United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-08-29

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

BAN KI-MOON VOICES CONCERN OVER

POST-ELECTION TENSIONS IN SIERRA LEONE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once again commends the people of Sierra Leone for the peaceful and orderly manner in which the first round of the electoral process was held.

He is however concerned about the tensions and violence that have been increasing in Sierra Leone since last week.

He calls on all parties and their leaders to do everything necessary to prevent the situation from escalating.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO ITALY ON WAY

TO SUDAN, CHAD AND LIBYA

The Secretary-General will leave headquarters tonight for a trip to Turin, Italy, before travelling to Sudan, Chad and Libya.

In Turin, he will chair a three-day retreat for Under Secretary-Generals and Assistant Secretary-Generals of the UN system at the UN staff college.

In a series of intensive meetings, the group will discuss UN global issues and reforms, focusing on delivering results.

It will examine the UN's readiness and capacity to perform its duties, including but not limited to promoting peace and security.

The Turin retreat provides an opportunity for the UN's senior managers to explore and suggest ways of better managing the organization, and improving its effectiveness.

Apart from these concrete objectives, it is expected that the retreat would promote unity of purpose and common understanding of the UN and its priorities.

The Secretary General is expected to arrive in Khartoum early next week.

The Spokeswoman, in response to a question, said that about 80 UN officials will be taking part in the Turin retreat. The Italian government, she added, would be bearing most of the financial cost of the retreat.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS DEBATE ON MIDDLE EAST SITUATION

The Security Council is holding an open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

Michael Williams, the Secretary-General Special Coordinator for the

Middle East peace process, briefed Council members, saying that the substantive dialogue developing between Palestinian President Mamoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and the reform efforts of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, have created growing expectations.

He added that the anticipated engagement of Quartet Representative Tony Blair, more active regional diplomacy, and preparations for a series of high profile international meetings, especially the planned November gathering called by U.S. President George Bush, reinforce these efforts.

On the situation in Gaza, Williams said that while Hamas has brought some order to the streets of Gaza, its actions are taking place outside the framework of the rule of law and the institutions of Palestinian authority. This has generated concerns about respect for human rights and then future development of the Strip.

UNITED NATIONS RESPONDS TO CHOLERA OUTBREAK IN IRAQ

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) is supporting a team from the World Health Organization (WHO) that is responding to a request by the Iraqi government in assisting people affected by a cholera outbreak in the northern town of Sulemaniyah.

So far, authorities have

confirmed some 5,000 cases since 10 August, including 5 deaths. Another 10 deaths were reported in nearby Kirkuk, where some 50 people are now being treated for cholera-related complications.

The UNAMI-WHO team began an investigation of the outbreak upon the request of the Iraqi- Kurdistan Minister of Health on 26 August. The team reports that at least two hospitals in the stricken region have been treating some 2,000 cases of diarrhea.

WHO will now create a surveillance system for water quality control, food inspection, and case findings and management while UNICEF will support with Oral Re-hydration therapy.

ANGELINA JOLIE CONCLUDES VISIT WITH REFUGEES IN IRAQ AND SYRIA

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday concluded her first visit to Iraq and Syria, where she heard tales of extraordinary resilience and courage from Iraqi refugees.

Jolie said she wanted to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis and urged governments to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners.

At the makeshift Al Waleed camp inside Iraq, Jolie walked among the tattered tents in a bleak area where there is no running water or electricity, and no respite from the blistering desert heat. She spent a lot of time with sick children and elderly refugees, and inspected a site where UNHCR is building a school for the children among the 1,300 refugees.

Asked for the Secretary-General's reaction to claims by non-governmental organizations that some 600,000 Iraqis have lost their lives due to the conflict in their country, Montas said that the United Nations has been unable to publish casualties figures since the Iraqi government, upon whose tally it relied, has stopped making the figures available.

On the number of refugees and internally displaced people, Montas explained that relevant UN specialized agencies are active on the ground, working with the displaced population and they do provide numbers.

SUDAN: U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR IS CONCERNED

BY FORCED DEPARTURE OF NGO DIRECTOR

John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief

Coordinator, expressed his surprise and concern today at the departure from Sudan of Paul Barker, Country Director for CARE, one of the worlds largest international non-governmental organizations.

I am disappointed that Mr. Barker had to leave the country in this way. The reasons given by some government officials to Mr. Barker for his departure appear to be specious, Holmes said. I very much hope that this is actually a misunderstanding that can be resolved as soon as possible so that Mr. Barker may resume his vitally important humanitarian activities.

CARE is a significant provider of humanitarian assistance to some four million people across Sudan, and is a vital partner for the United Nations humanitarian community.

Holmes stressed that the manner of Mr. Barkers departure has clearly undermined both the spirit and letter of the Joint Communiqué on the Facilitation of Humanitarian Activities in Darfur, signed earlier this year by the Government of Sudan and the United Nations.

U.N. SENDS ASSESSMENT TEAM TO ETHIOPIAS SOMALI REGION

The United Nations will

launch, tomorrow, August 30, a humanitarian assessment mission in Ethiopias Somali Region.

The team will focus on assessing humanitarian needs of the population, in particular, the level of access to food, water, health and nutrition services, as well as the livelihood situation of populations in the areas of the region affected by the current security operations.

The assessment mission will also monitor the dispatches and distributions of emergency food aid to beneficiaries.

The mission includes staff from the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), among others.

MINISTERIAL MEETING ADDRESSES TRADE CHALLENGES

OF LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, Cheikh Sidi Diarra, undertook his first official meeting since assuming his functions.

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, he addressed a ministerial meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries on trade facilitation. He said that high transport costs and other regulatory constraints were the greatest impediment to these countries trade competitiveness.

Diarra stressed the importance of regional cooperation in trade facilitation and said this would require political will, good governance as well as improved peace and security.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME CALLS FOR UNHINDERED ACCESS FOR FOOD DELIVERIES IN NEPAL

In Nepal, the World Food Programme (WFP) is urging all parties and individuals to provide unhindered access for WFP, so that critical humanitarian assistance can be delivered to flood affected populations in a timely and safe manner.

WFP Country Representative, Richard Ragan in a press statement today said, should WFP staff and trucks carrying humanitarian food aid continue to face challenges in movement and delivery of services to flood-affected populations, it will be forced to suspend these operations.

Despite receiving assurances from multiple parties to ensure the unhindered movement of WFPs delivery of humanitarian food assistance for flood victims in the Terai region, WFP staff and trucks are still not being permitted to move along highways in Terai during strike periods.

IN BELIZE, CONCERN OVER CHILD HEALTH IN WAKE OF HURRICAN DEAN

In Belize, UNICEF is expressing concern over the health of children and vulnerable people in the wake of Hurricane Dean which affected 10 percent of the population of that country.

The agency reports that despite efforts some communities have yet to receive the support needed. Many people are using poor quality water which can increase the risk of water-borne diseases and food is in short supply.

UNICEF is working with the World Food Programme (WFP) in the provision of food to one thousand families for two months and is seeking additional support to address the ongoing lack of food and water, a shortage of medicines.

NATIONAL STAFF RESUME WORK AT U.N. MISSION IN DR-CONGO

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports that as of yesterday, all national staff members who took part in the recent work stoppage have fully resumed work.

The Mission says that its leadership continues the discussions it began last week with the national staff representatives. William Lacy Swing, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC, has reiterated his commitment to finding a comprehensive solution to the cause of the work stoppage, saying that the national staff is unquestionable one of the Missions key assets and appealing to them to continue to show up for work while negotiations proceed.

Meanwhile, the Mission has held up its informal role of mediator between troops loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda and government soldiers in the northeastern provinces. The Mission is engaging both sides in dialogue to diffuse the tensions. On Monday, Mission officials facilitated a meeting between the parties in the town of Mushake.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARY-GENERAL AND ICC PROSECUROT DISCUSS COURT ACTIVITIES AND IMPUNITY IN SUDAN: In response to a question, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court yesterday discussed the activities of the Court and the issue of impunity in Sudan. She later added that, for the Secretary-General, justice is an important part of building and sustaining peace, and that a culture of impunity undermines peace.

QUIET DIPLOMACY USED FOR RELEASE OF KOREAN HOSTAGES IN AFGHANISTAN: The Spokeswoman, in response to a question, declined to comment on whom the Secretary-General spoke with in his efforts to obtain the release of Koran nationals held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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