HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
U.N. REPORT ON
FORCED EVICTIONS GOES TO ZIMBABWE GOVT. TODAY
The report on Zimbabwe, resulting from Special Envoy Anna
Tibaijuka’s mission to that country, is going to the Government of Zimbabwe
today.
The Spokesman’s Office hopes to make the report public on
Friday or Monday.
The Spokesman’s Office is planning for an 11:00 a.m.
press conference by Tibaijuka on the day the report is made public.
Asked further about the plans for the launch of the
report, the Spokeswoman said that the earliest possible time for the report’s
release would be Friday, to allow the Government of Zimbabwe to have 48 hours
to consider the report. The briefing, she said, would be done by Anna
Tibaijuka.
The report, she added, would be handed over today to
Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Asked why the Government had been allowed to have the
report for 48 hours, the Spokeswoman said that was part of the agreement to
obtain the Government’s cooperation with Tibaijuka’s mission. She noted that
Tibaijuka was the only independent official to carry out an in-depth
assessment inside Zimbabwe, and her mission had required the Government’s
cooperation.
Asked whether the contents of the report would be changed
depending on comments from Zimbabwe, the Spokeswoman said, “Absolutely not.”
The Government was receiving the final text of the report, she said, and could
react to it as it wished.
Asked when the Secretary-General had seen the report,
Okabe said that Tibaijuka had arrived on Monday, and then submitted the report
to the United Nations on Tuesday.
Asked whether Security Council members would also take up
the report, the Spokeswoman said that that would be up to the Security
Council. However, Tibaijuka had been sent to Zimbabwe on the
Secretary-General’s initiative, and her visit was not a Security
Council-related mission.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO DEBATE SITUATION IN
MIDDLE EAST TOMORROW
The
Security Council this morning held an open meeting, to consider the work
of its three committees that deal with terrorism. The chairs of those
committees (the Ambassadors of Argentina, Denmark and Romania) briefed the
Council on their work. The Council is expected to adopt a Presidential
Statement on counter-terrorism once the debate is done.
The Security Council began its work with consultations on
the
Middle East, to consider a request from the Arab Group for a meeting to
discuss recent developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Council members agreed to have an open debate on the
Middle East as part of tomorrow’s previously scheduled open meeting, which is
to begin with a briefing by UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Alvaro
de Soto. The open meeting will be followed by consultations on the Middle
East.
SOUTHERN LEBANON STILL VOLATILE AND
FRAGILE, ANNAN SAYS
The Secretary-General says that, during a period
characterized by political uncertainty in Lebanon, the country’s south enjoyed
a relative calm. Yet he adds, in a
report to the Security Council, that hostilities at the Blue Line in May,
and the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel in the Shab’a farms area
on 29 June, demonstrate that the situation remains volatile and fragile.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all the
parties to abide by their obligations under the relevant Security Council
resolutions and to exercise utmost restraint to contribute to stability in the
wider region. He also emphasizes the pressing need for the Lebanese Government
to exert control over the use of force throughout its entire territory and to
prevent attacks from Lebanon across the Blue Line.
He recommends to the Council that, under the current
conditions, the
UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s mandate should be extended until the end of
January 2006, with no changes to the strength and composition of the force.
ANNAN ENCOURAGED BY RESUMED TALKS
BETWEEN GEORGIA, ABKHAZ SIDES
In the Secretary-General’s latest
report on Abkhazia, Georgia, the Secretary-General says that the
resumption of the UN-led peace process between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides,
after over eight months, is an encouraging development.
Urging the Georgian side to be forthcoming in meeting
Abkhaz security concerns, he also calls on the Abkhaz side to accept the
deployment of civilian police officers from the
UN Observer Mission in Georgia in the Gali district, to permit the opening
of a human rights sub-office there, and to allow for the teaching of local
youth in their native Georgian language.
The Secretary-General also says that the UN Mission’s
freedom of movement must be respected and unimpeded, and he notes that the
security of the Mission’s personnel remains a major concern.
U.N. PEACEKEEPERS LAUNCH MAJOR OPERATION
AGAINST REBELS IN D.R. CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN
peacekeepers today launched another major operation in the Kabare and Walungu
territories of the south Kivus.
The main thrust of this exercise was to ensure the safety
of the Congolese population by removing armed elements. To this end, a
deadline had been delivered days ago to rebel troops from the Democratic
Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) at their brigade headquarters in Miranda.
Code named Thunder Storm, today’s operation involved
1,200 blue helmets - Pakistani quick reaction forces, Guatemalan special
forces, with Indian air support - alongside 200 troops from the Congolese
army. They fanned out over a 70 by 30 kilometre area, with 100 blue helmets
entering Miranda village. They found it empty.
The FDLR had moved to an area of forest where there is no
civilian population, west of Kabare, and outside the territory. The UN troops
searched the abandoned camp, assured that no people or ammunition were left,
and set fire to the 120-150 huts.
This zone is now controlled by the
UN Mission in the DRC, which will continue to monitor FDLR activities.
NIGER: FOOD
CRISIS FORCES 2.5 MILLION TO LIVE ON LESS THAN 1 MEAL A DAY
Around two months ago, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, called Niger “the number one forgotten and
neglected emergency in the world”. The situation in that country still remains
troubling, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA).
Currently, some 2.5 million people in Niger are living on
less than one meal a day, because of a food crisis that was brought on by last
year’s drought and locust plague.
The funds requested in the UN’s
Flash Appeal for Niger, which was launched on 19 May, were revised upwards
last week from $16 million to $30 million, following the World Food
Programme’s need for additional resources. To date, only $10 million
has been pledged by donors.
For its part, OCHA has deployed extra personnel to Niger,
to support the UN Resident Coordinator in emergency coordination and response,
and to provide regular updates on the situation.
Asked about other food crises in Africa, the Spokeswoman
noted that a number of areas in Africa are undergoing serious crises. Egeland
has been raising attention to those “forgotten” emergencies, and the United
Nations has appealed for help so that other areas do not become major crises
as has happened in Niger.
EXPERTS PANEL HEADS TO SUDAN TO MONITOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
The Security Council has
announced that a panel of experts on Sudan will head to the region in the
next few days to begin their mission to assist the Security Council Sanctions
Committee on Sudan in monitoring the implementation of measures approved by
the Council such as the arms embargo on Darfur, and the travel ban and assets
freeze applied to individuals designated by the Committee.
They will be based in Addis Ababa and travel frequently
within Sudan.
The group, authorized by Security Council
resolution 1591, adopted in March, will report back to the council within
90 days.
Also, the Food and Agriculture Organization is sending
seeds and tools to North Darfur, to help some 70,000 families get planting
done in time for the rainy season. The
project is aimed at helping war refugees -- and at encouraging local
farmers to stay on their lands and produce food.
BURUNDI: TWO U.N. PEACEKEEPERS BEING
SENT HOME
BECAUSE OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
In
Burundi, two Ethiopian soldiers were found in breach of the UN code of
conduct by a UN investigation, and are currently in the process of being
repatriated.
Specifically, one soldier was found guilty of paying for
consensual sex, while the other was found guilty of sex with a legal minor.
There are currently no other cases under investigation
for sexual exploitation in the UN mission in Burundi.
In this case the mission moved quickly and decisively
against the soldiers in question, and the UN in turn will be following up with
the member state with regard to disciplinary action.
The Secretary General has a zero tolerance policy, and
the UN Operation in Burundi, along with the UN’s other peacekeeping missions,
take this very seriously. When mission focal points for code of conduct issues
receive allegations against UN personnel they are investigated thoroughly and
if substantiated, they are acted on immediately and robustly.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG WELCOMES U.S.-INDIAN AGREEMENT:
Asked about the US bilateral deal with India on nuclear issues, the Spokeswoman
later noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency had issued a
statement reacting to that development. She noted the Secretary-General’s
concerns in general about nuclear non-proliferation and his hopes that the
matter would be addressed during the September World Summit.
NEW GROUP HELPS WOMEN CANDIDATES IN HAITI: The
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti reports that a group of local women have
launched a new organization aimed at helping women candidates in the upcoming
elections. The
initiative follows a political training seminar for women, organized by the
UN mission.
ANNAN ON U.N. REFORM: Asked about the
Secretary-General’s views on UN reform, the Spokeswoman noted that the
Secretary-General had
commented on that matter following his luncheon with Security Council
members last week.
U.N. OFFICIAL EXPECTED TO COOPERATE WITH OIL-FOR-FOOD
INVESTIGATION: Asked about the whereabouts of Benon Sevan, the Spokeswoman
reiterated that Sevan is on a dollar-a-year contract to facilitate his
cooperation with the
Independent Inquiry Committee. If the Committee had any problems with his
cooperation, they would alert the United Nations, and up to now, they have not
done so.
**The guest at the noon briefing was
Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the new Under-Secretary-General
for the
Office of Internal Oversight Services. She was introduced by the
Secretary-General’s Chef de Cabinet, Mark Malloch Brown.
Office
of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only
Fax. 212-963-7055
All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org