ARCHIVES
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, June
17, 2004
According to a statement
issued today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply concerned by the
serious tension and persistent instability in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, which puts the peace process at risk.
He calls on all parties concerned to abide by the terms of the Global
All-Inclusive Agreement, and to uphold the transitional process.
The Secretary-General urges all components in the Transitional
Government to address the crisis in Bukavu and all other issues in a
consensual manner and reaffirms the United Nations’ availability to assist
in this regard.
The Secretary-General
is also concerned about the continuing reports of movements of refugees from
the DRC to Burundi, and urges all sides to respect international
humanitarian law.
Also
today, the World Food Programme says it is
feeding thousands of refugees who have crossed into Burundi and Rwanda from
the DRC, to escape violence that temporarily paralyzed WFP's aid operations
in much of the eastern part of the country.
The Government of the
Sudan
must take steps to control the Janjaweed militia, and must also allow
humanitarian workers to be given free access to the Darfur region, the
Secretary-General told
reporters upon entering the building this morning.
Asked about the
situation in Darfur, he said the United Nations was rushing to get as much
supplies to Darfur before the rains come, and he noted the massive
violations of international humanitarian law that were taking place there.
The Secretary-General added that he met a Sudanese delegation, headed by the
Finance Minister, in Brazil two days ago, which told him that they are going
to do the best they can to bring the situation under control.
Asked about the
security situation in Iraq,
he said that he was extremely worried, and urged that “all efforts must be
made to secure the environment.”
Asked whether the
Security Council should pass a resolution extending the exemption some
nations would receive from prosecution by the International
Criminal Court, the Secretary-General said that such a blanket exemption
would be wrong. He added, “I think it would be unfortunate for one to
press for such an exemption, given the prisoner abuse in Iraq,” and warned
that such a move would discredit the Security Council.
SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS WORK OF PANEL ON LIBERIA SANCTIONS
The Security
Council this morning unanimously passed a resolution that re-establishes
its Panel of Experts dealing with the question of sanctions on Liberia, for
a further period lasting until December 21 of this year.
It requests the
Secretary-General to appoint, by the end of this month, no more than five
experts who will conduct a follow-up assessment mission to Liberia
and neighboring countries to report on the implementation of Security
Council sanctions and any violations of them.
Ambassador
Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom is expected to brief the press on
Friday at 12:45 p.m. on the Security Council’s visit to West Africa, which
will be taking place from June 20-29. The Mission is expected to include visits to Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Guinea Bissau.
Concerning
the investigations into the March riots in Kosovo,
UN police have arrested around 270 people, and international Prosecutors are
handling 52 of the most serious cases. These include all 19 cases involving
deaths, cases against the organizers or leaders of the riots, and cases
involving significant violence against police.
Of
these 52 cases, 15 cases are already in various stages of the court process.
In 11 of them, international prosecutors have filed formal decisions with
the court to initiate an investigation; in four, the cases indictments have
been filed, and the remaining cases assigned are under police investigation.
Earlier
today, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette received an honorary
degree from Waterloo University in Canada and delivered the convocation
address for graduating students from the Faculty of Arts.
She
encouraged the graduates not to underestimate the power of a single person
to make a difference. The Millennium
Development Goals, she told graduates, might have been adopted by
Governments, but the likelihood of achieving them will depend – to no
small extent – on the efforts of community activists, private
entrepreneurs and concerned young citizens.
RWANDA MAYOR SENTENCED
TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON: The International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda today sentenced Sylvestre Gacumbitsi, a former
Rwandan mayor, to thirty years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide. The
Tribunal ruled that Gacumbitsi had organized the killings of some twenty
thousand people.
NEARLY FOUR MILLION
REGISTERED TO VOTE IN AFGHANISTAN: The UN
Mission for Afghanistan reported today that, as of yesterday, the number of
people registered to vote in the country was just under four million –more
than 2.5 million men and more than 1.4 million women. In recent days, close to
ninety thousand Afghans are registering to vote each day.
WORLD DAY TO COMBAT
DESERTIFICATION OBSERVED: The World Day the Combat Desertification was
observed today, drawing attention to a problem that affects one fifth of the
world's population. Since 1990, it is estimated that some six million hectares
of productive land have been lost each year due to land degradation.
SUBSTANCE FOUND AT UN
HEADQUARTERS NOT HARMFUL: The Spokesman, in response to questions, said that
the white powder found at UN Headquarters on Monday had been examined and
determined not to be harmful.
* The guest at the
noon briefing was Vincent McClean, head of the New York office of the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime, who presented the annual survey of coca
cultivation in the Andean region.
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