HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, 26 May 2005
SITUATION IN DARFUR REMAINS UNACCEPTABLE, ANNAN SAYS AT PLEDGING CONFERENCE IN ETHIOPIA
The Secretary-General in Addis Ababa today where he co-chaired, with the Chairman of the African Union (AU), Alpha Konare, a pledging conference in support of the AU mission in Darfur.
Earlier, he then met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoof Scheffer.
Addressing the conference, the described Darfur as one of the most pressing and destructive crises on the African continent today.
He added that although the violence in Darfur has stabilized over the last few months, the situation remains unacceptable as civilians are still at risk and subject to attacks. Moreover, the continued violence is increasingly targeted at aid workers, hampering their difficult work.
But he said, the AU mission is deployed, these things don’t happen. An expanded AU force at full operational capacity, will go a long way to ensuring that the great majority of civilians in Darfur can be protected from violence.
Describing the situation as “a race against time,” the Secretary-General said, “We are about to take the next, crucial step -- ensuring that the expanded AMIS [African Union Mission in Sudan] have what they need to do their work. The men and women who make up the Mission need our support to do their work well.”
He appealed to those gathered to provide the resources required without delay. The expanded Mission will include a total of more than 6,000 military personnel and 1,500 police and will cost over $465 million for one year.
In taking the floor a second time at the end of the conference, the Secretary-General took note of the generous pledges, which included strategic airlift, training and planning support -- all essential elements of the expansion. But he added that these contributions must be complementary if they are to be fully effective.
In addition to the support for the AU military force, the Secretary-General also emphasized the importance for the international community to support the crucial mediation effort of the AU in the Abuja peace process.
The Secretary-General had a working luncheon at the AU headquarters conference site with Konaré and later held at a joint press conference with him.
In their encounter with the press, the Secretary-General summed up the conference as a demonstration of the kind of international solidarity needed to fight this sort of conflict.
He added that the real solution is a political one and welcomed Konaré announcement that Salim Ahmed Salim, the former Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, will lead this process.
In the evening, the Secretary-General has a meeting scheduled with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES POST-CONFLICT PEACEBUILDING
At 10:00 a.m., the Security Council began an open meeting on post-conflict peacebuilding, at which the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Per Stig Møller, is presiding.
The meeting’s aim is to discuss the current challenges in post-conflict peace-building with a view to strengthening the coherence and consistency of Council’s action in this area.
The Deputy-Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette, spoke at the meeting, noting that while more wars have been ended through mediation in the past 14 years than in the previous 200, the strategies for ending war must also tackle the question of relapse. She added that peace agreements must be implemented in a sustainable manner.
James Wolfensohn, the outgoing President of the World Bank, also joined the meeting by videoconference – the first time that the Council has ever used this technology in an open meeting.
U.N. INVESTIGATOR ARRIVES IN BEIRUT, WILL LOOK INTO ASSASSINATION OF FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER
Detlev Mehlis, Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, arrived in Beirut today.
He immediately visited the scene of the 14 March attack which killed Hariri and several others.
Tomorrow, Commissioner Mehlis will meet Lebanon’s ministers of interior, justice and foreign affairs. Later in the day, he will also meet Hariri's widow Nazek.
KOSOVO: COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW SHOULD BE LAUNCHED BY THIS SUMMER
The Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN Mission in Kosovo is available today.
In it, he says he believes that a comprehensive review of progress vis-à-vis the internationally-agreed standards should be initiated this summer, and that he intends to appoint a Special Envoy to conduct that review in the near future.
He adds that the review – on the basis of which final status talks could be launched – should consist of consultations with the parties and the international community in order to assess the current situation and conditions for possible next steps in the process.
But he also stresses that the review’s outcome is not a foregone conclusion. During and beyond the review, Kosovo’s political leaders will be expected to pursue and strengthen their efforts to implement the standards, and will continue to be assessed on this basis.
NO AGREEMENT ON NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE TEXTS
Regarding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the three main committees have wrapped up their work, and were all unable to agree on the texts they were considering.
Main Committee I was not able to agree on nuclear disarmament and security assurances, and Main Committee II failed to reach consensus on safeguards, regional issues and the Middle East .
The Drafting Committee is continuing its work today on a final document for the Review Conference. The Conference will also hold a plenary session today to consider several outstanding procedural issues.
The Conference ends tomorrow.
FORUM ON FORESTS CONCLUDES SESSION TOMORROW
Almost 50 government ministers and high-level representatives of international organizations and civil society have been participating yesterday and today in the High-Level Segment of the UN Forum on Forests.
Yesterday, the ministerial segment’s plenary session focused on the Forum’s contributions towards implementing the Millennium Declaration.
Today’s plenary session, which will last the whole day, is looking at the future of the International Arrangement on Forests.
The Forum’s two-week session will wrap up on Friday.
ANNAN LAUDS PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH, INDIA FOR TOGETHER PROVIDING MORE THAN ONE THIRD OF ALL U.N. PEACEKEEPERS
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is this Sunday, and will be observed at UN Headquarters tomorrow.
A posthumous medal ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium to honour 115 peacekeepers from 39 countries who lost their lives in the course of their duties last year.
At 2:30 p.m., on the Promenade outside the Visitors Entrance at 46th Street and First Avenue, there will be a medal parade at which the military and civilian police officers seconded for service within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations will receive UN service medals.
Currently, there are nearly 82,000 peacekeepers – including military, police and civilian personnel – deployed around the world. That is a net increase of about 48% over the past year.
In his message to mark the day, the Secretary-General thanks the 103 Member States who currently contribute uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping operations.
He particularly acknowledges the contributions from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, which together provide more than one third of all UN peacekeepers, and he notes that countries such as China and Brazil are taking on new responsibilities.
He also hopes that other countries, particularly developed countries, will follow suit.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ELECTORAL CHIEF STILL IN LEBANON: Asked about the activities in Lebanon of Carina Perelli, the head of the UN’s Electoral Assistance Division, the Spokesman said she is still in Beirut where she continues to work closely with Lebanese authorities. Asked about the upcoming Sunday elections in Lebanon , the Spokesman said that the UN looks forward to the holding of the elections, which are taking place within the agreed calendar.
SEARCH FOR NEW POLITICAL HEAD STILL ONGOING: Asked if the Secretary-General has made a choice on who will replace the outgoing Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, and if a short-list for the vacancy exists, the Spokesman said the search for a replacement continues, and that the policy of releasing short-lists to the public applies only for vacancies at the head of UN agency level and not for senior appointments within the UN Secretariat.
CLIMATE CHANGE COULD INCREASE NUMBER OF HUNGRY PEOPLE: Climate change threatens to increase the number of the world's hungry by reducing the area of land available for farming in developing countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization said this week in a report presented to the Committee on World Food Security at a special side event. The severest impact was likely to be in sub-Saharan African countries, which are the least able to adapt to climate change or to compensate for it through increased food imports.
BURUNDI FOOD AID MIGHT BE SLASHED DURING CRITICAL POLITICAL JUNCTURE: The World Food Programme reports that a severe shortage of funds will force it to slash its food aid to two million people in Burundi, unless it raises more than $23 million. The cutbacks come as Burundi prepares for a critical stage in its peace process, namely the upcoming elections that are marking the end of the country’s decade-long conflict and subsequent transition period.
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