United Nations Daily Highlights, 08-05-27

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MICHELE MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

BAN KI-MOON REGRETS EXTENDED DETENTION OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

[The following statement was issued in the name of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

"I regret the decision of the Government of Myanmar to extend for a sixth consecutive year the detention under house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

"The sooner restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures are lifted, the sooner Myanmar will be able to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights.

"In this regard, I expect my Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, to continue on my behalf the process of political dialogue that he has begun with both the Myanmar authorities and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the context of his good offices mandate."]

UNITED NATIONS IS DETERMINED TO REDOUBLE EFFORTS TO

END SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE OF CHILDREN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned by the Save the Children (UK) report focusing on the under-reporting of child sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers and peacekeepers.

The abuse of children by those sent to help is a significant and painful issue and one that UN peacekeeping has and will continue to address candidly, comprehensively and robustly. Even one incident is one incident too many.

The United Nations is committed to training and monitoring our civilian staff and working with our troop and police contributing countries to ensure that all categories of UN personnel are both trained in -- and are accountable for -- the highest standards of conduct.

As pointed out in the report, the United Nations has already undertaken a series of measures designed to tackle this problem directly, from establishing Conduct and Discipline Units in all of our missions to strengthening our training regimes for all categories of UN personnel.

We are determined to redouble our efforts in this regard and to work with all of our partners to implement fully our policy of zero tolerance of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel.

The United Nations will continue to depend on the active efforts of its troop and police contributing countries in investigating and disciplining their national personnel found to have committed misconduct including acts of sexual exploitation and abuse while serving in UN operations.

SECURITY COUNCIL CAN GO FURTHER IN ADDRESSING PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICT

The Security Council is holding an open meeting today on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Briefing this morning, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said the Council could go further in addressing the protection of civilians in armed conflict. In fact, a more consistent approach to integrating the matter into the Councils work could make a very real difference to the lives of millions trapped in the chaos and horror of war.

In that regard, Holmes suggested the creation of an informal Security Council expert group to deal with this theme.

IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS TO DISCUSS IRAN REPORT ON JUNE 2

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has

transmitted its latest report on Iran to the Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors.

The IAEA says the contents of the latest report cover developments since Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradeis report of 22 February 2008.

The IAEA Board of Governors will discuss the report when it next convenes in Vienna on 2 June.

The IAEA says the reports circulation is restricted and cannot be released to the public unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise.

CONGOLESE WAR CRIMES SUSPECT ARRESTED

The International Criminal Court said in a statement this weekend that Belgian authorities have arrested Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a sealed ICC warrant.

The Court says that Bemba, in his capacity as president and commander in chief of the Mouvement de lib�ration du Congo (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible for 4 counts of war crimes and 2 counts of crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic between October 2002 and March 2003.

Specifically, the Court charges that, during that period, MLC forces led by Bemba carried out a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, during which rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging were committed.

The warrant for Bembas arrest was issued under seal just four days ago.

CHILDREN & ARMED CONFLICT ENVOY VISITS

CHAD & CENTRAL AFRICAN REP.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, yesterday began an official regional visit to Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) at the invitation of the Governments of these two countries.

Her mission aims to collect first-hand impressions of the situation of children in the region in order to enhance advocacy for protection and programme interventions for children in war zones. Coomaraswamy will pay particular attention to child recruitment, including cross-border recruitment, by state and non state actors. She will also study conditions for humanitarian personnel and the safety and security for in camps for the internally displaced.

Meanwhile, in a race against the start of the rainy season in mid-June, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it began the transfer of more than 9,500 newly arrived refugees from the CAR to a new camp in Moula, southern Chad. This latest wave of CAR refugees arrived in southern Chad between January and March this year following violence in northern CAR.

COTE DIVOIRE: RE-EDUCATION STARTS FOR EX-COMBATANTS

Kyung-wha Kang, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, is in Cote dIvoire for a working visit during which she will be meeting Government officials, members of the international community and the UN country team, among others. She is also expected to visit Liberia later this week.

Meanwhile, the UN Mission in Cote dIvoire has confirmed the start of the first phase of post-conflict re-education for former combatants.

Yesterday, UN officials were among the guests at a formal induction of 250 ex-rebel combatants into a German-funded programme in Bouake, the former rebel stronghold. Through this programme a total of 730 former rebels will be receiving basic professional skills in the agriculture, construction and computer sciences in the short to mid-term.

The programme, which is an integral of the UN-backed disarmament initiative for Cote dIvoire, targets the 70 percent of former combatants believed to lack basic reading and writing skills.

It is expected that this year alone some 20,000 young men and women aged 18 to 35, the majority of whom were not fighters, will learn new professional skills through this initiative.

U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR RENEWED EFFORTS

TO HELP INTERNALLY DISPLACED KENYANS

Walter Kaelin, the Representative of the Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, on Friday completed a working visit to Kenya.

He said at the conclusion of his trip that special efforts by the Kenyan Government, humanitarian agencies and the donors are essential if the return of those displaced by the post-election violence is to be sustainable and compatible with international human rights standards.

In the absence of substantially increased efforts, we will jeopardize the fragile process of building and restoring of peace in displacement affected communities, he noted.

NEPAL: SUCCESSFUL ELECTION A MAJOR MILESTONE

BUT NOT AN END IN ITSELF

On the eve of the first meeting of Nepals Constituent Assembly, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Nepal, Ian Martin said that the successful election was a major milestone in the peace process, but it does not represent the completion of the process.

Speaking to the press in Katmandu, Martin highlighted the challenges that lay ahead for both the yet-to-be-formed government and the 601-member Constituent Assembly.

He reiterated messages from his briefing last week to the Security Council, including focusing on challenges still faced in forming the new government to provide the basis for stable governance and development throughout the life of the Constituent Assembly and move ahead with economic development.

In a swearing-in ceremony today at the Birendra International Convention Centre the site for Constituent Assembly meetings the 567 members took their oaths in preparation for tomorrows historic first session of the Assembly.

AIRCRAFT THAT DOWNED GEORGIAN DRONE

BELONGED TO RUSSIAN AIR FORCE

The UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) yesterday released a report on last months downing of a Georgian drone over Abkhazia. The report concluded that the aircraft that shot down the drone belonged to the Russian air force.

The report stresses the importance of the Moscow Agreement, which provides for the Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping forces and no one else to perform the separation of Georgian and Abkhaz forces.

In that regard, from a strict peacekeeping perspective, UNOMIG considers that enforcement action by third-parties in this case the Russian Federation - in the zone of conflict is fundamentally inconsistent with the Moscow Agreement.

At the same time, and from the same peacekeeping perspective, UNOMIG reiterates its position stated to the Georgian Minister of Defence on 7 April 2008 that the overflight of the zone of conflict by surveillance aircraft also constitutes a breach of the Moscow Agreement.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCILS FACT-FINDING MISSION ARRIVES IN GAZA

An independent high-level fact-finding mission by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Professor Christine Chinkin is currently in Gaza as part of its mission to Beit Hanoun.

The mission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2006 after an Israeli attack in Beit Hanoun resulted in the deaths of 19 people, including seven children.

Archbishop Tutu and Professor Chinkin entered Gaza today from Egypt and, in addition to visiting Beit Hanoun itself, are holding a range of meetings, including with survivors and witnesses of the original attack.

The mission will submit a final report to the September session of the Human Rights Council.

BAN KI-MOON CONGRATULATES LEBANON ON ELECTION OF PRESIDENT

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Secretary-General congratulates the people of Lebanon on the election of Michel Suleimane as President of the Republic.

This election brings to an end the constitutional void that has endured in Lebanon since 21 November 2007.

The Secretary-General hopes that today's historic event leads to the revitalization of all of Lebanon 's constitutional institutions and a return to political dialogue within this framework.

He urges all Lebanese parties to press ahead together in consolidating the sovereignty, stability and political independence of the Lebanese State in accordance with the Taif accord and relevant Security Council resolutions.

The Secretary-General stands ready to support the Lebanese people as required and looks forward to working closely with the President and the future Government of Lebanon towards these goals.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANTI-RACISM REVIEW CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN GENEVA IN APRIL 2009: The Preparatory Committee for the Anti-Racism Review Conference has announced that the Conference will be held in Geneva from 20-24 April 2009. The purpose of the Review Conference will be to review progress and assess implementation of the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

REFUGEE AGENCY WELCOMES COLOMBIAN DECISION ON PROTECTION OF DISPLACED WOMEN: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomes a decision by Colombias Constitutional Court, which ruled that displaced women are particularly vulnerable and ordered the government to create 13 programmes for their protection, and prioritize them for access to emergency humanitarian assistance. The Court also ordered direct protection for 600 displaced women and asked the countrys attorney-general to investigate several cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

DARFUR MISSIONS OPERATIONS HINDERED: The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has reported two incidents over the weekend hampering its operations one involving a peacekeeping patrol and another involving staff of a humanitarian non-governmental organization.

UNICEF HELPS SURVIVORS OF RECENT SOUTH AFRICA VIOLENCE: UNICEF South Africa has joined forces with the cities of Johannesburg, Ekhuruleni and Tshwane, the areas hardest hit by the violence in South Africa, to provide emergency relief supplies to meet immediate needs of vulnerable women and children.