HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, August 4, 2005
KOFI ANNAN CONDEMNS MAURITANIA COUP
Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemns the coup d’etat in
Mauritania on 3 August.
He calls for the restoration of constitutional order and
underlines the need for the full respect for human rights and the rule of
law.
Asked what the United Nations is doing regarding
Mauritania, the Spokesman said that the United Nations is in contact with its
staff on the ground in that country and is monitoring the situation.
KHARTOUM AND SOUTHERN SUDAN ARE REPORTED
CALM TODAY
The UN Mission in Sudan says that Khartoum and the south
are reported to be calm today.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative Jan Pronk
will be traveling to Juba tomorrow to attend the funeral for John Garang who
is scheduled to be buried in that southern city on Saturday.
The UN mission is providing the organizers of the funeral
with logistical assistance including the transport of Mr. Garang’s body.
The UN mission has offered its assistance in the expected
investigation into the helicopter crash that killed Garang.
Meanwhile, harassment of aid delivery vehicles in Darfur
continues, according to the UN mission. In one incident, a World Food
Programme truck was stopped by armed men and the contents of the truck
including significant quantities of wheat and sugar was looted.
IRAQI PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN
CONSTITUTION PROCESS HIGH
With only two weeks to go before the deadline for
drafting
Iraq’s Constitution, public participation is happening in the country with
an intensity rarely seen in constitutional processes. That’s according to a
preliminary report on public participation in Iraq’s constitutional process
that was issued today by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative,
Ashraf Qazi.
The report estimates that at least 220,000 Iraqis have
enthusiastically taken part in approximately 5,500 constitutional meetings. It
is anticipated that another 50,000 Iraqis will be involved in further meetings
before the August 15 deadline. Women’s groups, the report notes, have been
particularly active.
Qazi, in comments today, applauded the efforts of local
civil society organizations and the Constitutional Drafting Committee to make
the process more transparent.
Asked whether the United Nations would accept the Iraqi
Constitution, the Spokesman noted that it was not up to the United Nations to
accept the Constitution, but it was a decision taken by the Iraqi people. The
United Nations, he added, was working with the Iraqis to achieve that
goal. He added that the United Nations expects that the Constitution would be
in line with international norms, including those for human rights.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS TERRORISM IN
IRAQ
The
Security Council, following brief consultations, today unanimously adopted
a resolution that condemns the terrorist attacks that have taken place in
Iraq.
The Council particularly takes note of the shameless and
horrific attacks in recent weeks that have resulted in more than 100 deaths
and notes with great concern the increase in attacks on foreign diplomats in
Iraq.
U.N. TO LAUNCH AN APPEAL FOR ZIMBABWE
EVICTION VICTIMS
A five-month initial humanitarian appeal for
Zimbabwe targeting some 300,000 people most affected by the evictions is
expected to be launched early next week. The priority sector is shelter,
followed by food and sanitation.
The appeal will be revised and extended as necessary,
after the initial period expires in December 2005.
U.N. BLUE HELMETS IN HAITI FREE ANOTHER
KIDNAP VICTIM
The UN Mission in Haiti
reports that its troops have freed another kidnap victim.
The freed person, a Dominican, was liberated after a
confrontation with armed kidnappers in Port au Prince Tuesday. There were no
injuries.
This is the fifth such rescue by blue helmets in the last
six weeks.
LACK OF FUNDS THREATENS TOGO REFUGEE
WORK
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR)
reports that a lack of funds is threatening its efforts to care for
Togolese refugees.
The agency says it is caring for some 40,000 refugees in
Ghana and Benin, but its calls for assistance have gone unheeded, and its
resources are over-stretched.
PREVENTABLE
CHILD DEATHS PLAGUE AFGHANISTAN
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says an
Afghan child today has a one in seven chance of dying before the end of
her first year.
And, even if she survives to be one year old, she has a
one in five chance of dying before her fifth birthday, largely because of
common childhood diseases that can be prevented through immunization or
improved hygiene.
EUROPEAN WATER
TREATY ENTERS INTO FORCE TODAY
A treaty to prevent water-related diseases in Europe
entered into force today, following ratification by sixteen European
countries.
The Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention
on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
aims to improve health across Europe by improving the quality of water supply
and sanitation services and ensuring safe recreational water environments.
The treaty’s overseers are the World Health
Organization’s Regional Office for Europe and the UN Economic Commission for
Europe.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. WORLD HERITAGE-EGYPT STAMPS ARE OUT TODAY:
Today is the first day of issue of the UN Postal Administration’s “World
Heritage-Egypt” commemorative stamp.
ANNAN HOPES FOR AGREEMENT ON REFORM: Asked about
recent developments in the reform of the Security Council, the Spokesman, while
observing that this is a membership-led process, reiterated the
Secretary-General’s hope that there will be an agreement on this and on other
aspects of UN reform. The clock is still ticking, he said, and the negotiating
process is still going on.
U.N. MANAGEMENT CHIEF TO BRIEF NEXT MONTH: In
response to questions, the Spokesman said that Under-Secretary-General for
Management Christopher
Burnham would brief the press in early September.
FORMER TOP UNICEF OFFICIAL DIES: UNICEF in a
statement out today says it is sadden to report the death of Dick Heyward, a
former senior official with the fund. Heyward, a Deputy Executive director from
1949 to 1981, died Wednesday in New York, the agency said. He was 90.
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