HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE
DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, October 3, 2005
U.N. ENVOY TO IRAQ MEETS WITH LEADERS OF
KUWAIT AND IRAN
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Iraq, is in Kuwait today, where he met with that country’s Deputy Prime
Minister, as well as the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He briefed them
on the UN’s role in promoting dialogue and reconciliation among Iraqis.
This visit, as well as one to Iran last week, is part of
Qazi’s exchanges with neighbouring countries on the latest developments in
Iraq.
Asked about a leaked UN report which was reported to say
that the Iraqi constitution could be a model for “the territorial division of
the State”, the Spokesman said that phrase came from an internal document that
was prepared for the UN’s Iraq team as it analyzed the Constitution. It should
come as no surprise, he said, that UN staff would try to analyze the
Constitutional process. The alleged comment did not reflect the position of
the United Nations, he said.
The Spokesman said that the United Nations believes that
the Constitution will have to be judged by the Iraqi people themselves, in the
referendum that has been planned. He noted that the Secretary-General had
welcomed the agreement that put the draft Constitution forward for a
referendum.
U.N. LEBANON BOMB PROBE DUE THIS MONTH; COULD BE
EXTENDED
Asked whether the work of
Detlev Mehlis’s investigation commission would be extended until December,
the Spokesman said that Mehlis is still writing his report, which is due on 25
October.
He said that, technically, under the resolution, an
extension of the Mehlis commission’s work is possible (until 15 December).
First, Mehlis would have to request the extension to the Secretary-General,
and the Secretary-General would have to approve it.
Asked whether Lebanon has requested the continuation of
work by the commission, the Spokesman said he was not aware of any official
request to change the mandate.
Asked whether Mehlis was interviewing the brother-in-law
of the Syrian President, among others, Dujarric said that he was not aware of
all of the people that Mehlis was interviewing. Mehlis, he said, would
interview anyone necessary for the course of the investigation. Asked about
the quality of the interviews, the Spokesman said the quality would be judged
by Mehlis and would be reflected in his report.
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS BOMBING IN BALI
In a
statement issued on Saturday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly
condemned the bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that have reportedly
killed at least twenty people and injured many more.
The Secretary-General was dismayed that Bali has yet
again been the scene of terrorist outrage almost three years after the attacks
of October 2002, and sent his deepest sympathy to the injured and the
bereaved, as well as to the Indonesian government.
He urges the Indonesian authorities to act promptly in
identifying and bringing the perpetrators of this cowardly attack to justice.
ROMANIA TAKES OVER PRESIDENCY OF THE
SECURITY COUNCIL
Romania has taken over the Presidency of the
Security Council for the month of October, and Romanian Ambassador Mihnea
Motoc is holding bilateral talks with other Council members on its program of
work for the coming month.
The Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations
on its program of work tomorrow, after which Ambassador Motoc intends to brief
you the press about the Council’s agenda for October.
SECRETARY-GENERAL’S ENVOY IN SUDAN URGES
PROGRESS IN TALKS
The Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Sudan.
Jan Pronk. is back from Abuja, Nigeria where he had discussions with the
African Union’s Chief Mediator, Salim Ahmed Salim, as well as with the
delegations of the parties on the ongoing talks aimed at bringing peace to
Darfur.
Pronk’s message to all parties
was to move ahead from the procedural discussions that took almost six days
and to start as soon as possible with the substantive talks.
He calls on all parties to
engage in these talks in good faith and with a tangible commitment to
achieving a final settlement to the Darfur crisis.
ANNAN CONGRATULATES NEW PRESIDENT OF
GUINEA BISSAU
The Secretary-General, in a
message, congratulated President Joao Bernardo Vieia of Guinea Bissau, who
was sworn in at a ceremony in Bissau over the weekend.
The Secretary-General assures the people of Guinea Bissau
that the UN system will continue to support the government in its efforts
toward national reconciliation, consolidation of democracy and creation of a
climate favorable to economic revitalization.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
TARGETED SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING TO BEGIN IN NIGER:
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the
World Food Program (WFP) have teamed up with
Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), to launch a Targeted Supplementary Feeding
Initiative in Zinder, southern Niger. The agencies will screen a quarter of a
million children to identify and give intensive care to the children most at
risk of malnutrition. They expect that figure to be almost 50,000.
WORLD ‘CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE’ CONVENTION STARTS:
The Third World Congress on conservation agriculture begins today in Nairobi,
the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports. Conservation agriculture
involves planting crops directly into the soil, without ploughing. It saves on
soil erosion, and is particularly well- suited for Africa, according to FAO.
ANNAN TO RETURN TO WORK TUESDAY: Asked when the
Secretary-General would be at UN Headquarters, the Spokesman said he would be in
New York on Tuesday, following the conclusion of a private visit.
SECRETARIAT BUILDING PLANNING CHIEF TO BRIEF: In
response to a question on UN management, the Spokesman noted that Fritz Reuter,
head of the Capital Master Plan, was expected to brief reporters next week.
*** The guest at the noon
briefing was Daudi Mwakawago, Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Sierra Leone. He briefed on the latest developments in that country.
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