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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, November 17, 2008 

U.N. MISSION CONDEMNS LATEST CEASEFIRE VIOLATION BY CONGOLESE REBEL GROUP 

• The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has strongly condemned the latest violation of the ceasefire by the rebel group CNDP (National Congress for the Defense of the People), led by Laurent Nkunda. Nkunda’s fighters yesterday seized control of a number of North Kivu localities following some of the worst fighting in more than a week.

• The Mission says that the UN attack helicopters undertook reconnaissance flights over the area and are poised to respond to any and all eventualities. It calls on the warring parties to uphold the ceasefire and to give the ongoing political process a chance to succeed.
   

• Over the weekend, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Olusegun Obasanjo, met with Presidents Dos Santos of Angola and Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and later on with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu. Nkunda reportedly raised some demands, including integration of rebels in the national army at the appropriate rank. He also agreed to open a corridor for humanitarian assistance and to continue to observe the ceasefire.
   

• Special Envoy Obasanjo and African Union Co-Facilitator Benjamin Mkapa are in Nairobi, Kenya, today, to brief President Mwai Kibaki, in his capacity as the Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, on their consultations with Luanda and Kinshasa.
   

• Obasanjo, who earlier today called on both government and rebel forces to respect the ceasefire, is expected at UN Headquarters later this week to brief the Secretary-General.
   

• Back in the field, the Mission says that it is providing support to humanitarian agencies working to relocate some 60,000 displaced people from a UN camp at Kibati. The Kibati camp is located some 10 km north of Goma, just below rebel lines, and it would be firmly in the line of fire should the rebels advance on Goma. The internally displaced persons will be moved to another UN camp far from the frontline.
   

• The Deputy Spokesperson, in response to a question, said that Special Envoy Obansanjo's message to Laurent Nkunda was that the international community expects a durable ceasefire to address the issue of humanitarian crisis and tragedy, then to move forward to find durable peace and political stability that we need for sustainable development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
   

• Obansanjo, Okabe added, was in the region on his first mission, which was exploratory in nature. And that messages that he carried along on this mission echoed what the Secretary-General has publicly stated would be the approach to the crisis in North Kivu. 

 BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES ECONOMY SUMMIT’S COMMITMENT TO MULTILATERALISM 

• On Friday and Saturday, the Secretary-General was in Washington, D.C., to take part in the Summit on the World Economy.
   

• In a statement welcoming the Summit’s Final Declaration, which committed leaders to joint action, the Secretary-General highlighted the agreement on the international coordination of stimulus packages, as well as new market regulation, more inclusive economic governance and the need to avoid trade and investment protectionism.
   

• In particular, the Secretary-General expressed appreciation for the Declaration’s commitment to: continued cooperation and multilateralism; the Millennium Development Goals and development assistance commitments previously made; the development principles agreed at the conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey in 2002; and addressing other critical challenges, such as energy security and climate change, food security, the rule of law, and the fight against terrorism, poverty and disease.
   

• In his own remarks, the Secretary-General emphasized the importance of inclusive multilateralism, so that countries not represented at the Summit can participate in shaping future international economic governance.  He also cited the opportunity to promote green economic development as part of the fiscal stimulus, and stressed the importance of strong participation at the Doha Review Conference on Financing for Development later this month. 

 SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN GENEVA FOR ENVOY MEETINGS  

• The Secretary-General, meanwhile, arrived this morning in Geneva, where he met at the Palais des Nations with High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, and the regional heads of the field presences of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This afternoon, he traveled to Montreux to participate in an annual seminar with his Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys.
   

• Tomorrow, Secretary-General Ban will have a morning meeting at with the new Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Francis Gurry, at WIPO headquarters, following which he will hold a town hall meeting with WIPO Staff. 
   

• Later Tuesday morning, the Secretary-General will participate in the inauguration of the new Human Rights Council and Alliance of Civilizations Room (former Room XX) at the Palais des Nations, along with the King of Spain, Juan Carlos II, and his wife, Queen Sofia, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey. Room XX has been completely renovated at the expense of the Spanish Government through a private-public partnership with ONUART, and contains a ceiling sculpture by acclaimed Spanish artist Miguel Barceló. 
   

• The Secretary-General will return to New York on Wednesday.

 GAZA FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS TO RESUME TOMORROW 

• The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reports that the Kerem Shalom crossing point between Israel and Gaza was opened today. As a result, the World Food Programme was able to get nine trucks into Gaza.
   

• But the fuel pipelines remained closed – meaning that Gaza is still experiencing power problems.
   

• Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) managed to get eight trucks into Gaza, containing luncheon meat and powdered milk for babies. But many of the powdered milk containers were opened with knives by the authorities, resulting in thousands of dollars worth of damage, according to UNRWA.
   

• UNRWA says its food distribution program will be able resume as of tomorrow – but for “days not weeks.” In that context, UNWRA stresses its need for consistent and large-scale influxes of supplies.

 IRAQ: U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES LAW ON HUMAN RIGHTS BODY 

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, has welcomed the Council of Representatives’ adoption of a law concerning the Independent High Commission for Human Rights.
   

• De Mistura said the High Commission is a milestone in the protection and promotion of human rights in Iraq.
   

• He called on the Government of Iraq and the Council of Representatives to make all necessary arrangements for the prompt establishment of a strong, credible and independent Commission, which, from the outset, becomes an institution responsive to the needs of all Iraqi citizens.

 DEPLOYMENT OF DARFUR MISSION DISCUSSED 

• United Nations, African Union and Government of Sudan officials convened on Sunday in Khartoum a tripartite meeting on the deployment of the UN-AU Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
   

• The meeting was attended on the UN side by Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra.
   

• The meeting reviewed the outcome of last meeting, which was held in October in Khartoum and also focused on logistical challenges affecting UNAMID deployment.

 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO RISE IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES 

• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat issued its report on greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries today.  The report finds that emissions in these countries continue to rise.
   

• Between 2000 and 2006, emissions of the 40 nations with reporting obligations under the Convention rose by 2.3 per cent.  But the biggest increases came from economies in transition, which rose more than three times as much.
   

• Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, says that the figures clearly underscore the need for political action at the climate change conference that opens in Poznan, Poland, in just two weeks.

 U.N. BODIES WORK TO GIVE FARMERS WEATHER INSURANCE 

• The World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agriculture Development are teaming up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide poor rural farmers with weather insurance.
   

• The Foundation is providing nearly one million dollars to support research and planning for this type of insurance.  The aim is to bridge the gap between emergency relief and rural development by shielding small farmers from the impact of natural disasters and climate change.

 OZONE MEETING TO BE AS PAPER-FREE AS POSSIBLE 

• Parties to the Montreal Protocol on protecting the ozone layer are meeting all this week in Doha.  In an effort to reduce greenhouse gases associated with this and other international conferences, a pilot programme is underway to make the meeting as paper-free as possible. 
   

• As part of the initiative, which is sponsored by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Government of Qatar, delegates have been issued laptops with special software that allows them to share and amend papers during the meeting.  Participants have also been given lessons on how to minimize the use of printed documents.
   

• In an effort to reduce emissions linked to the publication and shipment of conference documents to and from meetings, UNEP’s exhibition in Doha is handing out memory sticks and guides on downloading publications, rather than the reports themselves. 

 NEW DISASTER RISK REDUCTION OFFICIAL APPOINTED 

• The Secretary-General has appointed Margareta Wahlstrom of Sweden as Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action in the Secretariat for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 
   

• This new voluntary-funded post, based in Geneva, has been created to step up action and international cooperation on disaster risk reduction, as climate change steadily increases the number and intensity of natural disasters across the globe.
   

• Ms. Wahlstrom has 25 years of extensive national and international experience in disaster management and institution building for strengthening capacity for disaster preparedness and risk reduction.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

CYPRIOT LEADERS DISCUSS INDEPENDENT OFFICES & SUPREME COURT: The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, spoke to the press today in Nicosia, following today’s meeting of the Cypriot leaders. He said the meeting had been held in a “very positive atmosphere” and had featured a discussion on independent offices, the office of the Federal Attorney-General and the Federal Auditor-General.  There was also further discussion on the Supreme Court. The leaders’ next meeting will be on Tuesday, 25 November.

 

MORE STATES JOIN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: The seventh session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened this past weekend in The Hague and will last until November 22. The Court says two new states have joined it, the Cook Islands and Suriname, raising the number of its member states to 108. The Court also announced this morning that its Trial Chamber will hold a status conference tomorrow in the case of accused Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga case.

 

TURKMENISTAN REQUEST BEING REVIEWED: In response to a question about Turkmenistan's request for electoral assistance, the Deputy Spokesperson later confirmed that the United Nations did receive an invitation to send representatives to visit Turkmenistan on the occasion of the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on 14 December. That request was being reviewed, she added.

 

PAKISTAN LOAN BEING CONSIDERED: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced an agreement in principle on a Stand-by Arrangement for Pakistan.  The plan, which is subject to approval by the IMF’s board, would involve a loan of roughly $7.6 billion dollars over 23 months. According to the IMF, the key objective of the arrangement is to support Pakistan’s plan to tighten fiscal and monetary policies while ensuring a well-targeted and adequately funded social safety net.

 

AWARDS TO HONOR LEADERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCIES: Three leading environmental and humanitarian agencies have launched a new type of award, aimed at honoring leaders in the response to large-scale environmental emergencies. The Green Star Awards will honor individuals, organizations, governments and corporations for their special efforts to respond to such emergencies. The non-monetary awards are an initiative of the U.N. Environment Programme, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Green Cross International. The first Green Star Awards will be given out next May in Brussels.