Noon Briefings

The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has confirmed that some 1,500 people were displaced from their homes in January as a result of renewed fighting in the Jebel Marra region of West Darfur. The mission says that volatile security conditions prevailing in that region in January had made it impossible for aid workers to verify reports of displacement and deliver relief goods.

The Secretary-General will travel to Los Angeles from 28 February to 2 March, to engage the creative community and explore ways in which the United Nations and the entertainment industry can join forces to raise awareness and mobilize the public around global issues. He will also address UCLA on the role of the United Nations in an era of global challenges, focusing on the power of citizens everywhere to get involved in addressing the world’s problems and building a better world.

Robert Watkins, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, said in a statement that he was deeply saddened by the report of the terrible loss of civilian life on Sunday in southern Afghanistan. Watkins has reiterated the request by the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for all parties to the conflict to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties.

The Security Council this morning heard from Under-Secretaries-General John Holmes and Alain Le Roy in an open meeting on Haiti. Mr. Holmes said that help is badly needed for the displaced people and their host communities, and Mr. Le Roy provided an update on the work of the United Nations Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, in maintaining order while restoring its capabilities, following the loss of at least 91 staff in the earthquake.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe briefed the Security Council on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, saying that the United Nations remains deeply concerned at the current stalemate and calls for the resumption of talks on final-status issues, implementation of Road Map commitments, continued efforts to improve economic and security conditions, and a different and more positive approach to Gaza.

The Secretary-General condemns the attack by unidentified armed assailants against a UNAMID police convoy returning to Nyala in South Darfur from a confidence-building patrol to the El Sharif camp for internally displaced persons in South Darfur on 16 February. Seven of the eight formed police unit members escorting the patrol were injured in the exchange of fire.

Ad Melkert, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, briefing the Security Council on Iraq, discussed the de-Baathification process, and said that the UN Mission in Iraq has consistently emphasized the due-process requirements and refrained from judging the outcomes. What eventually will matter most, he said, is the acceptance by the Iraqi people of the election result.

As you know, today is one month since the Haiti earthquake. And we’re going to start the briefing with a video by David Ohana, who is from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who was in Port-au-Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake. And this doesn’t represent an exhaustive account of the relief efforts. It’s David’s rendering of what he saw in Haiti, and it’s our way of marking the day. It’s short, it’s very poignant and we’ll be posting this on the web as well.

Dmitry Titov, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefed the Security Council this morning in an open meeting on the Secretary-General’s latest report on Sudan, saying Sudan has reached a critical juncture and will face enormous challenges in the coming year. These include the April national elections and next year’s planned referendum on the self-determination of Southern Sudan.

The Secretary-General is calling for a worldwide cessation of hostilities for the duration of the twenty-first Winter Olympic Games, which start in Vancouver this Friday. The truce is in the spirit of what the Games’ founders did in ancient Greece some two-and-half thousand years ago.