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
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