HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
ANNAN ASKS FOR
ALL LEADERS TO DEPOLITICIZE CARICATURE ISSUE
Asked about events during Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s
trip this weekend to Qatar, the Spokesman said that the schedule would include
a meeting of the
High-Level
Group for the Alliance of Civilizations, as well as a side event,
organized by the United Nations jointly with another body, that would be
announced later.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s position on blasphemy
and the Human Rights Council, the Spokesman said that issue is before the
Member States, and the Secretary-General hopes that they can come to a
conclusion on it.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s views on the
caricatures, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General has appealed for
calm and a halt to violence, as well as for the start of a dialogue on how to
avoid these crises in the future. He has also asked for all leaders to
depoliticize this issue.
Dujarric noted that the Secretary-General’s recent joint
statement with the Organization of the Islamic Conference signified how
seriously that organization has been dealing with this issue.
Asked about the involvement of the Secretary-General’s
Special Adviser, Iqbal Riza, in the upcoming meeting, the Spokesman said that
the Secretary-General has full confidence in Riza, who has been working
closely with the Secretary-General on this event.
Asked whether Louise Arbour had sent the caricatures
issue on to any human rights experts, the Spokesman said she had asked two of
the special rapporteurs appointed by the Human Rights Commission to look into
it.
SECURITY
COUNCIL IS BRIEFED BY TERRORISM COMMITTEES
The
Security Council held closed consultations this morning to hear the daily
Secretariat briefing. Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, briefed on
Haiti and the outcome of the International Working Group in
Cote d’Ivoire. A draft presidential statement on Cote d’Ivoire was
introduced.
Following consultations, the
Council went into a formal meeting to hear briefings by the chairs of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC),
the “1267
Committee” (which deals with Al-Qaida and the Taliban), and the “1540
Committee” (which works on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction). The three chairs are Danish Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Løj,
Argentine Ambassador César Mayoral, and Slovakian Ambassador Peter Burian,
respectively. They spoke to the press following that meeting.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti,
Juan Gabriel Valdes, will be at Headquarters tomorrow to brief the Security
Council.
LIBERIA: TRUTH
& RECONCILIATION COMMISSION INAUGURATED
The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
today
announced that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has begun work in
that country.
The nine-member commission is supported by a $500,000
grant from the UN Development Programme.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in
Liberia, Alan Doss, told an inauguration ceremony, “For many countries
emerging from prolonged periods of conflict and war, truth and reconciliation
has proved to be one of the best ways to bind up the wounds of the past, to
confront impunity, and to liberate the energies of the people to focus on the
urgent business of national recovery.”
IRAQ: U.N. ENVOY TRAVELS TO FALLUJAH TO
HEAR MAYOR’S CONCERNS
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Iraq, traveled to the city of Fallujah today and met with the city’s Mayor
and other members of the City Council.
Qazi discussed the current situation in Fallujah and
listened to the Mayor’s concerns for the city’s inhabitants, particularly over
compensation for the losses incurred as a result of the fighting.
Qazi reiterated the UN’s commitment to help all of the
people of Iraq, and promised to engage with the Mayor in exploring means to
address the needs of the people of Fallujah.
U.N. MISSION INVESTIGATES WARNINGS OF
IMMINENT ATTACKS
IN WESTERN COTE D’IVOIRE
The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
today reported that its Human Rights Unit is investigating the circulation of
an anonymous letter warning of alleged planned attacks on villages in the Zone
of Confidence and in Government-controlled areas in the west of the country.
The Mission said it feared that the letter could generate
fear among the different communities, which could lead to inter-ethnic
clashes.
The Mission said that if it confirms the threats it will
report them to the Government. It reminds the Government of its duty to
protect civilians.
HEADS OF
HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES TO HIGHLIGHT
REFUGEES’ PLIGHT IN CENTRAL AFRICA
The heads of the three largest
UN humanitarian agencies will be
traveling to the Great Lakes region of Africa Saturday to highlight the
plight of millions of African refugees, internally displaced persons and
returnees,
The agency heads -- António
Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, James Morris, World Food
Programme Executive Director, and Ann Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director --
will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi from 25
February to 2 March.
This joint mission -- the first
ever by the three heads of the UN agencies -- is aimed at symbolizing their
closer cooperation to alleviate the plight of refugees.
SRI
LANKANS WANT CONFLICT TO END
High Commissioner for Refugees
António Guterres
said today that a recent decline in displacement in Sri Lanka prior to the
scheduled start of peace talks for that country reflects the desire of the Sri
Lankan people for an end to conflict.
The peace talks between the Sri
Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers are scheduled to begin in Geneva on
Wednesday, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees has seen a
drop in new arrivals at its camps for displaced people in recent days.
Guterres said, “The marked
decline in violence since the announcement of talks has had a very positive
effect on reducing the pressure on Sri Lankans to flee their homes in fear.”
BOSNIAN
WAR CRIMINAL TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
Milan Lukic was today
brought into the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY),
after having been transferred from Argentina, where he was arrested in August
2005 after almost seven years on the run.
The Tribunal has indicted Lukic, a Bosnian Serb
paramilitary leader, on charges of murdering, severely beating, unlawfully
detaining and terrorizing Bosnian Muslim and other non-Serb civilians. He is
also charged with destroying and looting their homes and personal property.
QUARTET APPEALS FOR SUPPORT TO
INTERIM PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENT
ISRAELI
MILITARY WITHDRAWS FROM U.N. AGENCY SCHOOLS IN WEST BANK
LEBANESE
OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS HARIRI TRIBUNAL WITH U.N. LEGAL CHIEF
In response to a question,
the Spokesman confirmed that a delegation of Lebanese officials will come to
New York this week to discuss the possibility of a tribunal of an
international character in the Rafik Hariri case with Under-Secretary-General
for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel.
Meanwhile, he added, Serge
Brammertz is continuing his investigation. Asked whether Brammertz could visit
southern Lebanon, Dujarric said he could go wherever he needs, within the
mandate of his investigation.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
REFUGEES FROM CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC TO BE MOVED TO
CAMPS IN CHAD: The number of refugees fleeing
violence in the northern Central African Republic
continues to climb, with 200 arriving each day in neighbouring Chad,
according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Tomorrow,
UNHCR will move 300 of the new arrivals from the border to a refugee site near
Goré, the main town in south Chad. More will be transferred to camps in the
coming days.
DEVELOPMENT CHIEF MEETS WITH PRESIDENTS OF ARGENTINA &
BRAZIL: The UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Administrator, Kemal Dervis, met this morning with Argentina's President, Nestor
Kirchner, in Buenos Aires. The pair discussed UN reform and the role of UNDP in
middle income countries like Argentina, as well as the role of international and
multilateral aid agencies. Dervis is in the region on his first official
visit to Latin America, and he is currently en route to Brazil where he will
meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
HEALTH AGENCY COMBATS VIRAL DISEASE IN AFRICAN ISLANDS:
The World Health Organization is sending a team to islands off the coast of
southeastern Africa, following an extensive outbreak there of
chikungunya, a viral disease that is passed from mosquitoes to people. The
team -- which will visit the French island of Réunion, Mauritius, Madagascar and
the Seychelles -- will assess the outbreak and work on developing epidemic
alert, surveillance and response systems in the region.
TSUNAMI OFFICIAL VISITS INDONESIA AND INDIA:
Deputy Special Envoy for
Tsunami Recovery Eric Schwartz is in Indonesia and India this week to assess
the status of the recovery effort, and look at what's being done to provide
shelter and promote disaster reduction. After his weeklong visit, he’ll head to
Geneva to discuss human rights-related aspects of the recovery effort with High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour.
MURDER OF ECUADORIAN
JOURNALISTS CONDEMNED: The UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today
condemned the assassination of radio journalist José Luis León Desiderio and
freelance photographer Saúl Suárez Sandoval, both shot dead in the city of
Guayaquil in southwestern Ecuador on 13 and 14 February respectively. The agency
said, “Such crimes are not only an offence against individuals, but an attack on
society as a whole.”
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE CONVENES: The UN
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
is beginning its 61st Session today. In a message to the gathering,
the Secretary-General calls on Member States to adapt the Commission to the new
realities and challenges in the region and to make a more effective United
Nations.
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