Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 19 April 2005


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, 19 April, 2005

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES NEW POPE

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulates His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his assumption of the papacy. His Holiness brings a wealth of experience to this exalted office.

  • The United Nations and the Holy See share a strong commitment to peace, social justice, human dignity, religious freedom and mutual respect among the world’s religions. The Secretary-General looks forward to the contributions His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make in strengthening those values. He wishes Pope Benedict XVI every strength and courage as he takes on his formidable responsibilities.

ANNAN TO ATTEND ASIAN-AFRICAN SUMMIT THIS WEEK

  • The Secretary-General will be departing later today to attend the Asian-African summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, later this week.

  • A background briefing has been scheduled on the Secretary-General’s address to the summit. That briefing is scheduled to take place at the summit’s media center in Jakarta, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, 21 April.

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES IRAQ’S DECISION
TO PUBLISH NAMES & PHOTOS OF MISSING PERSONS

  • he Security Council held consultations this morning on the latest report from the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the repatriation from Iraq of all Kuwaitis and third country nationals or their remains.

  • Yuli Vorontsov, the Secretary-General’s High-Level Coordinator, briefed Council members on the report.

  • In a press statement following consultations, Council members welcomed the actions of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to publish in the media the names and photographs of missing persons whose remains had not yet been found, with a request that any relevant information be reported to the competent Iraqi authorities.

  • They expressed confidence that the new Iraqi Government will continue this constructive engagement and call on all parties concerned to continue to work towards a satisfactory solution to all.

REFUGEE AGENCY HEAD CALLS ON SUDAN TO PROTECT ITS OWN CITIZENS

  • The Acting High Commissioner for Refugees, Wendy Chamberlin, has started a five-day visit to Sudan and Chad by calling on the Sudanese government to live up to its responsibilities to protect its own citizens and to help Sudanese displaced by civil war to return to their homes in the south of the country.

  • After visiting two sites where people displaced by the 21-year civil war live on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Ms. Chamberlin said the Office of UN the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community will hold the Sudanese government responsible for protecting its own people and helping them go back to their original homes, if that is what they want. She stressed that the same principles apply to people displaced within their own country as to the return of refugees - that their movements must be voluntary and carried out in safety and dignity.

  • An estimated 6.1 million people who fled the civil war in the south are now displaced within Sudan. This is in addition to the 500,000 refugees in other countries - primarily Uganda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - whom we plan to help return home over the next few years.

  • Meanwhile, the UN Mission in Sudan reports that the United Nations is participating as an observer at the so-called South-South dialogue in Nairobi, which is expected to deal mainly with Southern Sudan’s implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Over 200 delegates are expected to attend the dialogue, including the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) leadership, pro-government militias, various armed groups and civil society representatives to discuss peace-building, inclusiveness, reconciliation, and good governance.

SECURITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR ARMS EMBARGO ON D.R. CONGO

  • The Security Council yesterday adopted unanimously a resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which extends an arms and military financing embargo to any recipient in the country and freezes the assets of sanctions violators.

  • The resolution makes an exception for military equipment destined for police and soldiers who make up the country's national army, and those arms used for technical training and for the UN Mission there.

  • The resolution also expresses serious concern over the presence of armed groups and militias in the country's north-east, particularly in the North and South Kivu provinces and the Ituri district.

REPORT ON RESOLUTION 1559 TO GO TO SECURITY COUNCIL BY 26 APRIL

  • Asked why the Secretary-General had held back the release date of the Secretary-General’s report on resolution 1559, the Spokesman said it was the Secretary-General’s decision and he did advise the Security Council, adding that the report will go to the Council no later than 26 April.

  • Asked about the reason for the delay, the Spokesman noted that the report is only ready when it goes to the Council. He added that there were a number of technical issues that had to be looked at, and also noted that there is a government that is currently being formed in Lebanon, which also affected the Secretary-General’s decision to hold off the report’s release.
  • In response to a question, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General had received calls from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syria’s President, Bashar Assad.
  • Asked if a UN electoral team had been sent to Lebanon, and if the UN could play a role in elections there, the Spokesman said that as far as he was aware, no team has been sent and any requests for electoral assistance would have to come from Lebanese authorities.

CARINA PERELLI HEADS ELECTORAL AFFAIRS DIVISION

  • In response to a question, the Spokesman said that Carina Perelli, the Director of the UN Department of Political Affairs Electoral Affairs Division (EAD), is still in charge of that Division.
  • Asked about Perelli’s status, the Spokesman said that on 31 March, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, received comments in writing from Perelli, regarding the management review of that Division.
  • On 6 April, having considered Carina Perelli’s response, Prendergast took the following actions: he asked the Perelli to undertake clearly specified actions to address management problems raised in the review; he initiated the preliminary investigation required by staff regulations into possible misuse of trust fund monies; he referred other allegations to the Office of Human Resources Management so they can be investigated; and he communicated the above decisions in writing to Perelli.

ALLEGATIONS CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION

  • Asked if the Secretary-General was going to ask Maurice Strong, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Korean Peninsula, to step aside while allegations involving South Korean businessman Tongshun Park are being investigated, the Spokesman said he could not comment on the details of the investigation as the matter is being looked at by the Independent Inquiry Committee.

  • Asked if the Secretary-General though it was proper for one of his Envoys to be involved in financial dealings in an area he covered for the United Nations and should that envoy not step aside, the Spokesman answered that his issue was being looked into.

  • Asked how he knew that the Volcker Committee was looking into the matter, the Spokesman said the Committee is looking into all issues relating to the oil-for-food programme, adding that Strong himself had confirmed that the Committee had been looking into his affairs.

  • In response to a question about whether or not Strong had been asked to speak with the Committee, the Spokesman said Strong would need to be asked that question.

  • Asked if the Secretary-General had spoken with Strong in the past week, the Spokesman said he was unaware of any such contact. Asked if the same set of rules apply to Strong as do to Benon Sevan and Joseph Stephanides, the Spokesman noted that there has been no adverse finding at this point against Strong.

  • Asked how long will it take for a decision on Strong’s future employment with the UN to be made, the Spokesman said “Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

  • Asked to confirm that Park visited Strong in the UN Secretariat building at any point during visits paid to Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Spokesman noted that at that time, Boutros-Ghali’s public appointments were read out at the start of every Noon Briefing and all those briefings are available in the UN library.

  • Asked if the Secretary-General knew about Park relationship with Boutros-Ghali, the Spokesman said he did not know what the Secretary-General knew about the relationship between Boutros-Ghali and Park.

  • In response to a question about Strong’s UN remuneration, the Spokesman said Strong’s contract was one which saw him paid only when employed.

  • Asked if there was a sense of loss of managerial control and trust among senior management at the UN Secretariat, the Spokesman said that there is a full team working hard on the 38th floor, pushing ahead with the Secretary-General’s reform proposal.

  • He added that there is concern about getting to the bottom of the matter and clearing up all the questions having to deal with the oil-for-food programme, and that was the key reason for the naming of the Independent Inquiry Committee. It’s a long process, longer I think than any of us had expected or wanted it to be, but it is a process that is ongoing and we have to wait for the end of that process, Dujarric said.

  • In a response to a later question, the Spokesman noted that Strong’s previous employment as an Under-Secretary-General for reform was not relevant to the latest proposals put forward by the Secretary-General and elaborated on by the High-Level Panel.

U.N. AGENCIES BUILD WAREHOUSES IN QUAKE-STRICKEN INDONESIA:
CHANNEL FOOD TO DISPLACED PERSONS IN COMOROS ISLANDS

  • Turning to Indonesia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, because of the nearly 300 aftershocks that followed the Sumatra quake of 28 March, warehouse space for relief goods is decreasing by the day.

  • In response, the World Food Programme will be constructing temporary sites on the hard-hit island of Simeulue. OCHA also says that, because the quakes have caused six nearby islands to rise by 2 meters, wells have dried up, and drinking water is now urgently needed there.

  • Meanwhile, in the Comoros Islands, off the southeastern coast of Africa, UN agencies are providing vehicles and personnel to help that country’s government cope with an increasingly active volcano. Although some of the 10,000 people who initially fled their homes have now returned, the Government has said that food aid is needed, and UNICEF has purchased ten tons of rice for the displaced.

DROUGHT-HIT CAMBODIANS GET EMERGENCY FOOD RATIONS

  • The World Food Programme has started distributing emergency rice rations to more than 150,000 drought-stricken Cambodians, many of whom have not seen rain since November.

  • The food aid will be handed out over the next three months mainly to subsistence farmers, landless people, and vulnerable groups, including women who head households.

  • Currently, an estimated 500,000 rural Cambodians are struggling to cope with drought-produced food shortages.

  • Meanwhile, the head of WFP, James Morris, is on a weeklong visit to Central America, where he has called for private sector support to eradicate child hunger in the region, as the best way to overcome poverty there.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY NAMES “CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH”: The UN Environment Programme has decided to honor seven “Champions of the Earth” for their exemplary achievements with respect to the environment. Among the honorees are the King and people of Bhutan, and President Thabo Mbeki and the people of South Africa.

MRS. ANNAN OPENS WOMEN’S ROUNDTABLE: A roundtable on mobilizing women leaders for the Millennium Development Goals was held this afternoon at UN Headquarters. Nane Annan opened the dialogue, and participants included: Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme; Kerstin Leitner, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization; and Rima Salah, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. The roundtable focused on water, sanitation and hygiene.

BENON SEVAN'S EXTENSION EXPIRES AT END OF THIS MONTH: The Spokesman noted that the extension granted to Benon Sevan for his response expires at the end of this month.

INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DILEEP NAIR TO CONTINUE: Asked if the investigation into allegations made against Dileep Nair, the head of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, will continue beyond his contract expiring this weekend, the Spokesman said it would. Asked about the identity of the third party who had made claims against Nair, the Spokesman said that the name would not be revealed now, but once the proceedings were over then that it would be made public.

STEPHANIDES' DEFENCE TO NOT BE MADE PUBLIC FOR NOW: Asked if the defence put forward by Joseph Stephanides would be made public, the Spokesman said that at this point, no. It would be up to him to decide on making that public.