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Thursday, 15 August 2024
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United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-09-28United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgARCHIVESHIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BANK KI-MOON Friday, September 28, 2007U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN MYANMAR ON SATURDAY The Government of Myanmar has agreed to a visit by the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, beginning Saturday. In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the authorities in Myanmar to engage in a constructive dialogue with his Special Adviser and to commit to a path of peaceful and inclusive national reconciliation. Gambari is currently in Singapore, where he held meetings today at the Foreign Ministry. Asked for an update on the mission to Myanmar by Ibrahim Gambari, the Spokesman said that Gambari is expected to travel to Myanmar on Saturday afternoon (local time), which would be very early on Saturday morning in New York. Asked whom Gambari will meet, Haq said that he will be meeting all the important players, adding that Gambari's schedule of appointments was being finalized now. The Spokesman, in response to question, said that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has not reported any increase in the number of Myanmar refugees in Thailand. While this was the case in the past when there was fighting between armed groups, the agency does not anticipate a similar development this time. Even so, the agency continues to monitor the situation, Haq added. Asked to comment on news reports that the Myanmar Government has restricted Internet traffic in and out of the country in a bid to curtail the flow of humanitarian and other information, Haq said that the United Nations would wait to hear from Gambari before commenting on this matter. He added, however, that the United Nations encourages all governments to facilitate the free flow of information, including humanitarian information. Asked if there is a United Nations presence in the country, Haq said that there is a UN country team led by Charles Petrie, the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. The team based in Myanmar includes staff from UNAIDS, FAO, UNOCD, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, WHO and ILO. Asked if the United Nations had anticipated the eruption of mass protest in the country, Haq said that it is hard to anticipate the level of any situation before it occurs. Even so, Haq said, Special Envoy Gambari had traveled to Myanmar in the past, has been monitoring the situation and recently briefed the Security Council on conditions on the ground. Asked how Gambari became the focal point on Myanmar, the Spokesman said that until the end of last year, Gambari was the head of the Department of Political Affairs, with overall responsibility for the Organization's political work. He served in that capacity for more than a year and a half, and has political experience on a range of issues. SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES MYANMAR AUTHORITIES TO EXERCISE RESTRAINT The Secretary-General spoke to the foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement this morning, detailing the current state of UN efforts to deal with, among other things, Darfur, the Middle East, Iraq, Myanmar, the Millennium Development Goals and global poverty. On Myanmar, he noted that recent developments are causing grave concern, and he urged the authorities there to exercise restraint, engage without delay in dialogue, release detained leaders, and initiate a national reconciliation process. He said that he counts on the Non-Aligned Movements support as he is to propose to the General Assembly that the Department for Political Affairs be strengthened significantly. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON MYANMAR In Geneva today, the President of the Human Rights Council received a request, signed by 17 Member States of the Human Rights Council, for a Special Session to be held on Myanmar. The President said the Special Session will be held this Tuesday. Open-ended consultations on the conduct and organization of the Special Session will be held this Monday. In related news, the Human Rights Council today adopted a number of resolutions as it wrapped up the first part of its sixth session. Among other actions, the Council extended the mandates of the Working Group on arbitrary detention, the Special Rapporteur on human rights of indigenous people and the Independent Expert on human rights in Burundi. The Council also created the post of Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and set up the Forum on Minority Issues. SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS PANEL OF SUDAN SANCTIONS EXPERTS FOR ONE YEAR This morning, the Security Council approved a resolution extending by one year, until 29 September 2008, the mandate of the panel of experts dealing with sanctions imposed on Sudan. The Council then began a meeting to hear a briefing from the chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Miguel Angel Moratinos. On Thursday afternoon, the Council President, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France, issued a statement to the press, saying that Council members called for the holding of a free and fair presidential election in Lebanon, in conformity with the Lebanese constitutional norms and schedules and without any foreign interference. U.N. FULLY RESPECTS AFRICAN CHARACTER OF DARFUR DEPLOYMENT Asked for a reaction on Egypt's reported contention that the United Nations had not accepted troop offers from African nations for the hybrid operation in Sudan, the Spokesman said that the United Nations is committed to fully respect the fundamentally African character of the deployment. At the same time, he explained, there are some specialized services that the Organization needs to ensure that the force is as strong as possible and for which it may look to countries outside of Africa. The composition of the force, he added, was being finalized. SOMALIA: U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY BEGINS DISTRIBUTING AID TO THOUSANDS WHO FLED MOGADISHU The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that yesterday it began distributing much needed relief supplies to some 24,000 people who have fled the recent intensification of violence in Mogadishu. Plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans are being given out over a three-day period. UNHCR reports that so many displaced people have joined the existing settlements along the road leading west from Mogadishu, that the road is sometimes completely impassable. U.N. AGENCIES ASSIST THOUSANDS AFFECTED BY UGANDA FLOODING The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have distributed more than a thousand metric tons of food to nearly 82,000 people affected by floods in Uganda. WFP is planning to distribute food to an additional 25,000 people. Meanwhile, UNICEF has distributed emergency health kits to treat 11,000 people for three months, and is providing health care for 48,000 children for one month. UNICEF is also providing measles and polio vaccines, as well as insecticide-treated nets and water purification tablets. It also has cholera supplies standing by for up to 10,000 cases. SECRETARY-GENERALS AFGHANISTAN REPORT REVIEWS NUMEROUS IMPORTANT ISSUES OF CONCERN TO THE U.N. Asked to explain perceived discrepancies between the Secretary-General's periodic reports and a recent one by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in particular as they pertain to suicide bombings in that country, the Spokesman later said that the report by UNAMA was not an official document of the United Nations. It contained a great deal of information that does not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General's report, issued on 21 September, reflects the view of the Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan right now. The report, incidentally, goes over a number of important issues in Afghanistan that are of concern to us, of which suicide attacks are a part, but not the full story. TRIBUNAL SENTENCES TWO FORMER ARMY OFFICERS FOR ROLE IN VUKOVAR EXECUTIONS In a ruling delivered on Thursday, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced two former senior officers of the Yugoslav People's Army to lengthy prison terms and acquitted another of all charges against him. Mile Mrkić and Veselin ljivančanin received 20 years and 5 years, respectively, for their role in the November 1991 Ovčara executions, which followed the fall of the Croatian town of Vukovar. Mrkić was found guilty of aiding and abetting the murder, torture and cruel treatment of 194 non-Serb prisoners, while ljivančanin was convicted of aiding and abetting the torture of the prisoners. The third accused, Muroslav Radic, was cleared of all charges although the Tribunal has determined his role in helping to remove non-Serbs from a Vukovar Hospital and transport them to a building in Ovčara where they were beaten, tortured and eventually murdered. Asked for a comment on Croatia's stated displeasure at the Tribunal's ruling, the Spokesman said that the Tribunal, in its ruling, was following procedures and sentencing standards by which it normally operates. If there is a need to file an appeal, he added, there are specific procedures to follow. We would not second-guess the decision of our colleagues at the Tribunal, Haq said. Asked for additional comment on the fact that the Tribunal's prosecutor had expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, Haq noted that sentencing decisions are ultimately made by the Tribunal's judges. Asked if the Secretary-General had received an official letter from the Croatian Government protesting the verdict, the Spokesman later confirmed that the letter was received. He added that, in response to Croatia's request, the letter would be circulated as a document of the General Assembly and would be submitted to the Security Council in the coming days. DR CONGO: IMPROVEMENTS IN SECURITY ALLOWS AID TO GET THROUGH The World Food Programme (WFP) says that it is taking advantage of an improvement in security conditions the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide aid to displaced persons who had previously been impossible to reach. Despite improving security conditions, however, the UN refugee agency notes that recent fighting in North Kivu has led to more displacement and is highlighting reports of people fleeing into neighboring South Kivu province. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says its team on the ground is working to try to understand how many recent disease-related deaths have been caused by Ebola. SUBSTANCE REMOVED FROM U.N. AGENCY PREMISES WAS NOT HARMFUL The US authorities have concluded the analysis of substances removed from the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) premises and determined that these did not contain any harmful materials. The United Nations would like to thank the host country authorities for resolving this issue. Asked for the status of the work of the Secretary-General's blue-ribbon panel tasked with determining the nature of the substance found at UNMOVIC's office, the Spokesman said that the members of the panel appointed to look into the handling of materials by UNMOVIC have been reviewing documents. They have interviewed many people, both current and former staff, including some that were on the 1996 inspection that recovered the material. They are on target to complete their work and report on it before the end of October. THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS 29 September 05 October [This document is for planning purposes only and is subject to change] Monday, October 1 The General Debate of the 62nd session of the General Assembly continues through 3 October. Today is the first day of Ghanas presidency of the Security Council. Today is International Day of Older Persons. This years theme is "Addressing the Challenges and Opportunities of Ageing". In London and Geneva, the World Health Organization is launching its first Global Age-friendly Cities Guide. Today is International Habitat Day. The UNs Global Report on Human Settlements 2007: Enhancing Urban Safety and Security is scheduled to be launched today in The Hague, London, and Monterrey, Mexico. At UN Headquarters, UN-Habitat is organizing a special event on the theme A safe city is a just city from 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium. From today through Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee is meeting in Geneva. High Commissioner António Guterres and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes are scheduled to address the meeting today. From today through 3 October, the Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism takes place in Davos, Switzerland. Tuesday, October 2 From 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the General Assembly Hall, there will be an informal meeting of the GA plenary to observe the first International Day of Non-Violence. The GA President, the Secretary-General, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of South Africa and Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, India, are scheduled to make statements. Following the noon briefing, there will be a press conference by Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian of Ghana, in his capacity as the President of the Security Council for the month of October, on the Councils programme of work for the month. In Geneva, the Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold a Special Session on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Wednesday, October 3 From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 6, the Peacebuilding Commission will hold an informal, open meeting of its Burundi configuration. Thursday, October 4 Today and tomorrow, the General Assembly is holding a High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace. Beginning at 10 a.m., the resumed substantive session of the Economic and Social Council will take action on issues deferred from the July substantive session. Friday, October 5 Today is World Teachers Day. A briefing on the triennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development will take place today at 3 p.m. in Conference Room 4. Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations, S-378 New York, NY 10017 Tel. 212-963-7162 Fax. 212-963-7055 to the Spokesperson's Page United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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