HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

 BAN KI-MOON IS EN ROUTE TO MYANMAR

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is now on his way to Myanmar. 
   

• Speaking to reporters this morning before leaving, he said that he is going to Myanmar to see for himself the situation on the ground, as well as the conditions under which relief teams are working.  He plans to tour the hardest-hit parts of the Irrawaddy Delta and meet senior Myanmar officials.
   

• The Secretary-General stressed that Myanmar has reached a “critical moment”. There is a functioning relief program in place, but it has only been able to reach about 25 percent of the people in need. He welcomed the Government’s recent flexibility in allowing in Asian relief workers, under the auspices of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and giving permission for nine helicopters to operate in areas that have largely been inaccessible until now.
   

• The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of addressing Myanmar’s long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation. This will be the subject of Sunday’s pledging conference, jointly sponsored by the UN and ASEAN.
   

• He noted that the cyclone devastated the country’s agricultural heartland, where it may already be too late for farmers to plant the next harvest.  As a result, the economic effects of the cyclone could be more severe and longer-lasting than the 2004 tsunami, he said.
   

• Asked for the Secretary-General's stance on Myanmar's planned constitutional referendum in the cyclone-affected regions, the Deputy Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General’s position on the matter stands.

EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR MEETS WITH MYANMAR OFFICIALS

• The Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, in Yangon this morning held key meetings with Myanmar Government officials, including the Ministers of Planning, Health, and Relief and Development, as well as the Prime Minister.
   

• Holmes discussed with them all aspects of the response to the disaster, including coordination and access, to improve relief operations. He said he hopes to put international expertise, including that of the UN and Red Cross, to better use.
   

• In his discussions with the Prime Minister, Holmes also noted the need for early recovery – particularly in agriculture and fisheries – in parallel with the relief effort, which is still far from over.
   

• Briefing the press today on his trip to the affected areas, Holmes stressed that supplies such as clean water, food, and medicines will be needed for some months, and that a major push is required now to address those needs over the next three to six months. In terms of early recovery, he noted it was a protracted process.
   

• According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of today, some $99.6 million has been committed to relief operations, with a further $107.9 million pledged.

 SUDAN: BAN KI-MOON IS DEEPLY CONCERNED BY FIGHTING IN ABYEI

• The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in the area of Abyei.
   

• The clashes, which began on 13 May, have resulted in the destruction of Abyei town and the displacement of between 30,000 and 50,000 people from Abyei and the surrounding area.
   

• The Secretary-General regrets that, despite an agreement by the parties on 18 May to end hostilities, fighting has resumed today. 
   

• If the situation is not urgently addressed, the achievements thus far of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could be placed at serious risk.
   

• The Secretary-General thus urges both parties to immediately observe the terms of the ceasefire agreed through the Ceasefire Joint Military Commission on 18 May, including the disengagement of forces.
   

• He stresses that there can be no military solution to the parties’ differences over Abyei, and reminds them of their commitment to find a peaceful solution which respects the rights and needs of both sides, and of the people of the Abyei area.
   

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Ashraf Jenhagir Qazi, has also expressed his grave concern over the renewed hostilities in Abyei. 
   

• Five humanitarian hubs are assisting the displaced population in the 18 host villages in the Agok area. The escalation of fighting and reported bombings will further exacerbate the humanitarian needs of the already affected population including the displaced and could hamper the continuation of the humanitarian operation which is being established.

POST-CONFLICT PEACEBUILDING NEEDS
 COHERENCE, CAPACITY & CIVILIAN EXPERTISE

• The Security Council began its work this morning by holding a minute of silence for China’s earthquake victims. It is now holding an open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding, chaired by the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David Miliband.
   

• In remarks to the Council, the Secretary-General said that there were three things needed in order to strengthen our collective response to the immediate aftermath of conflict.
   

• First, we must be coherent, he said. Coordination and clarity of leadership is critical to ensuring that each partner brings its distinctive strength to the broad collective effort.
   

• Second, we need sufficient capacity. In that context, the Secretary-General said that, if the UN is to lead on the ground, Special Representatives need to be empowered to do so.
   

• Third, we need to build up civilian expertise. He said the small but agile UN standing police capacity is an important step in the right direction, as is the recent launch of a Standby Team of Mediation Experts. But we remain desperately short of judges, prison wardens, state administrators and managers, he said.
   

• Ultimately, all this requires early and flexible funding. In that context, the Secretary-General called for approaches such as a common start-up fund to be explored.
   

• A Presidential Statement is expected at the end of today’s meeting.

 BURUNDI: RELAPSE INTO VIOLENCE
SHOWS FRAGILE SECURITY & POLITICAL SITUATION

• Burundi’s rapid relapse into violent conflict is alarming evidence of the extremely fragile security and political situation in the country. This is the key observation in the Secretary-General’s latest report on Burundi.
   

• In the report, the Secretary-General also warns that unless the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement is put back on track, the new outbreak of violence could undo all of the painstakingly achieved gains of recent months.
   

• Other sources of concern include continued violations of human rights by both Government and rebel forces and non-compliance with the framework agreement for national consultations on transitional justice mechanisms.
   

• The Secretary-General also notes that the Peacebuilding Commission’s engagement provides valuable support to promote stability and prevent Burundi from spiraling back into all-out violence,

MASSIVE FOOD SHORTAGES LOOMS IN ETHIOPIA

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning of massive food shortages in Ethiopia, due to widespread drought and rising food prices.  OCHA says the number of malnutrition cases is soaring; more than three million people are in need of life-saving aid.
   

• UNICEF warns that 126,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition and need urgent care.  In addition, as many as six million children under the age of five require urgent preventive care.
   

• All of this comes at a time when humanitarian agencies in the country are facing a food aid shortfall of nearly $150 million.
   

• Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes is calling for a rapid scaling up of resources in Ethiopia.

 POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS & DIABETES CASES
 INCREASE AMONG PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

• The World Health Assembly is currently underway in Geneva. A number of reports are to be presented this year on health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory.
   

• Today the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) introduced its annual report on health services in the Middle East.
   

• According to the UNRWA report, no epidemics have been observed recently among the 4 million Palestinian refugees it serves in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. 
   

• Nevertheless, in the West Bank and Gaza especially, Palestinians’ health is being threatened by growing poverty and a lack of access to quality food. UNRWA also noted an increase in diabetes, hypertension, post-traumatic stress and other behavioural disorders related to violence.

 CHRONIC CONDITIONS LIKE HEART DISEASE ARE BIGGEST KILLERS

• The global burden of disease is shifting from infectious diseases to those that do not pass from person to person, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report. In fact, chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke are now the chief causes of death globally.
   

• The shifting health trends indicate that leading infectious diseases – including diarrhoea, HIV, tuberculosis, neonatal infections and malaria – will become less important causes of death globally over the next 20 years.
   

• Meanwhile, in response to the serious shortage of health workers across the world, the Global Health Workforce Alliance, which is hosted and administered by WHO, has commissioned the first-ever joint guidelines on incentives for the retention and recruitment of health professionals.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO ADDRESS
SPECIAL MEETING ON GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

• This afternoon, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is holding a special meeting on the global food crisis.
   

• Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro is expected to deliver prepared remarks.
   

• There will also be briefings from the Presidents of the General Assembly, Security Council and ECOSOC, as well as from international experts, including Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
   

• The meeting will focus on ways to minimize the negative impacts of the current food crisis.  It is expected that the President of ECOSOC will, at the end of the meeting, propose a set of policy actions over the short, medium and long-term. 

 OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SOLID MECHANISM OF NEGOTIATIONS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND STAFF UNION: In response to a question on a criticism of the UN leadership included in a letter from the UN Staff Union to the Secretary-General, the Deputy Spokesperson said that, in essence, the Secretary-General and specifically the Department of Management have tried to solve all the requests put forward by the Staff Union of New York and most importantly have established a solid mechanism of negotiation. Recently it was discussed very seriously how to extend this mechanism to the global level, and therefore, the Secretary-General is surprised to received this letter.

BAN KI-MOON CLOSELY FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA: The Deputy Spokesperson, in response to a question, said that the Secretary-General is following quite closely developments in South Africa. She added that the United Nations is very concerned about the situation and regrets the loss of life. "We hope that these attacks end, and that calm is restored," she said.

U.N. AGENCY HELPS CONGOLESE REFUGEES RETURN HOME FROM ZAMBIA: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun repatriation of Congolese refugees from Zambia. The first group of some 400 returned last week to the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNHCR has planned the next convoy for Friday and intends to complete 36 trips by boat, each carrying about 400 refugees, and another 4 road trips for 800 refugees each. In total, the agency intends to repatriate 20,000 Congolese from Zambia by November.

BIODIVERSITY MEETING TO TACKLE FOREST LOSS & CLIMATE CHANGE: The UN Conference on Biodiversity is meeting all this week and next week in Bonn, Germany.  Key issues on the agenda include the current food price crisis, the loss of forests, climate change and efforts to eradicate poverty. The meeting comes less than two years ahead of a deadline for reaching agreements on reversing the loss of biodiversity and devising a system for sharing the world’s genetic resources between developing and developed countries.

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