MICHELE MONTAS is the Spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.
TV: UN WEBCAST TV VIDEO - 1 hour and 3 minutes

UN: UNITED NATIONS BRIEFING AND TV: TUESDAY, 09/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)

UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 09 October 2007 -- The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly issued the following report today.

 SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES KOSOVO AND NEPAL

• The Security Council this morning received in its consultations a periodic update on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo by the head of that mission, Special Representative Joachim Rücker.

• The Security Council then heard from Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane, under other matters, about Nepal. You’ll recall that we told you last week that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was disappointed by the decision of the Interim Government of Nepal to postpone the Constituent Assembly Election which had been scheduled for 22 November.

CLASHES REPORTED IN SOUTH DARFUR TOWN

• The UN Mission in Sudan, citing initial reports it has received, has reported that clashes took place yesterday in and around the town of Muhajariya in South Darfur between the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army)/Minni Minawi faction and forces suspected to be tribal militia.

• The mission did not have further information on the circumstances of the fighting nor on possible casualties.

• Meanwhile, the UN Special Envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson is back in Khartoum to meet with Government officials, members of civil society and other stakeholders in the upcoming peace negotiations on Darfur scheduled in Libya.

 SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES MYANMAR WITH U.S. FIRST LADY

• The Spokeswoman, in response to questions, confirmed that the Secretary-General had spoken today by phone with US first lady Laura Bush, and that they had discussed the Human Rights situation in Myanmar. The Secretary-General provided an update on the work being done by his Special Advisor, Ibrahim Gambari.

• The Spokeswoman said the call was a follow-up to a call that the first lady had made to the Secretary-General when he was in Torino, Italy, in August.

• Asked about an erroneous media report concerning the UN offices in Myanmar, which she had corrected on Monday, Montas reiterated that there had never been any formal request from the Myanmar authorities for the United Nations to turn over its computers.

AFGHANISTAN’S RESUMPTION OF EXECUTIONS IS CONDEMNED

• High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today expressed her dismay at the reported execution of 15 convicted prisoners on Sunday. “I am deeply troubled by this sudden resort to execution, after three years of refraining from carrying out the death penalty,” Arbour said. “As reported, the circumstances of the executions may constitute a breach of Afghanistan's obligations under international law." 

• In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, also expressed concern at the executions. He said that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan “has been a staunch supporter of the moratorium on executions observed in Afghanistan in recent years.”

 VIOLATIONS OF LEBANON’S “BLUE LINE” TOP AGENDA
 OF TRILATERAL MILITARY DISCUSSIONS

• The Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major-General Claudio Graziano, met with senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces today at the UN position at the border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura.

• The main focus points discussed were the implementation of resolution 1701, especially the violations of the Blue Line, with a view to preventing incidents. They also discussed the marking of the Blue Line and the temporary security arrangements for the northern part of the village of Ghajar.

• Graziano said afterwards that he was encouraged with the general approach and the determination of the parties to adhere to the relevant provisions of resolution 1701.

NEARLY SIX MILLION IRAQI CHILDREN HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL

• Nearly six million Iraqi children are going back to the classroom this week, according to UNICEF, which lauded the extraordinary efforts by parents, teachers and local officials to keep Iraq’s schools open and functioning. 

• However, UNICEF adds, a quality education amidst the ongoing conflict remains an uphill struggle for many Iraqi families, and it notes that just 28 per cent of Iraq’s graduation-age population took their exams at all. 

• “Iraq’s schools are in urgent need of support, both in terms of access to schooling and the quality of learning children receive,” said Roger Wright, the UNICEF Representative for Iraq. “Well-educated children represent a chance to lift Iraq into a future of security and hope.”

 FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH IRAQI REFUGEE CAMP ON SYRIAN BORDER

• The UN refugee agency says it’s deeply concerned about the precarious living conditions of Palestinian refugees at the Al Tanf border camp in the “no-man's land” between Iraq and Syria. 

• After a devastating fire recently swept through the camp, UNHCR rushed tents, mattresses and kitchen supplies to the area, organized the refilling of fire extinguishers, and explored extra fire-prevention measures.

COMMUNICATIONS LINKS RESTORED IN REMOTE BANGLADESH REGIONS

• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has deployed 30 satellite terminals as a way to help restore vital communication links in remote areas of Bangladesh, which has recently been ravaged by floods and where response efforts have been hampered by damaged roads and lack of telecommunications facilities. 

• ITU is taking all measures to help governments focus on rehabilitation operations, particularly by covering all expenses that include transportation of equipment, training, and usage.

EX-MILITIA LEADERS ARE SENTENCED BY SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT

• Two former leaders of Sierra Leone’s Civil Defense Forces (CDF) militia have received prison sentences following their convictions in August for war crimes committed during the country’s decade-long civil conflict, according to a press release issued by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. 

• Justice Itoe said that while both Prosecution and Defence had recommended single, “global” sentences, the Court had decided to hand down separate sentences on each count for which the two accused had been found guilty.

FINAL CONVOY OF CONGOLESE REFUGEES LEAVES BANGUI, C.A.R.

• The UN Refugee Agency has wrapped up a 3-year long phased repatriation programme for Congolese refugees in the Central African Republic. A final convoy of some 130 Congolese refugees left the host country’s capital, Bangui, this weekend for the region around Kinshasa. 

• The operation began in 2004 but was repeatedly disrupted due to widespread insecurity. Since then a total of 135,000 Congolese refugees have been sent back home from neighboring countries, 43,000 since the start of this year. Even so, some 312,000 remain in refugee camps in Tanzania, Zambia and Rwanda.

 AIRLIFTED FOOD SUPPLIES RUNNING SCARCE
FOR FLOOD-AFFECTED UGANDANS

• The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that it is running out of food for hundreds of thousands of Ugandans affected by floods. WFP has been airlifting food and other assistance by helicopter to marooned communities, but says supplies will run out in December if it doesn’t receive any new contributions. 

• The agency still needs more than $20 million to buy food and to provide trucks, boats, aircraft and emergency road and bridge repairs. To date, WFP has only received one fifth of that amount. 

• Elsewhere in Africa, WFP is also feeding people affected by floods in Ghana and Togo.  The Central Emergency Response Fund, meanwhile, has allocated almost $4 million for flood survivors in Ghana, Togo and Mali since August. 

 AWARENESS OF DISASTER REDUCTION MUST BEGIN IN SCHOOL

• To mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which is tomorrow, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) has launched a new publication on keeping children safe at school and educating them about disasters. 

• ISDR notes children are one of the groups most vulnerable to disasters – more than 10,000 schools were destroyed in Pakistan during the 2005 earthquake, for example. 

• In a message to mark the day, the Secretary-General says we have a moral, social and economic obligation to act now in building resilient communities and nations. 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HEALTH WATCHDOGS SIGN UP COUNTRIES TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO TB MEDICINE: The Stop Tuberculosis Partnership's Global Drug Facility and UNITAID – which are both hosted by the World Health Organization – have announced a collaboration with 19 countries to address life-threatening shortages of anti-tuberculosis drugs. The initiative will provide drugs to countries that are scaling up their tuberculosis control efforts but are not able to cover their full needs at present. B

BAN KI-MOON SUPPORTS PALESTINIAN DEMANDS FOR OPENING OF CROSSINGS: The Spokeswoman declined to respond specifically to comments by a Hamas official in Gaza who had called on the Secretary-General to resign. She referred reporters to the Secretary-General’s clear positions on Middle East issues, including his support for the population in Gaza and his push for the opening of crossing points there.

UN WEBSITES FULLY RESTORED AFTER HACKERS’ ATTACK: Asked about the UN’s investigation into the hacking of its web site, the Spokeswoman said that the hackers had not been determined, but the damage to the web site had been repaired and measures had been taken on how to protect the site.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES SINGAPORE’S RETURN TO UNESCO: Asked about Singapore’s decision to rejoin the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General had no specific comment, but she added that the decision was welcome.

TOP HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL HEADS TO SRI LANKA: High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will head to Sri Lanka tomorrow, as part of her mandate to engage with Member States on the promotion and protection of human rights. Arbour plans to meet with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other senior Government officials, as well as representatives of political parties, UN agencies and civil society.

TRIBUNALS FOR RWANDA AND FORMER YUGOSLAVIA BEGIN REVIEW OF ARCHIVE-STORAGE OPTIONS: Today in The Hague, both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia launched a key study on the future of their archives. An expert committee has been formed and is chaired by the Tribunals’ former Prosecutor Richard Goldstone. The expert committee will provide an independent analysis on future accessibility of the archives and will review study possible storage locations. A recommendation expected at the end of the study is whether or not both Tribunals should keep a single joint archive, two separate archives or multiple archives.

UNITED NATIONS PROMOTES GOOD EATING HABITS: Responding to a rise in diet-related diseases and malnutrition, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has published a new planning guide on good eating habits, addressed to primary schools.The main purpose is to make children aware of how to handle food safely and avoid food-related risks, such as excess weight, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. FAO also stressed that as future parents, children should be able to educate their own children to follow a well-balanced quality diet.

POSTAL UNION MARKS WORLD POST DAY: Today is World Post Day, and the Universal Postal Union has an official message stressing the economic importance of making sure all the world’s citizens have easy access to postal services.

*** The guests at the noon briefing were John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator; and Markku Niskala, Secretary-General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. They discussed disaster reduction and the International Day for Disaster Reduction. ***

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

Labels: United Nations, U.N., 

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