HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

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

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

AFGHANISTAN: BAN KI-MOON STRONGLY CONDEMNS RECENT VIOLENCE

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned over the level of insecurity in Afghanistan, as witnessed by events over the weekend in the South and South West of the country. 
   

• These included the senseless murder, on Sunday, 8 April, of the Afghan journalist, Ajmal Naqshbandi, who was abducted by the Taliban in Helmand province on 5 March; an improvised explosive device attack which killed, on Sunday, six Canadian troops serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kandahar province; the ambush and murder, on Saturday, of six Afghan deminers in Farah province; and the murder of nine civilians, including five children, by a suicide bomber in Laghman province on 1 April. 
   

• The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to the bereaved families and the respective governments.
   

• The Secretary-General strongly condemns such acts of violence and calls upon the Government of Afghanistan and the international community, including the ISAF, to redouble their efforts to ensure stability, combat impunity and ensure an environment of respect for human rights. 

 MORE THAN 3 MILLION AFGHAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says the number of Afghan refugees it has helped to return home voluntarily from Pakistan since 2002 has now passed the three-million mark, making it the largest such operation in the refugee agency’s history.
   

• UNHCR notes, however, that more than two million Afghans remain in Pakistan, adding that the situation can only be resolved with continued international support.

 U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY DESCRIBES DIRE SITUATION IN SOUTHEASTERN CHAD;
BAN KI-MOON IS SERIOUSLY CONCERNED ABOUT DETERIORATING SITUATION

• UNHCR says that the situation following brutal attacks in south-eastern Chad in late March is far worse than previously expected. More than 9,000 Chadians from 31 villages have now arrived at the new Habile site for internally displaced persons (IDPs), joining some 9,000 others who had fled earlier attacks in the region.
   

• Estimates of the number of dead have also increased substantially, and UNHCR says that the range is between 200 and 400.
   

• Because most of the dead were buried where their bodies were found – often in common graves, owing to their large numbers – we may never know their exact number, says UNHCR. Many who survived the initial attack – particularly those most vulnerable, such as the elderly and young children – died in subsequent days from exhaustion and dehydration, often while fleeing.
   

• The Secretary-General is seriously concerned about this deteriorating situation.

AGREEMENT FINALIZED ON U.N. SUPPORT PACKAGE
FOR AFRICAN UNION PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN DARFUR

• Thee United Nations, African Union and the Government of Sudan met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the UN’s Heavy Support Package to the African Union force in Darfur (AMIS).
   

• The meeting was held in accordance with the decisions taken at last month’s meeting held on the margins of the League of Arab States Summit in Riyadh, with the participation of President Omar Al-Bashir, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, AU Chairperson Alpha Konaré, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa, under the chairmanship of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
   

• A communiqué issued after yesterday’s meeting says that the meeting finalized agreement on the UN heavy support package for AMIS, with the exception of one element on which the Sudanese delegation hoped to provide "a positive and expeditious response."
   

• The meeting also agreed to move forward expeditiously with the implementation of the package.
   

• Continued international engagement will be important to facilitate the implementation of the package as well as preparations for the third phase of AU-UN plans to enhance peacekeeping in Darfur, namely the hybrid operation.
   

• The visit of AU Commission Chairperson Konaré to New York on 16-17 April represents an important opportunity to advance/finalize plans in this regard.
   

• The communiqué in full is available in today’s bulletin from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which contains an update on security and humanitarian developments in Darfur.
   

• Asked what the issue was that had not been agreed to in the Addis Ababa meeting, the Spokeswoman said she understood that it involved tactical attack helicopters. She reiterated that Sudan had promised an expeditious and positive response, which she hoped would come before Konaré’s meeting with the Secretary-General next week.

U.N. SUDAN MISSION CONDEMNS ATTACK
 ON AFRICAN UNION PEACEKEEPERS

• The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) strongly condemns the unprovoked attack carried out today by unidentified armed men on an AMIS patrol team at Kube water point, near Sortony, 40 kilometres South East of Kabkabiya, North Darfur, and the killing of an AMIS soldier from the protection force who died shortly after his evacuation from the injuries he sustained during the attack.
   

• UNMIS looks forward to the outcome of the investigation of the attack announced by AMIS in order to identify the perpetrators and to hold them accountable.

 BAN KI-MOON CALLS ADVISORY BOARD’S WORK
 VITAL TO DEMOCRACY FUND’S SUCCESS

• The Secretary-General this morning addressed the Advisory Board of the UN Democracy Fund, telling the Board that, although the Democracy Fund is a recent UN innovation, the United Nations’ democracy agenda is longstanding. In nearly every part of the world, the UN assists Member States in how they conduct elections, improve governance, promote human rights and strengthen civil society.
   

• He told the Board that its work is vital to the Fund’s success, and the Fund’s success is vital to the UN mission.
   

• To date, the Democracy Fund has received a total of more than $61 million from 28 countries, with an additional $4 million in firm pledges.

 SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON GEORGIA

• The Security Council today held a private meeting on Georgia, which it is following with consultations on the same subject. The Prime Minister of Georgia and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Jean Arnault, spoke at that private meeting.
   

• In his report to the Security Council on the situation in Abkhazia, the Secretary-General welcomed the recent progress between the two sides but noted with regret that the situation along the ceasefire line has remained tense. He recommended the extension of the UN Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) by another six months, until mid-October.
  .

• Also, out on the racks today is a letter from the British Ambassador to the Security Council, which will serve as the agenda item for the Security Council’s open debate on 17 April. The letter concerns the relationship between energy, security and climate.
   

• Asked about an investigation into March incidents that took place in the Upper Kodori Valley, the Spokeswoman noted that the investigative team issued a press release last week with an update of its work.

 U.N. POLITICAL OFFICE MEETS WITH SOMALI GOVERNMENT
ON PLANNED RECONCILIATION CONGRESS

• The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and other members of the International Advisory Committee today held their first meeting with Somalia’s National Governance and Reconciliation Committee in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the planned reconciliation congress.
   

• Stressing the independent nature of its mandate, the Reconciliation Committee said that it continues efforts to bring on board all clans, each of which will be allocated quotas for the representative members of Somali society, including women and Somalis abroad.
   

• The Reconciliation Committee said it would be in a position to announce the final date and venue for the congress by April 16th and has proposed that Saudi Arabia be made a member of the International Advisory Committee.

 U.N. MISSION WILL ASSIST UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN HAITI

• The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) says it will be providing security and logistical support to the Provisional Electoral Commission in organizing the April 29th local elections there. Some 73 mayoral and municipal delegate seats will be up for grabs in 10 districts during the planned vote, and some 300,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots.
   

• Meanwhile, UN peacekeepers and the Haitian police have detained some 51 presumed gang members in the ongoing security operations in the crime-ridden neighborhoods of the capital.

 U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED ABOUT
 VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN COLOMBIA

• The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in southern Colombia, where heavy fighting between the Government and irregular armed groups have forced at least six thousand people to flee their homes in the past two weeks.
   

• Refugees have sought refuge in two small towns, where there is a shortage of clean water and basic health supplies, UNHCR says.  The agency is sending a mission to the hardest-hit areas later this week.
   

• It is also calling on all armed actors to respect the civilian population and for the Colombian Government to provide long-term protection and emergency assistance.

 CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• UNESCO is out with a new report on the threat climate change poses to sites on its World Heritage List. The report looks at 26 endangered sites, including the Tower of London, which is threatened by rising sea levels and flooding.
   

• Meanwhile, the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs around the world are at risk from rising sea temperatures.  On land, the melting of glaciers is affecting the appearance of sites known for their outstanding beauty, while warmer temperatures may destroy the habitat of rare wildlife species.

 NEW HEAD OF WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME ASSUMES DUTIES

• The World Food Programme (WFP) announces that its new Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, officially took up her duties today in Rome.
   

• Sheeran will divide her first month in office between WFP headquarters in Rome and the field. Her first mission will be to Africa, which she will visit at least twice in her first 90 days.

 NEW DATE FOR RWANDAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT TO BE ANNOUNCED

• Asked whether the exhibition at UN Headquarters on the Rwandan genocide had been postponed or cancelled, the Spokeswoman said it had been postponed.
   

• She reiterated that the standard review process by the United Nations had not been followed, and it would now take place. It would involve examining all the language used for the exhibition.
   

• Once that has happened, she said, she would obtain information on when the exhibition would be opened.
   

• Asked whether the United Nations should be neutral on issues concerning the treatment of Armenians in Turkey, the Spokeswoman said that the focus of the exhibition was to have been on the 13th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. She said it was unfortunate that other issues had clouded the exhibition and forced it to be postponed.
   

• Asked whether the previous head of the Department for Public Information had approved the exhibition and the current head revoked it, Okabe said that was not the case.

 OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN TEAM SURVEYING IMPACT OF SEVERE WEATHER IN BOLIVIA:  A team of experts from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is in Bolivia to conduct socio-economic and environmental impact studies on the damage caused by rains, flooding, freezing and drought in various parts of the country since January.

BAN KI-MOON URGES IRAN TO COMPLY WITH SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS:  Asked if the Secretary-General was concerned about the safety of Iran’s nuclear enrichment efforts, the Spokeswoman said that Ban Ki-moon told reporters, in response to questions yesterday, that he hoped that, even at this time when the Iranian Government is undergoing Security Council sanctions, it should engage in dialogue. He said it is very important for any member country to fully comply with Security Council resolutions, and he urged the Iranian Government to do so.

KIM WON-SOO IS DEPUTY CHEF DE CABINET:  Asked about the status of one of the Secretary-General's senior advisors, Kim Won-soo, the Spokeswoman said he is the Deputy Chef de Cabinet.

ALLEGED ARMS SHIPMENTS TO ETHIOPIA A SECURITY COUNCIL MATTER:  Asked about the reported shipment of small arms to Ethiopia, allegedly allowed by the United States, the Spokeswoman said that the issue was a matter to be dealt with by the Security Council and its relevant sanctions committees.

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