests this year, food prices remain high.

This is especially affecting vulnerable populations in countries that spend a large part of their income on food. Such countries are likely to spend 40 per cent more on food imports this year than they did last year, and could end up spending four times as much as they did in 2000, the report says.

While international prices for most agricultural commodities have started to fall, they are unlikely to return to previous levels, FAO says. Average food prices in the first four months of 2008 are still more than 50 percent higher than a year ago.

FAO is forecasting record cereal production this year, with the greatest gains coming in the wheat sector. But FAO notes that it will take more than one good season to replenish stocks and reduce price volatility.

DR CONGO: U.N. OFFICIALS DENOUNCE DEATH SENTENCES

IN MURDER OF U.N. RADIO JOURNALIST

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alan Doss, have denounced the sentencing to death of three civilians by a Congolese military tribunal.

The three are among a group of people facing charges of complicity in the June 2007 murder of Serge Maheshe of Radio Okapi, a UN and Swiss-funded broadcaster for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC).

Both Arbour and Doss also denounced other irregularities in the controversial trial, including the prosecution of civilians by military courts, the threats against defense lawyers and the military prosecutors refusal to consider other theories for the crime.

Welcoming the acquittal of two other accused civilians in the case, Arbour and Doss said many questions remain unanswered and appealed to Congolese authorities to pursue the case in accordance with their obligations under international law.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF BIODIVERSITY

FOCUSES ON NEED TO SECURE FOOD FOR A GROWING POPULATION

As the world's growing population faces rising food prices and pressures from climate change affect the fields and orchards that feed the world, celebrations of the International Day of Biological Diversity today will stress the need to properly protect and manage the world's biodiversity in order to ensure a secure supply of food for a growing world population.

The Secretary-General, in his message for the International day, says Of the 7,000 species of plants that have been domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for the vast majority of the food we eat every day. Relying on so few species for sustenance is a losing strategy.

U.N. POPULATION FUND TO PRESENT ANNUAL POPULATION

The U.N. Population Fund is giving out its annual Population Award this afternoon.

This years recipients are Dame Billie Antoinette Miller, a former minister from Barbados; and Family Care International, a U.S. Non-Governmental Organization committed to making pregnancy and childbirth safer around the world.

In remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka is expected to thank both recipients for the significant contributions they have made to providing life-saving information and services to individuals. The ceremony itself is taking place at 5 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ARMS MONITORING COMMITTEE IN NEPAL DISCUSSES KILLING OF PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN: The UN Mission in Nepals Chief Arms Monitor, General Jan Erik Wilhelmsen, today in Katmandu,

chaired the 73rd Meeting of the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee Participants, including representatives of the Nepal Army and the Maoist army, discussed the reports connected to the killing of Ram Hari Shrestha, a businessman and Maoist supporter. The Committee chairman shared the results of the preliminary inquiry conducted by UNMIN arms monitors. All agreed this was a serious violation of the Agreement of Monitoring the Management of Arms and Armies reached between the communist Party of Nepal and the then Government, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

LETTER FROM PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED: In response to a question, Okabe said that the Secretary-General had not yet received a letter purportedly from the Pakistani Prime Minister seeking UN assistance in investigating and prosecuting the murder of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.