 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MICHELE MONTAS
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, May 15, 2008
BAN KI-MOON TO SEND TOP HUMANITARIAN ADVISOR TO MYANMAR
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday
afternoon held a meeting on the situation in Myanmar in the aftermath
of Cyclone Nargis, with key donors and members of the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Under-Secretary-General of the Office for
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, will go to Myanmar
in the coming days on a World Food Programme aircraft carrying
humanitarian assistance.
In a press encounter following
the meeting, the Secretary-General said that although it is encouraging
that the Myanmar Government is now showing flexibility, much more needs
to be done with great urgency.
The next few days will be crucially important
in reaching the suffering people with the necessary relief items and
humanitarian goods.
He also reiterated that the international
community, in particular the ASEAN countries, need to work in full
cooperation with the Myanmarese Government on addressing the grave
humanitarian issue.
Also discussed in the meeting were specific
issues, including designating a UN/ASEAN joint humanitarian
coordinator, establishing a logistical hub outside Myanmar and also
holding a high-level pledging conference.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General had decided to send John Holmes to Myanmar, the
Spokeswoman said that the decision has been made to send him, and the
question now is to find suitable dates for a visit. Holmes, she said,
intends to visit as soon as possible, likely within the next five days.
He has asked for a visa and it is expected that he will get it.
Asked about the
proposal for a high-level pledging conference on Myanmar, Montas noted
that the group that met on Wednesday had discussed the proposal, and
now it is up to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to
discuss it when it meets in Singapore on 19 May.
Holmes, she added,
was not expected to attend the Singapore meeting, which is for ASEAN
members meeting at the foreign minister level.
Asked what the
Holmes visit could accomplish, she said that it is part of the larger
effort to open up access to humanitarian assistance for the victims of
the cyclone particularly to the Delta region; those goals, she added,
are in line with the discussions on Wednesday.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General plans to visit Myanmar, Montas said that, at present,
he did not.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has been able to reach the authorities in Myanmar, the Spokeswoman noted that he still has not spoken by phone with the leadership. However, she added, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations had attended the Wednesday meeting, which she described as “positive and constructive”.
UP TO 2.5 MILLION MYANMARESE IN NEED OF URGENT ASSISTANCE
Two weeks in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis
in Myanmar, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says between 1.6 and 2.5
million people estimated to be urgently in need of critical disaster
assistance.
OCHA says that inconsistent access to the
flooded Delta region, damage to infrastructure and communications, and
heavy rainfall pose serious logistical challenges, so the level of
assistance is still falling far short of what is required. Concern is
deepening over the growing risk of outbreaks of disease, especially
with people migrating outwards from the affected areas in search of
basic necessities.
The World Food Programme and its partners have dispatched
over 700 tonnes of rice, high-energy biscuits and beans to at least 71,
800 people since Cyclone Nargis struck.
Mobile clinics and open hospitals in Labutta
and Bogale are treating people suffering from diarrhoeal diseases,
acute respiratory infections, and injuries, while supply gaps for
emergency health drugs, supplies and kits are gradually being filled by
health agencies.
UNICEF and the Ministry of Health are carrying out measles and tetanus vaccinations, as well as Vitamin A supplements for young children in temporary settlements.
UNITED NATIONS STANDS READY TO ASSIST CHINA QUAKE VICTIMS
The Secretary-General is watching the
situation there very carefully. According to the latest state media
reports, the confirmed death toll is just below 20,000 people, but it
is feared that more than 50,000 people may have died in the quake.
This is a terrible tragedy and the
Secretary-General offers his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to
the victims and their families.
The United Nations stands ready to help in any
way that the Chinese government might require.
On the humanitarian front, the UN Resident
Coordinator in Beijing has been in touch with Chinese authorities and
has offered UN tools and services. The Chinese Government has not
formally appealed for support, but it has said it welcomes in-kind
contributions.
UN agencies stand prepared to provide
ready-to-eat food; shelter materials; health, water and sanitation
supplies; and other items. The Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs notes that there is an especially urgent need for
tents.
OCHA adds that it is willing to release a
grant from the Central Emergency Response Fund, of an amount to be
determined. The Resident Coordinator in Beijing and the UN
Development Programme are also submitting requests for funds to
purchase assistance items for victims and strengthen coordination
activities.
Asked whether the Secretary-General is concerned about China’s posture on aid to the earthquake, the Spokeswoman stressed that so far, there are no reports that would indicate that the situation is not being handled properly by the Chinese authorities. For now, she added, the United Nations has offered help and is waiting for specific requests.
BAN KI-MOON STRESSES SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS
The Secretary-General today called Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas on the occasion of the Palestinian
commemoration of the "Nakba", to underline his support for the
Palestinian people.
The Secretary-General reiterated his support
for the peace process, the establishment of a sovereign, viable,
independent Palestinian state in accordance with UN resolutions and
international law, and the achievement of a two-state solution in the
Middle East.
Asked whether the Secretary-General had also called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, the Spokeswoman recalled that he had spoken by phone with Prime Minister Olmert a week earlier.
SUDAN: FOOD AGENCY AIR SERVICE AT RISK OF CLOSURE
The World Food Programme (WFP) says its
Humanitarian Air Service gets a reprieve until the middle of next month
but still risks closure.
WFP says it can continue operations until
mid-June thanks to recent donations.
But the air service, which flies about 14,000 humanitarian workers around Sudan each month, still faces a funding crisis this year. It needs more than $51 million to fly from mid-June onwards, WFP warns.
SPORADIC SHOOTING REPORTED IN ABYEI, SUDAN
Asked about
reports that UN staff were being withdrawn from Abyei, in Sudan, the
Spokeswoman noted that conditions are relatively calmer in Abyei but
sporadic shooting is still reported, with bullets fired near the UN
Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
camp. The UNMIS camp cannot sustain for too long the number of people
there, which included international and national staff from the NGO
community, she added.
Montas said that
the town of Abyei is almost deserted, with a column of people seen
today leaving the town, and the market has ceased to function. A fuel
container has been seen burned in the town today.
She confirmed that
the UN Mission decided to pull out most of its civilian international
and national staff who are present in Abyei, because the safety and
security conditions made it impossible for them to operate. The head of
the office and a few other international staff members remain behind to
perform critical duties.
Montas added that
the UNMIS Deputy Force Commander has flown to Abyei and attended an
Area Joint Military Committee meeting, where the parties agreed to an
immediate cease-fire and to take up law and order responsibilities for
their respective areas of operation, while removing all other armed
groups from the city and preventing the entry of new ones.
In response to previous questions about casualties, the Spokeswoman said that, because of the UN Mission’s inability to go out of its compound today, it has been unable to monitor the situation.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON SOMALIA RESOLUTION
The members of the Security Council are having
their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General today.
Then, at 3:15 this afternoon, the Security Council has scheduled consultations, to be followed by a formal meeting to vote on a draft resolution on the work of the UN Political Office in Somalia.
SECURITY REMAINS FRAGILE IN CENTRAL AFRICA
The High Representative for Disarmament
Affairs, Sergio Duarte, is in the Angolan capital of Luanda today to
deliver a message
of the Secretary-General to the 27th meeting of the UN Standing
Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.
In his message, the Secretary-General says
that recent efforts to promote peace and security in the region have
yielded encouraging results.
He noted improved political dialogue in the
Central African Republic; the Goma peace conference on the Congolese
Kivu provinces and the UN deployment in north-eastern CAR and eastern
Chad (MINURCAT). However, developments in Burundi and eastern DRC, Chad
and Sudan continue to threaten lasting peace and stability in the
sub-region.
The Secretary-General therefore pledges continued UN support to the Economic Community of Central African States in order to strengthen the capacity of its Council for Peace and Security and its Early Warning Mechanism.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AGENCY HONORS PROMOTERS
OF CONNECTIVITY FOR THE DISABLED
In honor of World Telecommunication and
Information Society Day, which will be observed this Saturday, the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today presented
a number of awards in Cairo. Recipients included Egyptian First Lady
Suzanne Mubarak.
The Day’s theme this year is connecting people
with disabilities to the opportunities offered by information and
communication technologies, or ICTs. In remarks today, ITU chief
Hamadoun Touré said, “ICTs have the great merit of serving as a
powerful equalizer of abilities, empowering persons with disabilities
to fulfill their potential.”
In a message, the Secretary-General says it is vital that we change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities, ensuring that they have the right to fully participate in the information society.
CHALLENGES OF FATHERHOOD HIGHLIGHTED ON “DAY OF FAMILIES”
Today is the International Day of Families,
and the theme this year is fatherhood.
In a message to mark the day, the
Secretary-General says that
challenges persist for fathers. At the international level, for
example, migration forces many fathers to often face separation from
their families.
Also, the HIV/AIDS crisis – which demonstrates the critical importance of sexual responsibility for fathers and all men – also challenges men to become father figures to children who have been left orphaned by the disease.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNITED NATIONS BACKS ARAB LEAGUE’S LEBANON INITIATIVE: Asked about UN support for the initiative by the League of Arab States concerning Lebanon, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is continuing to follow this situation closely. The Secretary-General, she said, strongly supports the current efforts of the League of Arab States to help the parties in Lebanon resolve the prolonged political crisis in the country through dialogue and without further violence.
BAN KI-MOON HAS RECEIVED IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROPOSALS: Asked whether the Secretary-General has received proposals from Iran concerning nuclear enrichment, the Spokeswoman confirmed that the Secretary-General had received the proposals, which have now have to be analysed.
KUWAITI FUND TO ADDRESS FOOD CRISIS IS APPRECIATED: Asked about a Kuwaiti initiative setting up a fund for money to deal with rising food prices, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations welcomes this generous pledge. She added the hope that this initiative is in line with the goals of the Secretary-General's task force on the food crisis. Specifically, she said, “we hope the funds can go to programmes for immediate actions to boost food supplies by providing inputs or incentives for planting, and food assistance efforts like the ones the World Food Programme is carrying out.”
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
