HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, November
21, 2005
KOFI ANNAN
MEETS WITH MEMBER STATES UPON RETURN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is back at UN Headquarters
today, where he will have his monthly luncheon with the Security Council this
afternoon, and meet with members of the Group of 77 this afternoon.
Over the weekend, he returned from a 14-day, nine-country
visit.
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s meeting with the members of the Group of 77 this
afternoon, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General is trying to help
find common ground, so that Member States, who are currently divided, can come
together to move forward the UN reform
recommendations agreed upon at the
World Summit. It is a critical time to move the process forward, she said.
ANNAN PLEASED AT PLEDGES MADE FOR SOUTH
ASIA QUAKE VICTIMS
The Secretary-General is
pleased that the Pakistani Government was able to receive a substantial amount
of pledges at the donors’ conference held in Islamabad on Saturday.
According to the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between $4 and $6 billion in
unconfirmed bilateral donations have been pledged to Pakistan, mostly at the
conference -- the majority for reconstruction and in in-kind contributions.
About two-thirds of the money was in loans.
On Saturday, in Islamabad, Pakistan, the
Secretary-General
told the International Donor’s Conference dealing with reconstruction
after the October 8 earthquake that we must be prepared to work together in
the long run. He said action is needed to deal with urgent humanitarian needs,
as well as to jumpstart recovery and deal with long-term reconstruction.
After that, on his way back to New York, the
Secretary-General stopped in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he met with President
Mikheil Saakashvili. Following that meeting, he
told the press that the United Nations was continuing in its efforts to
deal with the talks between the Georgian Government and the Abkhaz side. He
added, “In the meantime, it is important that all sides respect the rule of law
and respect human rights and the dignity of individuals.”
ANNAN TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL ON
WEDNESDAY
In addition to today’s Security Council monthly luncheon
with the Secretary-General, the Security Council also has scheduled at
consultations at 3:00 this afternoon on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Council members will consider the text of a draft
resolution, which they expect to vote on following consultations.
In addition to the update in today’s program, there are
now changes in the program for Tuesday and Wednesday.
There are no meetings or consultations scheduled as of
now for tomorrow. The Burundi item has been moved to Monday, November 28.
On Wednesday, the Secretary-General is now scheduled to
brief the Council in its consultations on his just concluded visit.
The Middle East item has now been rescheduled to the
following Wednesday, November 30. Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Ibrahim Gambari is expected to brief then.
GAMBARI CONDEMNS EXCHANGE OF FIRE
AT BLUE LINE
Ibrahim Gambari wrapped up his visit to the Middle East today, meeting
with UN staff in Israel. He intends to brief the Security Council next week.
Gambari, in a statement today, expressed his grave concern at the heavy
exchange of fire that was reported to have begun from the Lebanese side of the
Blue Line shortly before 3:00 p.m. today. He condemns these serious attacks
across several locations along the Blue Line, and calls on all parties to
cease fire immediately.
During a visit over the weekend to the Occupied
Palestinian Territories, Gambari toured Gaza, held meetings with senior
Palestinian officials and observed parts of the Separation Barrier.
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Gambari cited Gaza
withdrawal and the recent agreement on the Rafah Crossing as signs of
progress. More needed to be done, however, on issues such as an airport and
seaport in Gaza and in establishing freedom of movement, both between Gaza and
the West Bank, and within the West Bank itself. Gambari said he hoped Gaza
withdrawal will give new impetus to the peace process and promised the United
Nations would be working to “use its unique position and authority to help
advance the peace process.”
ANNAN WELCOMES IRAQI RECONCILIATION
CONFERENCE
The Secretary-General
commends the League of Arab States for the holding of the Preparatory
Meeting for the Conference on Iraqi National Accord, held in Cairo from the 19
to 21 November.
The Secretary General was recently in Cairo and Baghdad
where he lent his support to this worthwhile initiative. He was represented
at the meeting by his Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, who worked
closely with the Arab League Secretary-General in preparing and facilitating
the successful conduct of the meeting.
The Secretary-General is pleased that the meeting was
attended by a broad range of representatives of Iraq’s different communities,
who seized the opportunity to discuss national reconciliation and the future
of their country. The Secretary-General has asked his Special Representative
to continue to work closely with the League and with the Iraqi Government in
the preparations for the proposed Conference.
VIOLENCE MUST BE REMOVED FROM IRAQI
POLITICS
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
Iraq, attended the preparatory meeting that began on Saturday in Cairo
dealing with national reconciliation in Iraq, and he read out a message from
the Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General said in that message that a broad
understanding towards a national accord would strengthen and broaden the
political process significantly.
Qazi also drew attention to the need to eradicate
violence from Iraq’s political discourse, condemning attacks on civilians, and
he called upon all Iraqis to promote respect for human rights.
IRAQ WEAPONS INSPECTORS MEET AT U.N.
HEADQUARTERS
The 21st Session of the UN Monitoring, Verification and
Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)’s
College of Commissioners takes place today and tomorrow.
The Acting Executive Chairman, Demitri Perricos, will
brief the members on what has been going on in UNMOVIC for the last three
months - mainly work on a vast "Compendium" on Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction programs and lessons learned in the inspection and verification
process.
The next UNMOVIC quarterly report is due to go to the
Council on 1 December, and Perricos is expected to brief the Council during
early December.
UNITED NATIONS TO INCREASE PRESENCE IN
NORTHERN UGANDA
The UN is
planning to increase its presence in northern Uganda next year, especially
through the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the High Commissioner
for Refugees, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It will also
increase its request for funding for humanitarian programs to more than $200
million for 2006.
The stronger presence is meant to help some 2 million
Ugandans displaced by Africa’s longest running conflict, which, according to
OCHA, has uprooted as many people as the Bosnian war did 10 years ago, but
gets only a fraction of the international attention.
SPOKESWOMAN: ISSUES CONCERNING KOJO
ANNAN NOT A U.N. MATTER
Asked whether a Mercedes, referred to in the September
report of the
Independent Inquiry Committee, had diplomatic license plates, the
Spokeswoman noted that the lawyers for Kojo Annan, the Secretary-General’s
son, have been in touch with the relevant Ghanaian authorities on this
matter. When his lawyers have something to say in public, they will do so. She
referred further questions on to Kojo Annan’s lawyers, saying this is not
considered to be a UN matter.
In response to further questions about Kojo Annan, the
Spokeswoman said the matter was dealt with by the Independent Inquiry
Committee, which, she noted, is still in existence at least through the end of
this year.
Asked how the United Nations was following up on the
situation of one UN staff member who had conversations with Kojo Annan, the
Spokeswoman said that there were no adverse findings against that staff
member.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN TO SEND ENVOY TO ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS
MEETING: Asked who would attend a meeting of the
High-Level Group for the
Alliance of Civilizations, beginning in Spain on November 27, the Spokeswoman
said that the Secretary-General was sending his Special Adviser on that issue, Iqbal Riza, to attend the meeting, since the Secretary-General would not be able
to attend. She noted the difference between that initiative and the Dialogue
among Civilizations, which is being followed by the UN Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
FORMER U.N. ENVOY NO LONGER ASSOCIATED WITH U.N.:
Asked about the status of the UN envoy dealing with the Dialogue among
Civilizations, Giandomenico Picco, the Spokeswoman said that, by mutual
agreement, Picco’s work has been completed and his association with the United
Nations is over. In response to a question about the IHC company that Picco deal
with, she recalled that the company has been suspended from doing business with
the United Nations.
END-OF-YEAR PRESS CONFERENCE INTENDED: In response
to a question, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General was planning to
hold an end-of-the-year press conference.
U.N. AGENCIES TACKLE BIRD FLU & HUNGER ISSUES: The
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
reports that an alliance of international organizations, led by the United
Nations will develop a worldwide early warning system for avian flu. The system
will focus on the movement of possibly infected migratory birds. It will be
ready in two years, UNEP said.
*** The guests at the noon briefing were
Desmond Johns, Director of the New York Office of the
Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and Jim Kim, Director of the World
Health Organization’s Department of HIV/AIDS. They launched the
2005 AIDS Epidemic Update.
Office
of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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