HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, March 14, 2005
ANNAN AND
PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS
ISRAELI DISENGAGEMENT FROM GAZA
Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today in Ramallah with Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He told reporters afterward that he and the President had
discussed Israeli disengagement from Gaza, economic reconstruction and the
progress by the Palestinian Authority. He told the press, “With a clear
determination and good will on both sides, a lot can be done.”
He was asked about the Israeli separation barrier, and
said that he had discussed the UN register, which would list damage claims
from the barrier, with President Abbas today.
The Secretary-General also met with Palestinian Prime
Minister Ahmed Qurei and Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa.
Earlier, he addressed the staff of the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and
paid farewell to its Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen. In remarks, available
upstairs, he thanked Hansen for his “unflagging energy, commitment and
leadership.”
He assured the Agency’s staff that Hansen was departing
only because his nine-year tenure had been “long enough for anyone to have to
live with the stresses and strains of such a job.”
Karen Koning AbuZayd will be Acting Commissioner-General,
he added.
Prior to his meeting with President Abbas, the
Secretary-General laid a wreath at the tomb of former Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat.
This evening, he is to meet in Jerusalem with Israeli
President Moshe Katsav.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General had asked Abbas to support a definition of terrorism, the
Spokesman later noted that the Secretary-General, speaking in Madrid last
week, had called on all world leaders to unite behind the High-Level Panel's
definition of terrorism.
ANNAN IS ENCOURAGED BY RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS IN MIDDLE EAST
The
Secretary-General arrived on Sunday afternoon in Jerusalem, and met that
day with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Just before going in to the meeting, the
Secretary-General
told reporters that he had been very encouraged by recent developments in
the region, including the Sharm el-Shaikh agreement.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked the
Secretary-General for his stand against anti-Semitism and for his strong
backing of the recent
General Assembly Special Session to mark the 60th anniversary
of the liberation of the Nazi death camps.
The Prime Minister and the Secretary-General discussed
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, including Israel’s disengagement and
plans to close 24 settlements.
The Secretary-General reiterated his support for the Gaza
disengagement and said he hoped that it would lead to full implementation of
the Road Map.
UN ENVOY: SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON
TO BE CARRIED OUT IN TWO STAGES
Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the
Implementation of
Security Council
Resolution 1559, met on Saturday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in
Aleppo, Syria, and discussed the resolution’s full implementation.
Roed-Larsen said afterward that President Assad has
committed to withdraw all Syrian troops and intelligence from Lebanon, in
fulfillment of the resolution.
That withdrawal, he said, would be carried out in two
stages. First, all military forces and the intelligence apparatus would be
relocated by the end of this month into the Bekaa Valley, while a significant
number of Syrian forces will withdraw fully into Syria. Then, a second stage
will lead to a complete and full withdrawal of all Syrian military personnel,
assets and the intelligence apparatus.
Yesterday, Larsen met in Beirut with Lebanese President
Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Omar Karame, Speaker Nabi Berry, Foreign Minister
Mahmoud Hammoud, opposition leader Walid Jumblat and other senior politicians.
He also spoke by phone with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, to
discuss his meetings.
Larsen is returning to New York, where he will present
the
Secretary-General this week with further details of the timetable for a
complete Syrian pullout from Lebanon.
In response to questions, the Spokesman said Larsen is
expected to be in New York by Wednesday and he and the Secretary-General would
most likely discuss Larsen’s work by the end of the week.
61st
SESSION OF U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OPENS IN GENEVA
Without the implementation of widely ratified
international treaties, there is no point in reaffirming or refining the
meaning of human rights,
Louise Arbour, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights,
said today in Geneva. They simply cease to exist, she affirmed.
Speaking at the opening of the 61st session of
the
Commission on Human Rights, she added that the world’s approach to human
rights diplomacy remains unsatisfactory, sporadic and selective.
The Commission must therefore take the lead in bringing
about dispassionate analysis, focused calls for action, and sustained
attention to human rights violations.
She also said that the international community’s
response, so far, to the human rights crisis in Darfur fell very short of the
world’s collective responsibility to the most vulnerable.
Asked about reports on proposals to change the way the
Commission on Human Rights works, the Spokesman said that the
Secretary-General was expected to offer some recommendations about that in his
report on the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration. That report, he said,
is expected to be presented to Member States on Monday, March 21.
Eckhard said that the report would concern the United
Nations’ agenda for 2005, and would draw from the reports of the High-Level
Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and of the Millennium Project headed
by Professor Jeffrey Sachs.
He noted that it would be up to governments to make major
changes, but the Secretary-General would make recommendations.
SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS BRIEFINGS ON
BURUNDI, DR CONGO;
EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA
The
Security Council is holding consultations on the
Secretary-General’s latest
report on Burundi.
Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Burundi, briefed Council members on the report,
which has been issued as a document today.
[In a
Presidential
Statement on Burundi, the Security Council today welcomed the
approval by the Burundian people of the post-transitional Constitution,
through the referendum of 28 February whose final results have just been
declared.]
The second item on the
consultations’ agenda is a briefing on sanctions concerning the
Democratic Republic of the Congo by Algerian Ambassador Abdallah Baali in
his capacity as chairman of that sanctions committee.
Two back-to-back formal
meetings are also scheduled. The first meeting is expected to vote on a draft
resolution on
extending the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The second meeting is to
discuss the
appointment of judges to the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
DESPITE DELAYS
IN ELECTORAL CALENDAR,
PROGRESS IS REPORTED IN BURUNDI’S PEACE PROCESS
In his
report to the
Security Council on Burundi, the
Secretary-General notes that despite delays in the electoral calendar,
there has been continued progress in the peace process. But citing remaining
political tensions, he urges all political and military leaders to stay the
course.
He also said he has instructed
his Special Representative to explore how the United Nations and the
international community could continue to support the consolidation of peace
after elections.
U.N. ENVOY DISCUSSES RECONSTRUCTION
ASSISTANCE
IN SOUTHERN IRAQ DURING VISIT TO BASRA
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq,
Ashraf Qazi, over the weekend made a two-day visit to Basra, in southern
Iraq, where he
talked to the Deputy Governor on humanitarian and reconstruction
assistance that the United Nations is providing southern Iraq.
Qazi said that the United Nations has remained engaged in
the south through the work of its local staff and partners. He affirmed the
UN’s support for more effective working relationships with Iraqi political and
economic entities to ensure that reconstruction and development activities
receive the attention and funding that they need.
The
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq recently opened a liaison office in Basra,
and, circumstances permitting, hopes to be able to increase the scope and
scale of its humanitarian activities in southern Iraq.
BANDITRY
INCIDENTS REPORTEDLY ON THE RISE IN DARFUR, SUDAN
The
UN Mission in Sudan continues to report on security concerns in
Darfur.
Some areas continue to be off
limits to humanitarian agencies while banditry incidents have reportedly been
on the rise.
The mission reported that in
North Darfur last night, armed men in uniform attacked a house owned by a
national staff member of the
World Food Programme. The attackers fired shots at the occupant of the
house, who managed to flee the scene and did not sustain any injuries. The
house was however ransacked and looted.
ARMS EMBARGO
VIOLATIONS CONTINUE AT ALARMING RATE IN SOMALIA
The
Security Council
Sanctions Committee on Somalia has transmitted the
report of the
Monitoring Group on Somalia in a letter. The report and letter are issued
as documents today.
The Group learned that arms
embargo violations had continued to occur at a brisk and alarming rate. It
said shipments ranged in size from an individual weapon to ocean freight
containers full of arms.
It notes the indication of the
existence of a sophisticated financial network directly involved in arms
purchases.
As a result of the continued
heavy flow of arms into Somalia, there is a seriously elevated threat of possible violence against the
peaceful establishment in Somalia of the
Transitional Federal Government.
MORE THAN 300 EX-SOLDIERS ENTER
DEMOBILIZATION PROGRAM IN HAITI
In
Haiti yesterday, a total of 325 former members of Haiti’s national army
attended a ceremony marking the official start of the disarmament and
demobilization programme in the country.
The ceremony saw the symbolic
hand-over of some weapons, and it was attended by top officials from the
transitional government, such as Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, as well as
Juan Gabriel Valdes, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and
the head of the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
Most of the former officers
hailed from the northern town of Cap Haitien.
Speaking to journalists after
the ceremony, Valdes said he hoped that this first step in the demobilization
process would serve as an example to former military officers in other parts
of the country.
U.N.
COUNTER-TERRORISM EXPERTS VISIT MOROCCO
Javier Ruperez, the Executive Director of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, is leading a group of
counter-terrorism experts on a five-day visit to Morocco which began today.
The visit is the first in a
series of country visits and thus marks the beginning of a new phase in the
work of the Directorate, and its parent body, the Counter Terrorism
Directorate.
The purpose of country visits
is to precisely assess on location and in practice how Member States implement
the obligations of
Security Council
Resolution 1373 (2001) and evaluate the nature and level of assistance
that a particular country may need in order to fulfill those obligations.
Developing and strengthening
state capacity is also one of the five main pillars of the comprehensive
counter-terrorism strategy launched by the Secretary-General last week in
Madrid.
After Morocco, visits to
Albania, Kenya and Thailand in the course of the next few months are being
planned.
FORMER KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER PLEADS NOT
GUILTY
Ramush Haradinaj, the former Prime Minister of Kosovo,
today appeared for the first time at the International Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia in The Hague, and pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Haradinaj is charged with 17 counts of crimes against
humanity, including murder and rape, and 20 counts of war crimes. The
Tribunal’s charges against him were made public late last week.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
MORE THAN 1,000 HOUSES DAMAGED BY RAINS IN
SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN: On Saturday, a joint team from the
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the
UN Children’s Fund and the
World Food Programme went to the southern Afghan town of Kandahar, to
assess damage from heavy rains there. The team confirmed that there was no
significant flooding in the province, but added that some 1,100 houses were
damaged in the area by the rains. Also, departing UN Spokesman Manoel de Almeida
e Silva shared his thoughts on how Afghanistan has changed over the past three
years, including the lesson he learned: “Afghans can do it.”
THREE MILLION CHILDREN TARGETED IN HEALTH CAMPAIGN IN
ANGOLA: An unprecedented social mobilization
campaign is being launched today in
Angola. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to re-enforced health
centres and hospitals across the country. Over the next seven days, some three
million new-born and children under five years of age are being targeted for
immunisation, vitamin A supplementation and de-worming treatment. The initiative
is supported by
UNICEF and the
World Health Organization. Child mortality in Angola is among the highest in
the world as a result of measles, malaria, and other diseases.
CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE TO BE TRAVELLED IN BRIDGING THE
DIGITAL DIVIDE: Today in Geneva, the Digital Solidarity Fund,
an African initiative to bridge the global digital
divide, was launched. In a message to mark the occasion, the
Secretary-General notes that there is
considerable distance to be traveled to close the gap between those who have
access to the Internet and other technologies, and those who do not. The
Secretary-General adds that the Fund can help harness the potential of
information communication technologies to empower poor and marginalized people.
EMERGENCY TEAMS REPORT SEVERE DAMAGE IN CYCLONE-HIT COOK
ISLANDS: In the Cook Islands, UN emergency assessment teams have found that
two northern islands were severely battered by Cyclone Percy late last month. On
one of the islands, all local food crops were completely destroyed, and there is
only an eight-day supply of water available. Transportation difficulties are
constraining the Government’s efforts to send relief supplies.
SAMOA JOINS UN LABOUR OFFICE: The country of Samoa
has
become the 178th Member State of the UN
International Labour Organization (ILO). The accession follows receipt at
ILO headquarters in Geneva of a letter from Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa
Sailele Malielegaoi stating his nation’s formal acceptance of the obligations of
the agency’s constitution.
FREQUENT FLYERS CAN DONATE MILES TO GET U.N. VOLUNTEERS
TO TSUNAMI-AFFECTED COUNTRIES:
UN Volunteers
says that members of Emirates Airline’s frequent
flyer loyalty scheme, Skywards, can now donate their Miles to fly UN Volunteers
to assist relief efforts in the countries affected by the 26 December
tsunamis. In conjunction with Emirates’ partner airline SriLankan, Skywards
members can allot their Miles via a special account on the Skywards website,
www.skywards.com. Nearly 10 million Skywards Miles have already been donated by
Skywards members.
*** The guests at today’s Noon Briefing were the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, Jan Egeland, and Frank Brown, from Price Waterhouse Coopers. They
spoke about Price Waterhouse Coopers’ pro bono offer to help enhance
accountability and the transparency of funds entrusted to the UN under the
Tsunami Flash Appeal.
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
