United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-03-03

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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, March 3, 2008

U.N. HELICOPTER CARRYING 10 CRASHES IN NEPAL

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has learned with great sorrow the news of a UN helicopter crash some 85 kilometers east of Kathmandu today.

According to latest information received, the helicopter was carrying seven UNMIN (United Nations Mission in Nepal) personnel and three crew. The following statement was issued by UNMIN this evening Nepal time:

The United Nations Mission in Nepal reports, at about 4 p.m. today Nepal time, it lost contact with a Mission helicopter which was returning to Kathmandu from the Maoist cantonment site at Sindhuli in the east of the country.

UNMIN has had contact with local authorities at Ramechhap district, who say that the helicopter crashed in the vicinity of the Bethan village, and that it has been located and that there are fatalities. UNMIN has sent a party by road to the site of the reported crash to confirm information.

Until the road party reports back, UNMIN will have no new additional information but we will try to provide regular updates as confirmed information is available.

UN headquarters is in close communications with UNMIN. More information will be provided as it becomes available."

Asked whether there were peacekeeping officials involved in the Nepal mission, the Spokeswoman noted that it was a political mission, but added that the UN mission includes arms monitors, who could have military expertise.

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS NEW RESOLUTION ON IRAN

The Security Council today held consultations on non-proliferation and Council members adopted a new resolution on Iran, by a vote of 14 in favor and 1 abstention, at a formal meeting after the consultations.

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on its programme of work tomorrow. After that, the new Council President for the month of March, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, will brief you in this room about the Councils work over the coming month, at approximately 11:30 a.m.

BAN KI-MOON EXHORTS RIGHTS COUNCIL TO MEET EXPECTATIONS

The Secretary-General addressed the new session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva today, telling its representatives that the question for the Council is whether it is fully meeting the high expectations which the international community has for it.

He said it is crucial for the Human Rights Council to recognize and promote the universal application of human rights values, without favour, without selectivity, and without being affected by any political machinations around the world.

No country, however powerful, should escape scrutiny of its record, commitments and actions on human rights, the Secretary-General stressed.

The Secretary-General added that he has mobilized the entire UN family in its campaign for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With concrete initiatives and result-oriented advocacy, this effort will bring us closer to the goal of fully integrating human rights in all aspects of the work of the United Nations, he said.

GAZA: U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES INVESTIGATION

The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process confirms that Israel has pulled back its ground forces from Gaza today.

Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNRWA,

said that the Agency is back to work resuming its delivery of assistance in Gaza, and reopening the schools that were closed there.

She noted problems for Gaza hospitals, which continue to lack sufficient medicines and spare parts. In the north of Gaza, attendance at UNRWA schools was reported to be zero. Elsewhere in the Strip, school attendance was between 40 and 65 per cent.

In Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in a statement on Monday, recognized Israels right to defend itself, but condemned the Israeli Defence Forces disproportionate use of force.

The High Commissioner called for an impartial investigation into the reported killing of dozens of civilians, including children, in the IDF operation in Gaza. Arbour also strongly condemned the rocket attacks by Palestinian militants against Israeli civilian targets.

BAN KI-MOON, SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMN MIDDLE EAST VIOLENCE

The Security Council held an emergency formal meeting on Saturday night in response to the violence in the Middle East, and the Secretary-General spoke to the Council about the deeply alarming escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel, and what he called the terrible civilian death toll.

The Secretary-General condemned Palestinian rocket attacks, and called for the immediate cessation of such acts of terrorism, which serve no purpose, endanger Israeli civilians, and bring misery to the Palestinian people.

While recognizing Israel's right to defend itself, he condemned the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children, and called on Israel to cease such attacks. Israel must fully comply with international humanitarian law and exercise the utmost restraint, he said.

After the meeting and consultations, the new Council President, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, summarized the Councils discussions, saying that Council members are deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life in Southern Israel and Gaza and condemn the escalation of violence that has taken place.

He added that the acts that have taken place must not be allowed to deter the political process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at establishing two states - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security.

SPOKESPERSON CLARIFIES BAN KI-MOONS COMMENT

ON WEAPON SMUGGLING AT RAFAH CROSSING

We had a number of questions and expressions of concern with regard to the reference in the Secretary-General's statement to the Security Council on Saturday on allegations of arms smuggling during the period of the border breach at Rafah.

This was based on available information at the time of the briefing, including reports in the New York Times on 1 March, and on briefings by the Government of Israel to the diplomatic community.

We would like to state for the record today that the Government of Egypt has denied these allegations.

Asked whether the Secretary-General often puts into his briefings information that is received from one government or from media sources, the Spokeswoman said that, although that does not happen often, in this case, there was an emergency session of the Council, so the Secretary-General provided the information he had, and said what his sources of information were.

MIDDLE EAST SPECIAL ENVOY TOURS REGION

Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Implementation of

Resolution 1559, met yesterday in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, to whom he gave a letter from the Secretary-General about the situation in Lebanon.

Mr. Larsen also met with Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa in Cairo, and they discussed the current impasse in Lebanon related to the Presidential election.

After his meeting with President Mubarak, Mr. Larsen told the press that Egypt and the United Nations share the same deep concern about the stalemate in Lebanon.

Mr. Larsen spoke yesterday on the phone with the Secretary-General to debrief him on his talks on Lebanon. Last week, Mr. Larsen delivered a letter from the Secretary-General to the heads of state of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia about the same issue.

BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR RESTRAINT IN

COLOMBIAS DISPUTE WITH ECUADOR AND VENEZUELA

The Secretary-General is concerned about the increased tensions and heightened rhetoric emerging over the weekend involving Colombia and its neighbours, Ecuador and Venezuela.

He urges restraint and calls on all three countries to address their shared concerns in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation that has traditionally characterised their relations.

ARMENIAS POLITICAL VIOLENCE HAS BAN KI-MOON DEEPLY CONCERNED

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the violent clashes between police forces and demonstrators in Armenia over the weekend.

It is his hope that these events, during which eight people died, will be thoroughly investigated.

The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise full restraint and to find a way out of the current crisis. He also urges the Armenian authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure a return to normalcy, including through a speedy lifting of the state of emergency.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour issued a statement yesterday and expressed particular concern about reports of the use of force against peaceful demonstrators and the detention of opposition protestors. She called upon the authorities to exercise the utmost restraint and ensure that due process is followed.

PEACEKEEPERS HURRY TO QUELL VIOLENCE IN DR CONGO PROVINCE

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has condemned the latest outburst of deadly violence in the Bas-Congo province. The Mission says it is dispatching additional peacekeepers to the region to prevent further violence and appeals to the parties for restraint.

And in its human rights report for January, which was released today, the Mission says that 31 children are among a group of detainees transferred from the northeast to Kinshasa for interrogation by the Congolese military on suspicions of spying and treason.

UN human rights officers are in discussion with Congolese authorities to find a solution to their situation.

The report also repeats the charge that troops loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda killed some 30 people on January and 16 and 17 near the village of Kalonge. The killings were planned and civilians were deliberately targeted, the report says.

And summary executions, torture, rape and other serious rights abuses by all parties continued unabated, with Congolese journalists suffering physical violence in trying to report these abuses.

PEACEKEEPERS COMPLETE PREPARATION

FOR TEMPORARY RELOCATION FROM ERITREA

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) says that it has completed the regrouping of UN peacekeepers and their equipment in Asmara this past weekend.

The Mission says it closed its two last posts in the Barentu area.

All UN peacekeepers have now left the Temporary Security Zone and are in the Eritrean capital, with the exception of 112 military personnel who are awaiting further instructions in Assab.

UN military personnel in Ethiopia have not been affected by this relocation.

HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL IN SUDAN CALLS

FOR UNIMPEDED ACCESS FOR RELIEF WORKERS

Outlining the devastating impact of intensified violence on civilians in West Darfur, the UN team in Sudan is calling on all parties to the fighting to grant humanitarian workers unimpeded access to victims in the affected areas.

At a press briefing in Khartoum today, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan and Deputy Special Representative to the Secretary-General Ameerah Haq, stressed the particular need for access to the Jebel Moun area, which Sudanese National Security had granted but the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has denied.

Safe humanitarian access to affected communities was vital for the UN and its partners to continue providing food, medical supplies, plastic sheeting and blankets as well as to restore and treat water supplies, she said.

The UN estimated that up to 58,000 people remained affected, she said.

During two inter-agency assessment visits to communities affected by recent fighting, mainly Sirba and Sileah, the UN team had witnessed burnt homes and the destruction or looting of health clinics, schools, water systems and aid agencies compounds.

WFP noted, which had already delivered enough supplies for 49,000 people in the area, described the food security situation as very critical.

The UN team also expressed concern about the impact of fighting on women and children, especially those who had become separated from their families and remained unaccounted for. Efforts were underway to trace them and reunify them with their families.

Five years into this conflict, civilians are losing all hope in our ability to protect them and keep them safe, Ms. Haq said.

SPECIAL ADVISER TO TRAVEL TO MYANMAR TOMORROW

The Special Adviser of the Secretary-General, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari has been invited to travel to Myanmar by the Government and will depart tomorrow.

Mr. Gambari will arrive in Myanmar on 6 March and hopes to stay as long as necessary and to consult with a broad range of representatives of Myanmar society, including all the groups which he was not able to see during his last visit. The details of the programme are being discussed with the authorities.

Mr. Gambari looks forward to the continued cooperation of the Myanmar Government.

BAN KI-MOON: MEETING DEVELOPMENT GOALS A TOP PRIORITY

In the afternoon in Geneva, the Secretary-General addressed the 43rd Executive Session of the Trade and Development Board of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which he noted was taking place in the crucial period leading up to this Aprils UNCTAD-Twelve Conference in Accra.

He reminded participants that development issues were high on his agenda. He noted that he has asked for 2008 to be the year of the bottom billion and that we have to reenergize our efforts towards the Millennium Development Goals.

The Secretary-General also conducted a number of bilateral meetings today, including with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO EUROPE

The Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, is in Vienna, where tomorrow she will attend a meeting on UN Systemwide Coherence, convened by the UN Industrial Development Organization. While in Vienna, she will also meet with Austrias foreign minister.

On Wednesday, the Deputy Secretary-General travels to Brussels, where she will attend an extraordinary joint meeting of the European Parliaments External Relations and Development Committees, and hold a private meeting with the Crown Prince and Princess of Belgium. On Thursday, she will attend a high-level conference on Women: Stabilizing an Insecure World.

The Deputy Secretary-General will be back in New York on Thursday.

GREECE, F.Y.R. OF MACEDONIA MET WITH U.N. OFFICIAL IN DISPUTE OVER NAME

The Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for Greece and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Matthew Nimetz, met with representatives of the two sides separately on Friday, here in New York. He received their detailed feedback on his latest proposal concerning the name issue.

Then, on Saturday, Nimetz met together with the two sides. He later said that both parties want to continue the process and make progress and will consult with their respective Governments on next steps.

However, a substantial gap remains between the two sides positions, and no new proposals were made, Nimetz reported.

DREW BARRYMORE GIVES $1 MILLION TO WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

Actress Drew Barrymore announced this morning on the Oprah Winfrey show a donation of $1 million to WFP to feed school children in Kenya.

Together with WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran, she is visiting the Chicago Board of Trade agricultural trading floor today as part of WFPs efforts to raise awareness about hunger and crisis of rising prices for humanitarian operations.

Rising food prices, rooted in increased energy prices, competition between biofuels and food, rising demand from economic growth in countries such as China and India, and increasing climatic shocks such as droughts and floods are affecting millions of people are hitting hardest those living on the razor thin line of poverty.

A 40 percent rise in commodity prices alone since mid 2007 is drastically affecting WFPs budget and ability to literally Fill the Cup of school children around the world.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

AFGHAN WOMEN FACE HIGH MATERNAL MORTALITY: The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) told a press conference in Kabul in advance of International Women's Day that the biggest challenge that Afghan women face is maternal health and high maternal mortality. A staggering 24,000 women die in childbirth, about 25 times the number of people dying in security-related violent incidents, it says. Why is this happening? It is because girls are married very young. More than half the girls are married before they are 18, some as young as eight years old.

FUNDS ARE SOUGHT FOR SRI LANKA PROJECTS: The Interagency Standing Committee Country Team in Sri Lanka has issued its 2008 Common Humanitarian Action plan for humanitarian and early recovery assistance. It seeks nearly $150 millions for more than 100 projects. Food aid makes up one third of the plan, which will focus on the needs of conflict-affected communities in the north as well as displaced persons in the east.

TRIBUNAL ON FORMER YUGOSLAVIA SWEARS IN ADDITIONAL JUDGES: Three ad litem or temporary judges were sworn in today in The Hague before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal said that the additional three judges will make it possible for it to start two new trials this month. This will increase the Tribunals efficiency by bringing the number of concurrent trials to eight. Judges Pedro R. David (Argentina), Elizabeth Gwaunza (Zimbabwe) and Michele Picard (France) took up their new duties today, bringing to number of ad litem judges serving at the Tribunal to fifteen.

CONVICTED RWANDAN GENOCIDAIRE IS RELEASED AFTER SERVING FULL SENTENCE: The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda said that convicted genocidaire Vincent Rutaganira has served up his sentence and was released from prison yesterday. Rutaganira was sentenced in March 2005 to 6 years in prison after his conviction for crimes against humanity committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.He was specifically prosecuted aiding and abetting by omission the killings of more than 1,000 ethnic Tutsis at a church in the Gishyita area, where he was among the highest ranking state officials.

WORLD HEALTH STAFF MEET IN UGANDA: The First Global Forum on Human Resources for Health is meeting all this week in Kampala, Uganda. In a message to those gathered, the Secretary-General noted that almost 60 countries, most of them in Africa, face such critical shortages of workers that they are unable to provide basic health care to all of their people. To address the crisis, cooperation is needed in such areas as migration, development, and financing, he said.

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