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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, May 22, 2008
BAN KI-MOON BEGINS TRIP TO MYANMAR
STRESSING NEED FOR MORE INTERNATIONAL AID TO GET IN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in
Yangon, Myanmar today and was flown by military helicopter over the
heavily devastated Irrawaddy Delta.
The tour that lasted four hours included two
stops – one at a makeshift relief camp, where he met survivors of the
village of Kyondah. There, he told one of the families, “The
whole world is trying to help Myanmar.” The other stop was at a
distribution center stocked with dozens of bags of rice and cartons of
sealed bottles of drinking water.
In a meeting earlier with Prime Minister Thein
Sein, the Secretary-General stressed that foreign aid experts needed to
be rushed in because the crisis had exceeded Myanmar's national
capacity. He felt that at least six months of assistance to feed people
in need and give them medical care was needed and should be led in
parallel with the recovery effort.
He appealed to the Prime Minister to open the
doors to international humanitarian experts to coordinate the relief
effort that has left many local staff exhausted and overstretched.
He started the day in Yangon by signing a book
of condolences to the victims of Cyclone Nargis.
He later visited the 2,000-year-old Shwedagon
pagoda, the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. Walking barefeet in a
show of respect for Buddhist tradition, he offered flowers to the
statue of Buddha. He also offered some money to the trustees of the
pagoda for the victims of the cyclone.
"The United Nations and the whole
international community stand ready to help you overcome this tragedy,"
he said. "That is why I am here. The main purpose of my coming to
Myanmar is to demonstrate my solidarity and bring a message of hope.”
On Friday, the Secretary-General is scheduled
to head to the new capital of Naypyitaw, about 350 kilometres north of
Yangon, for talks with Senior General Than Shwe.
He is also planning to meet with humanitarian
workers.
He plans to return to Bangkok Friday night.
The Secretary-General plans to return to
Yangon on Sunday to preside over a UN-ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) pledging conference for Myanmar.
Asked if the Secretary-General had pressed the
Myanmar leadership to allow more assistance into the country, the
Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General, met with the Prime
Minister and other officials and stressed the need to get more
assistance to the victims as quickly as possible and to focus as well
on the medium- to long-term recovery needs of the victims and affected
regions.
In response to a question if he counts on
ASEAN to be the main diplomatic vehicle to convince the Myanmar
authorities to open more access for assistance, Okabe said the
Secretary-General is working closely with the ASEAN member states. She
added that the UN and ASEAN will be co-chairing Sunday's pledging
conference in Yangon. "The Secretary-General believes that this is the
appropriate mechanism, at a practical level, to get to the victims as
quickly as feasible," she said.
In response to a question, Okabe said that
John Holmes, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under
Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, was part of the
Secretary-General's delegation in Myanmar. She said she could not
confirm at this point the exact composition of the Secretary-General's
delegation at the meeting tomorrow with Senior General Than Shwe.
Okabe, in response to questions, stressed that Ban Ki-moon's current mission to Myanmar is strictly of a humanitarian nature. "The mission is to save as many lives as possible in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis," she said.
INT'L MEDICAL TEAMS ASSIST IN MYANMAR RELIEF EFFORT
The Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says five
international medical teams, from Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh,
and Laos, are now providing medical care to those in need and support
to national healthcare staff in the affected areas of Ayeyarwady and
Yangon Divisions.
The sixth team, from Singapore, is expected to
arrive today.
Since the cyclone hit, the World Food Programme has
dispatched 2,110.9 metric tones of food to affected areas, of which
1,393 metric tones have been distributed among approximately 348,000
beneficiaries.
The logistics operation is now operating a
4,000 square-metre warehouse in Yangon, managed by DHL, along with a
fleet of 30 trucks, four barges with four barge pushers, and two
boats. In five local hubs, six Mobile Storage Units have been or
are being constructed.
Meanwhile, preparations for the pledging
conference are well underway with tomorrow being the deadline for
registration by interested participants.
So far, 31 countries along with nine U.N. agencies and the ASEAN Secretariat have registered to attend. We expect the programme to be finalized tomorrow.
EMERGENCY FUND ALLOCATION FOR CHINA IS INCREASED TO $8 MILLION
On Friday, we announced that the
Secretary-General was granting up to $7 million from the Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for
humanitarian efforts following the earthquake in China. Just to update
you, the CERF allocation has increased – to $8 million dollars – based
on the higher value of projects ultimately approved.
Meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO)
is rushing enough additional medical supplies to treat 130,000 people.
It is also sending an expert team to work with the government on
rebuilding hospitals and other health-care services. WHO is also
providing disinfection tablets, drinking-water treatment units and
mobile toilets.
And the International Telecommunication Union has deployed 100 mobile satellite terminals to help restore vital communication links and enable better coordination of relief operations.
SECURITY COUNCIL IS BRIEFED ON SITUATION IN NEPAL
The Security Council held consultations this
morning on Nepal. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Nepal,
Ian Martin, briefed Council members.
Also in consultations this morning, the
Council took up the issue of Somalia sanctions and other matters.
Then, at three this afternoon, the Security
Council was scheduled to hold short consultations in connection to the
situation in the Middle East (Lebanon), preceding a formal meeting on
Burundi.
That will be followed by consultations on Burundi -- during which the Secretary-General’s Executive Representative for Burundi, Youssef Mahmoud, will brief -- and other matters.
HUMANITARIAN SPACE AND ACCESS BEING CHALLENGED IN DARFUR
The UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports
that a Nigerian Battalion was ambushed yesterday afternoon along El
Geneina new airport road in Darfur by approximately 50-60 men on
horses, dressed in military camouflage. They were armed with AK-47
rifles, rocket propelled Grenades and machine guns. They abducted
some rifles, ammunition, phones and cash.
And UNAMID has sent a fact-finding mission to
an area of North Darfur where fighting had been reported over water
resources that led to the reported killing of nine civilians.
Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
reports that humanitarian space and access are being challenged by
increased attacks on aid agencies and staff and theft of supplies and
equipment. These attacks serve only to worsen the condition of
Darfurians, they say.
For example, according to the latest
humanitarian bulletin issued by that mission, the hijacking of the
North Darfur State Water Corporation’s drilling rig by an armed group
in March means that 180,000 people may not have access to clean water
this year.
UNAMID has also issued a press release saying that the leadership and staff of the mission are deeply saddened by the reported death of 46 former peacekeepers of the Nigerian contingent in a road accident yesterday. The soldiers had returned to Nigeria from Sudan, where they had just completed their tour of duty, as part of UNAMID’s Battalion based in Darfur.
REPORT
FINDS RISING POVERTY, DECLINING EMPLOYMENT
IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES
The International Labour Office (ILO) has
released its annual report on the situation of workers in the
occupied Arab territories, including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan
Heights.
According to the report, only one in three
people of working age in the territories is employed full-time or
part-time. Unemployment hovers above 20 per cent.
Working poverty is rising, genuine employment is declining, and frustration is growing, the report says.
U.N.
REFUGEE AGENCY GIVES RELIEF SUPPLIES TO
VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday distributed
2,000 blankets and 2,000 mats among victims of a wave of xenophobia in
South Africa's Gauteng province.
On the advice of South African authorities,
many of the displaced have sought protection at police stations across
the northeast, but are sleeping in the open. In the town of Germiston,
for example, some 2,800 people, including more than 100 children, found
shelter in the local community hall. Some of the UNHCR blankets and
mats were handed out there.
The distribution of blankets and mats
continues at police stations in the north-east in coordination with
South African authorities, who have opened Joint Operation Centers to
coordinate aid delivery by humanitarian agencies and individuals
sympathetic to the victims.
UNHCR, meanwhile, notes that most of the displaced are migrants from neighboring countries, but there are also refugees and asylum seekers among them.
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS SPECIAL MEETING ON WORLD FOOD CRISIS
Today in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is
holding a
special session on the food crisis.
Addressing the gathering this morning, High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour
stressed that, while the immediate needs involved humanitarian aid,
States should also focus on the longer-term human rights dimension of
the food crisis.
Failure to act in a comprehensive manner,
Arbour said, could trigger a domino effect by putting at risk other
fundamental rights, including the right to health or education, as
people are forced to forego other necessities in order to feed
themselves and their families.
Arbour also recommended that the hardest-hit groups be fully involved in crafting responses to the crisis. Such an approach would help clarify the imbalances in society that have triggered and exacerbated the food crisis.
DESPITE RECENT DECLINES, FOOD PRICES LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH
In its latest Food Outlook, the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO)
reports that, despite increased production and possibly record
harvests this year, food prices remain high.
This is especially affecting vulnerable
populations in countries that spend a large part of their income on
food. Such countries are likely to spend 40 per cent more on food
imports this year than they did last year, and could end up spending
four times as much as they did in 2000, the report says.
While international prices for most
agricultural commodities have started to fall, they are unlikely to
return to previous levels, FAO says. Average food prices in the
first four months of 2008 are still more than 50 percent higher than a
year ago.
FAO is forecasting record cereal production this year, with the greatest gains coming in the wheat sector. But FAO notes that it will take more than one good season to replenish stocks and reduce price volatility.
DR
CONGO: U.N. OFFICIALS DENOUNCE DEATH SENTENCES
IN MURDER OF U.N. RADIO JOURNALIST
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise
Arbour, and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alan Doss, have denounced
the sentencing to death of three civilians by a Congolese military
tribunal.
The three are among a group of people facing
charges of complicity in the June 2007 murder of Serge Maheshe of Radio
Okapi, a UN and Swiss-funded broadcaster for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC).
Both Arbour and Doss also denounced other
irregularities in the controversial trial, including the prosecution of
civilians by military courts, the threats against defense lawyers and
the military prosecutor’s refusal to consider other theories for the
crime.
Welcoming the acquittal of two other accused civilians in the case, Arbour and Doss said many questions remain unanswered and appealed to Congolese authorities to pursue the case in accordance with their obligations under international law.
INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF BIODIVERSITY
FOCUSES ON NEED TO SECURE FOOD FOR A GROWING POPULATION
As the world's growing population faces rising
food prices and pressures from climate change affect the fields and
orchards that feed the world, celebrations of the International Day of
Biological Diversity today will stress the need to properly protect and
manage the world's biodiversity in order to ensure a secure supply of
food for a growing world population.
The Secretary-General, in his message for the International day, says “Of the 7,000 species of plants that have been domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for the vast majority of the food we eat every day. Relying on so few species for sustenance is a losing strategy.”
U.N. POPULATION FUND TO PRESENT ANNUAL POPULATION
The U.N. Population Fund is giving out its
annual Population Award this afternoon.
This year’s recipients are Dame Billie
Antoinette Miller, a former minister from Barbados; and Family Care
International, a U.S. Non-Governmental Organization committed to making
pregnancy and childbirth safer around the world.
In remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka is expected to thank both recipients for the significant contributions they have made to providing life-saving information and services to individuals. The ceremony itself is taking place at 5 p.m. in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ARMS MONITORING COMMITTEE IN NEPAL DISCUSSES KILLING OF PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN: The UN Mission in Nepal’s Chief Arms Monitor, General Jan Erik Wilhelmsen, today in Katmandu, chaired the 73rd Meeting of the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee Participants, including representatives of the Nepal Army and the Maoist army, discussed the reports connected to the killing of Ram Hari Shrestha, a businessman and Maoist supporter. The Committee chairman shared the results of the preliminary inquiry conducted by UNMIN arms monitors. All agreed this was a serious violation of the Agreement of Monitoring the Management of Arms and Armies reached between the communist Party of Nepal and the then Government, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
LETTER FROM PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED: In response to a question, Okabe said that the Secretary-General had not yet received a letter purportedly from the Pakistani Prime Minister seeking UN assistance in investigating and prosecuting the murder of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
**The guest at noon was Ian Martin, Special Representative of Secretary-General and Head of the UN Political Mission in Nepal, who briefed on the situation in that country.
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