HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Tuesday, 31 January 2006
SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS WE MUST AVOID COMPLACENCY ON AFGHANISTAN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
opened the London Conference on Afghanistan this morning, which he co-chaired
with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
In his opening
statement, the Secretary-General said that we can be justifiably
proud of Afghanistan's progress in recent years. But we cannot be complacent.
He warned that “recent violence has served as a sad reminder of the fragile
state of peace in the country. Afghanistan today remains an insecure
environment.”
The Secretary-General also noted the launching today of
the Afghanistan Compact, which he called “a result-oriented action plan for
Afghanistan's future.”
At a joint press conference
afterward, the Secretary-General was asked about human rights in Iran, and he
said it is clear that the United Nations’ policy is to promote human rights
and rights of individuals to live in dignity and to have freedom to go about
their activities. He noted he has taken up the question of Iran’s human rights
and intervened personally in some cases, such as that of Akbar Ganji.
On the sidelines of the conference, he had bilateral
meetings with Prime Minister Blair and President Karzai. He also met with the
Foreign Ministers of China, Denmark, Germany, Iran and Norway, in addition to
the deputy Foreign Minister of Japan.
QUARTET
CONGRATULATES PALESTINIANS ON ELECTIONS
Following their meeting in London on Monday, the Quartet
on the Middle East – bringing together the United Nations, the European Union,
Russia and the United States – issued a communiqué, read out by the
Secretary-General, in which it
congratulated the Palestinian people on an electoral process that was
free, fair and secure.
The Quartet, in that communiqué, concluded that it was
inevitable that future assistance to any new government would be reviewed by
donors against that government’s commitment to the principles of nonviolence,
recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations,
including the Roadmap.
Speaking to reporters afterward, the Secretary-General said that, if Hamas
accepts those principles and transforms itself from an armed movement into a
political party respecting the rules of the game and representing its people,
“The international community should be able to work with them”.
SECURITY
COUNCIL FOCUSES ON MIDDLE EAST
The
Security Council was briefed, in an open meeting on the
Middle East this morning, about Monday night’s Quartet meeting in London,
as well as on the recent Palestinian elections. Assistant Secretary-General
for Political Affairs
Angela Kane noted that a new Palestinian government has yet to be formed.
She also informed the Council that a visit to
Lebanon by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
Nicolas Michel last Thursday and Friday had been constructive and
fruitful, with Michel reporting a broad basis of support in Lebanon for the
establishment of a tribunal of an international character.
The Council followed the open briefing with consultations
on the Middle East. In their consultations, Council members approved renewal
of the mandates for the UN Missions in
Lebanon and in
Georgia and the extension of the mandate of the expert panel on the
Democratic Republic of the Congo until the end of July.
ANNAN
‘CONCERNED’ WITH DELAYS IN STATUS PROCESS FOR KOSOVO
Despite welcoming the
preparations for the future status process for Kosovo, the
Secretary-General is seriously concerned about delays or setbacks in most
areas of standards implementation in the province.
The standards are a set of eight targets that include
building democratic institutions, enforcing minority rights, and establishing
an impartial legal system.
In his latest report on the
UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, the Secretary-General also
says that the Serbian authorities need to encourage – and not discourage –
Kosovo Serb leaders to take part in Kosovo’s institutions, such as local
government.
The Secretary-General also
expresses concern about the increase in serious security incidents.
U.N. REPORTS
ACHIEVEMENTS IN PAKISTAN RELIEF
Larry Hollingworth, the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator
for Pakistan, told reporters in Geneva today that a lot has been achieved for
the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. He said that 800,000 tents, 240,000
shelters, 5 million blankets, and 5 million sheets of corrugated iron have
been provided to people displaced by the earthquake.
There has been no major health crisis, he added.
At the same time, the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that it is
still short of $200 million for its initial appeal.
CONSULTANTS
EXAMINING OUTSOURCING OF CONFERENCE SERVICES
In answer to previous questions
about a study on outsourcing that is being done for the United Nations, the
Spokesman said that a study on the outsourcing of conference services was
undertaken by external consultants from Epstein and Fass Associates and
Faulkner and Associates.
It was conducted in the larger
context of management
reform, but specifically to address budgetary and space concerns and the
need to put the United Nations in the forefront of technological innovation,
he said.
The study focused on
translation and printing. It should be noted, Dujarric said, that currently,
under the reform process, 20 to 25 percent of the translation workload is
already being outsourced.
The consultants, he added, are
examining possible options or scenarios to further outsource, against the four
goals of conference services: timeliness, quality, quantity and cost
effectiveness. They will submit their report by 10 February.
SPOKESMAN: U.N.
VALUES FREE SPEECH, RESPECT FOR RELIGIONS
Asked about cartoons in a
Danish newspaper that Muslim groups found offensive, the Spokesman noted that
no action had been requested of the Secretary-General, although the
Organization of the Islamic Conference brought the matter to the attention of
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour.
Arbour, he said, would bring
the matter to the special human rights rapporteurs dealing with racism and the
freedom of religion.
Asked about the
Secretary-General’s views, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General would
want to see all religions treated with respect. Freedom of expression and
respect for religions, he said, is not an either-or proposition.
U.N. TO SEND
TEAM TO CHECK ON BIRD FLU IN IRAQ
The
World Health Organization today said that the Iraqi Ministry of Health had
confirmed that the fifteen-year-old girl who had died on 17 January in Iraq
had been diagnosed with bird flu.
A WHO team will leave tomorrow for Suliamaniya in
northern Iraq where the girl, her uncle and a third suspected case have been
found.
As for the situation in Turkey, the WHO collaborating
laboratory in the United Kingdom has confirmed that 12 of the 21 cases that
were suspected from Turkey were indeed bird flu. Four have died.
U.N. SAYS
AFGHANISTAN STILL NEEDS FOOD AID.
The UN
World Food Programme today said that although the number of persons
suffering from hunger in Afghanistan had dropped by some 2.5 million in the
past few years, outside assistance is still needed to feed some 6.5 million
people daily in that country.
The agency launched a hunger appeal for $360 million at
the beginning of this month, but has received only about 11 percent of that
sum.
The agency also says that about 50 percent of Afghan
children suffer from some form of malnutrition.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNICEF REPORTS CONDITIONS IN MALAWI ‘VERY SERIOUS’:
A new report out from the UN Children’s Fund
says that the humanitarian situation in Malawi remains very serious. A
deadly combination of chronic poverty, bad weather, a bad harvest, a high
prevalence of HIV/AIDS and an outbreak of cholera have left almost 5 million
people in need of food aid until the end of March. Of these, an estimated one
million are children under the age of five and pregnant women.
U.N. FOOD CHIEF TO VISIT SOUTHERN AFRICA: The U.N.
World Food Programme today
reported that
Executive Director,
James T. Morris has begun a visit
to southern Africa to review the region’s humanitarian crisis and the
international community’s response to it. The agency said southern Africa is in
an acute phase of a long-term emergency due to a deadly combination of HIV/AIDS,
food insecurity and a weakened capacity for governments to deliver basic social
services.
MUKHTAR MAI TO SPEAK AT UNHQ:
In response to questions about when Mukhtar
Mai of Pakistan will be invited to speak at the United Nations, the Spokesman
said that the
Department of Economic and Social Affairs is in touch with the
non-governmental Virtue Foundation, discussing an appropriate date for an event
with Mukhtar Mai at the UN in the near future.
U.N. ATOMIC ENERGY GROUP TO
MEET LATER THIS WEEK: Asked about a meeting
that took place in London among the five permanent members of the Security
Council and Germany on Iran, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General did
not participate in that meeting. Asked about action by the
International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran, the Spokesman said that the
Agency’s Board will meet later this week on that issue and he encouraged
journalists to contact the Agency directly.
REPORTS SHOW DIFFICULTIES OF
WORKING IN IRAQ: Asked about reports
concerning funds for Iraq being wasted, the Spokesman noted that the United
Nations is part of the
International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq, which monitors the
management of funds for that country. The recent reports, he said, underscore
the difficulties of working in that type of environment.
OVERSIGHT BOARD TO SEND
REPORTS TO MEMBER STATES TODAY: Asked about
comments from Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
alleging that the UN Secretariat was leaking reports on UN procurement, the
Spokesman said that the UN
Office of Internal Oversight Services is making the reports available to
Member States that request it, starting today. Dujarric said he was aware that
the report had leaked to certain Member States and a few journalists. He added
that leaks are unfortunate, and that the United Nations tries to guard against
leaks, although that is difficult to do.
U.N. SIGNS REFUGEE ACCORDS WITH DR CONGO, SUDAN: The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees today
reports that it has signed agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) and Sudan to set up the legal framework for the voluntary return of 13,300
Sudanese refugees in the DRC, as well as for 6,800 Congolese refugees in Sudan.
The agency said it is planning to begin refugee return operations under these
agreements in March.
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