HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, 30 January 2006
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONFERS WITH QUARTET
The Secretary-General is currently in London, where this evening he will meet with the principals of the Middle East Quartet and hold a joint press conference afterwards. That meeting will begin in about an hour from now, and the Secretary-General is expected to read out a communiqué on behalf of the Quartet afterwards
Asked how UN funding to the Palestinian Authority would be affected by the Hamas victory in last week’s elections, the Spokesman said that was a matter that the Quartet would be expected to discuss this evening.
The Spokesman noted that the United Nations, through its agencies, funds and programs, has mandated activities of assistance to the Palestinian Authority, often funded by voluntary contributions; the UN’s long history of assistance to the Palestinian people, he said, would continue. At the same time, he added, the exact way that funding to the Palestinians will be handled will be discussed by the Quartet.
Asked about assistance by agencies, he noted that the UN Development Programme (UNDP), among other UN bodies, has activities dealing with assistance to the Palestinian Authority and to municipalities, which are mandated by its board.
In response to a reporter who noted that UNDP had once withdrawn money from a group linked to Hamas, Dujarric said that the United Nations would not give aid to organizations that support terrorism. He noted that the Palestinian government is currently being formed, and the United Nations would await its formation.
ANNAN MEETS DUTCH P.M., SPEAKS TO UNDP MANAGERS
Earlier today, the Secretary-General was in The Hague, where he met with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. They discussed UN reform, as well as Afghanistan and the Middle East, and afterwards they held a joint press encounter.
The Secretary-General was asked about Afghanistan, and he encouraged Dutch participation in the NATO force in that country, pointing to the need for success in international efforts there. “No one can afford to see a destabilized Afghanistan,” he said.
While in The Hague, he also addressed and took questions at the UN Development Programme's global management meeting, which brought together resident representatives from around the world.
ANNAN IS ‘CONCERNED’ WITH IVORIAN PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT
The Secretary-General yesterday expressed his concern about the issuance of a Presidential decree concerning the National Assembly in Côte d’Ivoire.
He said the announcement did not appear to be in conformity with the information he received from President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and from the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on the outcome of Obasanjo’s visit to Abidjan.
The Secretary-General underlined the need to avoid all unilateral action. He called upon all parties to adhere to the provisions of the latest Security Council resolution on Côte d’Ivoire.
Meanwhile, UNOCI reports that security officers and representatives of humanitarian organizations have gone to the towns of Guiglo and Duékoue in the west to assess the damage caused during the recent attacks.
UNOCI also reports that it is concerned with the fate of some 7,000 displaced persons and almost a similar number of refugees in the west of the country, where UN and other agencies were forced to withdraw. The security of the two vulnerable groups now rests in the hands of the Ivorian security agents.
Asked about comments from the Ivorian President that disputed whether his actions were in conformity with agreements reached with President Obasanjo, the Spokesman said that the important thing is to respect Security Council resolutions.
MORE VIOLENT INCIDENTS REPORTED IN SUDAN
The UN Mission in Sudan says the security situation in the Darfur region remains tense, with new incidents reported there over the weekend.
On Saturday, a group of armed men believed to be from Chad attacked a Sudanese Army camp in the village of Armakol, not far from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.
Machine guns, artillery and rocket-propelled grenades were reportedly used by the attackers. Three Sudanese soldiers were reportedly injured and two of the attackers killed.
Also there have been reports of factional clashes yesterday among the rebel Sudan Liberation Army in the Kulbus area of West Darfur.
And while on the topic of Sudan, the Food and Agriculture Organization has called for $40 million to support its agricultural relief and recovery activities in Sudan in 2006, stressing that humanitarian assistance needs to be coupled with longer-term development aid to ensure lasting peace in the country.
U.N. ENVOY CONDEMNS SUNDAY BOMBINGS IN IRAQ
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, condemned the bombings which were carried out on Sunday, in coordinated sequence, in the vicinity of churches in Baghdad and Kirkuk.
Qazi called the attacks reprehensible, and said they can only exacerbate sectarian violence. He called on the Iraqi authorities and political leaders to commit themselves to the safety of all worshipers, and preserve the sanctity of places of worship.
DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL BRIEFS ASSEMBLY ON FINANCIAL RULES
Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today addressed an informal meeting of the General Assembly, to discuss the status of the preparations of the Secretary-General’s report to the Member States concerning UN financial rules and regulations.
She reaffirmed the Secretary-General’s commitment to issue a report, as requested at last September’s summit, by the end of February. An update on the status of implementation of administrative reforms, meanwhile, will be posted on the UN web site this afternoon.
Informal plenary consultations are also scheduled for this afternoon and for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the draft Co-Chairs’ texts on ECOSOC reform and on development, respectively.
Regarding the Human Rights Council, the Co-Chairs are working on a new text which they plan to present to Member States by the end of the week. This follows bilateral consultations that continued last week, and the two plenary meetings held on Tuesday 24 January, at which Member States expressed their positions on the bulk of the existing Human Rights Council text.
SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSES GEORGIA, LEBANON, DR CONGO
The Security Council held brief consultations today, to consider the draft texts of three resolutions that Council members intend to vote on tomorrow.
They concern the extensions of the mandates of two UN peacekeeping forces, in Georgia and in Lebanon; and the extension of a panel of experts dealing with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
U.N. WELCOMES CONVENING OF SOMALI PARLIAMENT
Francois Lonseny Fall, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, today welcomed an announcement that the Transitional Federal Parliament would meet in Baidoa on 26 February. The scheduled meeting would be the first convening of the now 15-month-old Somali parliament to take place inside the country.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. ASSISTING VICTIMS OF FLOODING IN BOLIVIA: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today reported that it has begun working with UN agencies, the Bolivian government, and non-governmental organizations in relief work in Bolivia where heavy rains has caused landslides, road blockages, and the loss of thousands of hectares of crops. A UN Disaster Management Team has called non-governmental organizations to work with the World Food Programme (WFP), and other agencies in their distribution of distributing food in Santa Cruz and La Paz, and to coordinate assistance throughout the country.
URGENT ACTION NEEDED FOR AFRICAN FOOD PRODUCTION: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) convened the 24th Regional Conference for Africa today to examine issues as wide-ranging as African seeds and biotechnology, agrarian reform, how to enhance the competitiveness of agriculture and natural resources management in a globalized and liberalized world, and ways to reduce the growing number of fires that endanger agriculture production. Conference documents have noted that “the economic situation in sub-Saharan Africa remains a serious cause for concern in many respects” and call for “urgent action” to implement strategies that would enhance access to agricultural support services and facilities such as credit provision and farm mechanization services technology.
U.N. CONDEMNS SLAYING OF PHILIPPINE JOURNALISTS: The UN Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the killing of Philippine journalists Rolly Cañete and Graciano Aquino on the on the 20th and 21st of January. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said, “It is important for democracy and rule of law that journalists be allowed to do their work without let or hindrance, regardless of their political leanings.” Cañete was killed by unidentified gunmen on the streets of the city of Pagadian, in the south of the Philippines. He had daily programmes on three local radios. Aquino, a columnist for the newspaper Central Luzon Forum and a former radio newsman, was shot dead on 21 January in the town of Morong on the Island of Luzon.
U.N. ASKS AFGHAN PLANNERS TO FOCUS ON CHILDREN’S NEEDS: The UN Children’s Fund today urged delegates to the Afghanistan Compact summit in London to “maintain a clear focus on the development needs of children and mothers” in that country. The UNICEF Representative to Afghanistan Bernt Aasen said in a note to the delegates, “Afghanistan remains a country where 600 children under the age of five die every day, mostly from preventable causes.” At least 50 women die every day from obstetric complications, linked to low rates of female literacy and poor education, he said. “These two days in London could change the lives of two generations of children here in Afghanistan,” Aasen said.
PROGRESS IN MANAGING OCEANS IS ‘TOO SLOW’: Progress toward improving the management of oceans and coast is too slow, according to some 400 ocean experts from 78 countries who attended UN Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization meeting in Paris last week. Among other findings, the group noted that the target of eliminating illegal fishing and fishing overcapacity by 2004 and 2005 has not been met and 75% of fish stocks are either being fully exploited or over-fished. However the group noted some progress including reports that half of the world’s small island developing states have adopted ecosystem-based management and coastal and ocean management programmes.
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