HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ACTING ASSOCIATE
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, 25 August 2005
SECURITY
COUNCIL CONDEMNS MURDERS OF KUWAITIS
The
Security Council this morning received a briefing by the
Secretary-General’s High-Level Coordinator, Yuli Vorontsov, on the question of
missing Kuwaitis and third-country nationals in
Iraq.
Following that briefing in closed consultations, the
Council President, Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan, told reporters that
Council members shared the Secretary-General’s view, expressed in his recent
report, condemning the execution of Kuwaiti and other nationals by the
previous Iraqi regime. Council members agreed that those responsible should be
brought to justice.
This afternoon at 3:00, the Security Council has
scheduled consultations on Lebanon. Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Ibrahim Gambari will brief the Council on the progress of the
investigation into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination.
MILITIAS IN
WESTERN COTE D’IVOIRE AGREE TO DISARM
The
UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire reported today that four militia groups in
the western part of the country have joined in a ceremony marking their
intention to disarm and demobilize.
The mission reported the actual weapons transfer will
begin as soon as the National Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration works out the details and secures the necessary funds.
PERUVIAN
PEACEKEEPER SHOT IN HAITI
A Peruvian peacekeeper serving
with the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti was wounded in the leg yesterday. The peacekeeper was
part of a patrol in the Shodecosa area of Port-au-Prince.
The patrol was helping a group
of people near a voter registration centre after that group was attacked by
other people throwing stones at them.
When the peacekeepers arrived,
they were also attacked by the stone throwers, and as the incident escalated,
the Peruvian peacekeeper was shot by an unidentified individual.
He has undergone surgery for the wound.
NEW
COMMISSIONER APPOINTED FOR PALESTINE REFUGEE AGENCY
The Secretary-General has
appointed Filippo Grandi, of Italy as Deputy Commissioner-General of the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Until now, Grandi has been
serving as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative at the
UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. He was in that post since May 2004, and was
responsible for political affairs.
UN REPORT SAYS
THAT THE WORLD HAS GROWN MORE
UNEQUAL
A UN
report released today says that although some parts of the globe have
experienced unprecedented growth, the world is more unequal than it was ten
years ago.
The report, titled “The Inequality Predicament” says that
inequalities between rich and poor have often accompanied globalization. It
says unemployment remains high, particularly among the young, and poverty is
still entrenched in much of the world.
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which produced the booklet,
says problems of inequality can be addressed through the promotion of
democracy and the rule of law.
It also recommends efforts to make access to resources
more equal, and calls for systems of social protection for the poor.
UN REPORT FINDS
THAT PALESTINIAN
ECONOMY CONTINUES TO DECLINE
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reports today that the Palestinian economy continued a sharp
deterioration that started in the year 2000.
According to UNCTAD’s "Annual Report on Assistance to the Palestinian People," the Gross Domestic
Product of the occupied Palestinian territory declined in 2004 to a level
15% below that of 1999. Real per capita gross national income shrunk by 33% in
the past five years, it says.
One third of the labour force was jobless at the end of
2004, the report says, and some 61% of households were living below the
poverty line.
The UNCTAD report recommends that the Palestine
Authority target poverty reduction while expanding production and trade.
WHO WELCOMES
ADDITION TO FLU MEDICINE STOCKPILE
The World Health Organization (WHO) has
welcomed a donation from Roche Pharmaceuticals of enough antiviral
medicine to treat three million people in case of an outbreak of an influenza
pandemic.
WHO reports that it is monitoring the outbreaks of avian
influenza in parts of Asia, Russia and Kazakhstan, and it is creating an
international stockpile of antiviral drugs for rapid response should a
pandemic occur.
The agency says that although rich countries can afford
to stockpile antivirals, poor nations cannot. If a pandemic were to emerge in a poor country,
WHO says, the drugs could be flown in quickly to stop its spread.
UNITED NATIONS
AND NGOS TO MEET ON CHOLERA OUTBREAK
The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today announced
that it will organize a regional meeting of United Nations agencies and non
-governmental organizations working to combat the recent cholera outbreaks in
West Africa.
The meeting will be held next week in Dakar, Senegal. It
will be aimed at assessing the scope of the problem and the responses to it.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. REFUGEE COMMISSIONER VISITS CAMPS IN CHAD: The
UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres is in Chad today visiting
one of the 12 camps in the east of the country where more than 200,000 refugees
from the Darfur region of Sudan are seeking shelter. Guterres, who was in
Darfur yesterday, is on the second leg of his ten day visit to the region to
review refugee assistance efforts.
UNICEF LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN IN AFGHANISTAN: The UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
today announced that it has launched a campaign to remind all candidates in the
coming parliamentary elections to focus on the needs and rights of children.
The campaign delineates actions that the country’s future leaders could take to
improve the condition of women and children, including greater investment in
education and health care for the young.
ANNOUNCEMENT ON ZIMBABWE APPEAL EXPECTED: Asked
whether the United Nations would announce an appeal for humanitarian assistance
for Zimbabwe, the Spokesman said there was nothing to announce yet, although an
announcement could come as soon as Friday.
WREATH LAYING CEREMONY REVISITED: Asked whether the
Deputy Secretary-General has laid a wreath at the ceremony honoring the staff
who died in the 19 August 2003 bombing in Baghdad, the Spokesman said that she
had not performed the wreath laying but had attended the ceremony, which took
place last Friday. Two staff members injured in the bombing laid the wreath.
KHMER ROUGE TRIALS GETS NEW COORDINATOR: Michelle
Lee, of China, was appointed to be the Coordinator of the UN Assistance to the
Khmer Rouge Trials, effective 1 September. She will act as the international
Deputy Director of the Office of Administration, which will service the
Extraordinary Chambers and other various bodies relating to the Khmer Rouge
trials.
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