HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, March 4, 2005
ANNAN TO MEET
WITH SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON SUDAN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to meet with
members of the Security Council on Monday to discuss
Sudan, particularly Darfur, given the urgency of the situation on the
ground.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General had called for the meeting with the Security Council members
out of “frustration”, the Spokesman said that all would agree that not enough
is being done to bring the security situation in Sudan under control. Council
members share that view with the Secretary-General, he noted.
The Spokesman added that, as
Security Council members grapple with difficult issues while they consider
deploying a UN Mission in Sudan, it would be appropriate to discuss their
views with the Secretary-General on how to act more decisively in dealing with
the killings and rapes that have occurred in Darfur.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the UN’s Emergency Relief
Coordinator,
Jan Egeland, traveled today to Rumbek in south Sudan,
where hundreds of thousands of people displaced during the war are poised to
return to communities where few of the resources required to support their
return are in place.
In Rumbek, he met with Senior
Officials of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and representatives of UN
agencies and NGOs.
Egeland also plans to visit Darfur
while he is in Sudan.
MILITIA LEADERS
IN EASTERN CONGO SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
The
UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
reports that the situation in the Ituri district, in the eastern is relatively
calm today.
However, the Mission remains concerned. The country’s
Transitional Government has arrested several of the persons named in the
Security Council’s
presidential statement from last Wednesday, but in practice, these persons
have been put under house arrest. Some even appear to move about freely and to
retain means of communications.
The Mission is calling on the government to truly arrest
these people and bring them to justice.
Asked about today’s meeting
between the Secretary-General and Special Representative
William Swing, the Spokesman said a read-out was
expected after the meeting, and Swing would not talk to the press.
The Spokesman noted that the
Secretary-General had said on Thursday that Swing’s resignation was not on the
agenda. But, Eckhard said, one topic would be the transition in leadership in
the UN Mission, while the main topic would be the Secretary-General’s new and
more robust policy for dealing with sexual abuse. Also on the agenda, he said,
would be a discussion of the political situation following the sharp military
exchange that took place this week in Ituri.
He said the Mission was still trying to find its
feet in a politically complex environment, and in daunting terrain.
The Spokesman noted, in
response to a question, that Swing was 70 years old, and his contract would
expire in a few months.
DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TAKES ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’
MESSAGE TO COTE D'IVOIRE
The Deputy Secretary-General has begun the third leg of a
mission to personally deliver the Secretary-General’s zero
tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation and abuse.
She arrived earlier today in
Cote d’Ivoire from
Sierra Leone.
Before leaving Freetown, she told the staff of the UN
Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) that any infringement of the Organization’s
zero tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse could be
“perceived as an undermining of UN standards”. Although there were different
types of personnel in peacekeeping operations, all would be “measured against
one set of standards – the UN standards of conduct,” she said.
In her meeting with representatives from non-governmental
organizations, the Deputy Secretary-General outlined the UN’s policies
concerning sexual abuse and exploitation and urged those organizations to work
in partnership with UN offices based in Sierra Leone to curtail the
phenomenon.
While in Freetown, she told reporters that the United
Nations was reforming its approach by appointing staff members in all
peacekeeping operations to work specifically on the issue and would very soon
increase its relevant expertise and capacity to carry out investigations.
Commenting on the drawdown of the Mission, she noted that
the United Nations would continue to work with the people of Sierra Leone for
many years to come. “I am encouraged by what I have seen through the programs
accomplished, such as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR)
process and strengthening of security institutions,” she said.
U.N. MISSION IN COTE D’IVOIRE REPORTS
TENSION NEAR LIBERIAN BORDER
During her visit to Cote d’Ivoire, the Deputy
Secretary-General is scheduled to meet Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to
review the current situation in the country and the cooperation between the
mission and the government.
The
UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) continued to report tensions and
clashes in some areas, where UN peacekeepers subsequently increased their
patrols.
The mission also reported that gunshots were heard
yesterday on the eastern side of the town of Danane, situated a few kilometers
from Côte d’Ivoire’s border with Liberia.
UN peacekeepers from the
UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) based in Loguato, a town almost opposite
Danane on the Liberian side, told the UN mission in Cote d’Ivoire that they
saw concentrations of unidentified persons around that area.
MORE THAN 40 MILLION H.I.V. CASES CAN BE
PREVENTED IN AFRICA
Depending on actions taken today, as many as 43 million
cases of HIV infection could be prevented over the next 20 years, according to
a new
report.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
presents three scenarios for AIDS in Africa in the report, showing what
could happen between now and the year 2025, depending on whether African
leaders take tough measures, or have sufficient resources, to fight AIDS.
“The scenarios are not predictions,” Dr. Peter Piot, the
Executive Director of UNAIDS, said. “They are plausible stories about the
future.”
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED BY EUROPE’S
SECURITY & COOPERATION BODY
The
Security Council held an open meeting this morning that featured a
briefing by the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, Foreign Minister Dimitrij
Rupel of Slovenia.
The next scheduled meeting of the Security Council is
Monday, when it has DRC sanctions and Somalia on its agenda.
IRAQ: U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTORS STILL USE
SATELLITE TRACKING
The latest quarterly
report to the Security Council by the
UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq (UNMOVIC)
was published today.
In it, UNMOVIC says it continues to use satellite imagery
to track what has happened to Iraqi weapons sites it previously
monitored and inspected.
The inspectors are working with Iraq’s
neighbours to track the sale of scrap metals which has included dual-use
items.
The report also discusses the
uncertain fate of biological “seed stocks” Iraq imported in the 1980’s and
notes that the issue remains as part of the residue of uncertainty and that
such seed stocks could possibly be used in the future for biological warfare
agent production.
"BABY 81" TO ATTEND TSUNAMI RELIEF EVENT
AT UN HEADQUARTERS
Turning to
tsunami relief activities in Aceh, Indonesia, the UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) has distributed 25,000 insecticide-treated bed nets along the west
coast. To date, the agency’s daily distributions of jerry cans, soap, hygiene
kits and buckets have reached more than 50,000
people in the province.
For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) is gradually
shifting its focus away from general food distribution and towards targeted
assistance, covering thousands of primary school children, pregnant women, new
mothers, children under five, and orphans.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been
conducting a measles campaign in Banda Aceh this week. On the first morning
alone, more than 3,000 children were vaccinated.
And the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is using heavy
machinery to drag stranded boats back to the coast, so that they can quickly
be used again by fishermen.
At UN Headquarters, there will be a concert to raise
funds for tsunami victims, this evening from 6:00 to 8:30. It is being
organized by the UN staff committee for tsunami relief. Baby 81, the Sri
Lankan baby who had been claimed by multiple parents after the disaster, will
attend with his family.
ANNAN: NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
FACES
“PROFOUND CHALLENGES”
The Secretary-General
marked the 35th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), which takes place tomorrow, by calling it “a true cornerstone of
global security,” given the grave perils posed by nuclear proliferation.
Yet today, he warns, the Treaty confronts profound
challenges to its effectiveness and credibility. When the Treaty’s Review
Conference takes place this May, he says, progress in both disarmament and
non-proliferation will be essential, and neither should be held hostage to the
other.
The Secretary-General says that nuclear weapon states
should do more to inspire confidence in their commitments, while all States
parties should agree to necessary measures for more credible verification and
enforcement of the Treaty.
The Secretary-General adds that he will recommend
priority measures to strengthen the NPT in his forthcoming report on the
Millennium Declaration.
REFUGEE AGENCY
URGES MALAYSIA TO PROTECT REFUGEES
DURING CRACKDOWN
The UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today
urged the Malaysian government to continue to demonstrate its strong
humanitarian commitment and cooperation with UNHCR, following reports this
week of a crackdown on illegal migrants.
UNHCR stresses that it has
stringent procedures in place for registration, verification, interviewing and
then determination of refugee status.
But at least a dozen people
with UNHCR documentation - mainly Acehnese from Indonesia and Chins, an ethnic
minority from Myanmar - have been arrested in the roundup and sent to
immigration detention centers. The refugee agency hopes the authorities will
release them shortly.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW LAW ADDRESSES IODINE DEFICIENCY IN GEORGIA:
Almost half of the children in Georgia face the risk of mental retardation and
brain damage because of iodine deficiencies. However, with support from the
UNICEF, the Georgian Government has taken an important step to rectify the
situation, by adopting new
legislation to outlaw imports of non-iodized salt. Iodine deficiency
disorders are endemic in Georgia and UNICEF has been working to address the
problem since 1996.
MIDDLE EAST ENVOY IN
WASHINGTON: Asked about the itinerary of
the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy dealing with
Resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, the Spokesman said that Roed-Larsen was
in Washington, D.C., today, for routine consultations with U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Roed-Larsen
would travel to the Middle East in the coming days.
MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGES
DON’T APPLY TO HIGH-LEVEL STAFF: Asked
whether UN staff under dollar-a-year contracts were subject to the UN mandatory
retirement age, which is 60 for some staff and 62 for others, the Spokesman said
that most staff under such contracts would be at the level of Assistant
Secretary-General or Under-Secretary-General. Mandatory retirement rules do not
apply to staff at that level, he said.
LABOUR OFFICE TO DISCUSS MYANMAR: The Governing Body
of the office of the
International Labour Organization (ILO) will
discuss a host of issues at its 292nd session that began yesterday. Issues
include the situation in Myanmar, the social dimension of globalization, and the
next budget of the ILO. On Myanmar, the Governing Body will examine basic labour
rights and the attitudes towards forced labour in the country. The session runs
until 24 March.
WFP AND JAPAN JOIN FORCES FOR SCHOOL
FEEDING: The
World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Japan have forged a
partnership
to promote human security through school feeding. Currently, WFP is reaching
some 16 million children through school feeding programmes. It aims to increase
that number to 50 million children by 2007.
THE
WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Sunday, March 6
The UN Millennium
Campaign will be co-hosting the Launch of the Global Call to Action for Women’s
Rights, from 8 pm-midnight, at 199 Bowery Street in Manhattan.
Monday, March 7
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on
sanctions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and on the peace process in
Somalia.
The UN Office for West Africa
(UNOWA) and UK-based Wilton Park are jointly organizing a Wilton Park Roundtable
on the theme “Sovereignty and Transition in West Africa” in Dakar, Senegal,
Monday and Tuesday.
The guest at the noon briefing
will be the Secretary-General’s Representative for Somalia, Winston Tubman.
Tuesday, March 8
Today is International Women’s Day. Noeleen Heyzer, the
Executive Director of UNIFEM, will be the guest at the noon briefing to discuss
the gains made by women over the past decade.
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the UN
Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) for Iraq.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of
the Palestinian People will meet in Geneva.
Also in Geneva, the Governing Council of the UN
Compensation Commission will begin a three-day meeting.
At 10:00 a.m., the UN Research Institute for Social
Development will hold a press briefing to launch a report, “Gender Equality:
Striving for Justice in an Unequal World.”
Wednesday, March 9
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Haiti.
Thursday, March 10
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the UN
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
At 1:15 p.m., there will be a briefing on the Commission on
the Status of Women by its chair, Kyung-wha Kang.
Shashi Tharoor,
Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, will moderate
a discussion and book launch for “The Turbulent Decade” by former UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, from 1-2 pm in Conference Room 8.
Friday, March 11
The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Cote
d’Ivoire.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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