BAN KI-MOON TO SEND TOP HUMANITARIAN ADVISOR TO MYANMAR

• Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday afternoon held a meeting on the situation in Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, with key donors and members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
   

• The Under-Secretary-General of the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, will go to Myanmar in the coming days on a World Food Programme aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance.
   

• In a press encounter following the meeting, the Secretary-General said that although it is encouraging that the Myanmar Government is now showing flexibility, much more needs to be done with great urgency. 
   

• The next few days will be crucially important in reaching the suffering people with the necessary relief items and humanitarian goods.
   

• He also reiterated that the international community, in particular the ASEAN countries, need to work in full cooperation with the Myanmarese Government on addressing the grave humanitarian issue.
   

• Also discussed in the meeting were specific issues, including designating a UN/ASEAN joint humanitarian coordinator, establishing a logistical hub outside Myanmar and also holding a high-level pledging conference.
   

• Asked whether the Secretary-General had decided to send John Holmes to Myanmar, the Spokeswoman said that the decision has been made to send him, and the question now is to find suitable dates for a visit. Holmes, she said, intends to visit as soon as possible, likely within the next five days. He has asked for a visa and it is expected that he will get it.
   

• Asked about the proposal for a high-level pledging conference on Myanmar, Montas noted that the group that met on Wednesday had discussed the proposal, and now it is up to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discuss it when it meets in Singapore on 19 May.
   

• Holmes, she added, was not expected to attend the Singapore meeting, which is for ASEAN members meeting at the foreign minister level.
   

• Asked what the Holmes visit could accomplish, she said that it is part of the larger effort to open up access to humanitarian assistance for the victims of the cyclone particularly to the Delta region; those goals, she added, are in line with the discussions on Wednesday.
   

• Asked whether the Secretary-General plans to visit Myanmar, Montas said that, at present, he did not.
   

• Asked whether the Secretary-General has been able to reach the authorities in Myanmar, the Spokeswoman noted that he still has not spoken by phone with the leadership. However, she added, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations had attended the Wednesday meeting, which she described as “positive and constructive”.

 UP TO 2.5 MILLION MYANMARESE IN NEED OF URGENT ASSISTANCE

• Two weeks in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says between 1.6 and 2.5 million people estimated to be urgently in need of critical disaster assistance.
   

• OCHA says that inconsistent access to the flooded Delta region, damage to infrastructure and communications, and heavy rainfall pose serious logistical challenges, so the level of assistance is still falling far short of what is required. Concern is deepening over the growing risk of outbreaks of disease, especially with people migrating outwards from the affected areas in search of basic necessities.
   

• The World Food Programme and its partners have dispatched over 700 tonnes of rice, high-energy biscuits and beans to at least 71, 800 people since Cyclone Nargis struck.
   

• Mobile clinics and open hospitals in Labutta and Bogale are treating people suffering from diarrhoeal diseases, acute respiratory infections, and injuries, while supply gaps for emergency health drugs, supplies and kits are gradually being filled by health agencies.
   

• UNICEF and the Ministry of Health are carrying out measles and tetanus vaccinations, as well as Vitamin A supplements for young children in temporary settlements.

UNITED NATIONS STANDS READY TO ASSIST CHINA QUAKE VICTIMS

• The Secretary-General is watching the situation there very carefully. According to the latest state media reports, the confirmed death toll is just below 20,000 people, but it is feared that more than 50,000 people may have died in the quake.
   

• This is a terrible tragedy and the Secretary-General offers his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the victims and their families.
   

• The United Nations stands ready to help in any way that the Chinese government might require.
   

• On the humanitarian front, the UN Resident Coordinator in Beijing has been in touch with Chinese authorities and has offered UN tools and services.  The Chinese Government has not formally appealed for support, but it has said it welcomes in-kind contributions.
   

• UN agencies stand prepared to provide ready-to-eat food; shelter materials; health, water and sanitation supplies; and other items.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes that there is an especially urgent need for tents.
   

• OCHA adds that it is willing to release a grant from the Central Emergency Response Fund, of an amount to be determined.  The Resident Coordinator in Beijing and the UN Development Programme are also submitting requests for funds to purchase assistance items for victims and strengthen coordination activities. 
   

• Asked whether the Secretary-General is concerned about China’s posture on aid to the earthquake, the Spokeswoman stressed that so far, there are no reports that would indicate that the situation is not being handled properly by the Chinese authorities. For now, she added, the United Nations has offered help and is waiting for specific requests.

 BAN KI-MOON STRESSES SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIANS

• The Secretary-General today called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the occasion of the Palestinian commemoration of the "Nakba", to underline his support for the Palestinian people.
   

• The Secretary-General reiterated his support for the peace process, the establishment of a sovereign, viable, independent Palestinian state in accordance with UN resolutions and international law, and the achievement of a two-state solution in the Middle East.
   

• Asked whether the Secretary-General had also called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, the Spokeswoman recalled that he had spoken by phone with Prime Minister Olmert a week earlier.

 SUDAN: FOOD AGENCY AIR SERVICE AT RISK OF CLOSURE

• The World Food Programme (WFP) says its Humanitarian Air Service gets a reprieve until the middle of next month but still risks closure.
   

• WFP says it can continue operations until mid-June thanks to recent donations.
   

• But the air service, which flies about 14,000 humanitarian workers around Sudan each month, still faces a funding crisis this year. It needs more than $51 million to fly from mid-June onwards, WFP warns.

 SPORADIC SHOOTING REPORTED IN ABYEI, SUDAN

• Asked about reports that UN staff were being withdrawn from Abyei, in Sudan, the Spokeswoman noted that conditions are relatively calmer in Abyei but sporadic shooting is still reported, with bullets fired near the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) camp. The UNMIS camp cannot sustain for too long the number of people there, which included international and national staff from the NGO community, she added.
   

• Montas said that the town of Abyei is almost deserted, with a column of people seen today leaving the town, and the market has ceased to function. A fuel container has been seen burned in the town today.
   

• She confirmed that the UN Mission decided to pull out most of its civilian international and national staff who are present in Abyei, because the safety and security conditions made it impossible for them to operate. The head of the office and a few other international staff members remain behind to perform critical duties.
   

• Montas added that the UNMIS Deputy Force Commander has flown to Abyei and attended an Area Joint Military Committee meeting, where the parties agreed to an immediate cease-fire and to take up law and order responsibilities for their respective areas of operation, while removing all other armed groups from the city and preventing the entry of new ones.
   

• In response to previous questions about casualties, the Spokeswoman said that, because of the UN Mission’s inability to go out of its compound today, it has been unable to monitor the situation.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON SOMALIA RESOLUTION

• The members of the Security Council are having their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General today.
   

• Then, at 3:15 this afternoon, the Security Council has scheduled consultations, to be followed by a formal meeting to vote on a draft resolution on the work of the UN Political Office in Somalia.

 SECURITY REMAINS FRAGILE IN CENTRAL AFRICA

• The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte, is in the Angolan capital of Luanda today to deliver a message of the Secretary-General to the 27th meeting of the UN Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.
   

• In his message, the Secretary-General says that recent efforts to promote peace and security in the region have yielded encouraging results.
   

• He noted improved political dialogue in the Central African Republic; the Goma peace conference on the Congolese Kivu provinces and the UN deployment in north-eastern CAR and eastern Chad (MINURCAT). However, developments in Burundi and eastern DRC, Chad and Sudan continue to threaten lasting peace and stability in the sub-region.
   

• The Secretary-General therefore pledges continued UN support to the Economic Community of Central African States in order to strengthen the capacity of its Council for Peace and Security and its Early Warning Mechanism.

  TELECOMMUNICATIONS AGENCY HONORS PROMOTERS
 OF CONNECTIVITY FOR THE DISABLED

• In honor of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, which will be observed this Saturday, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today presented a number of awards in Cairo. Recipients included Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.
   

• The Day’s theme this year is connecting people with disabilities to the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies, or ICTs. In remarks today, ITU chief Hamadoun Touré said, “ICTs have the great merit of serving as a powerful equalizer of abilities, empowering persons with disabilities to fulfill their potential.”
   

• In a message, the Secretary-General says it is vital that we change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities, ensuring that they have the right to fully participate in the information society.

CHALLENGES OF FATHERHOOD HIGHLIGHTED ON “DAY OF FAMILIES”

• Today is the International Day of Families, and the theme this year is fatherhood.
   

• In a message to mark the day, the Secretary-General says that challenges persist for fathers. At the international level, for example, migration forces many fathers to often face separation from their families.
   

• Also, the HIV/AIDS crisis – which demonstrates the critical importance of sexual responsibility for fathers and all men – also challenges men to become father figures to children who have been left orphaned by the disease.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNITED NATIONS BACKS ARAB LEAGUE’S LEBANON INITIATIVE: Asked about UN support for the initiative by the League of Arab States concerning Lebanon, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations is continuing to follow this situation closely. The Secretary-General, she said, strongly supports the current efforts of the League of Arab States to help the parties in Lebanon resolve the prolonged political crisis in the country through dialogue and without further violence.

BAN KI-MOON HAS RECEIVED IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROPOSALS: Asked whether the Secretary-General has received proposals from Iran concerning nuclear enrichment, the Spokeswoman confirmed that the Secretary-General had received the proposals, which have now have to be analysed.

KUWAITI FUND TO ADDRESS FOOD CRISIS IS APPRECIATED: Asked about a Kuwaiti initiative setting up a fund for money to deal with rising food prices, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations welcomes this generous pledge. She added the hope that this initiative is in line with the goals of the Secretary-General's task force on the food crisis. Specifically, she said, “we hope the funds can go to programmes for immediate actions to boost food supplies by providing inputs or incentives for planting, and food assistance efforts like the ones the World Food Programme is carrying out.”