United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-03-10

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

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON'S

REMARKS AT

PRESS CONFERENCE

AFTER THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

AFRICA STEERING GROUP MEETING

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, March 10, 2008

[There was no noon briefing today by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

The noon briefings will resume tomorrow.]

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON'S OPENING REMARKS

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the media,

The MDG Africa Steering Group has just completed the second meeting. The level of collaboration representing leaders within the international development community is unprecedented. As has just been introduced by the Spokesperson, we have all the leaders of the world development pillars [African Union Commission, African Development Bank, World Bank, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, and OECD.]

The fact that we are here together to speak with one voice on the MDGs underscores the urgency we see in taking concrete action to achieve Goals in Africa.

We see important reasons to be optimistic. No new promises are needed to make 2008 the year of opportunity for the Bottom Billion. Tremendous gains are possible if the international community translates its commitments into deliverables.

The facts on the ground in Africa speak very clearly: with the exception of maternal mortality, each individual MDG will be reached in several African countries. We have seen plenty of successes due to carefully designed programmes and sound policies, backed up by strong Government leadership and support from the International Community. To mention just three examples: Malawi has drastically reduced child mortality rates, and Senegal is making rapid progress towards meeting the water and sanitation MDG targets. Tanzania has recorded creditable achievement in primary education.

These successes show what is possible. The challenge now is to replicate these successes in more countries.

This morning, we reviewed a first set of draft recommendations from the MDG Africa Working Group, chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General. We propose that African Governments work toward the following, with support from the international community by:

Working toward the launching an African Green Revolution to accelerate economic growth and combat hunger;

Implementing comprehensive school feeding programmes using locally produced food and ensuring coverage of micronutrients;

Achieving the Education for All Goals by 2015, including gender parity at all levels, and implement the Action Plan for the Second Decade on Education;

Controlling infectious diseases by:

o Providing comprehensive access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2010;

o Halving the burden of malaria from 2000 levels by 2010 and bringing malaria mortality close to zero by 2012;

o Implementing the Global Stop Tuberculosis Plan of Action; and

o Taking action to control Neglected Tropical Diseases by 2015;

Ensuring access to emergency obstetric care for all women by 2015;

Providing family planning services for all by 2015;

Meeting the water supply and sanitation MDG targets;

Making critical infrastructure investments in power, transportation, water and sanitation to raise productivity, ensure low-cost service delivery, and integrateAfrica into the global economy; and

Implementing the Marrakesh Action Plan for Statistics.

As you can see, we have identified a critical set of programmes that need to be implemented in coming years. We have also identified several pressing urgent challenges. In particular the dramatic rise in food prices underscores the pressing need to invest in raising agricultural productivity across Africa. At the same time, the high prices dramatically increase the need for additional resources to fight malnutrition and hunger. At least some $500 million will be required to meet the most urgent needs. Importantly the crisis provides us with a critical window of opportunity for improving access to markets and reducing subsidies for agriculture in rich countries. Rapid progress is possible and needed in the Doha Round of trade negotiations, and we call on all participants to take the necessary decisions to move forward.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The systems, knowledge and tools are in place to meet ambitious targets in each area, an effort that will save millions of lives and empower African countries to achieve sustained growth. To finance these programmes, African countries need to mobilize domestic resources, and receive the support promised by development partners. In some areas, particularly in infrastructure, the private sector can provide important co-financing.

In particular, the Steering Group has identified the lack of aid predictability, poor alignment with country systems, and inadequate division of labour among donors as major constraints. We call on development partners to issue schedules for how aid will be increased and make greater progress in implementing the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The upcoming high-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra provides an important opportunity to do so.

It is our hope that the Steering Groups detailed recommendations in the areas I have outlinedrecommendations which will soon be shared publiclywill encourage world leaders to focus on the specific steps that need to be agreed at the upcoming summits and international conferences on development later this year to reach the MDGs in Africa. We see a lot of leadership from African Governments on these issues, and we are committed to working with them to support the design and implementation of country-led strategies and programmes.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that on 25 September this year, the President of the General Assembly and I will convene a high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals. The event will bring together world leaders, civil society and the private sector to help translate existing commitments into action. It is my sincere hope that this event will make a real difference in bridging the implementation gap, and strengthen the accountability of all parties in the global partnership for development.

Thank you very much. And with this, ladies and gentlemen, we will try to answer your questions."

Question: On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association, we welcome you and thank you for holding this forum. I wanted to ask you, Mr. Secretary-General, or anyone else whod care to answer: The advisory says that sub-Saharan Africa is the region that is most off track to achieving the Goals. If you could tell us which Goals are most off track. Your Special Adviser last week told the reporters that, for example, it was highly unlikely that the Goal of reducing maternal mortality rates would be achieved.

The Secretary-General: We have made good progress on balance, but unfortunately we have not seen any single country in sub-Saharan regions which is on track, including all the major Goals of the MDGs. That is exactly why I have initiated this MDG African Group. We need to focus the international communitys overall efforts and cooperation to help and encourage African countries, including sub-Saharan countries, to get on board, including all the MDG Goals.

Mortality child and maternal mortality will be one of the very serious areas, but overall we need to work very hard, even though we have seen some success stories in primary education, sanitation or productivity of agriculture. But we need very active participation and commitment by the African countries to [make] that possible. We need more resources and aid to those countries.

Question: Mr. Secretary-General, one area of the world outside Africa where the Millennium Development Goals are being threatened by a repressive regime is Myanmar. Your envoy, Mr. Gambari, just left Myanmar. How disappointed are you that he was unable to get agreement from the junta for United Nations monitoring of elections there or for any amendment of the constitution that would allow Aung San Suu Kyi to run for office, and that he wasnt able to also see General Than Shwe?

The Secretary-General: I understand that the Spokesperson has clearly said that this press conference will be limited to only the development agenda.

But Ive been closely briefed by Mr. Gambari. He has been staying there two more days. Of course, he was not able to meet with Senior General Than Shwe, but he has met many senior people, even including the constitution drafting and review committee members. That was unusual. There was some progress, but we were not able to achieve as much as we had hoped. This is an ongoing effort. But I will continue to press this issue so that Myanmar will meet the expectations of the international community towards democratization. Thank you very much.

Question: Yes, Mr. Secretary-General. Since most of the international donors are here, I would like to ask you: how far do you think the agricultural policies adopted by the European Union and the United States are responsible in blocking market access of developing countries to their markets, and how far has this helped in deteriorating the food situation in Africa?

The Secretary-General: Agricultural productivity, as well as food security, was one of the most important issues which we have discussed. As I have briefly outlined in my statement, we have agreed to work towards launching an African Green Revolution Fund. We have general consensus agreement that there needs to be more resources flowing to help Africans to raise the productivity of agriculture. It is those people who are really suffering from this price rise of food. Therefore, we will continue to work on the exact modalities what modality we will have. But I can tell you that we have broad consensus that we need to do more on this matter.

Question: This is addressed to the Secretary-General, and also to Mr. Kaberuka of the African Development Bank. I am just curious, in dealing with Africa and the Millennium Goals and putting money into the system into Africa there have been several problems that have been raised, and Mr. Kaberuka and I discussed this about a year and a half ago, where there was statistical evidence from various countries that is not really reliable. But secondly, the influence of Chinese investment into Africa, as we all well know, has been great, and I am just wondering what your feeling is. Is that investment into infrastructure or for commodities or for agricultural production diverting Africa from following through and meeting the Goals, because they basically have the honey pot of China putting money in, so people feel good and comfortable for the short term, but the long-term goals are being either avoided or ignored for the time being? And yet were halfway through to 2015, and yet youre still dealing with these issues, and you still havent come to grips with what is actually needed to be done, properly.

The Secretary-General: In addressing MDG Goals as well as helping African countries to attain this target goal, it would be necessary to provide assistance, aid as well as some structural and instrumental support. The capacity of having good statistical assessment capacity in many countries in Africa will be crucially important. Indeed, this was one of the topics which we have discussed this morning, together with aid predictability and aid effectiveness, as I have said. Theres, again, consensus agreement among the members of the Steering Group that we need to support the African countries to strengthen the capacity in having correct and good statistical systems.

This is what we are going to do. For a detailed estimate how much we may need or what kind of support we will do this working group will dwell on this, together with how we can ensure, on the part of donors, to enhance the aid predictability to the African countries, so that they can draw their own national economic development policies on the basis of pledges and commitments which may be under their disposal.

In helping these MDG Goals [to be] realized, we have very significant commitments, done by G-8 at the Gleneagles, and OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] and non-OECDs, and the business communities and other donors. I think that Chinas very active investment and trade relationship with African countries should be regarded as part of this cooperation as non-OECD countries.

I will not comment anything more in detail on any individual countrys trade or economic cooperation policies.

Question: South Korea is an example of a country that has become one of the most successful countries at developing and spreading broadband access to the Internet. What provisions are there to learn lessons from such examples and to take those lessons and build on them in the work thats being done in the MDGs? And I know there are pioneers from South Korea who care about the Internet spreading in Africa, and they want to be helpful in any way they can. So is there some mechanism how that can happen? So that is a question for the Secretary-General and for Mr. Konaré, and then I have a second follow-up on that.

The Secretary-General: There may be many good examples and success stories. Even you can find in African countries - as I have said, three successful cases in Africa. You mentioned about my own country, South Koreas, examples.

Overall, I think this digital divide is one of the serious problems. As we are going through this information and technology era, without being able to have capacity in information technology, these countries may lag behind more and more. That really is a very frustrating situation. As I have been travelling in many African countries and developing countries, this digital divide is a very serious one. Therefore, this is one of the areas on which we focus attention. In fact, the General Assembly has held many meetings on how to bridge this gap in the digital divide.

Now, you have mentioned South Koreas example. There may be many things. When I travel in Africa, I have been telling some of the United Nations country teams that if African countries learn from South Korean success stories, particularly this self-help spirit. Rwanda seems to be one of these examples where they really try to learn from Korean examples, which was known as the campaign New Community Movement. That was a campaign which was done in South Korea in the early 70s and 80s. This was part of a Government initiative, which has been joined by whole rural villages. Through their own self-help spirit and with financial and material support from the Government, they have transformed their villages to modern villages in many areas, starting from very simple ways: cleaning their villages, and trying to educate and trying to strengthen the capacity of the village leaders, who can really act as agents of change.

This has become very competitive among the villages all throughout South Korea. You will see how South Korea has transformed, particularly in their early stage of economic development. I was impressed when President [Paul] Kagame of Rwanda was reading materials on this New Community Movement, which was provided by South Korea.

Then, in fact, when I visited some other African countries, I really advised the United Nations country teams: Why dont you try to do this kind of campaign so that African people, villagers, they can start on their own? Of course, the international community should provide the necessary funds and aid, but just receiving aid is not an answer. As President Konaré said this morning very clearly, eloquently, that Africans should also have their own sense of ownership, their participation. That will be very much important.

If any country needs any materials or technical assistance, I can talk to the South Korean Government to provide such assistance.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE U.N. SYSTEM

BAN KI-MOON URGES ISRAEL TO HALT SETTLEMENT EXPANSION

The Secretary-General expresses his concern over the Government of Israels approval of a resumption of construction of 750 housing units in the West Bank settlement of Givat Zeev.

Any settlement expansion is contrary to Israels obligations under the Road Map and to international law.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Israel to halt settlement expansion and reiterates that the fulfillment of Road Map obligations by both parties is an important measure underpinning the political process between them.

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES OUTCOME OF RIO GROUP SUMMIT

The Secretary-General welcomes the outcome of the Rio Group Summit this weekend, which further facilitates the resolution of recent tensions between Colombia and Ecuador.

This development complements earlier action by the Organization of American States and underlines the effective role that can be played by regional mechanisms to promote dialogue and cooperation.

U.N. ENVOY WRAPS UP VISIT TO MYANMAR

The Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, today briefed the diplomatic corps, on the outcome of his mission to Myanmar from 6 to 10 March. He also met with the UN Country Team there.

Later in the day, he met with the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for the second time during this visit.

He also met again with the Spokes Authoritative Team, which speaks on behalf of the Government. In Mr. Gambari's meetings, the team was led by the Minister for Information, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Culture as two members.

Mr. Gambari has left Myanmar and will be reporting to the Secretary General this week.

Over the weekend, the Special Advisor met with U Soe Tha, Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Kyaw Myint, Minister for Health, Dr. Than Nyun, Chairman of Civil Service Selection and Training Board and U Kyaw Thu, Deputy Foreign Minister, at the National Defense College Guest House.

On Saturday, he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the Sein Le Kantha State House for an hour and a half. Mr. Gambari also met separately with representatives of the of the National League for Democracy, the Pa-O National Organization, the National Unity Party and the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA).

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES LEBANON

The Security Council today is holding consultations on the implementation of resolution 1701, concerning Lebanon. It received a briefing on the Secretary-Generals latest report on that topic from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe.

That report noted that the Governments of both Israel and Lebanon have reaffirmed their commitment to resolution 1701, and that relative calm has been maintained on the ground. Hezbollahs Deputy Secretary-General on 5 March also said that Hezbollah does not want to initiate a conflict with Israel.

At the same time, the report notes the continuing paralysis of state institutions in Lebanon.

Also this morning, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet briefed the Council on the work being done by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

AFGHANISTAN REPORT NOTES NEED FOR

STRENGTHENED COORDINATION ROLE BY U.N. MISSION

In his latest report to the General Assembly and Security Council on Afghanistan, the Secretary-General says that the political transition in that country continues to face serious challenged two years after the adoption of the Afghanistan Compact.

The Taliban and related armed groups and the drug economy represent fundamental threats to still-fragile political, economic and social institutions, he says.

Following last Septembers high-level meeting on Afghanistan, the Secretary-General writes that agreement has emerged on the need for the UN Mission in Afghanistans coordination capacity to be strengthened.

UNAMA activities, the report says, should be guided by enhanced coordination, political outreach, subnational governance, humanitarian coordination, elections and strengthened cooperation with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

BANDITRY AND HIJACKING DELAY FOOD DELIVERIES IN DARFUR

The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that banditry and hijackings are delaying vital food deliveries to Darfur, while a lack of contributions may ground its Humanitarian Air Service at the end of the month.

So far this year, five WFP passenger vehicles and 45 WFP-contracted trucks have been hijacked; 37 trucks remain missing and 23 drivers are unaccounted for. As a result, WFP is currently transporting about half as much food into Darfur as it normally would at this time of year.

Meanwhile, WFPs Humanitarian Air Service, which helps transport humanitarian workers to remote areas unreachable by road, has received no confirmed donations this year towards its annual $77 million budget. Without an immediate infusion of cash, the operation will be forced to cease flights at the end of the month, WFP says.

U.N. MISSION BRINGS IRAQI PARLIAMENTARIANS TO NORTHERN IRELAND

The UN Mission in Iraqs Office of Constitutional Support (OCS) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) organized a one-week study tour for Iraqi Parliamentarians, which took place in Northern Ireland between 2 and 8 March.

The purpose of the study tour was to provide the participants with an opportunity to engage in direct dialogue with elected members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, public officials and civil society on issues of common interest, such as conflict resolution, and consensus building.

Both the Iraqi and the Northern Ireland parliamentarians agreed on the importance of establishing a framework for inclusive dialogue and reiterated their commitment to non-violence.

DESPITE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN BATTLING DRUGS, MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

Addressing the 51st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs today, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressed several major accomplishments in world drug control but emphasized that more needs to be done to combat the problem, especially in the area of health.

On the positive side, Costa noted, illicit drug use has been contained to less than five percent of the worlds adult population, with problem drug users making up less than 0.5% of the worlds people.

However, Costa said, there is still too much drug-related crime, too many people in prison, and too few resources for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

He stressed the need for a multilateral approach, and a stronger focus on health and treating drug addiction as an illness. He also emphasized the need for more funding for development projects, in order to give farmers an alternative to growing cannabis, coca and opium.

INTL CRIMINAL COURT OFFICIALS MEET WITH L.R.A. DELEGATION IN THE HAGUE: A delegation from the Ugandan armed group the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) met with officials of the Registry of the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier today in The Hague. They discussed procedural issues related to the legal representation of defendants before the Court and standards for the filing of documentation and materials with the Registry. The meeting comes a week after ICC Prosecutor Luis-Moreno-Ocampo declined to meet with the same delegation from the LRA, five of whose leaders have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Court.

U.N. MISSION IN NEPAL ISSUES UPDATE ON HELICOPTER ACCIDENT: The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) expresses its deep regret at the tragic death of Evgeny Alexandrov, who was an Avionics Engineer employed by the company which the Mission contracts for helicopter services, and expresses its condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. An UNMIN helicopter flying from Sindhuli, in the east of Nepal, to Kathmandu, on Monday 3 March, crashed near the village of Bethan in Ramechhap district. All ten people on board were killed: seven UNMIN personnel, and three crew members.

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