HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday,
December 19, 2005
ANNAN RELIEVED
THAT W.T.O TALKS IN HONG KONG DID NOT END IN FAILURE
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is
relieved that the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong did not
end in failure, as had been widely predicted.
He recognizes the effort made by the negotiators, and
especially by the WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, to keep the Doha Round on
track; and congratulates those who negotiated on behalf of the developing
countries, particularly the least developed, on their success in working
together and securing limited gains.
These gains, if fully implemented, should bring improved
opportunities for some of the world’s poorest people to trade their way out of
poverty.
But the Secretary-General also notes that the ambitions
set out four years ago in Doha have note been realized, and that a real effort
of political will is required from all parties in 2006 if these negotiations
are to deserve the name of Development Round.
He recalls that trade is no less important than aid for
successful development, and that without open markets and fair competition few
countries will have a real chance of meeting the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF APPEALS FOR
BETTER SECURITY IN DARFUR
The
Security Council is holding a meeting on the humanitarian situation in
Africa.
Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs and the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, focused
his briefing on the crisis in Darfur and its impact on Chad, and the regional
crisis caused by the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in
Uganda,
Sudan and most recently the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He also discussed
Zimbabwe, from which he just returned.
On Darfur, he noted that unless measures taken by the
Security Council have a real impact on the ground, the wound will continue to
bleed, and appealed for an expanded and more effective security presence on
the ground as soon as possible.
“It cannot be right that we have twice as many
humanitarian workers in Darfur as international security personnel,” he said.
He made proposals to the Council to address the crisis
caused by the LRA including a creation of a panel of experts to explore the
sources of funding and support of the group.
On Zimbabwe, he said that he is convinced that the United
Nations and the humanitarian community at large must try to engage more
actively with the government.
CHAIRS OF SECURITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES TO
HOLD OPEN BRIEFING
At 3:00 p.m., the Chairs of
Security Council committees and working groups will hold an open briefing
on their work.
DR CONGO’S CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM WAS
CARRIED OUT PEACEFULLY
The
UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) says that the
constitutional referendum held over the weekend was carried out peacefully
throughout the country with few incidents.
If approved, the draft constitution would pave the way
for the
Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) first democratic elections next
year.
The referendum was the first democratic ballot held in
the DRC since 1965; and it’s also one of the biggest polls the United Nations
has ever been involved in – with 36,000 vote offices, close to 200,000
electoral agents and 25 million voters.
The event was organized by the DRC’s Independent
Electoral Commission, and MONUC provided technical and logistical assistance.
The referendum's provisional results will be announced
this evening by the electoral authorities, while the definitive ones are
expected to be officially announced on 18 January next year.
COURT FINDS THAT UGANDA ENGAGED IN
ILLEGAL ACTIVITY
ON DR CONGO TERRITORY
Today in The Hague, the
International Court of Justice ruled that Uganda has violated the
principle of non-intervention by occupying the Ituri Province of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and engaging in military activity
on DRC territory.
It also finds that Uganda has violated its obligation
under international human rights and humanitarian law by committing acts of
killing, torture and other inhuman treatment of the Congolese civilian
population, and deems that Uganda is obliged to make reparations to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
THREE PEACEKEEPERS IN HAITI RECOVERING
FROM WOUNDS
Three Chilean peacekeepers serving with the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti were
wounded last Friday afternoon, during a patrol in Plaisance which is
around 30 kilometers south of the northern city of
Cap Haitien.
At least four gunmen opened fire on the vehicle the
peacekeepers were traveling in. The “blue helmets” returned fire, and the
attackers retreated.
The wounded peacekeepers were evacuated to Port-au-Prince
for medical care – the Mission says their lives are not in danger.
LIBERIAN ELECTION WINNERS URGED
TO DISCHARGE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH WISDOM
The
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia,
Alan Doss, has called on that country’s recent election winners to
discharge their responsibilities with wisdom, diligence and integrity.
Doss was
speaking on the Secretary-General’s behalf at a certification ceremony for
elected officials held in Monrovia today.
He added that they will have the full support of the
United Nations and other international partners as they go about addressing
the many difficult and complex tasks that lie ahead.
ANNAN: BOLIVIAN ELECTIONS A CHANCE TO
ADVANCE PEACE
Last week, Assistant Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Angela Kane traveled to Bolivia on the
Secretary-General’s behalf to convey a
message of support to the President of Bolivia and the Bolivian people
ahead of the elections that took place yesterday.
Ms. Kane delivered a letter from the Secretary-General,
in which he emphasized that the elections constitute an invaluable opportunity
to advance the search for peaceful and democratic solutions to the challenges
Bolivia faces.
Asked about the fairness of the
elections, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was not present in
Bolivia observing the elections. He noted that the Secretary-General saw the
elections as an opportunity not to be missed and called on all Bolivians to
abide by the results.
MEHLIS’
COMMENTS DON’T GO MUCH FURTHER THAN HIS REPORT
Asked about
comments on Syria made in a recent Asharq al-Awsat interview by the chair of
the
International Independent Investigation Commission,
Detlev Mehlis, the Spokesman encouraged reporters to read the full and
precise transcript of that interview, since some media descriptions of it were
erroneous.
He said that, in
the UN’s view, the comments made by Mehlis in the interview did not go much
further than what he wrote in his first report to the
Security Council on his investigation.
Asked whether
Mehlis’s comments about involvement by the Syrian authorities prejudged their
guilt, the Spokesman said that Mehlis is an experienced investigator who does
not prejudge developments. The United Nations, he said, would base its actions
on his written reports, and looked further to further reports by the
investigation as it continues.
The reports by
Mehlis, Dujarric said, are the authoritative account of where the
investigation stands, and contain all the information that Mehlis had to
report.
For the time
being, he added, Mehlis is continuing on as the head of the investigation
until a successor is found, which is expected to happen shortly.
ANNAN: COUNTRIES NEED TO FORGE NEW
PARTNERSHIPS
The
Secretary-General, in a message to mark the
UN Day for South-South Cooperation, says that, in an era of globalization,
countries have to forge new partnerships to meet the challenges ahead. He
notes some recent developments that provide cause for optimism, including the
strong support for South-South cooperation expressed at this year’s World
Summit.
The Second Annual UN Day for South-South Cooperation will
be observed at UN Headquarters in a ceremony beginning at 3:00 this afternoon
in the Trusteeship Council.
UN Development Programme Administrator Kemal Dervis and Nane Annan, the
Secretary-General’s wife, will be among the participants.
ANNAN HOPES
MEMBER STATES WILL AGREE ON A BUDGET
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s views on the UN budget, the
Spokesman said that the budget was at the forefront of his mind, as the United
Nations was “getting close to midnight” on that issue.
He said the
Secretary-General hopes that Member States will agree on a budget, and has
been clear on the need for a budget, presenting the facts to the Member
States, along with his Controller, Warren Sach.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ECONOMIC REPORT ON AFRICA RELEASED TODAY:
The
UN Economic Commission for Africa has
released its annual “Economic Report on
Africa” today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This year’s report, entitled “Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and
Poverty in Africa”,
puts job creation at the centre of successful poverty reduction efforts in
Africa. It shows how donor countries can help create the employment
opportunities that will give young Africans a future in Africa.
UNICEF TO LAUNCH NEW ADVOCACY TOOL ON SOLIENT
EMERGENCIES: Tomorrow in both London and Khartoum,
UNICEF will be launching the first of a series of “Child Alerts” – a new
advocacy tool on silent emergencies. It focuses on what it’s like to be a child
in Darfur three years after the conflict there began, and the kind of future
they face as a result of that violence.
ANNAN AWARDED 2005 PRIZE FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND THE
ENVIRONMENT: The
Secretary-General today was announced as the unanimous winner of the 2005
Prize for Global Leadership and the Environment that is conferred by the Zayed
Prize International Jury. The
UN Environment Programme
said that, in their citation, the jury for that prize said that “one person
has done more than most to catalyze political and public opinion to an
understanding that the environment is a fundamental pillar of sustainable
development. That person is Mr. Kofi Annan.”
NOTHING TO ADD TO EXHAUSTIVE
VOLCKER REPORTS: Asked about reported
e-mail communication between a UN staff member and the
Secretary-General’s son, Kojo Annan, the Spokesman
said he had nothing to add to matters relating to the exhaustive reports by Paul
Volcker’s
Independent Investigation Committee.
INVESTIGATION IN TO U.N.
PROCUREMENT PRACTICES CONTINUES: Asked
about the
UN Office of Internal Oversight Service’s investigation into UN procurement
practices, the Spokesman said that as Under-Secretary-General Chris Burnham told
the press recently, the investigation is continuing actively.
U.N. POLICY ON WHISTLEBLOWERS
TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY: Asked when UN
management reforms will be rolled out, the Spokesman said that a policy on
whistleblowers is ready to be announced shortly. However, he added, an important
part of that policy is the creation of an Ethics Office, and the United Nations
hopes that Member States will agree on that in the coming days.
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