HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
October 18, 2004
ANNAN CONCERNED OVER
FAILURE
TO MEET DEADLINES IN COTE D’IVOIRE PEACE PROCESS
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
notes with concern that key deadlines of the Accra III Agreement, for the
adoption of legislative reforms, the revision of Article 35 of the
Constitution on eligibility to the Presidency and the commencement of the
disarmament process, have not been met.
He has taken note of President
Laurent Gbagbo's address to the nation on 12 October 2004, and shares his
views that the political crisis should be resolved without further delay.
To this end, the Secretary-General
urges the political forces in
Côte d'Ivoire to ensure the full and unconditional implementation of the
Linas-Marcoussis and Accra III Agreements, including constitutional reform and
disarmament.
The Secretary-General recalls that
the Accra III Agreement envisaged the timely adoption of all legal reforms,
including the revision of Article 35 of the Constitution on eligibility to the
Presidency.
In this context, he urges adoption
of all legislative reforms without delay, and also appeals to all armed
elements, including militias, to commence disarmament at the earliest.
The Secretary-General welcomes the
President's condemnation of all acts of violence against the
UN Operation in Cote
d'Ivoire (ONUCI) and the French forces, which should be unconditionally
enforced by all authorities concerned
ANNAN TO DISCUSS REVIEW OF
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
WITH U.K. CHANCELLOR
The
Secretary-General
will meet with the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, this evening
in London.
In a
statement, the Secretary-General said he intends to discuss next year’s
summit at the
General Assembly, which will review progress in achieving the
Millennium Development Goals. Many of these goals, including the one of
halving poverty by 2015, are far from being met.
The
Secretary-General will appeal to the Chancellor and the UK Government to use
the upcoming UK presidencies of the G8 and the European
Union to
work for the necessary political breakthrough and the additional resources
needed to achieve those goals.
In this context,
the Secretary-General will be supporting the G7 donors considering seriously
the Chancellor’s proposal for an International Finance Facility that would be
capable of doubling aid flows to the developing world by up to $100 billion a
year.
ANNAN: DIALOGUE NEEDED
WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD
Before he left for
London this afternoon, the
Secretary-General laid out nine lessons the United Nations has learned
about peacekeeping, in a speech at the University of Ulster in Northern
Ireland.
Those nine
lessons, he
said, were: we should say no when we need to; stay the course; know the
context; never neglect security; manage expectations; stay the course; get the
sequencing right; keep everyone on the same page; and make sure that local
populations take responsibility.
He added that
the most important lesson of all is that “we must always be listening and
looking out for new knowledge.”
After his speech,
he took some questions from the audience, including one about whether we are
now seeing a “clash of civilizations.”
The
Secretary-General said that there is a need for dialogue with the Muslim
world, adding, “We need to get across that Islam is not represented by the
killers.”
The
Secretary-General met Saturday with the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister),
Bertie Ahern. They talked of the situation between the Israelis and the
Palestinians, the Afghanistan peace process, Iran’s nuclear program, the plans
for
Iraqi elections, the crisis in Darfur,
Sudan, Northern Ireland and
HIV/AIDS, among other topics.
BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD’S GREEN ZONE
UNDERSCORE
U.N. CONCERN ABOUT SECURITY IN IRAQ
Asked about
the recent bombings in the Green Zone in Baghdad, the Spokesman said that
those bombings underscore the United Nations’ concern about the overall
security situation in
Iraq. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative,
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, arrived in Baghdad today, and will have a number of
meetings with political leaders and multinational force leaders on the ground.
Asked about
security assurances for UN personnel in Iraq, the Spokesman said the United
Nations has not heard back formally from the multinational force concerning a
dedicated unit of the multinational force that would deal with UN security. He
said he hoped to have more information later about the force for the
protection of UN facilities in Iraq.
Asked about
media reports concerning Kojo Annan, the Spokesman said that the independent
inquiry headed by Paul Volcker was looking into Kojo Annan’s employment with
Cotecna.
The Secretary-General
had said that was one of
the issues the panel would look at.
Asked
whether the United Nations was sharing documents on the oil-for-food program,
the Spokesman said that Volcker has all the UN
oil-for-food documents, and he said the panel had indicated it was also
working with other investigations.
Asked about
the impact of the oil-for-food allegations on the United Nations, the
Spokesman said it was “something we’d like to get behind us.” He noted that,
meanwhile, the United Nations continues to work closely with the Iraqi people,
including work on holding elections in that country.
UP TO 70,000 DISPLACED
PEOPLE IN DARFUR
HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF UNHEALTHY LIVING CONDITIONS
The
World Health Organization has
reported that
up to 70,000 of the displaced
people in Darfur, Sudan,
have died as a direct result of the conditions in which they are living since
1 March this year.
Further work will be needed to
estimate the proportions of these deaths that are due to different causes, but
most are due to diarrhoeal diseases exacerbated by malnutrition, WHO said in a
press briefing last Friday.
The UN
Mission in Sudan, meanwhile, said a humanitarian team has met with
representatives of the rebel
Sudan
Liberation Army (SLA)
group and
they finalized an agreement on ground rules for humanitarian operations in
areas controlled by the rebel movement and contested areas in Darfur.
The UN
mission also
reports rising tension throughout the
Darfur states over the weekend including the two state capitals of North
and West Darfur. In
addition, it
reported harassments of aid workers and hijacking of aid vehicles in the
Darfurs.
It also reported that the
World Food Programme has completed food distribution in Zam Zam camp in
North Darfur, and a polio vaccination campaign conducted in West Darfur has
so far reached nearly 47,000 of the target 202,000 children.
SOME
100 COMPLAINTS RECEIVED ON AFGHAN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that the impartial panel of
experts that is dealing with complaints about the October
9
elections had received about 100
complaints from the country’s presidential candidates. The panel is going
through all the complaints now.
The UN
Mission says that the counting of ballots, which began last Thursday, is being
updated regularly on the Internet, at
www.afg-electionresults.org.
Since
Saturday morning, all eight counting centers in
Afghanistan began mixing, sorting and counting ballots.
U.N. ENVOY DISTURBED BY ATTEMPTS TO DISSUADE KOSOVO SERBS FROM VOTING
In a
statement released today,
Soren Jessen-Petersen, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Kosovo, said he is deeply
disturbed by attempts to dissuade Kosovo Serbs from participating in
upcoming elections for the Kosovo Assembly, scheduled for 23 October.
“In the
past days, we have seen statements and actions aimed at preventing Kosovo
Serbs from casting their vote. This is unacceptable. The right to vote is
essential in a democratic society. To actively discourage people from
executing this basic right is anti-democratic,” Jessen-Petersen said.
He added:
“Voting on Saturday means becoming an active part of the institutional life in
Kosovo. It means standing up for your interests, rights and concerns. Those
urging Kosovo Serbs not to vote simply do not have in mind the interest of
their own people. Only those who take action to overcome isolation can change
the present to a better future.”
SECURITY
COUNCIL TO CONSIDER DRAFT RESOLUTION ON MIDDLE EAST
The
Security Council is scheduled to
hold consultations on the Middle East at
4:30 p.m.
this afternoon.
Council
members will consider a draft resolution on the follow-up to
Resolution
1559, which concerned
foreign forces in Lebanon.
U.N. ENVOY TO APPEAL FOR
SUPPORT FOR U.N. PROGRAMMES IN HORN OF AFRICA
Martti Ahtisaari, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the
humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, wrapped up his mission to Ethiopia
today.
While in Ethiopia,
Ahtisaari met with senior government officials and representatives of UN
agencies, NGOs and the donor community. The focus of his discussions was
addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity.
Ahtisaari, who had also visited Eritrea last week, will now be visiting donor
capitals to appeal for support for UN programs to lay the groundwork for
transitioning from emergency relief to long-term recovery from food shortages.
U.N.D.P.
EXPLORING LEGAL OPTIONS REGARDING FORMER EMPLOYEE
Asked about
the case of former
UN Development Programme (UNDP) employee Callixte Mbarushimana, the
Spokesman said that UNDP is exploring legal options regarding that case. In
order not to prejudice the outcome of those efforts, he said, we will not
comment in public about them.
Asked
whether the United Nations would give Mbarushimana back pay, the Spokesman
said that the United Nations is bound to comply with the Administrative
Tribunal’s judgment.
He noted
that the Tribunal had ruled that Mbarushimana was entitled to 12 months pay,
and Tribunal officials said that the ruling was made strictly on the basis of
how he was let go. The Tribunal never looked into the merits of the criminal
allegations made regarding him.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNAIDS
CONGRATULATES VIETNAM ON HIV/AIDS STRATEGY:
The
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids, (UNAIDS) has
commended the Government of Vietnam for adopting a progressive national
strategy on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. According to the Deputy Executive
Director of the programme, Dr. Kathleen Cravero, the Vietnamese strategy stands
as a model for other countries in the region and the world.
LIBERIAN FACTIONS ASKED TO DISARM WITHOUT DELAY:
Reiterating that the disarmament and demobilization of
combatants of Liberia’s former warring factions would be completed as scheduled
on 31 October, the International Monitoring Committee (IMC), responsible for
monitoring the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, today called on all former
fighters who have not yet handed over their weapons “to disarm without delay.”
The IMC also urged the former warring factions to immediately bring to the
attention of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) any information they may have on
“any remaining concentrations of combatants who are yet to disarm,” so that
necessary arrangements can be made for their disarmament and demobilization
before the deadline.
GOOD
GOVERNANCE NEEDED TO HELP PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY:
The problem of people living in poverty is not one of effort, rather, it is one
of opportunity. And good governance is what is needed to provide that
opportunity. That was the
message of Juan Somavia, the Director-General of the
International Labour Office, to mark the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which was yesterday.
HAITI FORCE COMMANDER’S COMMENTS BEING CHECKED:
Asked about media reports
of comments by the
UN Force Commander in
Haiti, the Spokesman said that the United Nations is checking the accuracy
of the press reports. He added that the U.S. elections are an internal political
matter upon which it would be inappropriate for the United Nations to comment.
SOCCER
STARS IN TV AD CAMPAIGN TO PPOMOTE MILLENNIUM GOALS: World famous
soccer stars
Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane
appeared yesterday in a thirty-second TV spot to promote the
Millennium Development Goals,
on behalf of their role as UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors. The spot aired worldwide
in conjunction with the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
*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.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
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