United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-05-28

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

NEPAL: BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES HISTORIC FIRST MEETING

OF CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulates the Nepalese people on the historic first meeting of the Constituent Assembly.

The people of Nepal have clearly spoken for peace and change through the 10 April Assembly election.

The Secretary-General encourages all parties to continue working in a cooperative manner and to form a new government as soon as possible.

BAN KI-MOON TO ATTEND IRAQ COMPACT MEETING TOMORROW

The Secretary-General this afternoon embarks on a two-day trip to Sweden, to attend the Iraq Compact Annual Review Conference to take place Thursday in Uppsala.

This is the first annual review of progress made under the framework of the International Compact for Iraq, which includes commitments of Iraq on economic, political and security reforms and commitments of the international community to provide financial and other support.

The meeting will review the Annual Review Report prepared by the Iraqi Government with assistance from the United Nations, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress so far and the challenges ahead.

As Co-Chair of the event, the Secretary-General reiterates in his remarks that the United Nations, for its part, remains committed to doing all it can to support the people and Government of Iraq under Security Council

Resolution 1770.

The conference is expected to close with the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration.

The Secretary-General is expected to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event, including that with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom., US Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Italy and Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. He is also scheduled to meet with the King of Sweden.

MYANMAR: MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF CYCLONE SURVIVORS RECEIVE AID

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, if both pledges and contributions are counted, the UNs Flash Appeal is now 60% funded. But more is still needed.

With access improving and Government restrictions easing, OCHA urges donors to turn pledges into contributions and commit funds to the Appeal without further delay.

On the question on visas, OCHA reports that today, the Government of Myanmar approved all remaining visa requests for various UN agencies. There had been 45 of those requests pending.

To date, OCHA estimates that more than 40% of the 2.4 million cyclone survivors have received some type of assistance from local, national or international actors. The majority of UN and NGO aid has gone to those in the Yangon Division, since they are more easily reached.

But OCHA remains deeply concerned that major unmet needs remain in more than half of the 15 hardest-hit townships.

OCHA adds that relief efforts will likely last for at least another six months.

TOP HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL EXPRESSES PROFOUND DISAPPOINTMENT

OVER DETENTION OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

Yesterday, when the Secretary-General spoke to reporters, he said he regretted the decision of the Government of Myanmar to extend for a sixth consecutive year the detention under house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour also

expressed her profound disappointment at the extension on 27 May of the detention under house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL ADDRESSES CONFERENCE

ON AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today addressed the plenary of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on Africas Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan.

She said, 'The need for higher investments in agriculture has been highlighted by the vulnerability of many net-food importing countries to the steep rise in food prices over the past year, which threatens to drive millions of Africans further into poverty."

"It is time for intensified support by the international community and African governments to build productive, resilient and sustainable agricultural sectors," she said. "Climate change and its expected impact on agriculture in Africa makes this task all the more urgent.

UNICEF today called for large-scale, focused investments in improved health systems for sub-Saharan Africa, to capitalize on recent achievements and help children who have inadequate access to health care. The call came as the childrens agency launched its first State of Africas Children 2008 report at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in Japan.

ROME CONFERENCE A HISTORIC CHANCE TO BOOST FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER

The upcoming High-Level Conference on World Food Security, to take place next week in Rome (3-5 June), offers a historic chance to re-launch the fight against hunger and poverty and boost agricultural production in developing countries, says the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In a key policy document prepared for the Summit, FAO said that the international community should take urgent and concrete actions to address the issues of hunger and malnutrition in the face of soaring food prices, scarce land and water resources, climate change, increased energy needs and population growth.

The report lists 22 countries that are particularly vulnerable due to a combination of high levels of chronic hunger and being net importers of both food and fuel. Countries such as Eritrea, Niger, Comoros, Haiti and Liberia are particularly affected.

The report said that increases in domestic prices even by moderate rates can have immediate negative impacts on poor households that spend a large part of their income on food staples. FAOs estimate of the number of hungry people in 2002-04 stands at 862 million, with 830 million in developing countries.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES MIDDLE EAST

The Security Council is meeting on the Middle East today.

In an open meeting this morning, the UNs Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, said that, even by the standards of the region, it has been an event-filled month.

Serry said Egyptian efforts to achieve a calming of violence in and around Gaza are extremely important, and the UN strongly supports these efforts. He also said that the reopening of crossings for humanitarian relief and commercial flows, with the presence of the Palestinian Authority, will also be crucial if any calm is to be sustained.

A calming and easing of the situation in and around Gaza is essential for genuine progress in both the Israel-Palestinian negotiations and in reuniting the West Bank and Gaza within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority, he added.

Serry also stressed that progress must be intensified on the Annapolis track, both in the political negotiations and in action on the ground.

After that the Council held consultations on the Middle East.

Yesterday in the Security Council, a

presidential statement on the protection of civilians in armed conflict was adopted. In that statement, the Council expressed its deepest concern that civilians continue to suffer the brunt of the violence during armed conflicts. The Council also condemned all violations of international law that threaten non-combatants and reaffirmed the responsibility of States and other parties of conflicts to protect them.

ZIMBABWE: KILLING OF OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS STRONGLY CONDEMNED

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said today that she is shocked at the reported discovery of several more bodies of murdered political activists in Zimbabwe.

She strongly condemned the killings and the continuing harassment of NGO workers, human rights defenders and other members of civil society.

Among the dead, Arbour noted, are a provincial treasurer and an activist for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, both of whom were last seen being driven away from their homes by armed men.

The High Commissioner urged the Zimbabwean authorities to prosecute those responsible for the murders and other unlawful acts, and to protect all Zimbabweans from further attacks.

Arbour also said that the news of more killings in Zimbabwe gives even sharper edge to the large-scale violence directed against migrants and refugees in neighbouring South Africa.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO BEGIN MISSION TO AFRICA ON SATURDAY

A Security Council delegation is leaving New York this Saturday for a 10-day visit to Africa.

The delegation will begin work on the 2nd of June in Djibouti where talks are being held between the Somali government and opposition.

It will then travel to Khartoum on June 3rd, 4th and 5th for meetings with the Government and a visit to El Fasher in Darfur.

From there the delegation will stop in Chads capital, NDjamena, for a two-day visit that includes a tour of refugee and IDP camps near Goz Baide, on the border with Darfur.

Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will be the next stop on June 7th and the delegation plans to meet the Congolese leadership, civil society and the UN Mission in that country. Delegates will also visit Goma, the main town in North Kivu, on June 8th.

Abidjan, in Cote dIvoire, will be the last stop of the trip on June 9th. There, the delegation will hold meetings with the key actors in the implementation of the Ouagadougou peace agreement, including the countrys leadership and the UN Mission.

BAN KI-MOON APPOINTS NIGERIAN AND NEPALESE GENERALS

TO PEACEKEEPING POSTS

The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Chikadibia Obiakor of Nigeria as Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations.

Lieutenant General Obiakor, currently the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), has had a long and distinguished career with the Nigerian Army, beginning in 1973.

The Secretary-General also announced today the appointment of Major General Paban Jung Thapa of Nepal as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). General Thapa is expected to arrive in Sudan in late May 2008.

General Thapa has previously served on several United Nations Peacekeeping operations including a tour as a Battalion Commander in UNPROFOR in the former-Yugoslavia and as a Platoon Commander and Staff Officer with UNIFIL in Lebanon.

UNITED NATIONS TO HONOR BLUE HELMETS

KILLED ON THE JOB ON PEACEKEEPERS DAY

The United Nations will mark the 60th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping tomorrow, May 29th, the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, with a series of events at Headquarters and in field missions around the world.

Here in New York, Jean-Marie Guehenno, the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations will lead a wreath-laying ceremony to honour the more than 2,400 peacekeepers who have given their lives in the cause of peace over the past 60 years, including 90 in 2007 alone.

Also taking place here will be a multimedia exhibition chronicling UN peacekeeping efforts. The exhibition, titled Looking , Moving Forward will also be shown in many other countries tomorrow.

And both Jean-Marie Guehenno and the new head of the Department of Field Support, Susana Malcorra, will be the guests at the noon briefing tomorrow.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY IS ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS: The Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, today delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General to the Ninth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which is taking place in Bonn, Germany. According to the Secretary-Generals message, the loss of biodiversity is an environmental crisis with profound economic and human dimensions. Our ability to clear cut whole forests or drain freshwater systems at a pace and scale unimaginable to our forefathers is now triggering impacts at the global level. From the overexploitation of fisheries to spreading land degradation, we are already at the limits -- if not pushing past them.