United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-12-28

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, December 28, 2006

[Please note: There will be no noon briefings this week. News developments within the UN system will be posted on this website throughout this time period, and the noon briefings will resume on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.]

NEW SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL ARRIVE AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS ON TUESDAY MORNING

Following the New Years Day holiday, the new Secretary-General,

Ban Ki-moon, will arrive at UN Headquarters at 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, 2 January 2007, to begin his first day in office.

Secretary-General Ban has invited UN staff to Conference Room 1 at 10:30 a.m. that day, where he would like to greet all staff. The event will be linked by video-conference to all the main offices away from Headquarters

UN Headquarters will be closed on Friday for Eid holiday and on Monday for New Years Day, with normal work, including the resumption of the Spokesmans noon briefing, on Tuesday.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS U.N. WILL PRESS AHEAD ON IMPLEMENTING THREE-PHASE APPROACH IN DARFUR

Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended the Wednesday afternoon Security Council consultations on

Sudan and said that, during that meeting, his envoy to Khartoum, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, was able to give Council members the gist of his talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

President Bashir, the Secretary-General said, has accepted the three-phase approach presented by the United Nations and the African Union as a package, and the international community will have to implement it.

In response to questions from reporters, the Secretary-General acknowledged, Obviously, when there have been so many disappointments, it is only natural that there will be some doubts and hesitations. And this is a challenge for the Sudanese Government to prove to the international community that it means business. He added his hope that this time there will not be disappointments.

Following consultations, Security Council President Mutlaq Majed al-Qahtani of Qatar, in a press statement,

welcomed President Bashir's letter, which reconfirmed his commitment to previous agreements.

U.N. PERSONNEL ARRIVE TO SUPPORT A.U. MISSION IN SUDAN

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for

Sudan, Manuel Aranda Da Silva, arrived in El Fasher today with the initial group of 25 UN personnel being deployed as part of the light support package to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The group comprised 13 military staff officers and 12 police officers. Their new assignments take effect immediately.

After arriving from Khartoum via UN aircraft, Aranda Da Silva, along with the police and military officers, took part in an informal ceremony at the AMIS headquarters in El Fasher, attended by representatives of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), AMIS and the Government.

Todays deployment brings the UNs total police adviser presence in the Darfur to 21 and the total UNMIS uniformed presence in Darfur to 38. Thirty additional military staff officers currently in Khartoum will be deployed in the coming days.

Under the UNs light support package for AMIS, the UN will eventually provide 105 military advisers, 33 police advisers and 48 civilian staff, as well as equipment.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RECONCILIATION IN SOMALIA

The Secretary-General, in comments to the press on Wednesday, appealed to the Somali parties to go back to the negotiating table and seek reconciliation, and he also appealed to neighbouring countries to stay out of the countrys crisis and respect Somalias sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Asked about the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia, the Secretary-General said he had spoken to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi about that, and said that Meles had indicated that it is a limited operation and they will be out very shortly.

Although no large scale influx of war-related refugees into Kenya is yet taking place, significant internal displacement is occurring inside Somalia. Recent reports have indicated that an estimated 3,000 families have arrived in south Galkayo and unknown numbers in north Galkayo. Up to 1,000 displaced people have fled Beletwene, and as many as 14,000 have left Bay region.

The Security Council, following consultations on Somalia, was unable to agree on a draft Presidential Statement regarding that country.

U.N. MISSIONS SEND GREETINGS FOR EID, NEW YEAR

UN peacekeeping missions conveyed their greetings on the eve of the Eid holiday and of New Years Day.

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, conveyed his best wishes to the Iraqi people and noted that the last year was especially difficult for them, with sectarian, criminal, and insurgent and counterinsurgent violence sharply rising.

He warned that the level of displacement, both internal and external, threatens the very social fabric of Iraqi society and could have disastrous ramifications on its future and called on all Iraqis to come together at this season of festivities.

Joachim Rücker, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, told the people of Kosovo in his year-end message, We have come a long way in the status process led by Special Envoy [Martti] Ahtisaari. We have not reached the finish line yet, but I am confident that we will stick together and keep Kosovo on track as we reach the culmination of this process.

EMERGENCY FUND COMMITS $241 MILLION IN FIRST NINE MONTHS

The United Nations has committed $241 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for more than 328 projects in 31 countries during the first nine months of the Funds existence, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

OCHA said that $164 million was disbursed from the rapid response facility for new or rapidly deteriorating emergencies in 24 countries. An additional $77 million of the funds earmarked for use to redress imbalances in under-funded emergencies was distributed across 16 countries.

ANNAN MOURNS DEATH OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT FORD

The Secretary-General, in a statement, mourned the passing of former President Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, who died on Tuesday at the age of 93. He extends his sincere condolences to Mrs. Betty Ford, to the family of the former President and to the government and people of the United States.

President Ford will be remembered for the leadership, calm resolve and broad experience he brought to the presidency during a particularly difficult period. He will also be remembered for his support for the United Nations and the 1975 Helsinki process, which reaffirmed human rights as a legitimate value in world affairs.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

30 December 2006 5 January 2007

[This document is for planning purposes only and is subject to change.]

Sunday, December 31

Today is the last day of Qatars Presidency of the Security Council.

Monday, January 1

The UN will be closed in observance of New Years Day.

Today, the Russian Federation assumes the rotating Presidency of the Security Council.

Tuesday, January 2

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will today arrive at 9:30 a.m. at UN Headquarters for his first day in office. At 10:30 a.m., he will greet UN staff in Conference Room 1. The event will be linked by videoconference to all the main UN offices and be webcast for staff at other duty stations and missions.

Wednesday, January 3

The Security Council will hold consultations on its monthly work programme. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of the Russian Federation, President of the Council, will hold a press conference following those consultations.

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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