HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
November 29, 2004
ANNAN CALLS FOR
PATIENCE AND RESPECT
AMID COURT REVIEW OF UKRAINIAN ELECTION
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been following closely and with concern
developments in Ukraine over the weekend as that nation struggles to resolve
the crisis that has developed over the run-off Presidential election on
November 21.
The Secretary-General
notes that the Supreme Court is currently reviewing the matter, and calls
on all concerned to be patient and to allow the constitutional process to
continue. The legitimacy, accountability and transparency of Ukraine’s
institutions are vital to the consolidation of its democracy.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all sides to
exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from divisive political statements
that could endanger the stability of the country.
Respect by all for the unity of the Ukrainian nation, its
sovereignty and territorial integrity are of utmost importance to Ukraine and
to regional and international security.
U.N. ENVOY HEADS TO IRAN TO ATTEND
REGIONAL MEETING ON IRAQ
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq,
Ashraf Qazi, is on his way to Tehran, Iran where he is to attend a meeting
of
Iraq and its neighbours, at the Interior minister’s level.
Qazi concluded a visit on Sunday to the Kurdistan area of
Iraq where he met separately with Kurdistan Democratic party leader Masoud
Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani.
With both, he discussed the latest developments in Iraq
and the UN role in helping the rebuilding process in Iraq. He also exchanged
views on the security situation and the efforts to advance the political
process as well as preparations for the country's national elections.
Qazi also met with the prime minister of the Kurdish
Region government in Erbil and the prime minister of the Kurdish Region
government in Sulaimanaiya for talks that focused on the UN role in providing
assistance to the region through projects carried out by UN agencies.
Qazi told the two prime ministers in the separate
meetings he held with them that the United Nations will spare no effort in
supporting the reconstruction process in Iraq and highlighted the efforts the
United Nations has already exerted to implement a number of vital projects in
the areas of health, education, and infrastructure, among others.
Asked how the Secretary-General
responded to calls for a delay in Iraq’s elections, the Spokesman said that
the Secretary-General is consulting the parties through Qazi. The
Secretary-General hopes that the matter can be resolved among the Iraqis, and
he does not intend to comment in public while they seek a resolution.
IRAN: U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG SAYS
MEASURES IN PLACE
FOR VERIFYING URANIUM ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
All measures necessary for the verification of Iran’s
suspension of its enrichment and reprocessing activities are now in place,
says the head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director-General
Mohamed ElBaradei.
ElBaradei
told the Agency’s Board of Governors that he received a letter from Iran
yesterday in which it permitted the IAEA to place 20 sets of centrifuge
components under Agency surveillance. Iran also said it will not conduct any
testing of those components.
Today, ElBaradei said, Agency inspectors put surveillance
cameras in place to monitor the centrifuge components.
In a
resolution adopted in Vienna today, the IAEA Board of Governors welcomed
the suspension of Iran’s enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. It
requested ElBaradei to continue verifying that the suspension remains in place
and to inform Board members should it not be fully sustained.
ANNAN HOPES THAT FOCUS IS PLACED ON
REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
A short while ago, the
Secretary-General was asked if the continued allegations regarding the
Oil-for-Food programme and particularly his son, would make it difficult
for him to continue with his work as Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General
told reporters that he and the Organization have very serious work to do
in the months ahead, especially on
UN reform and development.
He said he knows it was never going to be easy to focus
on those issues – and these allegations are not going to make it any easier –
but he hopes that Member States will see the value in focusing on reform and
development issues.
As to his son, Kojo, and the specific allegations that he
continued to receive payment from Cotecna until February of this year, the
Secretary-General said he had been under the impression that those payments
had stopped in 1998. When he recently found out they had in fact continued
until this year, the Secretary-General said he was surprised and disappointed.
He added that his son is a grown man and that the
Secretary-General doesn’t get involved in his son’s business and that his son
doesn’t get involved in the UN’s business.
The Secretary-General also asked for reporters to be
patient and await the conclusions of the independent
Volcker panel, which is examining these issues.
In
response to questions about what the Secretary-General
had known about Kojo Annan’s payments from Cotecna, the Spokesman noted that,
until the media raised the issue, the Secretary-General had not been aware of
any payments beyond the end of 1998.
In
response to press accounts five years ago that alleged that there was an
appearance of conflict of interest because Kojo Annan had been a junior
trainee of Cotecna, the Secretary-General had asked his
then-Under-Secretary-General for Management, Joseph Connor, to look into the
matter.
Connor, the Spokesman said, had spoken to the UN’s procurement people and its
Contract Committee, and no one on those bodies was aware that Kojo Annan had
worked for Cotecna. Cotecna had been the lowest bidder for a UN oil-for-food
contract and had received that contract.
Just at the time that Cotecna was awarded the contract, Kojo Annan left the
firm, Eckhard added.
The Spokesman said that the job of the press is “to keep us honest, and we
welcome it.” But in this case, he said, the United Nations had looked into the
media allegations and could not sustain them from the evidence.
Despite that, Eckhard added, because doubts continued to be received in some
media quarters, the matter was turned over to Paul Volcker’s Independent
Inquiry Committee. It is up to Volcker to investigate, and the
Secretary-General has said he would waive the immunity of anyone believed to
have committed any wrongdoing.
Asked why the United Nations had believed that the payments to Kojo Annan had
stopped in 1999, the Spokesman said it was acting on information provided in
writing by Cotecna.
In
response to questions about the damage to the United Nations following the
allegations, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General made clear that his
main priority for the rest of his term is UN reform and the implementation of
the recommendations of the
High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. Beyond that, a major
priority next year is the five-year review of the
Millennium Declaration and
Millennium Development Goals. Because of those priorities, which could
affect the UN’s work for generations, the Secretary-General did not intend to
get bogged down by the allegations, Eckhard said.
Those two priorities, he said, greatly overshadow the allegations, on which
there is an investigation that is in competent hands.
Asked whether people in the United Nations are ever fired for misconduct, the
Spokesman pointed to the recent firing of a French national following
allegations of sexual misconduct which were investigated by the police in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
NEW GOVERNMENT IN KOSOVO MUST REACH OUT
TO KOSOVO SERBS
The
Security Council held an
open meeting this morning, at which it was briefed by Special
Representative Soren Jessen-Petersen on the
Secretary-General’s latest
report on Kosovo.
In his address to the Council, Jessen-Petersen said there
could be no normalization or stabilization in the Western Balkans, without
resolving the Kosovo issue.
He also said the UN Mission’s priorities include
improving the economy and protecting minorities.
He noted that security has improved significantly since
the March violence, and he told the Council that once a new government is
formed in Kosovo, its first act must be to reach out to the Kosovo Serbs.
He also said the international community might be moving
towards talks on final status. But first, Kosovo’s leaders and people knew
they had to work hard towards meeting set standards.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON MANDATE
EXTENSION OF U.N. MISSION IN HAITI;
SCHEDULES CONSULTATIONS ON BURUNDI
The
Security Council has scheduled a vote today on the extension of the
mandate of the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
Also on the Council agenda this afternoon are closed
consultations on Burundi. Council members will hear a briefing on the
Secretary-General’s
latest report on the UN Operation in Burundi.
Separately, the Council began its work today with closed
consultations to discuss the Council’s statement on the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which was later read by the Council
President, U.S. Ambassador John Danforth.
ANNAN: MIDDLE EAST ROAD MAP SHOULD BE
GIVEN CHANCE TO SUCCEED
Today the United Nations marks the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People, as mandated by the
General Assembly.
In a
message he delivered to a meeting of the committee on the inalienable
rights of the Palestinian people, the
Secretary-General said he hoped that the memory of the late Palestinian
leader, Yasser Arafat, would serve as an inspiration to the Palestinian people
in their aspirations for statehood and self-determination through peaceful
means.
Despite the past four years, which have been marked by
bloodshed and chaos, the Secretary-General underscored the need not to give
way to pessimism and despair.
He stressed that a new chance for peace may be around the
corner and that the Quartet’s
Road Map embodies a path to peace that is accepted by all.
It is high time, he said, that the Road Map be given a
chance to succeed and that the parties live up to their commitments.
In closing, he pledged that the United Nations would
continue to work with all parties for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
Also addressing this meeting was the Chairman of the
Committee, Ambassador Paul Badji of Senegal, the President of the General
Assembly, Jean Ping, and Security Council President, U.S. Ambassador Danforth.
U.N. MISSION REPORTS FIGHTING HAS
SUBSIDED IN DARFUR, SUDAN
The
UN Mission reports that after a week of considerable insecurity, fighting
has subsided in most locations in
Sudan since 24 November.
The Mission reported an exception, however, in an area
northwest of Tawilla, where armed tribesman attacked villages over the
weekend.
Due to the reported presence of Unexploded Ordnance in
and around Tawilla city, the
UN Mine Action Service is conducting an assessment in the area today
before reopening access for humanitarian operations.
Humanitarian agencies are concerned about the further
displacement of populations during last week’s insecurity, and have fielded an
assessment mission to the affected areas.
SOME IVORIAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME FROM
LIBERIA AS TENSIONS EASE
The situation in Abidjan and the rest of Cote d’Ivoire
was reported to be calm by the
UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire, while the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says that small numbers of Ivorian refugees in Liberia have been returning
home as tensions ease in their country.
While the influx into Liberia has ground to a halt, UNHCR
and its partners continue to monitor and to provide assistance in the border
areas.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the country, UN
peacekeepers recovered and then destroyed a cache of arms and ammunition in a
church at Danane.
MORE THAN 200 FORMER COMBATANTS DISARMED
IN AFGHANISTAN
Over the past three days, more than 200 members of
Afghanistan’s military forces have been disarmed, bringing the total
number of former combatants disarmed in that country to more than 24,000,
according to the
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
In addition, the UN Mission mentions that two of the UN
staff members released last week after being abducted last month met on Friday
with several Afghan women who had offered to take their place as hostages.
The two UN staff members, Annetta Flanigan and Shqipe
Hebibi, said the meeting was moving, as they shared their experiences with the
women who tried to help them.
ETHIOPIA AGREES ON ANTI-MINE CONVENTION
AS NAIROBI SUMMIT ON A MINE-FREE WORLD STARTS
The
Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World began in Kenya today with a welcome
development – Ethiopia has agreed to
accept the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.
Ethiopia is the 144th state to do so – and
it’ll now move to destroy its existing stockpiles of anti-personnel mines,
clear mined areas, and cease any use, production or transfer of the weapon
immediately.
The Nairobi Summit is the first five-year review of the
Ottawa Convention, and the international community is expected to adopt an
action plan to address challenges that remain on the path towards a mine-free
world.
Heads of state and ministers of foreign affairs from
several countries are expected to address the Summit’s high level session
later this week; as will Mark Malloch-Brown and Carol Bellamy, the heads of
the
UN Development Programme and
UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN CALLS FOR COUNTRIES TO RATIFY CHEMICAL WEAPONS
CONVENTION: The
Secretary-General today called upon all countries that have not yet done so,
to ratify or accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention without delay. He added
that expanding membership is vital for strengthening international security and
for promoting the peaceful use of chemistry. His remarks were part of a
message to a conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention
in The Hague.
ANNAN HOPES FOR ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER FOR ALL:
The first Global WASH -- or Water, Sanitation and Hygiene -- Forum, is currently
being held in Dakar, Senegal. In a
message to the Forum, the
Secretary-General said he hopes that one day the world will no longer have
to face the dire consequences of inadequate access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation.
SURVEY FINDS THAT CONTROLLED MIGRATION PROVIDES
BENEFITS: An orderly, controlled migration of people across borders provides
benefits both for the countries that send them and the ones that receive them,
this year’s
UN World Economic and Social Survey says. The Survey says that, beyond
existing conventions and protocols, the international community lacks a
comprehensive international framework to address the full range of migration
issues. It says that the protection of the workplace and human rights of
migrants is a paramount responsibility.
ANNAN PLANS TO MEET U.N. STAFF COUNCIL, NO DATES SET
YET: Asked whether the
Secretary-General would meet with the Staff
Council, the Spokesman said that both the Secretary-General and other senior
officials intended to meet with the Council, although no dates have been set
yet.
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
