HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, 26 April, 2005
ANNAN NOMINATES TURKISH CANDIDATE TO HEAD U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
In response to questions, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General has written to the President of the Executive Board of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), submitting the name of Kemal Dervis, a former finance minister of Turkey and former senior World Bank official, as his preferred candidate to be the next administrator of the agency.
Dervis, 56, served for two years as Turkey’s finance minister following his 22-year tenure at the World Bank, where he was both Vice President for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe and Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management.
It is important to note that Dervis would become the first Administrator not to come from a donor country, but rather from program country where UNDP is very active. As you well know, the current administrator, Mark Malloch Brown, is a British citizen and his five predecessors in the job were Americans.
This nomination will be the subject of UNDP Executive Board consultations this week. The nomination for the four-year appointment as Administrator of UNDP must then be submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly for confirmation.
Dervis has outstanding qualifications and numerous accomplishments in the area of economics and global governance. The Secretary-General chose him from an outstanding array of global candidates. He combines a proven practical and intellectual track record in the fields of development and international finance, a passionate commitment to addressing the scourge of poverty and established skills as a manager.
The Secretary-General said he had every confidence Dervis will be able to build on the successful reform effort implemented by Malloch Brown over the past six years, and consolidate UNDP’s critical role in helping address global development priorities from the Millennium Development Goals to crisis prevention and recovery.
ANNAN CONCERNED BY VIOLENCE, APPEALS FOR CALM IN TOGO
The Secretary-General expresses grave concern over reported violent incidents that broke out, especially in Lomé, following the voting on 24 April 2005 and the announcement on 26 April of the preliminary results. He expresses his sadness at the deaths and injuries caused.
The Secretary-General reiterates his urgent appeal for calm, and calls upon the various political leaders and their supporters to refrain from any actions or statements that incite further violence or promote hatred and divisions in the country. He also calls on the security forces to exercise similar restraint.
The Secretary-General continues to support efforts by regional leaders and institutions, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to promote peace in Togo. He welcomes, in this regard, the initiative taken on 25 April 2005 by the current Chairman of the African Union, President Obasanjo of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to encourage dialogue and national reconciliation in Togo .
ANNAN TO MEET H.I.V. PATIENTS IN INDIA
The Secretary-General arrived in India late last night. Today, he met UN staff for discussions which focused on UN reconstruction assistance for tsunami victims, and the rise of HIV/AIDS in India.
At a press conference upon arrival, he said he hoped to have the chance to discuss the UN reforms there cannot be security without development and there cannot be development without security and we will have neither unless we respect human rights.
Tomorrow, he will hold high-level meetings with government officials, including the President, Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs.
The Secretary-General will also take part in a round-table discussion on HIV/AIDS, during which he will meet people living with HIV and hear of the work undertaken by key aid givers.
UNITED NATIONS MARKS 19th ANNIVERSARY OF CHERNOBYL DISASTER
In a statement issued today, for the nineteenth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, the Secretary-General urged the international community to financially support programmes designed to make traumatized communities self-sufficient again, and to help families to lead normal, healthy lives in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has put out a new report, noting that people living near the Chernobyl site still lack the information they need to live healthy lives and are instead vulnerable to misconceptions about radiation and health.
SECURITY COUNCIL RECEIVES REPORT ON SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON
At 10:00 a.m. today, the Security Council began an open meeting on Cote d’Ivoire. At 3:30 p.m., the Council held closed consultations on Western Sahara and Timor-Leste.
After yesterday’s briefings by the chairmen of its three anti-terrorism Committees, the Council issued a presidential statement calling for strengthened cooperation among the Committees.
Council members also received the Secretary-General's report on resolution 1559.
In response to a question, the Spokesman said that the Syrian Government has informed the Secretary-General by letter that it has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon.
He added that the United Nations has sent a three-man team to verify the withdrawal. The team is scheduled to arrive in Damascus today, and then head to Beirut where it will conduct its verification activities, before reporting back to the Secretary-General.
DARFUR VILLAGES BEING BURNED TO DISCOURAGE VILLAGERS FROM RETURNING
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it is alarmed by the fact that abandoned villages in West Darfur are once again being burned to discourage the people who once lived there from returning home.
The agency says this kind of destruction – on top of the displacement of some two million people from their homes – threatens to change the social and demographic structure of Darfur irrevocably.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today that thanks to a rapid donor response, it will not be forced to carry out ration cuts next month for close to two million people living in western Darfur .
Just three weeks ago, WFP had warned that it may have to cut rations due to a lack of funds – as a last resort, it had been planning to halve the non-cereals part of the daily ration for general distributions in Darfur in May.
REPATRIATION PROGRAMME FOR CONGOLESE REFUGEES TO BE LAUNCHED TOMORROW
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees tomorrow will launch the first phase of one of the most logistically challenging major refugee voluntary repatriation programmes it has ever undertaken anywhere in the world.
It will be trying to return home some 58,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo's Equateur province, who have been living in the Republic of Congo for the past six years.
The return journey includes crossing dense rain forest, numerous waterways and extremely rough roads.
Some 8,000 refugees have already signed up to repatriate, and the agency hopes to help as many as 24,000 refugees in the Republic of Congo voluntarily return home by the end of this year.
U.N. AGENCIES GIVE AID TO FLOOD-HIT ETHIOPIANS & SOMALIS
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, have begun to hand out food and basic supplies to families in Ethiopia and Somalia, where heavy rains have caused severe flooding.
In addition to death and displacement, the floods have caused extensive damage to farmland, and could lead to an increase in cases of malaria and water-borne diseases.
Meanwhile, WFP also warned today that two million Kenyans – particularly in the arid north and east – would need food assistance until August, despite a general improvement in weather conditions.
U.N. MANAGEMENT CHIEF STEPS DOWN AT END OF MONTH
Catherine Bertini is stepping down as Under-Secretary-General for Management at the end of this month.
The Secretary-General reluctantly accepted her resignation as she and her husband Tom look to become more involved in the community, the arts and other activities.
In particular, Bertini intends to return to academia, as well as to continue her active involvement in supporting global girls' education. She will also maintain her role as Chair of the UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition.
In reply to her resignation letter, the Secretary-General cited Bertini’s ten years of service to the World Food Programme, from 1992 to 2002, during which WFP became “a model of success in assisting millions of victims of wars and natural disasters around the world.” She was awarded the World Food Prize for this work.
He praised her “efficient leadership” as Under-Secretary-General for Management since 2003 during a crucial period of UN reform, and the “outstanding job” she did for 16 months as UN Security Coordinator when UN staff around the world were at great risk.
He thanked her on behalf of the United Nations and the international community as a whole for her “splendid services to humanity.”
NO REQUEST RECEIVED FOR EXTENSION OF INVESTIGATIONS BY INQUIRY COMMITEE
Asked if the Secretary-General’s reaction to comments reportedly made by Paul Volcker in regard to extra funding for, and the extension of, the investigations of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), the Spokesman said the United Nations had not received any such request, and that the key matter here was to allow Volcker to continue his work as he sees fit.
Asked to explain the Secretary-General’s position following media reports which claim that Volcker said the IIC’s second report did not exonerate the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General never characterized the ICC’s second report as having exonerated him of any and all the criticisms raised in the report.
The Spokesman said the Secretary-General did use the term exonerated in relation to a very specific and well-defined issue – namely, the finding in the report that there was no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to any affirmative or improper influence of the Secretary-General in the bidding or selection process. He added that the Secretary-General had fully accepted the panel’s other criticisms.
Asked if the parts of the ICC’s reports which focus on the Secretary-General and the United Nations were tainted given some media reports of internal dissension within some elements of the ICC.
The Spokesman said the UN has full confidence in Volcker, noting that Volcker has been reported as saying that there was unity among all the ICC members.
Asked if Maurice Strong, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Korean Peninsula, or World Bank President James Wolfensohn, played a role in selecting Volcker to head the ICC, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General took advice from many people in making his decision.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN NOTES NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONES’ “MORAL VALUE”: Today, a three-day conference for States Parties and signatories of nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties is getting underway in Tlatelolco, Mexico. And the Secretary-General has issued a message, saying that he hopes the meeting will remind all States not only of the strategic and moral value of nuclear-weapon-free zones, but also of the possibilities for progress in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons.
WEBSITE TO SIMPLIFY EDUCATION FOR RURAL PEOPLE: For the first time, a tool kit including a wide range of teaching and learning tools for the education of rural people is available on the Internet. It will provide governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, rural school teachers, and the public at large with the latest knowledge on how to help rural communities ameliorate their livelihoods. The Education for Rural People Tool Kit web page was launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
UNDP EDUCATING LIBERIANS PRIOR TO ELECTION: Some 1,500 registration centres across Liberia kicked off a month-long push yesterday to register eligible citizens for the 11 October presidential elections. It is expected that about 1.5 million Liberians will sign up to vote. Meanwhile, a UN Development Programme initiative is teaching the country’s people how to vote. The landmark elections are called for in the August 2003 peace agreement, which ended Liberia’s 14-year civil war.
NEW CAMPAIGN TO ERADICATE DEADLY CHEMICALS: A meeting of 800 government officials and observers in Punta del Este, Uruguay, from 2 to 6 May will launch a global campaign to meet the goals of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. The Convention entered into force in 2004 and aims to rid the world of some of the most dangerous chemicals ever created. The meeting hopes to stimulate the development of new, affordable and effective alternatives to these pollutants.
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