HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday,
October 14, 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
today met with Irish Defense
Minister William O’Dea, as he continued
his visit to Ireland. They
discussed Ireland’s contributions to UN peacekeeping, particularly to the
current mission in Liberia. The Secretary-General emphasized the need for
highly trained and specialized troops, which, he said, make the best
peacekeepers. Their talk also touched on
Sudan and
Iraq.
The
Secretary-General then met with Lt. Gen. James Sreenan, the Chief of Staff of
the Irish Army. The General briefed him on the activities in Liberia of the
600-soldier rapid reaction unit made up of Irish and Swedish troops.
The
Secretary-General then
addressed the assembled troops saying, “Ireland has been one of the few
industrialized states to deploy formed military units to sub-Saharan Africa,
providing niche capabilities that really hold a peacekeeping operation
together. We need these specialist units very, very badly.”
“And you have
played a key role,” he went on, “especially during your recent presidency of
the European Union (EU),
in promoting cooperation between the EU and the United Nations in crisis
management, in particular the possible use of EU “battle groups” to support
UN peacekeeping operations.”
Later in the
day he is to go to Iveagh House to meet with Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern,
after which a press encounter is scheduled, to be followed by a working dinner
hosted by the Foreign Minister.
In a separate
programme, Nane Annan visited ‘The Computer Clubhouse,"
a voluntary learning centre for young people in a disadvantaged area of Dublin
known as the Liberties.
Mrs. Annan praised the young
people, saying “You are not only communicating knowledge of technology, you
are also helping to build bridges between young people who perhaps may be
separated by community, ethnicity, religion, age or just not really knowing
one another.”
She
visited the centre with the creators of the Global e-Schools and Communities
Initiative, a partnership launched jointly with the
United Nations ICT Task Force in December 2003.
The Clubhouse is a model
for similar activities they hope will be developed around the world, beginning
with four pilot countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Namibia, and Andhra Pradesh in
India.
REPORTS
CONTINUE OF ATTACKS ON DISPLACED PERSONS IN
SUDAN
The United Nations
continues to receive reports from
internally displaced persons (IDPs) of attacks on villages in South
Darfur,
Sudan.
Internally displaced
persons from the
village
of Uma Kasara reported that their village was burnt down by unidentified
gunmen on 2 October, displacing approximately 650 families from their village,
and from two adjacent villages.
There have been
reports of attacks and burnings of four other villages in South Darfur.
New IDPs continue to
arrive at the already over-crowded Kalma camp near Nyala in South Darfur.
[In Geneva, the World Health
Organization reported that some 70,000 people have died from diseases between
March and October in camps for displaced persons in Darfur, Sudan.]
U.N. MISSION REPORTS CALM IN HAITIAN
CAPITAL
The
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti reports that the situation in
Port au Prince has been relatively calm in the past
two
days, with joint patrols by UN troops and the Haitian National Police
continuing.
Peacekeepers
also continue to provide escort to daily humanitarian convoys to the city of
Gonaives and to secure distribution points there.
Additional
forces, within the authorized ceiling approved by the
Security Council, are expected in the coming days. According to the UN
Mission, a formed unit of 125 police from China is expected to arrive on
Sunday. They are expected to be deployed in the Port au Prince area.
A further 622
Sri Lankan troops are expected from 25-29 October, and the troops making up a
Spanish/Moroccan battalion are also expected at the end of October.
Yesterday,
interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue announced the names of the three people
who will comprise the Commission for Demobilized Military in Haiti. Based on
an 18 September agreement between the interim Government and the former
military, the Commission is tasked with implementing reintegration and
compensation measures.
PLIGHT
OF HUNGRY MILLIONS OVERSHADOWED
BY HIGH-PROFILE EMERGENCIES LIKE DARFUR CRISIS
The
World Food Programme (WFP) today
marked the occasion of
World Food Day
by highlighting the plight of hundreds of millions of hungry people around the
world whose problems are overshadowed by high-profile emergencies such as the
current crisis in Darfur.
In an article
circulated to newspapers around the world, WFP Executive Director
James Morris emphasized his concern for the victims of
Darfur,
but he also stressed that for every hungry child who made world news
headlines, there were millions more who went unnoticed.
“When was the last time we read about hungry children in Azerbaijan, Guinea,
Sri Lanka or Tajikistan?” Morris said, adding that occasions like World Food
Day gave the 800 million chronically hungry people scattered around the globe
a rare chance to be noticed, if only for a few brief moments.
Meanwhile,
Dr. Jacques Diouf,
Director-General of the
Food and Agriculture Organization
highlighted today that biological diversity is one of the keys to ending
world hunger. This year's World Food Day theme is: "Biodiversity for Food
Security." In
his address, Diouf stressed the need to maintain biodiversity in nature and on
farms, to ensure that everyone has access to enough diversified and nutritious
food.
SECURITY
COUNCIL TO HOLD CONSULTATIONS
ON MIDDLE EAST
At 3:00 p.m. today, the Security
Council is scheduled to hold closed consultations on the situation in the
Middle East.
Having considered the nominations
for permanent judges of the
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the
Security Council yesterday afternoon voted
unanimously to pass a draft
resolution that forwarded a list of 22 candidates to the
General Assembly.
UNICEF WELCOMES IRAQ SCHOOLS SURVEY AS A MILESTONE
UNICEF,
the UN Children’s Fund, has welcomed an Iraq school survey, which was released
earlier this week by the
Iraqi Ministry of Education.
The survey
found that while total
enrolment rates in
Iraq were up, the country’s school infrastructure didn’t come close to
satisfying the demand, with many schools overcrowded and badly damaged.
W.H.O.
WELCOMES BREAKTHROUGH IN MALARIA VACCINE RESEARCH
The
World Health Organization has
welcomed the results of a clinical trial demonstrating that a candidate
malaria vaccine has conferred protection in young children in
Africa,
describing them as a breakthrough in
malaria vaccine research.
It says that while much more work is
still required, the results indicate that an effective vaccine against
malaria that could potentially save the lives of millions of children is
possible.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN REGRETS LOSS OF LIFE IN
RAID IN PAKISTAN: Asked about the death of a Chinese engineer who was held
hostage in Pakistan and killed during a raid, the Spokesman said that the
Secretary-General deeply regretted the loss of life and he sent his condolences
to the victim’s family and to the Government of China.
NO REQUEST FOR PEACEKEEPERS
RECEIVED FROM SOMALIA: Asked
about calls by the new Transitional President of Somalia, Colonel Abdullahi
Yusuf Ahmed for the United Nations to provide troops to disband militias in that
country, the Spokesman later told the reporter who asked the question that no
such request had been received by the United Nations.
U.N. TEAM PROBING ISRAELI CHARGES
RETURNS TO NEW YORK: The
Spokesman was asked when the members of the UN team that went to the Middle East
to investigate Israeli allegations that a rocket was being carried inside an
ambulance belonging to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA),
would be returning, and to whom they would be reporting. The Spokesman said that
the team was now back in New York and would be reporting to the
Secretary-General.
Monday, October 18
The
Secretary-General is expected to travel to London, where over the coming days,
he will pay an official visit to the United Kingdom.
At 11:30 a.m.,
the Chairman of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will hold a
press conference on space technology’s contribution to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.
The guest at
the noon briefing will be the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Africa,
Ibrahim Gambari, who will brief on progress in Africa’s efforts towards peace
and development.
The
Secretary-General is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Security
Council has scheduled an open debate on the work of the Counter-Terrorism
Committee.
At 11:15 a.m.,
Mervat Tallawy, the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission
for West Asia (ESCWA), will brief the press.
At 3:00 p.m.,
musician and child advocate Ricky Martin will give a press briefing on human
trafficking and the child sex tour industry.
The Security
Council has scheduled consultations on the humanitarian situation in Africa.
The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing and consultations on the
Middle East.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162 -
press/media only
Fax. 212-963-7055
All other inquiries to be addressed to (212)
963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org
