HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Monday,
January 9, 2006
[U.N.
Headquarters will be closed on Tuesday in observance of Eid al-Adha.
The noon briefing will resume on Wednesday.]
HAITI: FORCE COMMANDER’S
DEATH WILL NOT DETER U.N. MISSION
The Secretary-General was shocked and
saddened to learn of the death on Saturday of Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da
Matta Bacellar, the Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
A full investigation is under way.
The UN mission in Haiti, in a statement over the weekend,
said that General Bacellar’s unexpected death “leaves us all bereft” and said
he had done his utmost to uphold the right of the Haitian people to freely and
fairly elect a President and Government of its own choosing.
His death, the Mission said, will not weaken the resolve
of the UN Mission and the international community to ensure that the will of
the Haitian people prevails and that Haiti joins the democratic community of
nations.
The Deputy Force Commander has assumed command of all
MINUSTAH force elements.
Asked if there had been an “altercation” between the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti,
Juan Gabriel Valdés, and General Bacellar the
day before the latter’s death, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was
not going to engage in any speculation about what might have happened prior to
the General’s death. At this stage, the UN’s Department of Safety and Security
was on the ground, investigating the matter.
SECRETARY-GENERAL ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF
MYANMAR ENVOY
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
accepted with regret the resignation of
Tan Sri Razali Ismail, his Special Envoy for Myanmar since April 2000.
The Secretary-General expresses his warm appreciation and
gratitude for Mr. Razali’s more than five years of service as his Special
Envoy, during which he helped the Secretary-General’s good offices aimed at
facilitating national reconciliation and democratization in Myanmar.
Mr. Razali’s resignation was effective on 4 January, upon
the expiration of his contract.
SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON ETHIOPIA AND
ERITREA
The Security
Council held consultations today on the latest
report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations, briefed on the report and also on his visit to the
region last month.
Out as a Security Council
document today is a note by the President listing the chairs and
vice-chairs of sanctions committees, and other subsidiary bodies of the
Council for the year ending December 31, 2006.
U.N. ENVOY TO SUDAN TO BRIEF COUNCIL ON
FRIDAY
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan,
Jan Pronk, is on his way to New York following a three-day visit to Abuja,
Nigeria. There he discussed with the parties, the mediators and the
international observers the progress of the negotiations on Darfur and the way
forward. He urged the parties to speed up the pace of negotiations to ensure
that the seventh round of talks is the final one.
Pronk is scheduled to brief the Security Council on
Friday.
Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan reports that the
security situation in West Darfur remains highly volatile following last
week’s ambush on an African Union convoy. Banditry continues in South Darfur.
QAZI REGRETS ABUSE AT IRAQI HOLY SITE
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General's Special
Representative for
Iraq,
today expressed regret at the incident on Sunday at the Umm al-Qara mosque.
Qazi called for the authorities to investigate the matter quickly and
transparently.
Qazi stressed that this incident should serve as a
reminder of the need to eschew violence and build mutual trust and confidence.
ANNAN CALLS CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
SECURITY PRECARIOUS
Available today is the Secretary-General’s latest
report on the Central African Republic. In it, he says that the security
situation in that country has remained precarious, especially in the western
and northeastern regions. And although the overall human rights situation is
slowly improving since the return to constitutional legality, human rights are
still often flagrantly violated.
On a more positive note, the UN country team has
established a system for distributing safe water to those hit by last August’s
floods. Also, the United Nations has done much to revitalize press
institutions and supply them with technical equipment, which has helped to
calm the socio-political climate.
MONGOLIAN PEACEKEEPERS TO GUARD SIERRA
LEONE COURT
A battalion of some 250 Mongolian peacekeepers has taken
over the protection of the
Special Court for Sierra Leone.
The unit, which was previously stationed in Liberia,
relieves a Nigerian battalion of Blue Helmets which will return home.
The court’s security was previously under the command of
the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, which was disbanded last month.
HELICOPTER OPERATIONS ARE RESUMED TO AID
QUAKE VICTIMS IN PAKISTAN
The United Nations is restarting helicopter operations to
the quake-hit Leepa Valley, following last week's insecurity. This Saturday,
however, Pakistan's quake zone is expecting heavy snow, which will again
inhibit air and land operations and increase the risk of avalanches and
landslides.
In related news, the World Food Programme today
welcomed a $10 million contribution from the UK’s Department for
International Development, to help operate a relief helicopter fleet.
ANNAN’S MILLENNIUM PROJECT ENVOY STARS
AFRICAN TOUR
Jeffrey Sachs, the Secretary -General’s Special Adviser on the
Millennium Development Goals, is currently in Kenya, at the start of an
African tour, which will also take him to Malawi,
Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Senegal.
Speaking to reporters today, he
said that, whereas 2005 had been "the year of promises," world leaders should
make 2006 “the year of real action”. He said that billions more could enjoy
the fruits of the global economy, and tens of millions of lives could be saved
if commitments and pledges by donors were fulfilled.
Sachs went on to say that
practical solutions existed and insisted that the cost of alleviating extreme
poverty was utterly affordable.
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY TO RESUME SUMMIT FOLLOW-UP
General Assembly
President Jan Eliasson is back at Headquarters today, and is preparing for the
resumption of the world summit follow-up process on Wednesday. Informal
consultations on the Human Rights Council will be held that day both in the
morning and in the afternoon; the consultations will continue on the afternoon
of Friday, 13 January. Consultations on development and ECOSOC reform are also
scheduled for the mornings of Friday, 13 January, and Monday, 16 January.
Tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of the
very first meeting of the
General Assembly, which was held at Westminster Central Hall, in London.
There will not be any special event (as tomorrow is Eid Al-Adha, and therefore
a UN Holiday). However, Eliasson is issuing a statement this afternoon in
observance of the anniversary.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. LEBANON BOMB PROBE HAS RECEIVED ANSWERS FROM SYRIA:
Asked to comment about reports that the Syrian President would not cooperate
with the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), dealing with
the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Spokesman
noted that the IIIC had received a response from Syria to its interview request
late last week. The Commission did not provide details about that response. The
Spokesman reiterated that all those who were asked to cooperate with the IIIC
must do so.
SPOKESMAN REFERS TO U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMENTS ON
CAMBODIA: Asked if it was felt that Cambodia was turning into a totalitarian
state, the Spokesman noted the
concerns recently expressed by High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise
Arbour on the arrests of human rights activists in that country.
U.N. CHILD PROTECTION SPECIALIST DIES IN HAITI: The UN Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) today reports the death of Andreas Brandstatter, a
Child Protection Advisor. Brandstatter, who arrived in August of 2004 for a
second tour in Haiti, was a long-time UN employee. He died of natural causes on Saturday.
*** The guest at the noon briefing was Jean-Marie Guehenno,
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, who briefed on Ethiopia and
Eritrea.
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