HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON.


FRIDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2014

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES UKRAINE CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT
  • In a statement, the Secretary-General welcomes the positive news that today’s consultations between the Contact Group and representatives of armed groups have resulted in the agreement of a cease-fire. He also welcomes the recent discussions between the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia have played a part in today’s breakthrough and strongly encourages those contacts to continue.
  • The Secretary-General stresses that credible and comprehensive monitoring and verification are essential elements for successful implementation of the cease-fire and the peace plan. He encourages all who committed to the agreement to display good will and take concrete steps towards urgent, full and effective implementation.
  • He calls on the entire international community to rally behind these agreements to serve the interests of a sustainable peace based on a solution that leads to full respect of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The cessation of hostilities will further allow the UN and other humanitarian actors of the international community to deliver critical humanitarian assistance and other needed support to the impacted areas.
  • The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no military solution to the crisis in Ukraine. He strongly asserts that it is time to end this destructive conflict once and for all, to stop the bloodshed and to start rebuilding communities and livelihoods in a safe, stable and sovereign Ukraine. He offers the full support of the UN to efforts in this direction as appropriate and as requested by the parties.
SECRETARY-GENERAL: U.N. MOBILIZING IN ALL POSSIBLE WAYS TO RESPOND TO EBOLA
  • The Secretary-General spoke to the press this morning on Ebola, saying that the UN is mobilizing in every possible way to response to the outbreak in West Africa. 
  • The Secretary-General, who has just convened a meeting with senior UN leaders and experts to discuss next steps in managing the epidemic, warned that the world can no longer afford to short-change global public health.
  • He urged the international community to the support the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Roadmap and to provide $600 million for supplies in West Africa.
  • He also said that there needs to be better awareness and understanding about the outbreak, which is evolving into a social and economic challenge for millions of people.
  • The Secretary-General also urged airlines and shipping companies not to cancel flights and docking to the affected countries, adding that such restrictions will only keep medical teams from reaching people most in need.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION BRIEFS PRESS ON POTENTIAL EBOLA THERAPIES, VACCINES
  • From Geneva, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Assistant Director-General Marie-Paule Kieny and two experts from Africa spoke to the press on the conclusion of the consultations on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines.
  • A cargo plane carrying medical supplies from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has just landed in Sierra Leone. The 48 metric tons of supplies include protective equipment and essential medicine. UNICEF has delivered more than 400 metric tons of aid since early August. The agency says that more emergency airlifts are expected to continue while a steady pipeline is being established to bring supplies into affected countries by sea as well.
IRAQ: U.N. ENVOY CALLS ON POLITICAL PARTIES TO FINALIZE GOVERNMENT FORMATION
  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, has encouraged all political parties to proceed in a spirit of compromise and quickly finalise the negotiations on the government formation process.
  • He called on the leaders to finalize the process within the constitutional deadlines and to ensure a fair representation of women as well as minority communities.
  • From Geneva, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says that it has received reports of ongoing systematic targeting of non-Sunni ethnic and religious groups, through killings, abductions, destruction of property by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. There have also been increasing reports of ISIL killing Sunni individuals who refused to pledge allegiance to them. OHCHR reiterates that such grave human rights violations likely amount to crimes against humanity.
AHEAD OF WINTER, U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CONTINUES PROVIDING AID TO IRAQIS IN NEED
  • The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in Geneva today that the major aid operation in Iraq, which was launched in mid-August to help almost half a million people, is now entering a new phase with increasing pressure on accommodation with winter looming.
  • Many schools are still being used as shelters for displaced people and there is an urgent need to reinforce tents and other housing in preparation for the coming winter. 
  • UNHCR is providing assistance, including tents and emergency aid, in eight camps across Iraq housing close to 40,000 people. Since mid-July [June], the agency has provided assistance to some of the estimated 850,000 people who have fled to Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
AID SHIPMENTS ENTER SYRIA FROM TURKISH CROSSING, U.N. RELIEF WING REPORTS
  • The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say that two aid shipments passed through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey to Syria this week without incident.
  • The first on Wednesday included shelter and non-food items -- sleeping mats, blankets, hygiene kits and solar lamps -- provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration for some 2,000 households in Hama and Aleppo Governorates. The second, which crossed on Thursday, included family hygiene kits provided by UNICEF to 10,000 households in Idleb and Hama Governorates.
  • This brings the total number of cross-border convoys under Security Council resolution 2165 into Syria to eleven.
NEW U.N. GREAT LAKES ENVOY CONTINUES VISIT TO REGION
  • The Secretary-General’s new Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Said Djinnit, is in the region. He met yesterday with the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
  • They discussed the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region and called for its speedy and full implementation.
  • This visit to Rwanda is part of the introductory regional tour conducted by Mr. Djinnit is currently on. After Kigali, Mr. Djinnit will travel to Kampala to meet with the country’s authorities.
  • Mr. Djinnit was last week in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Nairobi, Kenya.
BAHRAIN: U.N. RIGHTS OFFICE VOICES CONCERN OVER VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
  • The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today in Geneva that it remains concerned about violations of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the targeting of human rights activists in Bahrain.
  • Most recently, on 30 August, prominent Bahraini human rights defender Maryam Al-Khawaja was detained at Manama airport and then transferred to a women’s prison on charges of assaulting a police officer. She is reportedly due to appear in court tomorrow. The Human Rights Office is seriously concerned that her arrest is linked to her legitimate work to promote human rights in Bahrain through the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, of which she is co-director.
  • The Human Rights Office urges the Government to take immediate steps to release her and all human rights defenders and individuals detained for the peaceful exercise of their rights, and to ensure that all human rights defenders in Bahrain are able to carry out their important work in an effective manner without fear of harassment or prosecution.
U.N. TEAMS UP WITH INTERNATIONAL RUGBY BOARD TO TACKLE HUNGER
  • The World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Rugby Board (IRB) are teaming up to “Tackle Hunger” at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
  • That event, the world’s third-largest sports event, will kick off next September 18th with a Million Meal Challenge to raise funds for WFP to provide meals to schoolchildren in developing countries.
  • More than 2.3 million people are expected to attend the six-week World Cup, and every match will prominently feature the partnership between WFP and the International Rugby Board.
  • WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said that there is a powerful connection between good nutrition and sporting excellence. She added that the Programme seeks to ensure that young children get the food they need to reach their full physical and intellectual potential.
 
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
6 – 12 September 2014
 
(This document is for planning purposes and is subject to change.)
 
 
Monday, 8 September
Today is the International Literacy Day.
In the morning, the Security Council will hold an open debate on Children and Armed Conflict.
At 1:15 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber, there will be a briefing on Global Anti-Semitism: A Threat to International Peace and Security.
In Geneva, from 8 to 26 September, the Human Rights Council (HRC) will hold its 27th Session.
Tuesday, 9 September
In the morning, the Security Council will meet on the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
At 9:30 a.m. in Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will hold a press conference to launch its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
Wednesday, 10 September
In the morning, the Security Council will meet with Troop Contributing Countries to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). 
At 12:30 p.m., in the press briefing room, the President of the General Assembly, John Ashe, will hold a press conference ahead of the High-level Stocktaking Event on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (11-12 September).
At 10 a.m. in Geneva, the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will brief the press on rights to water and sanitation.
At 12 p.m., in Geneva, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will launch its Trade and Development Report 2014.  
At 2:15 p.m., in the press briefing room, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will brief on a report on the latest scientific assessment of ozone depletion.
Thursday, 11 September
In the morning, the Security Council will hold a debate on MINUSTAH. 
From 11 to 12 September, in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, the General Assembly will convene the High-level Stocktaking Event on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General are expected to open the meeting at 10 a.m. on 11 September.
Friday, 12 September
At 2 p.m. in Geneva, OHCHR will hold a press conference on prosecution strategies in the fight against impunity.  un.

Popular posts from this blog

UK GENERAL ELECTIONS:Inquiry announced into memo alleging Sturgeon wants Tory election victory.

Image
Civil service instigates investigation into leaked memo from Foreign Office about supposed comments made in February Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, with David Cameron in her office at the Scottish parliament earlier this year. Photograph: WPA Pool/Getty A civil service inquiry into a leaked memo which claimed that Nicola Sturgeon privately wanted to see David Cameron remain in power after the general election has been instigated following calls from the First Minister. Ms Sturgeon described the allegation as “100% untrue” and accused Whitehall of “dirty tricks”.
Read more

Sandhurst's sheikhs: Why do so many Gulf royals receive military training in the UK? A parade outside the building at Sandhurst Continue reading the main story In today's Magazine The death list that names 5,000 victims Is this woman an apostate? Voices from a WW1 prison camp The Swiss selfie scandal Generations of foreign royals - particularly from the Middle East - have learned to be military leaders at the UK's Sandhurst officer training academy. But is that still a good idea, asks Matthew Teller. Since 1812, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, on the Surrey/Berkshire border, has been where the British Army trains its officers. It has a gruelling 44-week course testing the physical and intellectual skills of officer cadets and imbuing them with the values of the British Army. Alongside would-be British officers, Sandhurst has a tradition of drawing cadets from overseas. Many of the elite families of the Middle East have sent their sons and daughters. Perhaps the most notable was King Hussein of Jordan. Continue reading the main story Find out more Matthew Teller presents Sandhurst and the Sheikhs, a Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, on Wednesday 27 August 2014 at 11:00 BST It will be available on iPlayer shortly after broadcast Four reigning Arab monarchs are graduates of Sandhurst and its affiliated colleges - King Abdullah of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Past monarchs include Sheikh Saad, Emir of Kuwait, and Sheikh Hamad, Emir of Qatar. Sandhurst's links have continued from the time when Britain was the major colonial power in the Gulf. "One thing the British were excellent at was consolidating their rule through spectacle," says Habiba Hamid, former foreign policy strategist to the rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. "Pomp, ceremony, displays of military might, shock and awe - they all originate from the British military relationship." Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, King Abdullah, Sultan Qaboos Sandhurst alumni: King Hamad of Bahrain, King Abdullah of Jordan and Sultan Qaboos of Oman It's a place where future leaders get to know each other, says Michael Stephens, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute, Qatar. And Sandhurst gives the UK influence in the Gulf. "The [UK] gets the kind of attention from Gulf policy elites that countries of our size, like France and others, don't get. It gives us the ability to punch above our weight. "You have people who've spent time in Britain, they have… connections to their mates, their teachers. Familiarity in politics is very beneficial in the Gulf context." "For British people who are drifting around the world, as I did as a soldier," says Brigadier Peter Sincock, former defence attache to Saudi Arabia, "you find people who were at Sandhurst and you have an immediate rapport. I think that's very helpful, for example, in the field of military sales." The Emir of Dubai Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum with his son after his Passing Out Parade at Sandhurst in 2006 Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai, with his son in uniform at Sandhurst in 2006 Her Majesty The Queen's Representative His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, The Emir of Qatar inspects soldiers during the 144th Sovereign's Parade held at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on April 8, 2004 in Camberley, England. Some 470 Officer cadets took part of which 219 were commissioned into the British Army Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar until 2013, inspects soldiers at Sandhurst in 2004 Emotion doesn't always deliver. In 2013, despite the personal intervention of David Cameron, the UAE decided against buying the UK's Typhoon fighter jets. But elsewhere fellow feeling is paying dividends. "The Gulf monarchies have become important sources of capital," says Jane Kinninmont, deputy head of the Middle East/North Africa programme at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House. "So you see the tallest building in London being financed by the Qataris, you see UK infrastructure and oilfield development being financed by the UAE. There's a desire - it can even seem like a desperation - to keep them onside for trade reasons." British policy in the Gulf is primarily "mercantile", says Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, of the Baker Institute in Houston, Texas. Concerns over human rights and reform are secondary. The Shard at dusk The Shard was funded by Qatari investors In 2012 Sandhurst accepted a £15m donation from the UAE for a new accommodation block, named the Zayed Building after that country's founding ruler. In March 2013, Sandhurst's Mons Hall - a sports centre - was reopened as the King Hamad Hall, following a £3m donation from the monarch of Bahrain, who was educated at one of Sandhurst's affiliated colleges. The renaming proved controversial, partly because of the perceived slight towards the 1,600 British casualties at the Battle of Mons in August 1914 - and partly because of how Hamad and his government have dealt with political protest in Bahrain over the last three years. A critic might note that the third term of Sandhurst's Officer Commissioning Course covers counter-insurgency techniques and ways to manage public disorder. Since tension between Bahrain's majority Shia population and minority Sunni ruling elite boiled over in 2011, more than 80 civilians have died at the hands of the security forces, according to opposition estimates, though the government disputes the figures. Thirteen police officers have also lost their lives in the clashes. "The king has always felt that Sandhurst was a great place," says Sincock, chairman of the Bahrain Society, which promotes friendship between the UK and Bahrain. "Something like 20 of his immediate family have been there as cadets. He didn't really understand why there was such an outcry." David Cameron and King Hamad David Cameron meeting King Hamad in 2012... A protester is held back by police ... while protesters nearby opposed the Bahrain ruler's human rights record Crispin Black, a Sandhurst graduate and former instructor, says the academy should not have taken the money. "Everywhere you look there's a memorial to something, a building or a plaque that serves as a touchstone that takes you right to the heart of British military history. Calling this hall 'King Hamad Hall' ain't gonna do that." Sandhurst gave a written response to the criticism. "All donations to Sandhurst are in compliance with the UK's domestic and international legal obligations and our values as a nation. Over the years donations like this have saved the UK taxpayer a considerable amount of money." But what happens when Sandhurst's friends become enemies? In 2001, then-prime minister Tony Blair visited Damascus, marking a warming of relations between the UK and Syria. Shortly after, in 2003, Sandhurst was training officers from the Syrian armed forces. Now, of course, Syria is an international pariah. Journalist Michael Cockerell has written about Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi's time at the Army School of Education in Beaconsfield in 1966: "Three years [later], Gaddafi followed a tradition of foreign officers trained by the British Army. He made use of his newfound knowledge to seize political power in his own country." Ahmed Ali Sandhurst-trained Ahmed Ali was a key player in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi That tradition persists. In the 1990s Egyptian colonel Ahmed Ali attended Sandhurst. In 2013 he was one of the key figures in the Egyptian military's removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, now rewarded by a post in President Sisi's inner circle of advisers. In the late 1990s there were moves by the British government under Tony Blair to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets. Major-General Arthur Denaro, Middle East adviser to the defence secretary and commandant at Sandhurst in the late 1990s, describes the idea as part of the "ethical foreign policy" advocated by the late Robin Cook, then-foreign secretary. Tony Blair and Robin Cook Tony Blair and Robin Cook at one point planned to end Sandhurst's training of overseas cadets The funeral of King Hussein in 1999 appears to have scuppered the plan. "Coming to that funeral were the heads of state of almost every country in the world - and our prime minister was there, Tony Blair," says Major-General Denaro. "He happened to see me talking to heads of state - the Sultan of Brunei, the Sultan of Oman, the Bahrainis, the Saudis - and he said 'How do you know all these guys?' The answer was because they went to Sandhurst." Today, Sandhurst has reportedly trained more officer cadets from the UAE than from any other country bar the UK. The May 2014 intake included 72 overseas cadets, around 40% of whom were from the Middle East. "In the future," says Maryam al-Khawaja, acting president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, "people will look back at how much Britain messed up in the [Middle East] because they wanted to sell more Typhoon jets to Bahrain, rather than stand behind the values of human rights and democracy." "It's one thing saying we're inculcating benign values, but that's not happening," says Habiba Hamid. Sandhurst is "a relic of the colonial past. They're not [teaching] the civic values we ought to find in democratically elected leaders." line Who else went to Sandhurst? Princes William and Harry, Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming, Katie Hopkins, Antony Beevor, James Blunt, Josh Lewsey, Devon Harris (From left to right) Princes William and Harry Sir Winston Churchill Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond (but did not complete training) Katie Hopkins, reality TV star Antony Beevor, historian James Blunt, singer-songwriter Josh Lewsey, World Cup-winning England rugby player Devon Harris, member of Jamaica's first bobsleigh team line Sandhurst says that "building international relations through military exchanges and education is a key pillar of the UK's international engagement strategy". Sandhurst may be marvellous for the UK, a country where the army is subservient to government, but it is also delivering militarily-trained officers to Middle Eastern monarchies where, often, armies seem to exist to defend not the nation but the ruling family.

Image
Generations of foreign royals - particularly from the Middle East - have learned to be military leaders at the UK's Sandhurst officer training academy. But is that still a good idea, asks Matthew Teller. Since 1812, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, on the Surrey/Berkshire border, has been where the British Army trains its officers. It has a gruelling 44-week course testing the physical and intellectual skills of officer cadets and imbuing them with the values of the British Army. Alongside would-be British officers, Sandhurst has a tradition of drawing cadets from overseas. Many of the elite families of the Middle East have sent their sons and daughters. Perhaps the most notable was King Hussein of Jordan. Four reigning Arab monarchs are graduates of Sandhurst and its affiliated colleges - King Abdullah of Jordan, King Hamad of Bahrain, Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, and Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Past monarchs include Sheikh S
Read more

Ebola Outbreak: Guinea Declares Emergency As Overall Deaths From Ebola Rise To 1,069

Image
Health workers take passengers' temperatures infrared digital laser thermometers at the Felix Houphouet Boigny international airport in Abidjan on Aug. 13, 2014. Ivory Coast on Monday banned air travellers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries worst-hit by the Ebola outbreak, and ordered its flagship carrier Air Cote d'Ivoire to cease flights to and from them. Reuters/Luc Gnago Guinea, one of the worst-hit West African nations in the ongoing Ebola outbreak, announced a state of emergency Wednesday. The World Health Organization, or WHO, also  said  that four new people died in Guinea between Aug. 10 and Aug. 11. The total death count in Guinea from the latest epidemic was estimated at 377 by WHO while the number of cases reported had risen to 510. Overa
Read more