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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,  NEW YORK

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

KOFI ANNAN
CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON IRAQ COURT’S DEFENSE TEAM

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan

    condemns
    the brutal attacks against three defense counsels to the Special
    Iraqi Criminal Tribunal since the opening of the Trial on 19 October,
    including the cold-blooded murders of Mr. Adel al-Zubeidi today and Mr. Sadoun
    al-Janabi last month.
     

  • These actions undermine efforts to uphold the cause of
    justice and the rule of law in Iraq. In this regard, it is vitally important
    that the security of all involved with the Tribunal should be equally assured
    to ensure a trial free from intimidation and coercion.
     

  • The Secretary-General hopes that the Tribunal will uphold
    the international standards of justice necessary to ensure its legitimacy,
    fairness and independence.
     

  • In response to a question about the upcoming
    elections, the Spokeswoman said that
    Ashraf Qazi, the
    Secretary-General’s Special Representative for

    Iraq
    , today expressed his appreciation for the creditable conduct of the
    Independent Electoral Commission in that country.
     
  • Despite numerous difficulties, Qazi said, the Commission
    “preserved the levels of transparency and accountability that are consistent
    with internationally accepted standards and practices for verifications of
    votes.”  As the Commission prepares for the 15 December elections, Qazi
    reiterated the UN's pledge for continued technical and advisory support to the
    commission.

 ANNAN MEETS WITH EGYPTIAN FOREIGN
MINISTER
AND ARAB LEAGUE HEAD IN CAIRO

  • The Secretary-General began his official program in Egypt
    this morning with meetings in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul
    Gheit and Arab League Secretary-General, Amr Moussa.
     

  • Prior to meeting with their delegations, the Foreign
    Minister and the Secretary-General met tete-a-tete for about 20 minutes. In
    the larger meeting, they discussed, among other issues,

    Lebanon
    and Syria,

    Sudan
    ,

    Ethiopia and Eritrea
    and the

    Israeli-Palestinian
    issue.
     


  • Speaking to reporters
    afterward, the Secretary-General said he and the
    Foreign Minister were hopeful that States will be able to agree to a
    comprehensive convention on terrorism by the end of this year.
     

  • Asked about Syrian cooperation with Detlev Mehlis’s
    investigation, he said that he had spoken to President Bashar al-Assad, who
    had confirmed to him that Syria will cooperate fully.
     

  • The Secretary-General, in response to another question,
    said he was “extremely encouraged” by the Arab League initiative to bring
    Iraq’s parties to Egypt for a reconciliation conference, adding, “The need for
    reconciliation in Iraq is real.”
     

  • He then went on to the seat of the Arab League for a
    meeting with Amr Moussa. Following that meeting, he again
    spoke to reporters
    , and, in response to further questions about the Mehlis
    investigation, he said that if Syria cooperates fully and we get to the truth,
    that should suffice. He added that “we have no problem” with Syria setting up
    its own commission to investigate while it cooperates with Mehlis and the
    Lebanese.
     

  • Afterward, the Secretary-General left Cairo to visit the
    “Smart Village,” a technology center built by the Egyptian Government outside
    of the capital. There he visited a number of high-tech projects, accompanied
    by the Prime Minister, Ahmed Nazif. The Secretary-General and the Prime
    Minister had met earlier to discuss development issues in Africa.
     

  • The Secretary-General then went to the American
    University in Cairo to deliver the first Nadia Younes

    memorial lecture
    . He paid tribute to Nadia Younes as “almost a prototype
    of the modern Egyptian woman.” He said we must resolve to
    make the Middle East a region where “all nations,
    including Israelis and Palestinians, can live side by side in peace and
    justice.”
     

  • In a separate program, the
    Secretary-General's wife, Nane Annan, visited the National Council of Women
    together with Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt, who presides over the
    Council. Nane Annan also visited a slum upgrading project designed to promote
    peace through poverty reduction, community participation and youth engagement,
    and she met with a group of prominent Egyptian women active in development
    issues. 

 ANNAN URGES LIBERIANS TO CALMLY ACCEPT
ELECTION RESULTS

  • The second round of the Liberian presidential election is
    presently underway.
     

  • Voting started early this morning under peaceful and
    orderly conditions at all polling places across the country. 
     

  • Security for voters and polling places is being provided
    by the Liberian National Police with the support of United Nation’s civilian
    police and peacekeeping troops. 

IRAQ: SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS MULTINATIONAL FORCE MANDATE

  • The Security Council held a formal meeting in which it
    voted unanimously to
    approve a resolution to extend the mandate of the multinational force in Iraq
    by one year, until the end of 2006.
     

  • The Council earlier held consultations on the Central
    African Republic, on which it received a briefing from the Secretary-General’s
    Representative, General Lamine Cissé.
     

  • In other Council-related business, the Secretary-General,
    in a

    letter
    available today, informs the Council that he has appointed four
    people to serve on the Monitoring Group dealing with Somalia sanctions.

 SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION VISITS
BURUNDI

  • The Security Council delegation visiting the Great Lakes
    Region arrived in Burundi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo late
    yesterday afternoon. 
     

  • Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, delegation
    leader, told the press on arrival in Bujumbura that while a lot of work
    remains to be done, the transition process has been remarkably successful. 
     

  • He stated that Burundi is an example for the region and
    beyond.
     

  • Today the delegation met with President Pierre
    Nkurunziza, members of government, and leaders of political parties.

 ERITREA: U.N. MILITARY OBSERVERS SHARE
CONCERNS ABOUT MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS WITH SECURITY COUNCIL ENVOY

  • The Chairman of the UN Security Council Working Group on
    Peacekeeping Operations, Japanese Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, today visited
    Asmara and operational sectors affected by Eritrea’s ban on helicopter
    flights, and he was briefed on the situation on the ground by UN military
    observers.
     

  • All the observers stressed the debilitating effects of
    the ban on freedom of movement and the challenge this posed for their
    monitoring capability. 
     

  • In Asmara, Ambassador Oshima also met the Acting Chief
    Representative for Coordination with the UN Peacekeeping Mission, as well as
    the Director in the Office of the President of Eritrea. 
     

  • Oshima also had a very open exchange this evening with
    ambassadors based in Eritrea. 
     

  • Asked whether there was any progress on the issue of
    humanitarian flights, he said that the issue was raised with the Director of
    the Office of the President – but no concrete answer was given. 
     

  • Oshima also held a brief press encounter in which he
    noted that what he hopes to do is to report to the Security Council on what
    he’s seen and heard in Eritrea "so that the Council as a whole will be able to
    make a good judgment" that will above all promote peace between both
    countries.

 AID WORKER TRY TO REACH QUAKE VICTIMS
 IN PAKISTAN’S HIGH ALTITUDE VALLEYS

  • Regarding the delivery of aid to the victims of the South
    Asia

    earthquake
    , the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have decided
    to target up to 200,000 people living in high altitude valleys above the
    snowline who may become inaccessible within the next four weeks, as well as an
    estimated 150,000 people who may choose to move down to the lower valleys.
     

  • The Office for the High Commissioner for Refugees and the
    World Health Organization have helped the Pakistani Government to establish 18
    organized camps, which together house around 10,000 people.
     

  • On the health front, the Office for the Coordination of
    Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) notes that – with 300,000 children vaccinated
    against measles so far – a big achievement has been the prevention of epidemic
    outbreaks of major communicable diseases.
     

  • UNICEF has helped fix the Muzaffarabad water supply
    system, which is now 90% restored and which serves more than 200,000 people.
    UNICEF has also provided more than one million packets of chlorine to rural
    populations, while the World Food Programme has donated more than 8,300 tons
    of hi-energy biscuits. Regarding education, UNICEF has delivered 300
    ‘school-in-a-box’ kits and worked with partners to establish 36 tent schools.
     

  •  The UN agencies and the International Organization
    for Migration now have 300 staff in the

    disaster area
    .

 INDIAN LETTER TO BE FORWARDED TO VOLCKER
COMMITTEE

  • Asked at the noon briefing
    yesterday if the Secretary-General had received a letter from the Indian
    Government regarding the


    Independent Inquiry Committee
    (IIC), run by Paul Volcker,
    the Deputy Spokesman said a letter had been received yesterday evening by the
    Executive Office of the Secretary-General from the lawyers of the Congress
    Party. The letter was being forwarded to the Volcker Committee.
     

  • Regarding reported comments
    attributed to Under-Secretary-General for Public Information Shashi Tharoor,
    Okabe said she had been in touch with Tharoor, who was on leave in India. He
    denied dismissing the Volcker report and said that he had made the points that
    the Deputy Spokesman had
    flagged
    yesterday
    about the status of the IIC report.
     

  • Asked about India’s complaints about Volcker Committee,
    the Spokeswoman said any questions about that matter could be directed to the
    Committee, which would remain in existence until the end of this month.

 OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

IRAQI MONITORING BOARD TO POST MINUTES OF MEETING:
The International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) --  is an audit
oversight body for the Development Fund for Iraq --- says it will publish the
minutes of its October meeting on its web site (www.iamb.info)
today.

REFUGEE AGENCY HEAD VISITS BRAZIL:
High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres is in
Brazil on a two-day mission. It is his first

visit
to Latin America since he took office in June. Today he is scheduled
to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Guterres is seeking
support for the Mexico Plan of Action, an operational instrument to protect and
assist refugees, as well as Brazil's continued promotion of refugee issues at
regional and international fora.

MICROCREDIT MEETING UNDERWAY: An international

meeting
on microcredit, the International Forum to Build Inclusive Financial
Sectors, continues today at UN Headquarters. There are six major panels mainly
zeroing on the most effective ways to get credit to the poor. Speakers include
the governors of several central banks and the recipients of microcredit loans.
This evening there will be a gala hosted by Tim Robbins. Jennifer Lopez and Marc
Anthony, among other celebrities, will present awards to micro-entrepreneurs
from developing nations, whose lives have been changed by access to credit.

RONALDO AND ZIDANE TO PLAY IN 
“MATCH AGAINST POVERTY
:  The UN

Development Programme
(UNDP) today announced that international football
players  Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane have signed up for the third Match Against
Poverty, aimed at focusing world attention on the
Millennium Development Goals.
This year’s match will be played 22 December at the LTU arena in Düsseldorf,
Germany. Proceeds from the first two matches have benefited anti-poverty
projects in Brazil, Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Morocco, Namibia, Sri Lanka
and Vietnam. This year net profits will also finance projects selected by UNDP
in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONDEMNS CUBA EMBARGO: The General
Assembly voted this afternoon to condemn the United States’ embargo against Cuba
by a vote of 182 in favor to 4 against, with 1 abstention.

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