UN Information Centre DC

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Washington, D.C.

Aid reaches one million in Myanmar; Secretary-General leaves Myanmar after agreeing on access for aid, touring affected areas and chairing donors conference

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), relief efforts have reached around one million people, just over 40 per cent of those affected by Cyclone Nargis. Speaking to reporters today in Geneva, OCHA spokesperson Elizabeth Byrs said that the 40 per cent figure does not include aid distributed by the Government. Some 153 international flights had arrived in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, she said, and between 10 and 15 flights are coming in every day, with air-bridge flights from the logistics hub at Bangkok's Don Muang Airport to Yangon now fully operational.

Ban Ki-moon holds talks with General Than Shwe, Head of State of Myanmar

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Location: Naypyidaw, Myanmar Date: 23 May 2008

The aid flights come after an agreement, reached on Friday at a meeting between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe, to grant access to all aid workers, regardless of nationality. Access for international aid workers had "been an obstacle to organizing coordinated and fully effective international aid and assistance operations" according to Ban.

On Sunday the Secretary-General co-chaired, with ASEAN, a pledging conference for relief efforts in Myanmar. For the latest on UN efforts and news in Myanmar please go to the UN News website.

Blue helmets recognized on 60th anniversary of UN peacekeeping

In this 60th anniversary year of United Nations peacekeeping, the organization marks International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May 29 to recognize the valuable work the blue helmets provide in bringing peace to conflict-torn areas.

There are currently more than 100,000 peacekeepers from 115 countries serving in 17 operations on four continents - already a record - with additional deployments on the horizon.

Photo: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses peacekeepers of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) Headquarters in Kinshasa last year. © UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Of the more than 100 countries that provide uniformed peacekeepers to the UN, the largest contributors remain Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, which together provide more than 35 percent of all blue berets. The cost of financing peacekeeping operations - more than $5 billion per year - is provided mainly by the United States, European Union countries and Japan. 87 UN Peacekeepers were killed in 2007.

In 2006, the United Nations undertook a series of efforts to increase the number of women serving in peacekeeping operations, including setting the stage for deployment of the first ever all-female peacekeeping contingent in 2007.

UN Peacekeepers Day was established in 2002 by a General Assembly resolution designating May 29 as a day to pay tribute to all men and women who have served and continue to serve in peacekeeping operations, for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage, and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause for peace.

May 29 marks the date in 1948 when the first United Nations peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine.

- For a list of peacekeeping operations, click here.

- For more information on UN peackeeping, click here.

MEET THE UN

Robert H. Serry

Robert H. Serry
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority

Mr. Serry brings to the job decades of diplomatic experience, having served most recently as the Dutch Ambassador to Ireland. Prior to that, he was director and deputy assistant secretary-general for crisis management and operations at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, where among other functions he had informal contacts with Palestinian and Israeli security experts (including ex-IDF officers) on lessons learned by NATO in the Balkans.

Earlier in his career, from 1986 to 1992, he was head, Middle East section/director, Africa and Middle East Department in the ministry of foreign affairs at The Hague. In that capacity, he helped to conduct a pre-Oslo quiet diplomacy initiative to promote dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.

In the framework of the Netherlands European Community presidency, Mr. Serry participated in the events leading to the Middle East Peace Conference held in Madrid in November 1991. He has also published several articles on political and peacekeeping topics ranging from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.

About the United Nations in Washington

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