ARCHIVES
 


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING


BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS,  NEW YORK

Friday, August 12, 2005


ANNAN DEPLORES KILLING OF SRI LANKAN FOREIGN
MINISTER
 

  • After the
    noon briefing, the following

    statement
    was issued.

  • The Secretary-General is shocked
    and saddened to learn that a few hours ago, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister
    Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot and killed in

    Colombo

  • He deplores in the strongest of
    terms this criminal and senseless act and hopes that the perpetrators will be
    found and brought to justice.  He expresses his condolences to the family of
    the deceased and his sympathy with all Sri Lankans in this hour of sorrow. 

  • Sri Lanka has
    lost a deeply respected statesman dedicated to peace and national unity.  The
    Secretary-General hopes that this tragedy will not weaken the commitment of
    the people of Sri Lanka to achieve a durable peace in the country.

COTE D’IVOIRE:
ANNAN CONCERNED BY HARASSMENT OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS

  • The Secretary-General is concerned by recent reports
    concerning the obstruction of the movement and operations of the

    UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire
    (UNOCI). In this regard, he welcomes
    President Laurent Gbagbo’s statement of 9 August calling on all Ivorians to
    refrain from impeding UNOCI’s movements.

  • However, the Secretary-General regrets that UNOCI still does
    not enjoy the full freedom of movement required to effectively carry out its
    mandate, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions. The
    Secretary-General expects all Ivorians to facilitate the operations of UNOCI
    and to refrain from any action that may undermine the peace process in Côte
    d’Ivoire.

  • In terms of background, UNOCI reported today that two of its
    unarmed military observers were harassed by hostile crowds in the town of Gagnoa, west of Abidjan.

  • Their vehicle was ransacked and the observers had to be
    rescued by Bangladeshi troops.

  • The incident was the second such attack on UN personnel
    in the same town, which is in an area controlled by the followers of the
    president, Laurent Gbagbo, the UN mission said.

  • President Gbagbo has called on the population to refrain
    from blocking UNOCI’s mission in Cote d’Ivoire.

  • SECURITY
    COUNCIL BRIEFED ON GUINEA-BISSAU ELECTIONS
     

    • This morning the Security Council held consultations on
      Guinea-Bissau, with Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
      Tuliameni Kalomoh, briefing Council members on the results of the presidential
      elections in that country.

    • Under other matters, the Council discussed the recent
      incidents in Cote d’Ivoire.

     ANNAN EXPECTS IRAN TO IMPLEMENT IAEA
    RESOLUTION
     

    • Yesterday afternoon, a

      statement
      was issued on behalf of the Secretary-General on the
      International Atomic Energy Agency’s

      resolution
      on Iran.

    • In the statement, the Secretary-General notes that the
      IAEA Board has spoken with one voice, and he expects its resolution to be
      implemented.

    ANNAN: IRAQ’S
    EXECUTIONERS MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
     

    • On the racks today is the Secretary-General’s latest

      report
      regarding repatriation or return by Iraq
      of Kuwaiti and third-country nationals or their remains.

    • The Secretary-General hopes that eventually more human
      remains will be brought to Kuwait and that the files can be closed.

    • He strongly condemns the executions by the previous Iraqi
      regime.  He says that those responsible for those crimes, in particular those
      who ordered the executions, must be brought to justice.

    U.N. SENDING SPECIAL FOOD FOR NIGER’S WOMEN
    & CHILDREN
     


    • The World Food Programme (WFP)
      today announced that the first of ten WFP flights carrying corn soya blend
      departed today for Niger’s capital, Niamey.  The blend is intended for
      children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers as a supplement to the food
      rations and to combat malnutrition. 


    • Meanwhile, WFP is continuing with its general food distribution in Niger. This
      week, some 5,000 persons received their rations. 


    • The

      Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
      reports that, of the
      nearly $81 million requested in the revised Niger appeal, more than $29
      million has been received to date.  Pledges of an additional $13 million have
      also been made.  The donor community has also contributed some $25 million in
      humanitarian assistance through other channels, bringing total donor
      assistance to the country to more than $54 million.

    • In other news,
      WFP has said it is concerned about chronically
      impoverished regions in the southern, central and eastern parts of Sudan. 


    • WFP is increasing its assistance and providing aid to an additional 267,000
      people in those areas. But the agency says that its activities are being
      severely hampered by critical funding shortages, a lack of sufficient jet
      fuel, and the rainy season. 

    NEGOTIATIONS
    CONTINUE ON UZBEK REFUGEES

    • The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
      reports that negotiations are continuing to free the remaining 15 Uzbeks who
      are in detention in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

    • The fifteen remained in Kyrgyzstan after 439 other Uzbeks
      were flown to Romania for resettlement.

    • The agency

      said
      it is still concerned with the plight of the refugees, but has
      assurances from the Kyrgyz authorities that the Uzbeks will not be forcibly
      sent home.

    • UNHCR also

      reports
      that it’s seeing a dramatic increase in the number of Burundian
      refugees returning home from camps in Tanzania. Many of the refugees are
      saying that June’s orderly elections gave them the confidence to return home
      after up to nine years in exile.

    • In other news, following a failed attempt by 300
      Bhutanese refugees in camps in east Nepal to return home earlier this month,
      the UNHCR is

      launching
      an information campaign warning refugees about the pitfalls of
      trying to return home on their own.

    BANGLADESHI
    CHILD CAMEL JOCKEYS RETURNING HOME
     

    • The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has

      announced
      the return to Bangladeshi of 36 child camel jockeys who had been
      working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    • A new law in the UAE banned the use of children jockeys. 
      Some who returned yesterday are teenagers, but the group included a four year
      old boy.

    • UNICEF also reports that a group of Sierra Leone children
      refugees will return to their home country today from Guinea. Today’s group is
      the first of almost 400 who will be repatriated to Sierra Leone in coming
      weeks, the agency said. Some of them have not seen their relatives in ten
      years.

    • In other news, UNICEF today

      called
      for children to be kept out of harms way during the Israeli
      withdrawal from the Gaza strip. The agency has pre-positioned supplies to take
      care of potential problems.

    ANNAN: YOUTH
    SHOULD HOLD WORLD LEADERS TO THEIR PROMISES
     

    • In his

      message
      for today, International Youth Day, the Secretary-General asks
      young people to hold world leaders to their promise to translate the
      Millennium Development Goals into reality.

    • He asks them not to accept a world where people die of
      hunger and remain illiterate.  They must make sure their voices are heard, to
      make sure their generation is the one to defeat poverty.

    OTHER
    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    SECURITY COUNCIL WILL BE TOLD IF LEBANON INVESTIGATION
    NEEDS MORE TIME
    : Asked to comment on a wire story suggesting that the
    investigation into the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s
    death would take longer than scheduled, the Spokesman reminded the questioner
    that

    Resolution 1595
    provides for a further period, not exceeding three months,
    to conduct the investigation, should it be needed. The Spokesman later added
    that the Security Council would be informed, during a
    briefing scheduled on 25 August, as to whether the investigation commission
    would need any more time than the initially mandated three months.

     

    SPOKESMAN SAYS THURSDAY SECURITY INCIDENT WAS NOT ON
    U.N. GROUNDS:
    A correspondent expressed concern that a security incident
    which took place yesterday morning at a parking garage close to UN headquarters
    was not made known to correspondents until late yesterday evening.  The
    Spokesman reiterated that the incident did not take place on UN premises, and
    did not involve UN security guards.  UN Security was allowed to question the
    individual concerned, he said. 

    PRESS HELP SOUGHT IN COTE D’IVOIRE: The Deputy Chief
    of the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire, Alan Doss, has

    asked
    Ivorian press to contribute positively to ending the civil crisis in
    that country. Doss made the remarks in his final press conference in Cote
    d’Ivoire. Next Wednesday he assumes his new post as the new chief of the UN
    Mission in Liberia.  

    REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED WITH NEW COSTA RICAN LAW :
    The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today

    said
    it was concerned  with a new Costa Rican Immigration law on its way to
    approval in San Jose.  According to UNHCR, the law does not contain a definition
    of what constitutes a 1951 Status of Refugees Convention to which Costa Rica is
    a signatory member.  The agency says the new law also lacks provisions against
    forced repatriation to a country where a refugee could face prosecution, and it
    does not contain a right to work clause for refugees.

     THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

    Sunday, August 14

     The first-ever International

    Conference
    on Engaging Communities will be held from 14-17 August in
    Brisbane, hosted by the Government of the State of Queensland, Australia, in
    cooperation with the United Nations.  

     Monday, August 15 

    At 11:00am, Ambassador. Dan Gillerman of Israel will brief
    the press on disengagement from Gaza.

    The

    International Seabed Authority
    begins a two-week meeting in Kingston,
    Jamaica.

     Tuesday, August 16

     Kemal
    Dervis
    , incoming Administrator of the UN Development Programme, will be the
    guest at the noon press briefing.  Mr. Dervis will be introduced by Deputy
    Secretary-General

    Louise Fréchette

    Wednesday, August 17

     The Department of Peacekeeping Operations will provide an
    update on political and operational issues of the

    UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    .

     A United Nations

    conference
    on disarmament issues will be held in Kyoto, Japan, from 17 to 19
    August.  

      

    ** The guest at today’s noon briefing was Thoraya Obaid,
    head of the UN Population Fund. She briefed about youth involvement in meeting
    the Millennium Development Goals.

        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


     



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