HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, 16 August, 2004
ANNAN OUTRAGED OVER REFUGEE MASSACRE IN BURUNDI; CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION
In a statement released through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General said he is shocked and outraged by the massacre in the Gatumba refugee camp during the night of 13 August in Burundi, where more than 160 innocent civilians, mostly women and children, were brutally murdered, and over 100 others injured.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns this massacre and stresses that it must be promptly investigated, so that those responsible are identified, apprehended and brought to justice.
The Secretary-General urges the Transtional Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi and the Government of Rwanda to exercise restraint and to take the steps necessary to prevent a further deterioration of the situation in the region.
He calls on the Governments of the DR Congo and Rwanda to urgently establish a joint verification mechanism, with the participation of Uganda and Burundi, which will assist in curbing the actions of armed groups operating in the border areas.
The Secretary-General offers all support to these governments to help them to restore peace and stability and to put an end to the tensions that have caused so much suffering to innocent people in the region.
The Secretary-General extends his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy.
Asked to comment to reports that the Forces National de Liberation (FNL) had claimed responsibility for the massacre and that other outside actors had been involved, the Spokesman said he would not like to comment until the investigation into the facts was completed.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS REFUGEE MASSACRE IN BURUNDI
After meeting in an emergency session on Sunday evening on Burundi, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement condemning the massacre “with the utmost firmness.”
The Council called for the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to establish the facts and report them to the Council as quickly as possible.
It also called on the authorities of Burundi and the DR Congo to cooperate actively so that the perpetrators and those responsible for the crimes may be brought to justice without delay.
In this regard, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva confirmed that human rights observers from the UN Mission in the DR Congo left for Burundi this morning, to assist their UN colleagues in Burundi in the investigation into the Gatumba massacre.
UNITED NATIONS TO SET UP SECURE CAMP FOR REFUGEES IN BURUNDI
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that approximately 108 injured people are being treated in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. So far, all corpses have been identified and placed in body bags, with a mass burial planned for today in Gatumba.
UN agencies are providing trauma counseling as well as basic food and living supplies. In addition, the head of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers, has called the incident "an appalling massacre of innocent civilians."
UNHCR has been told by Burundian authorities that a secure camp will be set up in the interior for these refugees.
Asked what UN was doing on the ground in Burundi to make it safer for refugees, the Spokesman said that UNHCR depended on host governments to provide physical security at refugee camps.
In this case, UNHCR had been pressuring the Burundian Government to allow for camps further from the unstable border area ever since the Congolese refugees had started arriving in June.
The Spokesman said that human rights teams from the UN missions in the DR Congo and Burundi were investigating the facts of the massacre, together with other UN elements, would be reporting to the Security Council.
Asked whether UNHCR guidelines would be changed after this massacre, the Spokesman said that over the many years that UNHCR had been in existence, refugee law had evolved and policies been established. Policies and guidelines were not at the heart of what had happened in the Burundi camp.
Host governments were supposed to provide security but sometimes they were unwilling or unable to, the Spokesman said, noting that the underlying problem here was political.
He added that unless the problems in the eastern DR Congo were resolved, insecurity throughout the region and across borders would remain.
U.N. ENVOY WELCOMES STEPS TO IMPLEMENT DARFUR PLAN OF ACTION, BUT CONCERNED OVER LACK OF PROGRESS SO FAR
In Khartoum yesterday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan, Jan Pronk, welcomed the steps being taken by the Government to implement the Darfur Plan of Action, including the Government's final choice of the areas to be made secure by the end of August.
However he said the crucial phase will be when it can be demonstrated that “these actions have born fruit on the ground, when substantial and verifiable improvement of the security situation of the selected areas is achieved.”
Pronk also stated that he was "concerned at the lack of progress registered so far on the ground" and at the fact that the Janjaweed militia was still active and continued to be a threat.
He said that members of the Joint Implementation Mechanism would visit the areas designated as secure during the last week of August to assess the progress achieved by the Government.
This morning, Pronk met with the Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha. They discussed the status of the peace talks between the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the situation in Darfur, particularly the actions undertaken by the Government to meet its commitments under the Darfur Plan of Action.
Pronk has also expressed concern over the recent killing of an internally displaced person who was employed by CARE International, and over the fact that humanitarian worlkers had been denied access to Kalma camp in South Darfur for three days.
He said this would have serious consequences on internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) needs for relief and assistance, particularly severely malnourished children who require daily assistance in therapeutic feeding centers inside the camp.
In addition, Sudanese authorities are reported to have reopened the Kalma camp to humanitarian workers today. In addition, it is reported that an IDP staff member of CARE-international who was detained by the Sudanese authorities was released on 14 August.
Also from Sudan, the UN mission led by the Secretary-General’s Military Advisor, General Patrick Cammaert, which was dispatched by the Secretary-Gereral at the request of the Security Council, returned to Khartoum last night from Darfur.
The team will proceed to Addis Ababa to brief the African Union Cease-Fire Commission on its assessment of the assistance and support needs for the deployment of the envisaged African Union observer mission in Darfur.
U.N. ENVOY: IRAQ’S NATIONAL CONFERENCE A MILESTONE
In addressing the more than one thousand delegates at Iraq’s National Conference in Baghdad yesterday, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, said the conference was a milestone on the path towards a goal shared by all Iraqis – a stable, pluralistic and inclusive democracy.
Turning to the events in Najaf, and other places, Qazi said that instability and strife can not be dealt with by security measures alone. A solution, he told the gathering, requires building political consensus and the promotion of the rule of law.
He called on delegates to show tolerance for diversity and difference of opinions. He stressed that there must be a readiness to compromise for the common interest of the country. While he attended the conference, Qazi was able to hold a number of meetings with various delegates.
Qazi continued today the series of meetings with Iraqi figures he started yesterday on the sidelines of the Conference. He met with a large number of representatives of political parties, organizations, minority groups, tribal and religious leaders.
Discussions focused on the developments in the Conference and the challenges that face the transition process. Qazi sought the views of these leaders and discussed with them how best to advance the transitional process.
The Special Representative has been monitoring very closely the situation in Najaf and reiterated to the Iraqi community leaders and political figures the Secretary-General's statement on the issue.
Separately, the Spokesman confirmed that the Secretary-General had been contacted over the weekend by Iran’s Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, who had aked him to do whatever he could to defuse the current situation in Najaf.
The Spokesman said the Secretary-General’s position remains that he is prepared to play a facilitating role f it can help, and if all sides are agreeable to it.
The Spokesman noted that Qazi has reiterated this stance in an earlier interview with the BBC, adding that the UN does not wish to impose itself.
Asked if Lakhdar Brahimi, had any comment to make on the Conference, the Spokesman said Brahimi is at UN Headquarters, where he is serving in his capacity as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser. “He is no longer in the lead on Iraq now that Mr Qazi has been appointed and has taken up residence in Baghdad,” the Spokesman said. “So I don’t think you’ll be seeing Mr Brahimi making public statements. He’s talking quietly to the Secretary-General.”
NEW U.N. ENVOY ARRIVED IN KOSOVO
Søren Jessen-Petersen arrived yesterday in Kosovo to take up the leadership of the UN Mission there in his new role as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General.
He spoke with the press upon his arrival, and said that he accepted the job because he strongly believes that Kosovo is the last piece in the puzzle taking the western Balkans from the conflicts of the 1990s towards normalization, stabilization and European integration.
He emphasized that he plans to work hard with his colleagues at the UN Mission, with the provisional authorities and with all concerned to take Kosovo forward towards the future that the people of Kosovo so richly deserve and need.
NO COMMENT YET ON OUTCOME OF VENEZUELAN REFERENDUM
Asked if the Secretary-General had a comment on the situation in Venezuela, the Spokesman noted that the results are still preliminary, and the UN was still waiting to see what the referendum’s electoral observers had to say. “We’ve been in touch with Carter Center people and the Organization of American States, and we’re waiting for them to comment on their view regarding the conduct of the referendum,” the Spokesman said.
ONUCI FM RADIO STATION LAUNCHED IN COTE D’IVOIRE
In Côte d’Ivoire, the UN Mission’s radio station, ONUCI FM, was launched today. The radio station is broadcasting on an FM frequency which covers greater Abidjan, and it is hoped that it will be heard all over the country.
At the launch today, the station’s chief said the station is a partner in the peace process: its first and foremost aim is to provide a platform for open and honest dialogue, and every opinion is welcome on its airwaves as long as long they avoid insults and kind of acrimonious exchange.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
DEADLINE FOR AFGHAN VOTING EXTENDED UNTIL 20 AUGUST: Although vote registration officially closed in Afghanistan yesterday, the Joint Electoral Management body decided to extend the registration process until 20 August in parts of the south-east of the country and all fiver southern provinces. As of 14 August, close to ten million Afhgans have been signed up to voting rolls. Of those, 41.8% are women. Meanwhile, technical preparations for the elections continue. The first of many shipments of polling material, which includes ballot boxes and security seals, arrived yesterday in Kabul.
UNAIDS CONCERNED ABOUT DETENTION OF NEPALESE NGO WORKERS: UNAIDS said today that it is deeply concerned about the recent detention and reported mistreatment of 39 members of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese AIDS Non-Govermental Organization working with sexual minorities. The Nepali police arrested these people on 9 August and they are still being held today. UNAIDS has conveyed its concern over these events to the Government of Nepal.
UNDP HELPING RENOVATE TAJIKISTAN’S WATER SYSTEM: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is helping renovate existing water supply systems in Tajikistan, many of which are in complete disrepair. Last Thursday, 50 people reportedly contracted typhoid in western Tajikistan, while 70 others were hospitalized with suspected cases of the disease. OCHA says this could be the largest outbreak to hit the area in six years. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 60% of all diseases in Tajikistan are water-related.
HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE NOT YET OPEN IN GUATEMALA: On Thursday of last week, reference was made to press conference by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Guatemala, Tom Koenigs, regarding the establishment of a local office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The incorrect implication was that such an office had already been established. In fact, the current situation is as follows: there are plans to establish such an office and Koenigs believes this would be a unique opportunity for Guatemala, but the office has not yet opened.
UNICEF TO FORM PART OF CHILD SURVIVAL PARTNERSHIP: The Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy, addressed an international gathering of pediatricians in Cancun today. Bellamy announced that a child survival partnership is being formed to ensure that everything possible is being done in this crucial area. That partnership, which includes USAID, the Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization, will be hosted at UNICEF in New York but will emphasize innovation at the country level. The partners will search for new ways to strengthen health care delivery, with a particular focus on bringing health services to people rather than people to services.
LOCUST SWARMS ARRIVE IN BURKINA FASO: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that this week, swarms of locusts appeared in Burkina Faso for the first time. So far, they have only caused slight damage to crops in the far north. OCHA adds that the Government of Burkina Faso says it urgently needs 70,000 litres of insecticide, four-wheel drive vehicles fitted with spraying equipment, crop-dusting planes, and communications equipment, within the next few days.
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