HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
ASSOCIATE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday,
October 21, 2004
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan commends
the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council for its decision to deploy an
expanded AU force of troops and police in Darfur.
He especially welcomes the broad mandate given to the AU Mission, which will
provide protection to a larger number of AU monitors as well as civilians
and humanitarian operations under imminent threat.
In the light of the
growing insecurity in Darfur, the Secretary-General urges the African
Union to deploy this force speedily.
The planned
deployment requires complex and massive planning and logistical support.
The Secretary-General
considers it essential that the African Union receive the urgent, adequate
and continuing support of the international community, not only to quickly
deploy but also to sustain effectively its mission.
This AU mission is
crucial to enhancing security for the civilian population and for the
effective provision of much-needed humanitarian assistance.
The United
Nations will continue to offer the AU whatever assistance
it can.
The Secretary-General
urges all member states with capacity urgently and generously to provide the
required support.
In a
press encounter
upon entering UN headquarters this morning, the Secretary-General
was asked by a reporter about the situation in Darfur, Sudan,
and he said that he had spoken to the Chairman of the African Union this morning on the
decision to approve the expansion of the African Union force in Darfur. He
said he hoped they would proceed very quickly.
The Secretary-General
emphasized the need to improve the security situation, and to maintain
pressure on the Sudanese Government and rebels to honor their commitments.
The Abuja Talks
between the Government of the Sudan and the rebel groups of Darfur, the
Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), have
started today.
Jan Pronk, the
Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Sudan,
will be in Abuja to attend the talks and to discuss with the heads of the
parties' delegations the way to move forward with the peace negotiations and
the role of the United Nations in this regard.
Pronk also welcomed the
decision of the AU Peace and Security Council on the expansion of the size
and the mandate of the African Mission, as well as its timeliness. He
expressed his satisfaction at the broad mandate designed for the mission,
which takes into account almost all the recommendations of the United
Nations.
"The AU has done
its part. It's time now for the others to do theirs: the countries that are
in a position to provide the required assistance to the AU must do it
without delay, and the Government and the other parties to the Darfur
conflict must extend full cooperation with the African Mission," he
said. “Time
is of the essence, any effort must be exerted to ensure the speedy
deployment of the Mission.”
Meanwhile, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees today announced it would step up its operational
activities in West Darfur as part of a collaborative UN effort to provide
protection and assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced
people and refugees.
Jan Egeland,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefed the Security
Council today on humanitarian emergencies in Africa.
Egeland paid
particular attention to Uganda where a crisis that has displaced as many
people as in Darfur, Sudan,
receives a fraction of the attention.
IRAQ: ANNAN SAYS "TECHNICALLY
POSSIBLE" TO HAVE ELECTIONS IN JANUARY
At the morning
press encounter,
when asked about Iraq
elections, the Secretary-General said
that, at this point, it is still technically possible to have elections in
Iraq in January.
As we move forward,
he added, it will be necessary to send in additional UN staff. But the
circumstances have to be conducive, either in having a genuine improvement
in the security environment or solid arrangements for the protection of
staff.
Asked
whether the Secretary-General was confident that other States would be
willing to send troops to protect UN personnel, the Spokeswoman said that,
as the Secretary-General noted today, that effort is continuing.
This morning the
Secretary-General met with Paul Volcker, the Chairman of the Independent
Inquiry Committee into the UN
Oil-for-Food Programme, to receive an updated briefing on the work of
the Committee.
The Secretary-General
is encouraged
that the Committee is working diligently on the inquiry and looks forward to
receiving its final report.
Asked
for a read-out of the Secretary-General’s meeting with Volcker, the
Spokeswoman noted that Volcker would give a press conference this afternoon.
ANNAN
CALLS ON ALL COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN KOSOVO ELECTIONS
On October 23, the
people of Kosovo will have the
opportunity to vote for their representatives in the Assembly of Kosovo’s
Provisional Institutions.
In a statement,
the Secretary-General calls upon members of all of Kosovo’s communities to
exercise their right to vote in the elections. He urges members of the
Kosovo Serb community to participate in the election and in this way to
ensure that their interests and concerns are represented and promoted within
Kosovo’s provisional institutions. Kosovo’s leaders should do their
utmost to encourage Kosovo’s voters to engage in the democratic process.
The October 23
elections will be the first that are largely organized and run by the people
of Kosovo themselves. The Secretary-General is confident that these
elections will prove to be yet another significant step in the consolidation
of Kosovo’s representative and democratic provisional institutions of
self-government and a further demonstration of Kosovo’s progress on the
path of normalization and stability.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
WELCOMES HALT TO MILITARY ACTION IN NEPAL
The Secretary-General
welcomes the
announcement by the Communist party of Nepal (Maoist) to suspend military
action for a period of nine days coinciding with the Nepalese Dashain
festivals beginning on October 20 and the decision of His Majesty’s
Government of Nepal not to initiate offensives against the insurgent forces.
According to a statement issued today,
the Secretary-General considers this to be a positive
first step towards the possible resumption of a peace process in Nepal,
which he believes to be a matter of urgent importance.
He strongly
encourages the Government and the Maoists to extend the suspension of
hostilities beyond the holiday period in the interest of peace and the
restoration of a degree of normalcy, which ordinary Nepalese citizens
desperately need.
The Secretary-General
remains at the disposal of Nepal to assist in any manner that would lead to
the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nepal.
Asked
about the Secretary-General's reaction to the reported remarks by UN Force Commander in Haiti,
which appeared
to blame instability in Haiti on statements by a candidate in the U.S.
presidential election,
the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General has noted the statement
issued by Gen. Ribeiro Pereira on October 18.
The
Secretary-General’s own view is that the problems the United Nations faces
in Haiti have their roots in that country and nowhere else. Also, UN
officials should make public statements only within their area of competence
and responsibility.
The
Force Commander’s remarks as originally reported were therefore wrong both
in content and in form, she said.
The
UN Compensation Commission
has made
available today a total of almost $195 million to 20 governments and two
offices of international organizations for distribution to more than 2,100
successful claimants.
The
Commission was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the UN Security
Council. It processes claims and pays compensation for losses suffered as a
direct result of Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.
The
present payment brings the overall amount of compensation paid so far to
close to $19 billion.
The UN
Mission in Afghanistan today thanked coalition forces for their support
in a rescue operation of an electoral civic educator, who had been the
victim of an accidental weapons discharge which had wounded him badly in the
arm.
In the process of
bringing the civic educator to a hospital, the Coalition rescuers were
themselves injured when their helicopter crashed. The pilot of the
helicopter has since died from his injuries, and the Mission extended its
deepest condolences to his family.
The Secretary-General
says that the UN
Office for West Africa has been useful in raising public awareness about
cross-border problems and promoting conflict prevention, and he asks for it
to be extended by three years.
In a letter
to the Security Council, which is out on the racks today, he notes the work
the office has done, including the efforts by the head of the Office,
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, as Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.
He asks the Council to extend the Office until the end of December 2007.
The
Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission set up to assist the two countries to implement
the International Court of Justice’s
judgment on the demarcation of their land and maritime boundaries, is
meeting in Abuja today.
In
his opening statement, Chairman Ould-Abdallah reported that tranquillity prevails in the Lake Chad and
land boundary areas where the transfers of authority have taken place.
Regarding
the maritime boundary, he said submissions by both Cameroon and Nigeria were
being considered by both parties.
Regarding
the delay in the transfer of authority from the Bakassi Peninsula,
Ould-Abdallah said the Commission faced a real test on whether African
states were ready to abide by the rule of law.
He remained convinced that the Commission would complete its
assignment in due course, “sooner, rather than later”.
NO
SECURITY COORDINATOR APPOINTMENT YET: Asked
whether a new Security Coordinator would be announced, the Spokeswoman said the
announcement was not ready yet.
NEW
FENCE POSTS BUILT AT UN HEADQUARTERS: Asked
about the fence posts being put up at the perimeter of UN Headquarters, the
Spokeswoman said that they were intended to provide a fence while parts of the
old perimeter fence are taken down and a newer fence is constructed.
INTERPOL
CALLS FOR ARREST OF SIERRA LEONE SUSPECT: Interpol
this week made public a ‘Red Notice’ calling for the arrest and transfer of
indictee Johnny Paul Koroma to the custody of the Special
Court for Sierra Leone. Koroma was indicted in March 2003 on 17 counts of
war crimes and crimes against humanity, which include terrorizing the civilian
population, unlawful killings, sexual violence, physical violence, use of child
soldiers, abductions, forced labor and attacks of peacekeeping personnel. His
current whereabouts are unknown.
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