HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES LEBANON AGREEMENT REACHED IN DOHA

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the important agreement reached in Doha today among Lebanon’s political leaders.
   

• He hopes this agreement will be the prelude to a lasting period of national reconciliation, political stability, peace and progress for all of Lebanon’s people and for the future of their country, as well as a stepping stone toward the full implementation of the provisions of the Taif Agreement and the relevant Security Council resolutions.
   

• He looks forward to the early election of the new Lebanese President and to the formation of a National Unity Government.
   

• The Secretary-General expresses his great appreciation for the crucial efforts of the Government of Qatar and the League of Arab States in facilitating this agreement.

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES INDIRECT PEACE TALKS
 BETWEEN SYRIA AND ISRAEL

• The Secretary-General welcomes today’s announcement confirming that Syria and Israel have started indirect peace talks, under the auspices of Turkey, aimed at a comprehensive peace in accordance with the Madrid Conference terms of reference for peace. 
   

• He commends President Assad and Prime Minister Olmert for taking this important step and thanks Prime Minister Erdoğan for his efforts.
   

• The Spokeswoman, in response to a question, said that the United Nations had no direct involvement in the indirect talks, facilitated by Turkey, between Israel and Syria.
   

• She noted, however, that the Secretary-General is very involved in the quest for peace in the Middle East and will play any role he deems helpful toward achieving that goal.

 BAN KI-MOON WILL TRAVEL TO MYANMAR TOMORROW

• The Secretary-General arrived in Bangkok a few hours ago. 
   

• From there, he heads to Myanmar early tomorrow morning to see for himself the areas and people affected by Cyclone Nargis.  He will also meet with senior government officials.
   

• Addressing the press soon after landing in Bangkok, the Secretary-General said that this is a critical moment for Myanmar, with the relief programme currently able to reach only about a quarter of the people in need.
   

• He also spoke of the specific objectives of his visit to Myanmar. These include facilitating the free movement of international relief aid and workers; exploring ways the United Nations can provide medium and longer-term assistance; and reinforcing a partnership between Myanmar and the international community, including ASEAN and key neighbouring countries.
   

• The Secretary-General also spoke by phone with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Samak Sundaravej, and met with the Thai Foreign Minister, Noppadon Patama. 
   

• He thanked them for Thailand’s logistical support and broader diplomatic efforts to help the Myanmar government and the international community to work more closely together on the crisis.
   

• The Secretary-General plans to return to Bangkok late Friday for a series of bilateral meetings on Saturday; and on Sunday, he’s planning to go back to Yangon, where he’ll take part in the international pledging conference for Myanmar.
   

• Asked whom the Secretary-General will be meeting with while in Bangkok on Saturday, Okabe said that his programme of work was evolving and no firm meetings could yet be announced.
   

• She added, in response to a question, that the Secretary-General and his delegation are expected to arrive in Myanmar early on Thursday. Upon his arrival, the Secretary-General will proceed by helicopter, weather permitting, to the delta region hardest hit by the cyclone. Then on Friday, he is expected to meet with the senior leadership of Myanmar.
   

• Asked for a list of participants at the pledging conference, planned for Sunday in Myanmar, Okabe said that no list was yet available. She recalled that the ministerial-level pledging conference is co-chaired by the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adding that hat the United Nations has asked participants to send small delegations because of logistical constraints on the ground in Yangon.

 MYANMAR GRANTS ACCESS TO 10 HELICOPTERS
 CARRYING AID TO CYCLONE VICTIMS

• The Office of the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs says, of the 2.4 million victims of the Cyclone, an estimated 1.4 million people are located in the most severely affected townships of the delta region.
   

• OCHA adds it is clear that we are still in the emergency phase of this crisis, and relief efforts will need to continue for some time, given the large numbers of people who have yet to receive adequate emergency assistance.
   

• According to the World Food Programme, the Myanmar authorities have now granted access for the agency to bring in 10 helicopters. Since the Secretary-General announced the clearance of nine helicopters yesterday, one more has been cleared. 
   

• The helicopters will be able to carry as much as three tons of food and other critically needed humanitarian supplies to cyclone victims deep in the Delta. The first helicopter is expected to arrive in Myanmar tomorrow from Malaysia. Other helicopters will take several days to arrive in Myanmar, as they need to be transported to Bangkok on cargo aircraft and reassembled before flying to Yangon.
   

• The United Nation’s first priority in the ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference in Yangon on Sunday is to ensure that the humanitarian response is working properly, and that we have done whatever is possible to meet urgent humanitarian needs.
   

• The United Nations will continue to support the Government of Myanmar’s response, while urging it to open up full and unfettered access to the Delta for critically-needed expert and experienced staff who can help assess, deliver, and monitor the impartial provision of aid to those most in need.
   

• The United Nations stresses that this aid operation is about helping vulnerable people in dire need, and not about politic, and adds that it is fully ready, capable and willing to help the Government provide critically-needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar.

 U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY TO PROVIDE SHELTER FOR CHINA QUAKE VICTIMS

• Turning to the earthquake in China, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is responding to the Government’s urgent request for tents by offering enough of them to provide shelter for 55,000 people. The 11,000 tents, which are manufactured for UNHCR in China, will be dispatched to the quake zone as soon as possible.
   

• Meanwhile, the World Food Programme is purchasing a second batch of relief food – enough rice, wheat flour and cooking oil to feed 100,000 people for three weeks.  The shipment is expected to arrive in Sichuan Province before the weekend.
   

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is helping organize a relief fight from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Brindisi, Italy, consisting of 30 tons of tents, blankets and stretchers.
   

• And UNICEF is taking part in a mission, organized by the Chinese Government, to provide immediate psycho-social assistance for children suffering emotional trauma after the quake.  These include several hundred children who have been separated from their parents.

 SOUTH AFRICA: UNITED NATIONS CONDEMNS XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE

• From the UN country team in South Africa, regarding the outbreak of xenophobic violence, the UN organizations in South Africa are deeply concerned about the continuing xenophobic related violent attacks against foreign nationals and some South Africans living in the province of Gauteng over the past several days. Several people have been killed and many, including children, injured and left homeless. 
   

• Equally of concern are the violence and xenophobia that have been ongoing in other parts of South Africa in past months, according to the statement issued by the Office of the Resident Coordinator in South Africa.
   

• The Heads of Agencies of the UN organization in South Africa would like to lend their voice to the condemnation of the violence and implore the appropriate law enforcement agencies, together with community leaders, to bring these attacks to an immediate cessation and to offer full protection for all persons affected. 
   

• The United Nations organizations in South Africa stand ready to provide assistance and support for immediate humanitarian needs faced by the victims of attacks as well as to find medium and long-term solutions to the unfolding developments.

 CYPRUS AND TURKISH LEADERS TO MEET IN U.N. PROTECTED AREA

• The Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Demetris Christofias, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, will meet at the official residence of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Cyprus, Taye-Brook Zerihoun, in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia, this Friday, 23 May.
   

• The meeting will allow the leaders to review progress in the process they launched with their 21 March meeting. 
   

•  This will be their second formal meeting since Mr. Christofias's election in February.

 SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS STATEMENT ON POST-CONFLICT PEACEBUILDING

• Yesterday evening, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement on post-conflict peacebuilding after a day of meetings.
   

• Emphasizing the critical importance of post-conflict peacebuilding in laying the foundation for sustainable peace and development after the scourge of war, the Security Council invited the Secretary-General to provide advice within 12 months to the relevant United Nations organs on how to best support national efforts to secure lasting peace more rapidly and effectively, including by scaling up coordination, civilian deployment and financing.

U.N. MISSION REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
BY GOVERNMENT FORCES IN D.R. CONGO

• The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sent a report on the February 2008 violence in the Bas-Congo province to the Congolese authorities.
   

• The report deals with human rights abuses committed by government forces and by members of the Bundu Dia Kongo armed movement during the February standoff between the two sides. The Mission expects the report to be released to the public after the Congolese government has confirmed receipt of it.
   

• Meanwhile, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ross Mountain, was in Goma, the main town in North Kivu province.
   

• Mr. Mountain was there to follow up on the UN’s assistance and advisory role in the implementation of recent agreements between the Government and various armed groups on peace, security and development in the region.
   

• The Mission also notes an overall decrease in the number of violations of said agreements. It also calls on armed groups in the Kivus and other parts of the country to release children combatants in their ranks.

IRAQI NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMS
 AT U.N.-ORGANIZED CONCERT

• Today in Baghdad, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has organized a special concert of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development. The concert will be performed for an audience of some 400 people and will be broadcast live on Iraqi television.
   

• In its first significant performance in years, the Orchestra will perform a mixed repertoire of classical concertos and traditional Arab and Kurdish tunes, a reflection of the rich cultural heritage of Iraq, and an innovative approach to fostering unity, dialogue and cultural diversity.
   

• The programme will be conducted in part by the eminent international conductor Oliver Gilmour and in part by the Orchestra’s Director, cellist Karim Wasfi. UNAMI Chief Staffan de Mistura and the Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Mahmoud al-Mashhadani will speak at the event, which will be held under both the UNAMI emblem and the Iraqi flag.

UNITED NATIONS OUTRAGED BY KIDNAPPING OF AID WORKERS IN SOMALIA

• In response to a question, Okabe said that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is outraged by the kidnapping of three aid workers in Somalia today and calls for them to be released immediately, unharmed.
   

• The presence of humanitarian workers in Somalia is more important than ever.
   

• This incident comes at a time when the humanitarian situation in Somalia is deteriorating faster than expected.  The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has risen to 2.6 million, while the current number of internally displaced persons has risen to 800,000.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

I.L.O. TO HELP COMBAT ABUSIVE CHILD LABOUR IN PAKISTAN: The International Labour Organization (ILO) is teaming up with the European Commission to help the Government of Pakistan combat abusive child labour. The five-year, five million Euro project, which will support national efforts in this area, will be put into place by the ILO.  It is expected to result in 10,000 children being withdrawn from hazardous workplaces where children work under intolerable conditions, such as exposure to chemicals.

EX-RWANDAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TRANSFERRED BACK TO ARUSHA: The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda says that Michel Bagaragaza, a former Rwandan government official and indicted genocidaire, was yesterday transferred back to Arusha from The Hague. This follows a revocation of an application by the Prosecutor for referral of the case to The Netherlands. The revocation was made after the Dutch Prosecutor informed the Tribunal that their courts did not have any jurisdiction in trying such a case. Bagaragaza faces four counts of crime against humanity, including complicity in genocide and violations of the Geneva Conventions

MEMBER STATES ELECT NEW COUNTRIES TO SERVE ON HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: The General Assembly today elected 15 States to serve three-year terms starting next month on the Human Rights Council, three of which will be sitting on the Geneva-based panel for the first time:  Burkina Faso; Chile; and Slovakia.

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