HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday,
January 12, 2005
ANNAN WELCOMES
GENEROUS PLEDGES TO TSUNAMI FLASH APPEAL
Secretary General Kofi Annan
welcomes the generous pledges and, more importantly, the firm commitments
announced yesterday in Geneva in response to the
UN
Flash Appeal for the countries affected by the
tsunami.
Having had the opportunity this week to visit the
affected region and witness the immense human suffering, he is acutely aware
of the enormous needs, both in terms of immediate relief and longer term
recovery.
Given the unprecedented needs, the Secretary-General
appeals to the international community to rapidly deliver on their pledges and
urges all donors to sustain their support throughout the rehabilitation and
reconstruction phase. He also urges the international community to establish a
regional early warning mechanism.
The Secretary General appreciates this expression of
confidence by the international community in the United Nations’ coordination
of relief efforts, and reiterates his intention to urgently establish a
financial tracking system to ensure transparency, accountability and efficient
management of relief and reconstruction funds.
The Secretary-General looks forward to continued
international cooperation, building on the encouraging efforts made during the
initial response to the crisis. He hopes that the global outpouring of
solidarity and generosity will become a model for the response to other
humanitarian crises.
MONEY RECEIVED FOR TSUNAMI SURVIVOR
ASSISTANCE TOPS $730 MILLION
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
reports that the amount of money received by the United Nations at yesterday’s
pledging conference in Geneva -- $738 million -- is greater than the total
amount requested for 2004’s biggest appeal.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has
transported 190 tons of building materials to the island of Naalaafushi,
in the Maldives. With the help of a local partner – which has provided
carpenters, plumbers and other construction workers – UNDP aims to have all
291 inhabitants in new houses before the monsoon season begins in June. UNDP
is also helping to rebuild homes on the island of Muli.
Newly appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham
will speak out for the tsunami-affected children in a UNICEF TV campaign
urging support for the organization's work to meet their immediate and long
term needs.
UNICEF has also
delivered emergency kits to children and families in tsunami-affected
areas of Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy District. The kits are packed with blankets,
clothing, utensils, soap, mosquito nets and other essential items to help
families contend with the after-effects of the recent disaster. UNICEF is also
providing drinking water and household sanitation systems to hard-hit
communities in Ayeyarwaddy, and has a one-year stock of essential drugs and
thousands of mosquito nets ready for distribution to the most affected
families and communities.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
reports that, along the Sumatran coast between
Banda Aceh and the town of Meulaboh, many roads and bridges have been
destroyed, making access extremely difficult. WHO says that cases of
diarrhoeal disease are being reported in displacement camps throughout the
region, although no outbreaks have been reported so far. To minimize the risk
of outbreaks, access to safe drinking water, as well as adequate hygiene and
sanitation, remains a WHO priority.
ANNAN PRAISES
SMALL ISLAND COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
The Secretary-General is currently in Mauritius, where he
will deliver an address Thursday morning to the
2,000 participants of the
International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.
Today, the Secretary-General
and Nane Annan visited a major parallel activity of the Mauritius conference,
called the “Community Vilaj”, which is a showcase of sustainable development
efforts in small islands worldwide.
The Secretary-General told the community representatives
who had gathered there, “You represent an adaptive, resilient group that is
necessary for any society to move forward.” Later, the Secretary-General
opened the final session of the parallel youth forum of the conference.
At the end of the afternoon, the Secretary-General
addressed island leaders taking part in a summit meeting of the Alliance of
Small Island States. He referred to the recent earthquake and tsunami, saying,
“as a result of the terrible catastrophe, we can see more clearly not only the
challenges facing small islands, but also their relevance for the entire
world.”
HAITI: U.N. MISSION HAS TAKEN STEPS TO
STABILIZE SECURITY SITUATION
The Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Haiti,
Juan Valdes, briefed the
Security Council this morning in an open meeting.
In his address, Valdes said the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has entered a new phase, and had taken
decisive steps to stabilize the security situation there. He outlined some
recent security operations, adding that the
Mission has almost reached its
mandated level of man-power, which in turn, has increased the Mission’s
ability to deal with the security situation and the political transition.
Valdes also reiterated the need
for international support for Haiti.
Today’s
meeting was chaired by Argentina’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and it
was also attended by seven other foreign affairs ministers from the Americas.
SECURITY
COUNCIL INFORMED THAT SITUATION IN DARFUR IS “STILL BAD”
Tuesday afternoon, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Sudan, Jan Pronk, told the Security Council
that, "It is hard to imagine that the peace dividend promised by the Nairobi
agreement will be reaped without an end to the suffering in Darfur.”
Pronk focused much of his
briefing
on Darfur, where he said the security situation is “still bad” and the
humanitarian situation is poor. And politically, Darfur finds itself in a
stalemate, he said.
He noted that large quantities
of arms had been carried into Darfur in defiance of the Security Council
decision taken in July, and he flagged the emergence of new rebel movements
that were launching attacks in the area of oil facilities in Western Kordofan.
He also warned of a possible
period of intense violence unless swift action is taken and new approaches are
considered. He outlined a number of suggestions.
Also yesterday, the Security
Council issued a
press statement on the killing and wounding of UN military observers along
the Blue Line in Southern Lebanon – in the statement, Council members called on all parties involved to
exercise restraint.
IRAQ: ALL KNOWN ASSETS FROM OIL-FOR-FOOD
PROGRAMME
ACCOUNTED FOR IN DEVELOPMENT FUND
The Secretary-General, in a
letter, transmitted to the Security Council the review written by his
representative on the International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the
Board’s work over the past year.
The representative, Jean-Pierre Halbwachs, said that an
external auditor has concluded that all known oil proceeds, reported frozen
assets and transfers from the oil-for-food program have been properly and
transparently accounted for in the Development Fund for Iraq.
But the Board believes the auditors’ controls were
insufficient to provide reasonable assurance on petroleum exports, and whether
all the Development Fund’s disbursements were made for the purposes intended.
The Board also agreed to the terms of reference for a
special audit of sole-sources contracts, proposed by the U.S. Government, to
be completed by an independent auditor. That audit is expected to be completed
by this April, and to be made public.
SRI LANKA, INDONESIA AND MALDIVES WERE
CHOSEN FOR ANNAN’S VISIT
Responding to yesterday’s questions, asking whether the
Secretary-General had been prevented during his recent travels from seeing
India or parts of Sri Lanka, the Spokesman said his office does not discuss
the details of the planning phases of the Secretary-General's trips.
He added that, in planning this trip, the United Nations
looked at the entire area hit by the tsunami, and chose two of the worst-hit –
Aceh in Indonesia, and Sri Lanka – and a small island state that
proportionately was badly hit, the Maldives. The Secretary-General did not
visit India this time around.
As for Sri Lanka, the Secretary-General made clear that
he saw a lot of the country in 48 hours, including a refugee camp for Tamils
in the northeast. Before his departure, he
told reporters, “I am hoping to be able to come back and someday be able
to visit all parts of the country, which I hope will be rebuilt, but also to
celebrate peace.”
In response to a further question on whether India
blocked the Secretary-General’s travels to that country, the Spokesman noted
comments made by Indian officials denying that they had prevented the
Secretary-General from visiting.
Asked whether the Secretary-General was kept away from
parts of Sri Lanka, the Spokesman said he was unaware of the Secretary-General
being blocked, adding that he visited all the areas that were in his final
travel plans.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
PEACEKEEPING
MISSION IN LIBERIA GETS NEW FORCE COMMANDER: The Secretary-General has
appointed Lieutenant-General Joseph Olorungbon Owonibi of Nigeria as Force
Commander of the
United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Lieutenant-General Owonibi
replaces Lieutenant-General Daniel Opande of Kenya.
W.H.O. TACKLES MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS IN EUROPE: Mental health problems
exact high costs to society in both human suffering and economic terms. The
WHO European Ministerial Conference on Mental Health -- being held in
Helsinki from 12-15 January -- is part of WHO/Europe's response to Member
States' concerns about this growing problem. At the Conference, representatives
of Member States will discuss the status of mental health in the WHO European
Region and agree on a declaration and action plan with measures for improvement.
SPOKESMAN NOTES ANNAN’S INITIATIVE TO OVERHAUL U.N.
MANAGEMENT: Asked about recent comments by U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell concerning the Secretary-General’s responsibility for problems in the
oil-for-food program, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General is
accountable to the Member States for the management of the Secretariat. As
Powell pointed out, responsibility on this matter also rests with the Security
Council. The Secretary-General, the Spokesman added, has created the Independent
Inquiry Committee and stated that he will take whatever actions are appropriate
based on the findings. The Secretary-General has also initiated a management
overhaul designed to increase accountability and improve the performance of the
Secretariat.
SPOKESMAN SAYS ISRAEL’S COOPERATION WITH REGISTER IS
IMPORTANT: Asked whether Israel has agreed to the establishment of a UN
register for damages caused by the barrier in the West Bank, the Spokesman said
that Israel’s cooperation would be important, and added that the United Nations
has not received a reaction from Israel so far.
*The guest at the noon briefing was Kevin Kennedy,
Director
of the Coordination and Response Division in the Office for the Coordination of
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who provided an
update on assistance to the tsunami victims.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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