HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, June 5, 2008

ENTIRE DARFUR REGION A CRIME SCENE, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD

• Luis Moreno Ocampo, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, today briefed the Security Council in an open meeting about his investigation regarding Darfur, telling them that massive crimes are still being committed there and warning, “The entire Darfur region is a crime scene.”
   

• Moreno Ocampo said that the Government of Sudan is not cooperating with the Court in the arrest and surrender of the two suspects the Court has named, Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb. He asked the Security Council to make it clear that the two fugitive indictees and those who protect them will not receive lenience from the international community.
   

• The prosecutor added that he will present a second case in July, which he says shows evidence of an organized campaign by Sudanese officials to attack civilians, in particular the Fur, Massalit and Zarghawa, with the objective of destroying entire communities.
   

• The commission of such crimes on such a scale, over a period of five years, has required the sustained mobilization of the entire Sudanese state apparatus, Moreno Ocampo argued.

 BAN KI-MOON CONCERNED BY LACK OF COOPERATION BETWEEN
SUDAN & INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

• Following the presentation to the Security Council of the Seventh Report on the situation in Darfur by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned about the reported lack of cooperation of the Government of Sudan with the Prosecutor.  Security Council resolution 1593 (2005), which was adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter, requires Sudan to “cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor (…).”  This includes an obligation to arrest and surrender the indicted individuals.
   

• The Secretary-General urges the Government of Sudan to comply with its international obligations and cooperate with the international Criminal Court.
   

• The Secretary-General is convinced that there can be no sustainable peace without justice. Peace and justice go hand in hand. Impunity for the serious crimes committed in Darfur cannot be accepted.

 SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION MEETS WITH SUDANESE PRESIDENT IN SUDAN

• The Security Council mission visiting Africa will wrap up its trip to Sudan today by meeting with President Omar al-Bashir.
   

• Earlier in the day, the Council mission visited El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where they received a briefing by the leadership of the UN-African Union Mission (UNAMID). Rodolphe Adada, the UN-AU Joint Special Representative for Darfur, told the Council, “The world has placed its confidence in this mission. It will wither away if we are not able to deliver.”
   

• The delegation also visited the Zam Zam Camp for internally displaced persons, and met with camp representatives who described life there and gave an assessment of the needs still to be met.
   

• The Council delegation also met with the representatives of UN and international relief agencies, who discussed the challenges in delivering aid to Darfur and ways to respond to those challenges.
   

• Before leaving El Fasher, the Council mission met with the Wali (or governor) of North Darfur, who described the state of affairs of the Darfur peace process.
   

• Also on Darfur, the African Union and United Nations Special Envoys, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, held informal consultations with regional and international partners to the Darfur political process in Geneva. The consultations were held as a follow-up to the meeting of 18 March and in accordance with the AU-UN Framework for the Way Forward. 

IRAQ: U.N. MISSION LOOKS AT HOW IT CAN HELP
 RESOLVE INTERNAL BOUNDARY DISPUTES

• Today the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, presented to the country’s Government the first analysis by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) regarding possible processes to resolve disputed internal boundaries. |
   

• The Mission presented separate analytical reports on four disputed districts. Its analysis has pointed to a series of specific confidence building measures designed to assist with the handling of the administrative jurisdiction of the districts in dispute, provide security to all Iraqis living in the disputed territories, and create momentum towards a wider political agreement that includes each disputed district.
   

• De Mistura stressed that the Government of Iraq alone has the sovereign responsibility to decide on the process and methodology used to address disputed internal boundaries. UNAMI’s aim in preparing and presenting this analysis is merely to contribute to the development of processes to resolve these complicated and sensitive issues.

 CLIMATE CHANGE IS TOO BIG A CHALLENGE FOR ANY ONE COUNTRY, CORPORATION, COMMUNITY

• Today is World Environment Day.
   

• The Secretary-General marked it this morning by attending the launch of the ‘Together’ campaign, an initiative of the Climate Group, which is an international charity dedicated to working with big business and government to help solve climate change.
   

• In his remarks, the Secretary-General said that climate change is too big a challenge for any country, corporation, or community to address alone.
   

• In that context, he flagged “CN Net”, a climate-neutral network recently launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which will help in formulating a truly global response to the challenges of climate change. He also noted that today, UNEP is launching a report entitled “Kick the Habit: The UN Guide to Climate Neutrality” that will serve as a how-to guide for low carbon living.
   

• The launch was held in Times Square and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also attended.
   

• Meanwhile, in other environment-related news, the World Tourism Organization today urged the tourism sector to be innovative when seeking long term climate neutrality. The agency also reports that it is collaborating with the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization to promote a new air travel carbon calculator.
   

• The International Labor Organization (ILO) is today rolling out its Green Jobs Initiative. The aim is to help Governments, employers and workers overcome the challenges of transitioning to greener enterprises and jobs.
   

• In a message to mark the day, the Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) identifies industry as one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it is industry which has the potential to fuel the economic growth that can lift people out of poverty. In that regard, he urges all nations to adopt a global low-emissions economic development scenario as a central component of any solution to climate change.

 REFUGEE AGENCY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON CONGOLESE CAMP

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today condemned a rebel attack on a makeshift camp in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which left at least nine people dead, including two children, and scores wounded.
   

• UNHCR said it is evacuating staff and temporarily suspending operations in this area of the North Kivu province.
   

• The wounded included two NGO aid workers who were working with UNHCR.
   

• All other humanitarian aid agencies have also decided to pull out of the area, which is located about 70 kilometres north of Goma.

 MYANMAR: FOOD AID TO CYCLONE SURVIVORS INCREASES

• Over in Myanmar, the United Nations continues to mobilize its resources across the country for relief efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
   

• According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the dispatch of food aid has increased significantly in recent days, especially with operations of three food hubs in Labutta, Bogale and Pyapon, and food deliveries are increasing as NGO partners operate greater numbers of small boats and river-craft.
   

• WFP adds that one helicopter has been operating for four days now between Yangon and Labutta to carry food and other critically needed humanitarian supplies to hard-to-reach delta areas while five more will be going into the country tomorrow. Four additional choppers are now being readied in Bangkok for transfer to Myanmar.
   

• The in-kind donation of 400 tons of rice from the French Government, which was approved for customs clearance, was offloaded from a French military ship today in Phuket, Thailand, and is being transported by a WFP-chartered plane into Myanmar. The consignment is expected to arrive at Yangon port today, and will be trans-shipped into river barges for further delivery.

BAN KI-MOON LOOKS FORWARD TO WORKING CLOSELY
 WITH PRESIDENT OF 63rd SESSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

• The Secretary-General warmly congratulates His Excellency Mr. Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann on his election as President of the 63rd session of the General Assembly.
   
• He looks forward to working closely with Mr. D'Escoto throughout the next session of the General Assembly in bringing UN Member States together to respond effectively to the global challenges on its agenda, which are critically important to the lives of people around the world.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

LABOR OFFICE WORKS TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY IN WORKPLACE: The International Labour Organization is launching a one-year global campaign to highlight the central role of gender equality in its Decent Work Agenda. The campaign is built around 12 different Decent Work themes. These themes will be looked at through a gender lens to illustrate how various issues in the world of work may affect women and men in different ways, particularly in their accessing rights, employment, social protection and social dialogue.

      Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055

Back to the Spokesperson's Page