Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 20 December 2005


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

UNITED NATIONS APPROVES NEW PEACE-BUILDING COMMISSION

  • The General Assembly and the Security Council approved resolutions establishing a new UN Peace-building Commission.

  • Speaking in the General Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was delighted that member states had now agreed in detail on how to implement the World Summit decision to establish a Peace-building Commission. After the adoption of the revolving humanitarian fund last week, this is another important step towards revitalizing the United Nations, he said.

  • The Peace-building Commission, he said, marks a turning point in our efforts to help states and societies manage the difficult transition between war and peace. He added this decision must only be the beginning of this historic measure as we must ensure that the Commission functions properly, if it is truly to make a difference, not in these halls but in the countries where its help is needed.

  • He also said that we must see to it that the Commission is adequately supported by a new Peace-building Support Office.

  • Asked how long it would take for the Commission to be functional, the Spokesman noted the issue of lack of additional funding for the Peace-building Support Office is of concern.

  • He added: “We continue to see how the Peace-building Support Office can work within existing resources, and the General Assembly has asked us to come back in late February or early March with a report from the Secretary-General to the General Assembly to see how we can do it under existing resources and if we cannot, why not.”

ANNAN ASKS BOLIVIANS TO SUPPORT THE NEW GOVERNMENT

  • The Secretary-General has followed with great interest Bolivia’s general elections, which were held on 18 December. He is pleased to note that a peaceful climate prevailed and that the Bolivian people demonstrated a great sense of civic responsibility.

  • The Secretary-General reiterates his message calling on all Bolivians to support the new government and parliament and to take advantage of the opportunity offered by these elections to work together to reach political and economic agreements and promote stability and progress in the country. The period ahead will require compromise and consensus-building.

  • The UN system stands ready to assist the new Government and the people of Bolivia in addressing the important challenges they face.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA AND PEACE-BUILDING

  • After a meeting with troop contributing countries to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone, the Security Council held consultations on draft resolutions on the establishment of the Peace-building Commission.

  • Three formal meetings were held.

  • At the first meeting, a presidential statement on Sierra Leone was read out, which thanked all troop and police contributing countries "who have made UNAMSIL a success" in helping Sierra Leone recover from the crisis it faced six years ago. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sierra Leone, Daudi Mwakawago, began that meeting with a briefing.

  • The Security Council then voted on two resolutions on the Peace-building Commission. The vote on the establishment of that Commission was adopted unanimously and the resolution regarding the members of the Commission’s Organizational Committee was 13 in favour with 2 abstentions (Argentina and Brazil).

  • A third formal meeting was held to vote on a resolution on sanctions against Liberia. [The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Liberia, which extends prohibitions on export of timber and diamonds for six months. It also extends for 12 months arms sanctions against Liberia, and travel sanctions against any person who the Sanctions Committee deems a threat to the peace process in Liberia, which include senior members of the former government of former President Charles Taylor.]

  • A press statement on Afghanistan was also read by Security Council President, Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom, in which Council members congratulated the people of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on the inauguration of their new Parliament, which marked the completion of the Bonn political process.

  • In the afternoon, a formal meeting to be followed by consultations on the Middle East is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to provide the briefing.

AID NOT REACHING MORE THAN A MILLION CHILDREN IN DARFUR

  • A new report by UNICEF details the impact of conflict on children’s lives in Darfur, almost three years after the violence began. It notes that an estimated 1.25 million children cannot be reached because of insecurity and their situation remains largely unknown.

  • Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said the first groups of refugees who went home to South Sudan with UNHCR’s help over the weekend should be arriving in their home villages today – the first of about 60,000 refugees which the agency planned to bring home in the next five months as its organized repatriation got underway.

SPECIAL ADVISER LAKHDAR BRAHIMI TO RETIRE

  • The Secretary-General has accepted, with great regret, the decision of his Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, to retire at the end of this year after long and highly valuable service to the United Nations.

  • The Secretary-General extends his deep and abiding gratitude to Mr. Brahimi for his courage, counsel, wisdom and dedication, and hopes to be able to continue to call on his advice.

  • He wishes Mr. Brahimi an enjoyable and well-earned rest after a series of profoundly challenging assignments, during which he indisputably helped build better lives for millions of people in some of the most troubled regions of the world.

  • Asked if there any other reasons for Brahimi’s retirement, the Spokesman said he was not aware of any other reason, but he added: “If you look back on the assignments he’s had throughout his career, notably in the last four or five years, I think his decision is quite understandable.”

U.N. MISSION IN COTE D’IVOIRE CONDEMNS TOMB DESECRATIONS

  • The UN Mission in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today condemned a desecration of the tomb of Blin N’Guessan, the father of the Minister for Education, Michel Amani N’Guessan. The incident took place at Messoukro village about 70 kilometers from Bouaké.

  • UNOCI had condemned the desecration of the tomb of Nabintou Cisse, the mother of the ex-Prime Minister, Alassane Quattara, on Monday. The mission said the attempted removal of the body was a shameful act which was in contract with the impressive show of sympathy and compassion that came from all parts of the country at the time of her death. UNOCI has offered its assistance in the investigation of the incident.

SECRETARY-GENERAL SIGNS WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTION POLICY

  • The Secretary-General has signed a new whistleblower protection policy for UN staff, which will take effect on January 1, 2006.

  • The official name of the Secretary-General’s Bulletin is “Protection against retaliation for reporting misconduct and for cooperating with duly authorized audits or investigations.” The policy can be found on the UN web site under the reform heading.

  • As its name makes it clear, this new policy provides protection from retaliation to those who report misconduct as well as those who cooperate in audits or investigations.

  • This policy represents “best practice” from many nations and international organizations. As you know, the Organization has worked on this policy for many months, consulting with staff as well as the Government Accountability Project and a consultant recommended by Transparency International.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Asked why the Rev. Al Sharpton was meeting the Secretary-General this afternoon, the Spokesman said Sharpton had expressed an interest in meeting the Secretary-General to discuss a number of issues related to Africa.

*** The guest at the noon briefing was Martti Ahtisaari, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Future Status Process for Kosovo.