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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING


BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS,  NEW YORK

Monday, July 18, 2005

ZIMBABWE: U.N.
ENVOY REPORT TO BE MADE PUBLIC

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan is increasingly

    concerned
    by the human rights and humanitarian impact of the recent
    demolitions of what the Government of Zimbabwe has called illegal
    settlements. He

    appointed
    on 20th of June  Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive
    Director of  the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), as his
    Special Envoy and asked her to visit the country and investigate the
    situation.
     

  • Tibaijuka visited the country and, with the cooperation
    of the Government of Zimbabwe, conducted an exhaustive examination. 
     

  • The Secretary-General will receive her report in the
    coming days and will study its contents to determine the next steps for the
    United Nations. 
     

  • The report will be made public after the Government of
    Zimbabwe has received an advance copy.
     

  • Asked when Tibaijuka’s report
    would be ready, the Spokeswoman said she expected it to be submitted in the
    next couple of days. Then, she said, the final report would be sent to the
    Government of Zimbabwe, which would have 48 hours to comment on the report,
    after which the report would be made public, possibly this Friday or next
    Monday. The text of the report given to the Government of Zimbabwe would not
    be changed, she added.
     

  • She said, in response to
    questions, that Zimbabwe’s comments were also expected to be made public.
     

  • Asked whether Tibaijuka would
    be in New York and hand over the report to the Secretary-General, Okabe said
    that she was expected at UN Headquarters early this week. She noted that the
    Secretary-General was working from his home following shoulder surgery last
    Friday.
     

  • Asked when the
    Secretary-General spoke last with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the
    Spokeswoman noted that they had met on 4 July at the African Union Summit in
    Sirte, Libya, and discussions on Zimbabwe took place in a tête-à-tête
    encounter.

 ANNAN WELCOMES PEACE AGREEMENT FOR
INDONESIA’S ACEH PROVINCE

  • The Secretary-General warmly

    welcomes
    the agreement in principle reached yesterday between the
    Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, intended to bring peace
    after nearly thirty years of conflict in the province. 
     

  • He looks forward to the signing of the Memorandum of
    Understanding on 15 August 2005 and hopes this breakthrough heralds a new and
    brighter future for the people of Aceh."
     

  • The Secretary-General commends both sides for their
    determination to reach a lasting and sustainable peace in Aceh and strongly
    urges them to demonstrate continued resolve and commitment throughout the
    implementation of the agreed terms.  He also applauds the crucial role played
    by Martti Ahtsaari as the mediator in these negotiations. 
     

  • The Secretary-General is
    encouraged to learn of the readiness of the European Union, and possibly, the

    Association of
    Southeast Asian Nations
    (ASEAN), to
    provide a monitoring team in Aceh once the Memorandum of Understanding is
    official.

 SECRETARY-GENERAL
CONDEMNS SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN IRAQ

  • The Secretary-General

    continues
    to be dismayed by the unrelenting wave of suicide bombings in

    Iraq
    that have killed large numbers of civilians, including at least 80
    people in Musayyib on Saturday.
    |

  • The Secretary-General
    emphatically condemns these heinous attacks, perpetrated in an apparent effort
    to undermine Iraq’s political transition, and extends his deepest sympathies
    to the families of the victims. 
     

  • The Secretary-General urges all
    Iraqis to set violence aside and to join together, through peaceful means, in
    building a united, democratic and prosperous Iraq. 

 IRAQ:
U.N.’S RETURN MUST BE CAUTIOUS & STEP-BY-STEP, GIVEN RISKS

  • Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Deputy
    Special Representative for Iraq, today told a reconstruction conference in
    Amman, Jordan, that the international community must be more responsive to
    Iraq’s needs as the Iraqis see them. There has to be more flexibility in the
    use of funds to tackle emerging priorities.
     

  • He said that the UN’s commitment to the Iraqi people
    remains unchanged, although its path back to Iraq must be calculated, cautious
    and incremental, given the risks.
     

  • Meanwhile, the United Nations is playing a key role in
    ensuring that both the electoral and constitutional processes are legitimate
    and credible.

 UNITED NATIONS WORKING TO PROTECT
PEACEKEEPERS
FROM AIDS, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD

  • This morning, Jean-Marie Guéhenno,
    Under-Secretary-General  for Peacekeeping Operations, and Peter Piot,
    Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),

    briefed the Security Council
    on progress made in implementing Security
    Council

    resolution 1308
    .
     

  • That resolution, which was adopted five years ago, called
    on the United Nations and Member States to develop effective AIDS education,
    prevention, testing and treatment strategies for peacekeepers and national
    uniformed services.
     

  • In his remarks to the Council, Guéhenno said that, five
    years ago, the peacekeeping department barely crossed paths with agencies like
    UNAIDS. Now, however, the two groups had undertaken joint missions to Haiti
    and Sudan to establish AIDS programmes in advance of major troop deployments.
    And in the last two years, the number of AIDS advisers in major peacekeeping
    operations had risen from 4 to 10, with smaller missions now all having AIDS
    focal points.
     

  • Speaking after Guéhenno, Piot

    told the Council
    that AIDS-focused actions for each and every mission
    included the promotion and provision of condoms, voluntary
    counselling and testing services and the provision of post-exposure
    prophylaxis kits.
    In addition, some one million AIDS awareness cards,
    in 13 languages, had been distributed among peacekeepers and national security
    forces.
     

  • However, Piot also said that, despite achievements, there
    was still a long way to go, a fact made evident by recent reports of sexual
    exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers. He also highlighted
    key challenges, saying that troops and civilians must have unrestricted
    access to HIV testing and counseling during deployment, and that the
    consistent implementation of programmes must be ensured, especially during
    conflicts, when vulnerability increased.
     

  • At the open meeting, Piot also released the agency’s new

    progress report
    , entitled “On the Front Line.”
     

  • The Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement at
    the end of today’s meeting.

ANNAN ALARMED
BY RENEWED VIOLENCE BETWEEN ISRAEL & PALESTINIANS

  • Over the weekend, a

    statement
    was issued, expressing the Secretary-General’s alarm at the
    renewed violence between

    Israel and the Palestinians
    in the past fortnight.
     

  • The recent suicide bombing in Netanya and rockets fired
    from Gaza killing innocent Israeli civilians are shocking and condemnable, the
    statement added. There is a pressing need to put a stop to such actions. The
    recent move by the Palestinian Authority security forces to act to prevent
    them was a welcome development.
     

  • Israel has resumed forceful action in the face of the
    serious deterioration that has shattered the lull in violence of the past few
    months.  There should be no doubt about Israel’s legitimate right to
    self-defense, but it must be exercised proportionately and in conformity with
    international law, the statement noted.
     

  • The Secretary-General strongly believes that at this
    critical moment a glimmer of a better future with two States living
    side-by-side in peace still exists. It is therefore essential that all
    committed to a negotiated settlement remain focused on this goal.

 U.N. ENVOY APPEALS FOR WISDOM AND
SENSIBILITY IN LEBANON

  • At the invitation of the Presidency of the European
    Union, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Terje Roed-Larsen, briefed
    today the Foreign Ministers of the European Union in Brussels at the General
    Affairs Council, on the implementation of Security Council

    resolution 1559
    . The meeting was chaired by British Foreign Secretary,
    Jack Straw.
     

  • Roed-Larsen discussed with the Foreign Ministers the
    following issues: the withdrawal of Syrian military and intelligence apparatus
    from Lebanon; the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
    independence of Lebanon, in particular the results of the recent parliamentary
    elections and the ongoing conflict-ridden efforts to form a new government;
    and the disarming and disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, in
    the context of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over
    all its territory, as called for by Security Council resolution 1559 and the
    Taef accords.
     

  • In spite of significant progress on some of the
    provisions of the resolution, Roed-Larsen underlined the necessity for the
    full implementation of all the requirements of resolution 1559.  He expressed
    his concern over the rising tensions in the Syrian Lebanese relations on
    economic and security related issues.
     

  • After the discussions, Roed-Larsen called upon all
    parties concerned to continue to use dialogue and he made an appeal to wisdom
    and sensibility, based on the Lebanese people's right to political
    independence and economic well-being.
     

  • He said, “The meeting was constructive and forward
    looking. It displayed a remarkable international similarity and consensus in
    policy related to 1559. This is reflected in the conclusions of the meeting
    released by the British presidency of the European Union.”
     

  • On the behalf of the Secretary-General, Roed-Larsen stays
    in close contact with the key players and has over the last few days spoken
    extensively with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
    Prime Minister designate Fuad Siniora and others.

 NEPAL FACING SERIOUS CRISIS AND MUST
RETURN TO DEMOCRACY

  • Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Adviser to the
    Secretary-General, and his team have completed a

    six-day visit
    to Nepal, and he issued a statement last Friday before
    leaving the country. The visit is part of the Secretary-General’s continuing
    effort to help find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nepal.
     

  • Brahimi said Nepal is facing a very serious crisis, but
    added that a solution is not beyond reach. That solution, he said, rests on
    three critical elements: a return to constitutional order and multiparty
    democracy, an end to hostilities, and an inclusive national dialogue towards a
    negotiated solution to the underlying causes of conflict.
     

  • Brahimi said he will now report to the Secretary-General
    on his findings. The United Nations will continue to take a keen interest in
    the situation in Nepal and stay closely engaged. It will remain available to
    provide its assistance in whatever form it may be needed.
     

  • Asked how the United Nations
    would help Nepal, the Spokeswoman noted that the Secretary-General had met
    with King Gyanendra of Nepal in April, at the Asia-Africa Summit in Jakarta,
    and said afterward
    that the United Nations was open to assisting Nepal in any way it could. For
    now, she added, the United Nations would await Brahimi’s report.
     

  • Asked about Brahimi’s work for
    the United Nations, the Spokeswoman said he is a Special Adviser, without a
    specific geographic portfolio.

 SUDAN: U.N. ENVOY TO DISCUSS DARFUR W/
INTL. CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for

    Sudan
    , Jan Pronk, is on his way to The Hague, where he will meet the
    International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, to
    discuss the situation on the ground in Darfur. He will then travel to New York
    to brief the Security Council on Darfur and the state of the Comprehensive
    Peace Agreement’s implementation.
     

  • Late last week, Pronk traveled to Asmara, Eritrea and
    returned convinced that the Eastern Front is prepared to start serious
    negotiations with the Government with the aim of finding a lasting solution to
    the problems of Eastern Sudan.
     

  • The Secretary-General told the new government of Sudan
    this month that the peace process between North and South must be made
    irreversible – which it will not be, unless it takes root in the East and in
    the West as well.

 GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DISCUSS AFRICAN
DRAFT RESOLUTION
 ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM TODAY

  • The General Assembly will hold
    a plenary meeting this afternoon at 3:00 pm to discuss the draft resolution
    submitted by the African Union on Security Council reform. The countries
    inscribed on the speakers’ list so far are Nigeria, which is introducing the
    draft resolution, Egypt and Algeria.
     

  • Later in the week, on Friday,
    22 July, General Assembly (GA) President, Jean Ping, will submit to the GA a
    revised draft out come document for the September summit. (Ping is traveling
    tonight to Gabon and will be away through Thursday.)
     

  • Next week, on Wednesday, 27
    July, and Thursday, 28 July, the General Assembly will hold closed informal
    consultations on the revised draft outcome document.
     

  • The next planned item on the
    General Assembly calendar is the submission by Ping of a further revised draft
    outcome document on 5 August. 

 ANNAN:
CULTURE OF FULL RESPECT OF HUMAN RIGHTS NEEDED

  • The foreign ministers of the so-called Group of Four
    nations -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- called on the Secretary-General
    on Sunday to brief him on the state of play and to reassure him that they are
    interested in broader UN reform, as well as Security Council reform.
     

  • Meanwhile, in a

    message
    to a two-day International Conference on

    UN Reform
    which began in Tehran yesterday, the Secretary-General said
    he believes the World Summit of 2005 will be an occasion for states to embrace
    the concept of the responsibility to protect, and to renew commitment to
    disarmament and nonproliferation.
     

  • He also said that a culture of full respect for human
    rights must be built. On terrorism, he opined that a definition must be agreed
    on, and a comprehensive convention outlawing it must be adopted.  He asserted
    that his proposals must be seen in the broader reform context, in which
    development has pride of place, and reiterated the need for an all-out global
    effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
     

  • Asked whether Member States
    would work on reforming the Commission on Human Rights, the Spokeswoman said
    that the Secretary-General, in his “In
    Larger Freedom
    ” report, had spelled out plans for human rights reform
    which Member States were looking at closely.

 CIVIL
SOCIETY ACTIVISTS TO HOLD CONFERENCE AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS

  • Tomorrow morning at 9:30, hundreds of civil society
    activists will begin a three-day conference at UN Headquarters, to launch a
    new international movement to prevent armed conflict. This meeting is the
    culmination of a process that began in 2002, when the Secretary-General urged
    civil society to meet and define its position on conflict prevention.
     

  • Steve Stedman, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on
    the Follow-up to the Report of the High-Level Panel, will deliver a statement
    on the Secretary-General’s behalf, and Under-Secretaries-General Ibrahim
    Gambari and Jan Egeland will also address the conference.
     

  • The meeting is being organized by the Global Partnership
    for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, in partnership with the Department of
    Political Affairs.

 OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS

FORMER SENIOR OFFICIAL’S CONTRACT NOT RENEWED: In
response to a question about former senior UN official, Maurice Strong, the
Spokeswoman said that Strong’s contract had expired last week, on 14 July, and
had not been renewed.

U.N. WORKING WITH TAJIKISTAN TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS:
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reports that there is an urgent need for fuel, spare parts, food, medication,
tents, blankets and household supplies, following flooding in Tajikistan. In
response to the country’s request for international assistance in mitigating the
disaster, the United Nations has worked in close cooperation with the Government
to provide medication, equipment and information about the flooding.

NIGER NEEDS SEEDS IN WAKE OF FOOD CRISIS: The UN’s
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

reports
that Niger is facing a food crisis. FAO says that some 2.5
million people, including 800,000 children are at risk. It also says that Niger
needs an immediate delivery of seeds.

RELIEF SUPPLIES SENT TO HURRICANE SURVIVORS IN GRENADA:
Over the weekend the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

sent
supplies to Grenada to help prevent the spread of disease among people
hit by Hurricane Emily. UNICEF flew in water purification tablets, collapsible
water containers and rehydration tablets.

U.N. OFFICIAL CONDEMNS KILLING OF HAITIAN JOURNALIST:
Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
today condemned the killing of Haitian journalist Jacques Roche. Roche, the
cultural editor of the daily, Le Matin, was kidnapped for ransom on 10
July. His body was found on 14 July  in the capital. Matsuura said, “the press
is one of the sectors most at risk in this climate of terror” in Haiti. “I trust
that the government of Haiti will play its part in restoring order and the rule
of law.”

NEW GLOBAL CULTURAL SITES RECOGNIZED: The UN
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has

designated
17 new cultural sites for its World Heritage List. The new
sites range from prehistoric mountains in Israel to the 20th century
works of Antoni Gaudi in Spain.

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