HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Thursday, February 23, 2006
ANNAN
URGES SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued the following
statement after the General Assembly President presented a proposal to
establish the Human Rights Council.
"I have long
argued that a new Human Rights Council would help give human rights the
importance accorded to it under the United Nations Charter. Together with the
revitalization of the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council will usher
in a new era for the Organization’s advancement of human rights – one built on
increased cooperation with Member States, individually and collectively, to
help them fulfil their obligations.
We have now reached a critical moment,
at which Member States must live up to the individual and collective
commitments they have given. Now is the time for the membership to support
the President’s compromise text and adopt a resolution in the coming days.
Failure to do so would undermine this Organization’s credibility, render the
commitments made by world leaders meaningless, and deal a blow to the cause of
human rights. This decision must not be further delayed: it is simply too
important.
Despite the fact that the draft does
not reflect everything that I called for when I proposed a new Council, nearly
a year ago, there are important elements in it that ensure that the Council
will be more than a cosmetic change. For instance, the text makes it clear
that members of the new Council, elected individually by the General Assembly,
must be committed to the promotion and protection of human rights. It also
makes it clear that the rights and privileges of members can be suspended if
they themselves commit gross and systematic violations of human rights. This
has not been the case with the Commission.
The new body will better reflect the
universality of human rights by elevating the Council into a body directly
elected by the General Assembly, giving it greater transparency and
legitimacy. It will also have an explicitly defined function of periodically
reviewing the record of all states, starting with that of its own members, in
fulfilling their human rights obligations. This approach will strengthen and
help to improve the human rights work of the Organization as a whole.
The new Council will also be better
placed to address situations of gross and systematic violations of human
rights. Its ability to meet throughout the year, and when necessary for
longer than the Commission has done, will allow the Council to sound the alarm
and bring urgent human rights crises to the attention of the world community.
At the same time, the Council will preserve the best features of the
Commission, including the use of independent rapporteurs and the opportunity
for non-governmental organizations to play their essential role in the
Organization’s human rights work.
I hope the General Assembly will adopt
this draft resolution within the next few days. But that will be only the
first step in a process of change and renewal. No technical fix can make all
the difference. Indeed, how different the Council is from the Commission will
depend in large part how committed member states are to make it better, and
how they act on that commitment in the weeks and months ahead.
Meanwhile, the President’s text is the
product of many months’ efforts to reach consensus, by him and by the Assembly
as a whole. While no delegation will get everything it wants, the Council
established by this text can be the basis for a more credible, and at least
potentially more effective, approach to human rights – one that will, if
Member States make good use of it, stand the test of time and offer hope to
future generations."
SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON PROBLEM
OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
The
Security Council is holding a public meeting during which
Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations,
delivered a statement on the problem of sexual exploitation and abuse in
peacekeeping and the progress achieved to date to tackle it.
Guéhenno said while progress has been made, there's still
much to be done – and greater support is needed from Member States.
In his remarks, Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, in his
capacity as Advisor to the Secretary-General on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
in UN Peacekeeping Operations, told the Council that the peacekeepers perform
a service to the international community and this fact must not be forgotten.
He added that because of this, it’s all the more urgent
for the blight of sexual exploitation and abuse to be removed from what’s
otherwise a distinguished and appreciated performance.
Prior to that meeting, the Security Council issued a
presidential statement expressing support for the International Working
Group's efforts towards reconciliation in the Cote d'Ivoire. The statement
also urged the authorities to facilitate the return of humanitarian workers to
areas from which they were force to flee during violence in January.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS ATTACKS IN
IRAQ; URGES NATIONAL DIALOGUE
Security Council President, Ambassador John Bolton of the
United States read out a press
statement Wednesday afternoon on Iraq in which members condemned the
attacks, calling the people of Iraq “to come together against violence and
terror and support the peaceful political process of national dialogue and
unity.” They also reiterated their call for Iraq’s political leaders to work
with resolve toward the formation of a fully-inclusive Government.
On Haiti,
Juan Gabriel Valdes - the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
that country told the press that Haiti’s legislative elections are expected to
go into a second round at the end of March.
He also said he was satisfied with President-elect Rene
Preval’s indications that he planned to invite all Haitian parties into a
national dialogue.
Asked about the decision by
some Sunnis to suspend discussions on forming a government, the Spokesman said
that the Secretary-General was following the situation closely. Yesterday, he
said, the Secretary-General had called on all political and religious leaders
in Iraq to work together to avoid further violence.
Asked for the
Secretary-General’s reaction to the killing of three journalists for Al
Arabiya television, the Spokesman expressed condolences to the journalists’
families and said that the killings underscored the dangers that journalists
face in Iraq.
HEAD OF U.N. LEBANON BOMB PROBE VISITS
DAMASCUS
Serge Brammertz, the head of
the International Independent Investigation Commission dealing with the
assassination of Rafik Hariri, had his first meeting in Damascus with senior
Syrian officials today. He has now returned to Beirut.
The Commission said that
Brammertz had a good and constructive meeting in Syria. The discussion focused
on cooperation on pending, new and future requests.
Asked who Brammertz had met
with, the Spokesman said that Syria could provide the names of participants on
their side, but noted that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was among the
participants. The Spokesman underscored that his had been a meeting and not an
interview.
LEBANESE JUDGES MEET WITH U.N. LEGAL
COUNSEL
The Lebanese Government has
sent two senior Lebanese judges to New York, as a result of discussions in
Beirut last month between
Nicolas Michel, UN Legal Counsel, and the Government of Lebanon.
They will continue the
discussions between Lebanon and the UN Secretariat regarding the nature and
scope of the international assistance needed for those charged with the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to be tried
before a tribunal with an international character, pursuant to Security
Council
resolution 1644 (2005).
The meetings between the
Secretariat and the Lebanese delegation will occur over the next few days.
Asked about the visit by the
judges, the Spokesman said it was part of an ongoing dialogue that they are
having with the United Nations on the formation of a tribunal of an
international character. He noted that Michel may also visit Lebanon again. He
said, in response to a further question, that he was not aware of any meeting
between the Secretary-General and the visiting judges.
DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL
SAYS DECOLONIZATION WORK NOT FINISHED
The Deputy Secretary-General,
Louise Fréchette, this morning addressed
the opening of the 2006 Session of the Special
Committee on
Decolonization, here at Headquarters.
Although noting that more than 80 million people around
the world had exercised their right to self-determination under UN auspices,
she said that, with 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories still to decide their
future, the UN’s decolonization work remained unfinished.
Hoping that the recent peaceful referendum in Tokelau
would guide other administering powers and their territories on the way
forward, she expressed satisfaction that the Special
Committee was continuing to actively inform the inhabitants of Non-Self
Governing Territories about their options for self-determination.
In response to a question about the last working day of
the Deputy Secretary-General, the Spokesman's Office later announced that it
was March 31.
U.N. PEACEKEEPING MISSION REPORTS MORE
ATTACKS IN DARFUR
The
UN mission in Sudan reports that in North Darfur, following attacks we
reported to you yesterday, four more villages are reported to have been
attacked yesterday. Soldiers reportedly burned and looted houses and
properties and allegedly raped a young woman, according to the mission.
Meanwhile, the number of cholera victims is increasing
with 75 persons reported to have died in southern Sudan.
Asked about pressures certain
Member States were putting on the United Nations to hasten the pace of
planning for a United Nations force in Darfur, the Spokesman said that the
planning was going on "full steam" and noted the main source of pressure on
the Secretariat was a desire to halt the on-going violence on the ground.
Dujarric said that planning for
the force is underway at the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the United Nations will try to
accomplish it as quickly as possible. He reiterated that governments with the
capacity to help in creating a robust and highly mobile force will have to
consider what assets they can provide when the United Nations comes to ask
them for assistance.
In response to a question about
recent comments by the U.S. President concerning a NATO role, the Spokesman
said that the United Nations will need all the assistance that it can get, but
he added that the force being envisioned to take over from the African Union
would be a UN-led force.
BAN ON U.N. FLIGHTS OVER ERITREA
CONTINUES
The
UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) reports that the ban imposed by
the Eritrean Government on UNMEE helicopters is still in place. Restrictions
are continuing on the movement of UNMEE patrols inside the Temporary Security
Zone.
The mission, at its weekly press briefing, also confirmed
that two national Eritrean staff members were still being detained out of the
27 people originally arrested.
U.N. ENVOY TO AFGHANISTAN CONDEMNS
ATTACKS ON SCHOOLS
Tom Koenigs, the new head of the
UN Mission in Afghanistan, said at his first press conference in Kabul
today that attacks against schools and teachers amount to a denial of human
rights for Afghanistan’s children.
He said, “I can only appeal to those who apparently
disagree with the development Afghanistan takes, leave Afghanistan’s children
alone.”
SPECIAL ADVISER ON ETHICS OFFICE
APPOINTED
The Secretary-General appoints Tunku Abdul Aziz of
Malaysia as Special Adviser on the Establishment of the Ethics Office. This
Office was established as a follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit,
and is part of management reform efforts.
Mr. Aziz, who co-founded the Malaysian Chapter of
Transparency International, will advise on the set-up of the Ethics Office and
its operating procedures as well as on the process of recruiting its staff.
MONITORING BOARD POSTS PROGRESS OF
AUDIT OF IRAQI FUND
The
International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq (IAMB) has posted to
its web site the minutes of its last meeting, which took place in Paris on 23
January.
At that meeting, the Board’s Iraqi member briefed on the
progress of the audit of the Development Fund for Iraq, during the second half
of 2005. The IAMB concurred with the recommendation of the Government of Iraq
to proceed with that audit, which is expected to be completed by mid-May.
U.N. HORN OF AFRICA ENVOY SAY MILLIONS
AT RISK OF STARVATION
The Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa,
Kjell Magne Bondevik, today visited the drought-stricken district of
Kajaido in Kenya. “I have seen with my own eyes the terrible effect this
drought is having on pastoralists, farmers and their families,” he said.
Bondevik noted that children are often the most vulnerable.
At a press conference in
Nairobi, he said that eleven million people in Kenya, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia are threatened by
starvation, and that much more still needs to be done by those countries and
the international community to prevent the crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW CONVENTION TO PROTECT SEAFARERS: The
International Labour Organization today adopted a new
convention to protect the world’s 1.2 million seafarers.
The convention sets minimum standards for employment,
accommodation, recreational facilities, food, health protection, medical care,
welfare and social security.
U.N. TEAMS AID RELIEF EFFORTS IN BOLIVIA & PHILIPPINES:
In response to recent flooding, the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team
in
Bolivia has established a new center to help with the coordination of
humanitarian relief. Meanwhile, in the
Philippines, the UN is continuing to work on the development of contingency
plans in view of the possibility of additional landslides and to support the
Government in developing strategies for early recovery, enhanced preparedness
and long term risk reduction.
UNITED NATIONS TO HELP SCHOLARS IN COTE D’IVOIRE:
The
UN mission in the Cote d’Ivoire today welcomed the decision by the
government to organize school examinations in the northern part of the
country. The examinations have not been held north of the zone of confidence in
more than three years. ONUCI truck drivers and peacekeepers will provide
logistical support for the examinations. The exams are necessary for school
children to advance to higher education.
Office
of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 100178
Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only
Fax. 212-963-7055
All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org