ARCHIVES
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, July
2, 2004
ANNAN
TO MEET WITH SUDANESE PRESIDENT, AFTER VISITING BORDER
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan is in Khartoum, where tonight he is scheduled to meet with the
President of Sudan,
Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
This morning, the
Secretary-General visited a camp for Sudanese refugees in eastern
Chad.
He touched down in
the provincial capital of Abeche, where he was briefed by the Governor,
Haroun Saleh, on the devastating impact on his province, Ouaddie, of the
surge of some 250,000 refugees from Sudan streaming across the border.
The Secretary-General
and his party then traveled to Iridimi Camp, about 60 miles from the border,
which houses some 15,000 Sudanese refugees.
He was briefed by a representative of the refugees, as well as by
members of non-governmental organizations who described their work in the
camp.
Thousands of refugees
stood and sat in an orderly semicircle, holding placards that read, “Stop
the ethnic cleaning and the genocide” and “Security first, then
voluntary return”.
The Secretary-General
also held a private meeting with women community leaders and then spoke to
the international and local press.
He said that the
story he has received from the refugees and internally displaced people he
has met over the last few days has been one in which they fled “serious
violations of human rights – gross and systematic ones.” He said,
“Security is paramount for all of them and of course that would have to be
assured before they go back.”
The Secretary-General
met Thursday in the capital of Chad, N’Djamena, with President Idriss Deby,
and told
reporters afterward that the international community must do everything it
can to work with the Sudanese Government and the President of Chad to find a
solution. Otherwise, he warned, “the drama that we are now living is
nothing compared to what will come next.”
He said, in response
to a question, that the international community has tried to help Chad deal
with the influx of refugees from Sudan, but added, “I think the pace of
the assistance and the urgency with which we are dealing with it doesn’t
measure up to the nature of the crisis.”
Asked how the
Secretary-General would respond to what he had seen in Sudan, the Spokesman
said that the Secretary-General would discuss with President Bashir what he
had seen in Darfur and in Chad. Having done a fact-finding tour, he would
now bring his concerns to the attention of the Sudanese Government.
On Thursday, the
United Nations reported that a camp for displaced persons in Darfur,
which had at one point housed some 1,000 families, or over 5,000 people, was
empty when the Secretary-General’s convoy arrived there.
In an update on that
situation, the Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that the Government of
Sudan had transported the inhabitants from Meshtal camp to another camp for
displaced persons, called Abu Shouk camp, between Wednesday evening and
midday Thursday.
According to various
humanitarian sources, those who had been moved maintain they had been
pressured to move from Meshtal.
Humanitarian agencies
are concerned that the displaced persons were relocated from Meshtal camp
very abruptly and that no consultation was conducted by the authorities
prior to their relocation. While the relocation should improve their
conditions in the medium-term, prior notice of the move would have enabled
site planning and the provision of facilities at Abu Shouk camp ahead of
their arrival.
Meanwhile, UNICEF
reports today that a significant number of children displaced in Darfur have
either been direct victims of violence or have witnessed violent acts, and
the situation was breeding a new generation of child “survivors.”
The Security
Council met in consultations this morning on the July program of work,
which was officially approved.
The Secretary-General
is expected to brief the Security Council in consultations next Wednesday.
The new High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, today met journalists in
Geneva, telling them that she will attend the African Union Summit next
week, and that Darfur
and Cote
d’Ivoire will be at the forefront of her discussions there.
Asked about the trial
of Saddam Hussein in Iraq,
she said it is important to have a credible and fair process, adding that
the international community should be vigilant in ensuring that this process
respects all human rights standards.
TOBACCO
TREATY TO ENTER INTO FORCE BY END OF 2004
The
global treaty to curb tobacco use is on track to become binding
international law by the end of the year.
Among
other requirements, the World
Health Organization Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control requires signatories to restrict tobacco
advertising and set new labeling and clean indoor air controls.
Smoking
claims almost 5 million lives every year and causes an estimated annual net
loss of $200 billion in treatment and lost productivity.
DEPARTURE OF U.S.
PERSONNEL FROM PEACEKEEPING CONFIRMED: Asked about the departure of
U.S. personnel from UN peacekeeping missions in Ethiopia,
Eritrea and Kosovo, the Spokesman
said that the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations confirmed that it has
been informed by the U.S. Government that the United States would withdraw some
personnel from UN peacekeeping operations. The United Nations has taken note of
that decision, with regret, he said. Asked whether the US decision had stemmed
from concerns about the International Criminal
Court, he noted statements from the US indicating that it had.
SECURITY COUNCIL NOTES FINAL
EXTENSION OF BOUGAINVILLE MISSION: The Security
Council, in a letter,
noted the extension of the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Bougainville
until the end of December, saying that the Council intends it to be the final
extension of that mission.
GOVERNING
COUNCIL APPROVES $380 MILLION IN PAYOUTS: The
Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission has concluded its 52nd
session today and approved payouts of more than $380 million. The Commission
processes compensation claims for losses and damage suffered as a direct result
of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1991.
UN
REFUGEE AGENCY
CONCERNED BY COLOMBIA SUICIDES: UNHCR,
the UN Refugee Agency,
is concerned
about a recent spate of suicides by indigenous youth in north-western Colombia.
In just over one year, 17 young people in the region –
aged between 12 and 24 – have committed suicide or attempted to kill
themselves. According to a local indigenous organization, these young people are
"losing the will to live" because of the impact of the Colombian
conflict on their communities.
RACE CAR DRIVER PUTS BREAKS ON CHILD
HUNGER: The
World Food Programme today announced Formula
One driver Jarno Trulli is appearing in a WFP public service announcement that
indicates the speed at which malnourished children are dying around the world. The
Italian racing driver, who won his first-ever Grand Prix at Monte Carlo earlier
this year, warns that hunger claims the life of a child in the same time it
takes his Renault F1 car to reach 200 kilometres per hour.
UNFPA POPULATION
AWARDS TO BE GIVEN TUESDAY: Next Tuesday, the UN
Population Awards for 2004 will be presented to demographer John C.
Caldwell, and to Dr. Catherine Hamlin of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The
Award ceremony will take place at the Trusteeship Council from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
The Secretary-General
will travel to Asmara, Eritrea, where he will meet with President Isaias Afwerki
and visit the headquarters of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He will
then travel on to Ethiopia.
Sunday, July 4
UN Headquarters in New
York will be closed to mark the July 4 holiday.
The Secretary-General
will address the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The UN Population Awards
will be presented at the Trusteeship Council at 5:00 p.m. This year’s awards
go to demographer John C. Caldwell and Dr. Catherine Hamlin of the Addis Ababa
Fistula Hospital. At 12:30 p.m., the award winners will speak to the press in
room 226.
The Secretary-General
will begin an official visit to Kenya, meeting with UN officials in the
Headquarters in Nairobi.
The Security Council has
scheduled, in its consultations, a video briefing by the Secretary-General, as
well as consultations on the Central African Republic.
In Nairobi, Kenya, the
Secretary-General will meet with the negotiators for the Sudan peace process. He
will then leave for Bangkok, Thailand.
The International Court
of Justice is expected to issue its advisory opinion on the legal consequences
of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
* The guest at the
noon briefing was Javier Ruperez, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism
Executive Directorate.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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