HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday,
January 27, 2005
ANNAN TO ATTEND AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT IN NIGERIA
The Secretary-General will depart tomorrow for
Abuja, Nigeria, where he will attend the African Union summit.
He is scheduled to return to New York on Tuesday.
EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR WARNS OF
HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGES IN AFRICA
Today,
Jan Egeland, the
UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, briefed the
Security Council on humanitarian challenges in Africa.
Drawing attention to humanitarian conditions in Northern
Uganda, he also said that, in Darfur, the high level of insecurity is severely
limiting the humanitarian community’s ability to reach hundreds of thousands
of people who depend on assistance to survive.
He noted that, in Darfur, in January, the
World Food Programme has only reached about 900,000 people so far, or 50%
of its target.
He also highlighted the plight of six million people in
six countries in Southern Africa who will be unable to meet their food needs
this year, primarily because of the “triple threat” of food insecurity,
HIV/AIDS and weakened capacity for governance.
SUDAN: FIGHTING HAMPERS AID
DELIVERY IN DARFUR
The UN Mission in Sudan continues to report tension,
fighting and attacks on villages in Darfur,
Sudan, which have resulted in dozens of civilians killed and thousands
displaced.
Due to the reported attacks,
some areas of Darfur have been identified as “no-go” areas for UN agencies.
In South Darfur, UN human
rights monitors are particularly concerned that victims of human rights
violations are continue to pay fees in order to receive treatment at the Nyala
hospital, despite representations from the
World Health Organization and other agencies.
UN agencies are also concerned
about health conditions in Kalma camp for the displaced. Contaminated water,
chest infections, exhaustion and diarrhea are believed to be the main causes
of death.
Asked when the Secretary-General is going to receive the
International Commission of Inquiry’s report on Sudan, the Spokeswoman said
that the Commission had completed its work on January 25 and the report had
arrived at UN headquarters today. The Secretary-General, after receiving the
report, would give it to the Government of Sudan, giving them three days’ time
to respond. After that, early next week, the report was expected to go, in
English, to the Security Council, and would be made available to the press at
that time.
UNICEF HELPS
RE-OPEN SCHOOLS IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
UNICEF is
stockpiling tents and classroom materials, training teachers, building
schools, and assisting education officials to enroll students for the first
academic year of the post-war period.
Anticipating the return of thousands of children to the
region -- following this month’s peace agreement between the Government of
Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement -- education authorities
are planning to re-open schools at the end of March.
U.N. MISSION SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MILITIAS
IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO
The
UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has
denounced destabilization attempts in Ituri, in the country’s east, provoked
by elements of the militias known as the “Union of Congolese Patriots” and the
“Front of the Nationalists for Integration.”
The Mission is calling on the
leaders of these armed groups – who are about to become integrated into the
national army of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo as senior officers – to assume their
responsibilities and instruct their militia members to hand in their weapons
within the framework of the disarmament and reintegration program for Ituri.
The Mission says that its
disarmament and reintegration process in Ituri has been slowed down for a few
weeks because of the destabilization attempts, and because of threats made
against militia members who want to give up their arms.
According to the latest
statistics, as of 24 January 2005, a total number of 2,474 former fighters
have entered into the transit centers in Ituri, and 14,499 weapons and
munitions have been handed in.
In addition, the UN Mission has
been distributing humanitarian aid in some towns alongside the Congo River, in
the country’s east, and UN peacekeepers have been distributing drinking water
– in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders – in Kimbanséké, which is a
poor district of Kinshasa, where a typhoid epidemic has broken out.
D.R. CONGO: EXPERTS’ REPORT URGES TARGET OF ARMS
EMBARGO TO BE REVISITED
The
report to the
Security Council by the Group of Experts on the
arms embargo on the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was released today.
In it, the experts recommend
that the target of the embargo be revisited so as to clarify its terms and
exemptions.
They also recommend that the
arms embargo be extended to cover all of the DRC, with the exceptions of the
UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the “Etat-Major”
as well as for the supply of non-lethal material and certain forms of
training.
The report is still being
considered by the
DRC Sanctions Committee in advance its consideration by the Security
Council.
U.N. MISSION WELCOMES INAUGURATION OF
AFGHANISTAN’S INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan today
welcomed the inauguration of that country’s Independent Electoral
Commission, calling its establishment “a major step in the implementation of
the new Afghan Constitution.”
The start of the Commission, the UN Mission added, marks
the formal beginning of the process leading to upcoming parliamentary and
local elections. The UN Mission is committed to providing all possible support
to that process.
As well,
UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, and the Executive
Director of the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, are scheduled to visit
Afghanistan in the near future.
HEALTH AGENCY WARNS OF RISK OF MALARIA
IN TSUNAMI-AFFECTED AREAS
The
World Health Organization (WHO)
warns that there is an increased risk of diseases, such as malaria and
dengue fever, across tsunami-affected areas in Southeast Asia. The danger has
been brought on by stagnant water, combined with the onset of Indonesia and
Sri Lanka’s rainy seasons.
To prevent an epidemic, WHO is providing
insecticide-treated bed-nets, chemicals to kill larvae, and other supplies.
MORE THAN $200 MILLION SOUGHT FOR NORTH
KOREAN FOOD AID
The
World Food Programme has announced that, for 2005, it needs 500,000 tons
of commodities, valued at more than $200 million, to assist 6.5 million North
Koreans.
Noting that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is
facing severe food shortages, the agency says that millions of children, women
and elderly people are barely managing to survive.
According to a recent joint assessment by WFP and the
Food and Agriculture Organization, domestic cereal production is forecast to
rise by 2.4 per cent to 4.24 million tons in 2005. However, it will remain
well below the minimum requirement of 5.13 million tons.
U.S. MILITARY PLAYING CRUCIAL ROLE IN
PROVIDING SECURITY FOR IRAQI ELECTIONS
Asked whether the United States had asked for a
retraction from comments made on Wednesday by Carina Perelli, Director of the
Electoral Assistance Division, following which the Spokesman issued a
statement, the Spokeswoman said there had been no such request for
retraction.
Asked what the UN policy on U.S. participation in the
elections is, the Spokeswoman reiterated, as the statement made clear, that
the U.S. military, along with the Iraqi security forces, are playing a crucial
role in providing security for Iraqi citizens who will be voting.
She added that Perelli Wednesday briefed the press on the
technical preparations for the election, and Perelli did not intend to
criticize the US military's profile.
In response to further questions concerning the release
of the statement, the Spokeswoman said that the period before the elections
was a sensitive time, and the United Nations does not want anything its
officials say to be misinterpreted and turned into a divisive issue. Everyone,
she added, agrees on the need for successful elections.
Asked whether the U.S. Government had been pressuring the
Spokesman’s Office, she said it had not.
Asked whether the statement used the word “mis-spoke” to
mean “lied,” she said it did not.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
OIL-FOR-FOOD INVESTIGATION BEING LED BY “HIGHLY
RESPECTED INDIVIDUAL”: Asked whether there are any conflicts of interest
involving Paul Volcker, the Spokeswoman said that Volcker is a highly respected
individual leading an important investigation. She declined further comment
until Volcker’s panel comes out with its report, which is due in a matter of
days.
U.N. OFFICIALS EXPECTED TO SERVE OUT THEIR TERMS:
Asked whether Dileep Nair, Under-Secretary-General for
Internal Oversight Services, whose term expires in the spring, or Ruud
Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
whose term expires at the end of the year, would be resigning before their terms
ended, the Spokeswoman said she had not heard anything about that.
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES GIVING TO U.N. POPULATION FUND
REACHES NEW HIGH: A total of 166 countries
contributed to
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in 2004 – a record high in the
Fund’s 35-year history. The top six donors were the Netherlands, United Kingdom,
Japan, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Contributions to UNFPA regular resources in
2004 were $326 million (provisional), the highest total ever, passing for the
first time the 1996 high of $300 million.
F.A.O. CONSIDERS GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS: A
consultation of experts convened at the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization
recommended that any responsible deployment of Genetically Modified crops
needs to comprise the whole technology development process, from the pre-release
risk assessment, to biosafety considerations and post release monitoring.
Environmental goals must also encompass the maintenance and protection of basic
natural resources such as soil, water and biodiversity.
*The guests at the noon briefing
were Rosario
Manalo, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), and Ms. Maria Regina Tavares da Silva, Committee Member, who
briefed on the Committee's final report on its inquiry, carried out in response
to a claim made against a State Party, of grave or systematic violations of
rights contained in the CEDAW Convention.
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