HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY
FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
SECRETARY-GENERAL ATTENDS GLOBAL COMPACT
MEETING IN PARIS
In Paris today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended a
meeting of international business leaders focused on the business community’s
contributions to the
Millennium Development Goals,
telling them that the fight against extreme poverty, as enshrined in the
Millennium Development Goals, is no longer a job for governments alone. That
meeting was organized by the
Global Compact.
He told the more than 300 officials, who had been invited
to the event by French President Jacques Chirac, “It is the absence of
broad-based business activity, not its presence, that condemns much of
humanity to suffering.”
The Secretary-General said that the recent positive
efforts of Europe Union members to increase aid and the decision by the G-8 to
cancel $40 billion of debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest nations, mostly
in Africa, give real hope. However, he added, we need even more positive
decisions in favor of the developing world at the G-8 Gleneagles summit
meeting next month and beyond.
Afterwards, the Secretary-General had a working lunch
with President Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
During the lunch, served at the Elysee Palace, the three
discussed the preparations for the September Summit at the United Nations, as
well the need for increased development financing. They also discussed the
greater Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, the
Israeli/Palestinian peace process and Iran.
On his way out of the Elysee Palace, the
Secretary-General
spoke to reporters. He said he was relieved that Florence Aubenas and her
Iraqi guide, Hussein Hanoun, were freed in Iraq, and voiced his hope that
other hostages will also be freed soon.
The Secretary-General began his day with a 45-minute
bilateral meeting with President Chirac. They discussed
UN reform, financing for development, the larger Middle East, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Western Sahara,
Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and
Sudan.
ANNAN CONCERNED
ABOUT FORCIBLE RETURN OF RWANDAN ASYLUM SEEKERS
On 12 and 13 June, the
Burundian and Rwandan authorities forcibly returned some 5,000 Rwandan asylum
seekers to Rwanda in violation of international conventions regulating the
treatment of asylum seekers. The repatriation of these asylum seekers follows
a decision on 11 June by Burundi and Rwanda to consider Burundian and Rwandan
asylum seekers as “illegal immigrants.”
The Secretary-General, in a
statement issued today, said he is seriously concerned about this action,
which constitutes a violation of international law, particularly the 1951
United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1974 OAU
Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugees Problems in Africa.
The Secretary-General also
urges Burundi and Rwanda to follow due process in accordance with
international law to facilitate the return of asylum seekers, including the
7,000 Burundian refugees still in Rwanda and the 700 Rwandan asylum
seekers still in Burundi.
UN HAS TURNED OVER RECORDS OF 1998 TRIP
TO VOLCKER INQUIRY
Asked about a statement today from the
Independent Inquiry Committee that it is reopening an investigation
concerning a contract awarded by the United Nations to Cotecna in 1998, the
Spokesman said that, following a report in today’s New York Times, the United
Nations took a careful look at its trip records for the Secretary-General’s
visit to the Franco-American Summit in Paris in 1998. That record, he said,
included the program of every meeting held during that trip.
He said that, contrary to an e-mail printed in the New
York Times article, there was no record of any meeting with then-Cotecna
employee Michael Wilson. Eckhard added that the coordinator for that trip has
no recollection of any meeting or exchange with Wilson, and the
Secretary-General similarly did not recall any meeting or exchange with him.
Eckhard also disputed the views expressed in Wilson’s
e-mail, saying that the Secretary-General could not have given any assurances
regarding Cotecna’s UN bid, since the Secretary-General had no knowledge that
Cotecna was a bidder for a UN contract.
In response to further questions, the Spokesman said that
the United Nations today turned over all records, including the delegation
list, to Paul Volcker’s committee. He will look into the matter. Volcker will
weigh the evidence, interview witnesses and make his judgments.
He added, in response to a question, that the UN
delegation in Paris had comprised about a dozen people.
The Spokesman, asked whether the Secretary-General had
had any influence in Cotecna’s contract, denied it. He asserted that the
Secretary-General has been truthful in his testimony to the Volcker committee.
Asked about the reliability of the trip records, the
Spokesman said that, although he could not categorically claim that they were
100 percent accurate, they should provide a full record of every meeting the
Secretary-General had during his visit, including personal encounters. He
added that the United Nations also had a complete log of telephone
conversations during the trip.
Asked whether the Secretary-General had met his son, Kojo
Annan, during the trip, the Spokesman said that, if both were in Paris at the
same time, they could be expected to meet as father and son.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has urged Kojo Annan
to cooperate with Volcker, the Spokesman said he had done so, but added that
Kojo Annan is an adult, with his own lawyers.
Asked who would judge whether the Secretary-General was
being honest with the Volcker Committee, the Spokesman said the ultimate judge
of that would be Paul Volcker. Eckhard added, responding to a question about
Joseph Stephanides’s cooperation with the Committee, that Stephanides had been
charged with a grievous breach of UN rules, and was dismissed for that reason,
and not about his honesty in dealing with the Committee.
Asked whether the Secretary-General would meet with
Volcker again, the Spokesman said that would be a decision for Volcker to
make.
Asked how this affects the Secretary-General’s view that
he was exonerated by the Committee, the Spokesman said that the question of
exoneration is for Volcker to decide, but there is no change in the
Secretary-General’s position. Volcker, Eckhard noted, had previously concluded
that there was no improper interference by the Secretary-General in the
awarding of the Cotecna contract. The Secretary-General maintains that he did
nothing to influence the contract.
Asked how the Secretary-General reacted to the reopening
of the inquiry, the Spokesman said he was continuing to pursue his substantive
agenda.
The Spokesman said, in response to a question on how the
developments affect UN reform efforts, said that it makes it harder, but
maintained that the United Nations is reasonably hopeful of positive results
on reform at this September’s Summit.
INDIAN PEACEKEEPER KILLED IN DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
An Indian peacekeeper was killed and two of his
colleagues injured on Monday when they were caught in an exchange of fire
between government troops and a group of unidentified gunmen 20 km north-west
of Goma in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a press release from the UN Mission there, the Force
Commander,
General Babacar Gaye, notes that the Mission counts on the collaboration
of the national army in investigating this incident.
UN ENVOY FOR SUDAN NOTES CONSTRUCTIVE
STATEMENT AT TALKS
As talks on
Darfur resumed today in Abuja, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Sudan,
Jan Pronk, told reporters in Khartoum that the Government of Sudan had
made a constructive statement.
Pronk said statements by the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLA)
and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) were less aggressive than those
made at previous talks.
UN ENVOY ASHRAF QAZI MEETS WITH IRAQI
PRIME MINISTER
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Iraq, met this afternoon with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. They
discussed the ongoing constitution-making process, including the participation
of groups from outside the Transitional National Assembly.
Qazi also briefed the Prime Minister on the UN Mission’s
preparations for the Brussels International Conference on Iraq.
SECRETARY-GENERAL REGRETS THAT KUWAITI
ARCHIVES NOT FOUND
The Secretary-General says it is regrettable that, more
than two years after Saddam Hussein’s regime fell, the Kuwaiti national
archives have not been found and returned to Kuwait. In a
report to the
Security Council, he says the search for the archives must be intensified.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties concerned to
continue to work towards a satisfactory solution to all property aspects
covered by the mandate of the High-Level Coordinator,
Yuli Vorontsov.
The Council has scheduled consultations next Monday on
the return of Kuwaiti property.
COCA PRODUCTION INCREASES IN ANDEAN
REGION, UN REPORT SAYS
The
UN Office on Drugs and Crime today released its
Andean Coca Surveys for Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, which indicate an
overall 3-percent increase in coca production in that region in 2004. The
surveys indicate that Colombian coca cultivation has declined by 50 percent
since 2000, but that drop is countered by upswings in Bolivia and Peru.
Despite the slight increase last year, the report says
that coca cultivation in the Andean region is still almost a third less than
it was in 2000, mainly because of the reduced coca cultivation in Colombia.
But
Antonio Maria Costa, head of the Office on Drugs and Crime, calls the
increase in Bolivia and Peru “worrisome.”
OCAMPO MEETS WITH BOLIVIA’S NEW PRESIDENT
The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Bolivia,
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Jose Antonio Ocampo, had a good meeting Monday with Bolivia’s new
President, Eduardo Rodriguez, in which they discussed efforts to hold
elections and build institutions in the country.
Ocampo’s delegation plans to stay in Bolivia until
Thursday and return to New York on Friday, to report on its visit.
TRIAL ATTORNEY AT RWANDA TRIBUNAL RESIGNS
The
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda said that a trial attorney in
the Prosecutor’s Office had apparently failed to disclose criminal charges
that had been made against him two years before he joined the Prosecutor’s
Office.
The prosecutor, Bongani Dyani of South Africa, turned in
his resignation from the Prosecutor’s Office on June 1, just days after the
Tribunal began to look into allegations that Dyani had been charged in 2001
with attempted murder and robbery.
The Tribunal says Dyani obtained his employment at the
Prosecutor’s Office by lying and falsifying information, and it strongly
condemned his conduct.
GOVERNMENTS FAIL TO RESPOND TO APPEAL FOR
TOGOLESE REFUGEES
One month after the UN appealed for nearly $6 million to
help refugees from Togo, there has been no response from governments,
the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.
Some 21,000 Togolese refugees are living in Benin and
more are arriving every day. Overall, some 45,000 Togolese have fled their
homes since disputed presidential elections in April. The UN is scrambling to
provide food and supplies to the refugees, but international support is
urgently needed.
Meanwhile, a team of UN human rights and forensic experts
is in Togo investigating what prompted the exodus.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL TURK TO LEAVE: In
response to a question, the Spokesman confirmed that Assistant Secretary-General
for Political Affairs Danilo Turk had submitted his letter of resignation,
following the
announcement last Friday that Ibrahim Gambari would replace Kieran
Prendergast as Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. The
Secretary-General honors Turk’s decision to return to teaching in Slovenia and
wishes him well, Eckhard said.
NO SECURITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: There are no
Security Council meetings or consultations scheduled for today.
DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD OBSERVED: The UN
commemorated the
Day of the African Child with a focus on chronic emergencies on the
continent. According to
UNICEF, the worst-off countries are Angola, Liberia, Burundi, Guinea and
Eritrea. They all have received between 15 and 25 percent of the funds needed
for relief aid.
ANNAN SENDS MESSAGE AFTER AFRICA-FRANCE SUMMIT: In a
message to a ministerial level meeting held in Paris to follow up to the
Africa-France Summit, the Secretary-General says that, to end the vicious cycle
of underdevelopment, and give hope to the continent’s people, Africa needs, more
than ever, the support of the international community to consolidate and
accelerate progress in the socio-economic domain.
SECRETARY-GENERAL SENDS MESSAGE TO ST. PETERSBURG FORUM:
The Secretary-General, in a
message today, says that a meeting of policy makers, industrialists, bankers
and international representatives which is taking place in St. Petersburg,
Russia, serves as a catalyst for trade, investment and mutually beneficial
economic relations within and beyond the region, contributing in turn to peace
and security.
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