United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-04-13

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

DEPUTY

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, April 13, 2007

BAN KI-MOON TO SEND LEGAL COUNSEL TO LEBANON

IN EFFORT TO SET UP SPECIAL TRIBUNAL

[Following the Security Council luncheon, the Secretary-General told reporters, "In light of the impasse in the domestic situation in Lebanon, I have informed the Council members that I intend to dispatch Mr. Nicolas Michel, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, to visit Lebanon next week, on Monday of next week."

"The purpose of his visit to Lebanon is to offer his legal assistance to the Lebanese Government and political leaders, to help their constitutional procedures. I sincerely hope that his visit will help the political leaders of Lebanon in their efforts to proceed constitutional procedures to ratify so that the Special Tribunal can be established as soon as possible," he said. "At the same time I would urge again that the leaders of the Lebanese Government will engage in all-inclusive political dialogue to promote national reconciliation."]

U.N. SOMALIA ENVOY CONCERNED ABOUT TENSIONS BETWEEN REGIONS

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Fran�ois Lonseny Fall, today expressed his heightened concern at the rising tensions and recent incidents of violence between the Puntland and Somaliland regions of Somalia.

Fall said these tensions threaten not only to undermine the political stability and economic progress that both sides have so painstakingly achieved, but they also put international support for the two regions at risk. He appealed to the parties to cease all hostile actions and not to impede UN humanitarian activities.

Also today, Fall addressed the Council of Ministers of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) at a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Fall updated the Council of Ministers on recent UN efforts to help pave the way for reconciliation and peace in Somalia, including the Secretary-Generals participation in a mini-summit on Somalia on the margins of the latest summit of the League of Arab States. Fall also briefed the meeting on the recently completed UN technical assessment mission to Somalia.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), meanwhile, reports that it has begun trucking much-needed relief supplies to more than 18,000 internally displaced Somalis in an area west of Mogadishu. The supplies consist of thousands of blankets, plastic sheets, jerry cans and kitchen sets.

The refugee agency says that families with no relatives or clan links in the area continue to live out in the open or under trees. The need for shelter material is now more pressing because the rainy season is set to start this month.

UNHCR also reports that insecurity in parts of Mogadishu has continued to jeopardize humanitarian access to the capital and surrounding regions, making the plight of civilians more desperate.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS U.N. MISSIONS IN GEORGIA AND DR CONGO

The Security Council this morning extended the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) by one month, until 15 May, and the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) by six months, until 15 October.

The Council also adopted a Presidential Statement condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that took place yesterday in Baghdad.

Yesterday evening, following consultations on Somalia and Sudan, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement that condemned in the strongest terms the two suicide attacks that took place on Wednesday in Algeria.

This afternoon, members of the Council will also hold their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would brief reporters following the luncheon, the Spokeswoman said that he was not expected to do so, after he gave a press briefing on Thursday.

AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION CHAIR AND SECRETARY-GENERAL TO

DISCUSS WAY AHEAD ON DARUR

Just to give you a heads-up on early next week, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Alpha Konar�, will be visiting Headquarters on the 16th and 17th, during which time he will meet with the Secretary-General and members of the Security Council.

This will be an important opportunity to generate additional momentum for the Darfur peace process.

The Secretary-General and Mr. Konar� will discuss the heavy support package, as well as review the results of the joint AU/UN planning on the hybrid operation.

What we would like to flag here is that they will consider how best to give impetus to the political process and the efforts of the special envoys, which are indispensable for the attainment of lasting peace in Darfur. Joining them will be the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Darfur, Jan Eliasson, as well as his African Union counterpart for Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim.

In response to questions, the Spokeswoman noted that on Monday morning, the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for Darfur, Jan Eliasson, will meet with Konar�. Then, in the afternoon, the Security Council will hold a private meeting in which they will talk with the participants of the days meeting.

Finally, Okabe said, on Tuesday morning, Konar� and the Secretary-General will hold a wrap-up session.

Asked about the subject of the meeting, she said it was one between the African Union and the United Nations on future assistance for the AU force in Darfur and the UN-AU hybrid operation. The Secretary-General, Konar�, Eliasson and African Union envoy Salim Ahmed Salim would all participate.

Asked whether the United Nations was aware of any deal to allow the use of helicopter gunships in Darfur, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations continues to hope for an expeditious and positive response from Sudan on that issue.

U.N. NEPAL MISSION COMPLETES REGISTRATION OF ARMY WEAPONS

The UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) yesterday completed a three-day process of registration and storage of Nepalese army weapons at the Chhauni Barracks in Kathmandu.

This finalizes the first phase of registration of weapons by the Nepal Army, and weapons and combatants by the Maoist army.

UNMIN has registered some 2,850 Nepal Army weapons, including rifles, machine guns, sub-machine guns, pistols and mortars.

The registered weapons are being kept in the same storage as those collected from the Maoist army.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. HEALTH AGENCY EXPANDS EFFORTS TO FIGHT CHAGAS DISEASE: The World Health Organization (WHO) is

expanding its efforts to eliminate Chagas, a parasitic disease that affects an estimated nine million people, mostly children, in Latin America and elsewhere. Symptoms of the disease, which can take years to appear, include the swelling of internal organs, resulting in disability and even death. The expanded WHO programme is receiving help from Bayer Healthcare, which is providing more than two million tablets of nifurtimox, a drug used to treat the disease.

BAN KI-MOON AND BILL CLINTON HOLD WIDE-RANGING DISCUSSIONS: Asked about the meeting that took place Thursday between the Secretary-General and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the Spokeswoman said they had discussed the follow-up to the Indian Ocean

tsunami, on which Clinton had done a terrific job. They also talked about Darfur, Somalia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, climate change, the Middle East peace process and HIV/AIDS. Clintons side brought up the work of the Clinton Global Initiative and the Secretary-General talked about what the United Nations was doing on these issues. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes.

NO CHANGE IN RULES OF ENGAGEMENT FOR U.N. CONGO MISSION: Asked about the rules of engagement for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regarding recent fighting in South Kivu, the Spokeswoman said that the rules have not changed, and that the UN Mission and UN humanitarian work in the country were continuing.

RWANDAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT REVIEW PROCESS ONGOING: Asked about an exhibition concerning the Rwandan genocide, the Spokeswoman reiterated that the exhibition had been postponed because the normal review process had not been followed. That review process, Okabe said, was now happening, and, although she did not have a precise date for when the exhibition will open, she said she hoped it would open before the end of next week.

SECURITY COUNCIL TRIP TO KOSOVO UNDER CONSIDERATION: Asked about a Security Council trip to Kosovo, the Spokeswoman said that the Council is considering a trip to the Balkans, adding that the details of the mission are still being decided.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

[This document is for planning purposes only and is subject to change.]

Monday, April 16

This morning the Security Council holds consultations on a report from its 1718 Sanctions Committee on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Alpha Konar� is in New York today and tomorrow to generate additional momentum for the Darfur peace process. Special Envoy Jan Eliasson and the AUs Salim Ahmed Salim will also be at Headquarters. Konar� and the Secretary-General are expected to brief the Security Council in the afternoon.

At 9:45 a.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, the Secretary-General opens a special High-level Meeting of ECOSOC with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organization and the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

From 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room 3, there will be an open-ended informal meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

At 4:30 p.m., the Secretary-General presents to the General Assembly his report on UN System-wide Coherence in development, humanitarian assistance and the environment.

Beginning today in Conference Room 1 and lasting for two weeks, the 7th Session of the UN Forum on Forests discusses a new international agreement to manage the world's forests.

From today through Wednesday in Geneva, the International Labour Organization holds a meeting on manufacturers of electronic components for information technology industries.

Tuesday, April 17

The Security Council holds an open debate on the relationship between energy, security and climate.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Conference Room 6, there will be an open, informal meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission Working Group on Lessons Learned on The Afghanistan Compact: Successes, Challenges and Lessons.

Following the Spokespersons noon briefing, in Room 226, there will be a press conference on the UNs Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2007, which will be launched tomorrow. Briefing the press will be Mr. Robert Vos, Director of the Development Policy and Analysis Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Deputy-Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro will receive the distinguished leadership award from the African presidential archives and research centre at Boston University.

In Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant�nio Guterres chairs a two-day conference on the humanitarian needs of refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq.

At press events in London and Geneva, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and UNICEF launch their report on the latest HIV treatment figures and the health sector's response to the AIDS epidemic.

In Dakar, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs begins a three-day conference on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in West Africa.

Wednesday, April 18

Today is the first day of the Secretary-Generals trip to Europe and the Middle East. His stops this week include Italy and the Vatican, for talks with officials, and Switzerland, for a meeting of the Chief Executives Board.

This morning the Security Council holds consultations on Liberia sanctions.

At 11:15 a.m. in Room 226, there will be a press conference by the NGO Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict on egregious violations against children in Sudan.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific launches its annual survey of conditions in the region.

Thursday, April 19

From 2 to 5 p.m. in Conference Room 8, the UN University holds a briefing on E-wasteThe underestimated risk: Curses and opportunities of an increasing problem.

Today and tomorrow in Vienna, the High-level Symposium for the Development Cooperation Forum will focus on the experiences of countries in coordinating and managing development cooperation.

Friday, April 20

This morning the Security Council holds consultations on the UN Mission in Western Sahara, as well as a private meeting with the Missions troop contributing countries.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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