HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
ARGENTINA ASSUMES SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY FOR
MARCH
Argentina has assumed the
rotating
Presidency of the
Security Council for the month of March, replacing the United States.
Ambassador Cesar Mayoral of
Argentina is holding bilateral talks today with other Council members on the
programme of work for this month, and the Council is expected to hold
consultations tomorrow to discuss that programme of work.
After those consultations end,
Ambassador Mayoral is expected to talk to the press tomorrow about the
Council’s programme during the month.
FIVE
NAMES ON SHORT-LIST FOR TOP VACANCY AT U.N. ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
The post of Executive Director of the
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will become vacant on 1 April 2006 at the
end of the tenure of
Klaus Töpfer. Under the new senior recruitment procedures, which were
established at the beginning of 2005, the Secretary-General has decided on a
short list of candidates for the post.
The
Secretary-General on 14 December 2005 solicited nominations from Member
States which were considered together with other nominations. A thorough
review of the nominations was undertaken by the Secretary-General and his
senior advisers.
The following candidates have been invited for interview
in the next few weeks: Mr. Børge Brende (Norway) – Former Minister of
Environment and former Minister of Trade and Industry; Mr. Carlos Manuel
Rodríguez Echandi (Costa Rica) – Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa
Rica; Mr. Shafqat Kakakhel (Pakistan) – Deputy Executive Director, UNEP; Mr.
Rajendra K. Pachauri (India ) – Director-General, The Energy and Resource
Institute; and Mr. Achim Steiner (Germany) – Director-General of The World
Conservation Union.
[In the interview and evaluation of the candidates, the
Secretary-General and his senior advisers will be guided by the following
criteria for the post: strong diplomatic, political and fund-raising skills;
strategic vision and strong leadership; strong international profile in the
environment field and thorough knowledge of environment and development
issues; proven skills in the management of complex organizations; the
flexibility and vision to participate in an evolving international
environmental architecture; good knowledge of the UN system and a commitment
to the pursuit of reform. Fluency in English is required. French is highly
desirable. Knowledge of another official language of the United Nations is an
asset.
The views of the environmental community on the
candidates will be sought informally. The candidates will then be interviewed
by a panel of senior UN officials, including an outside expert, who will refer
the finalists to the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General for
final interview.
The Secretary-General will then forward the name of his
recommended candidate for appointment to the post of Executive Director of
UNEP for a term of four years. ]
U.N. MISSION
WELCOMES MEETING OF POLITICAL LEADERS IN COTE D’IVOIRE
The
UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today welcomed what it called a
successful meeting yesterday of the main political and military leaders of
that divided country.
UNOCI said the meeting --
the first on Ivorian soil since the 2002 civil war -- was an indication of
the existence of the political will needed to advance the peace process, and
a significant step on the road to national reconciliation.
U.N.
PEACEKEEPERS SUPPORT TROOPS IN OPERATION IN DR CONGO
In
the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1,000 Government troops, supported by
300 UN peacekeepers, have been involved in fighting in the country’s eastern
district of Ituri.
The
UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
says the troops have been fighting for the past six days to dislodge militia
members from the town of Tchei, some 60 kilometres south-east of the town of
Bunia.
The militia members are said to have been looting and enslaving locals in the
area.
The peacekeepers are from the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Moroccan contingents,
and they have been receiving air support from MONUC’s gunships.
DONATION ENABLES CONTINUATION OF AID TO
PALESTINE REFUGEES
The head of the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
welcomed a donation of $76 million to the Agency’s annual budget that was
announced yesterday by the European Commission.
Commissioner-General
Karen Abu Zayd said that the contribution “will enable UNRWA to continue
to deliver critically needed humanitarian services to Palestine refugees
without interruption.”
Asked
about Israel’s halt to tax payments to the Palestinians, the Spokeswoman noted
the recent
statements by the Quartet on funding the Palestinian Authority.
Asked
about the reported killing of a Palestinian militant, the Spokeswoman recalled
that the Secretary-General had made a
statement a month ago concerning targeted killings.
UNITED NATIONS TO LAUNCH CENTRAL
EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND
In one week, the United Nations will formally launch the
Central Emergency Response Fund, which will
provide aid workers with sufficient funding to jump-start lifesaving relief
operations.
So far, 18 Member States have pledged a total of $188
million to the Fund.
MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO SAFEGUARD
RIGHTS OF TSUNAMI VICTIMS
In a statement, Deputy Tsunami Envoy Eric Schwartz says
governments and people throughout the
tsunami-affected region have much to be proud of.
At the same time, however, while officials in the region
have taken a number of actions to address the human rights of survivors, much
more should be done to safeguard basic rights and meaningfully engage local
communities in the decision-making process.
U.N. REFUGEE CHIEF IS CONCERNED ABOUT
CHADIAN REFUGEES
Asked whether the
United Nations has plans to protect people in Chad, the Spokeswoman said that
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees,
Antonio Guterres, has been vocal in expressing his concerns about the
regionalization of the Darfur conflict, with reports now of refugees going
from Chad to
Sudan for the first time.
She said that the Secretary-General's
Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, had also flagged his concerns
about the regional dimension of the crisis on the border between Sudan and
Chad.
Asked whether the Chadians should be
protected, she said that they should, and that the responsibility to protect
applies to all citizens in all parts of the world. She noted that, in the case
of asylum seekers and refugees whom governments are unable to protect, the
Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has the mandate
to do so.
U.N. LEGAL CHIEF ENDS THREE DAYS OF
TALKS WITH LEBANESE JUDGES
Nicolas Michel, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the
Legal Counsel, has just conducted three days of discussions at UN Headquarters
with a delegation sent by the Lebanese Government, composed of Judge Ralph
Riachi and Judge Choukry Sader.
The meetings were substantive
and detailed, and were conducted in a positive and open manner. They
continued consultations begun in January in Beirut, pursuant to
Security Council
resolution 1644 (2005), regarding the nature and scope of the
international assistance needed to bring those charged with the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri before a
tribunal of an international character.
Both Michel and his Lebanese
interlocutors believe that the discussions significantly advanced the mutual
understanding of the international assistance needed to bring those
responsible for Hariri’s assassination to justice before a tribunal of an
international character.
Based on the consultations with
the Lebanese authorities, the
Secretary-General will submit a report to the
Security Council as requested in resolution 1644.
U.N. MANAGEMENT REFORM REPORT DELAYED
UNTIL NEXT TUESDAY
The release of the UN management reform report has been
postponed until Tuesday, 6 March. It had originally been expected to be
released on Thursday, 2 March.
The Spokeswoman, in response to
a question, declined to link the delay in the issuance of the management
report to the discussions on creating a Human Rights Council.
PANEL DISCUSSION ON OBSTETRIC FISTULA TO
TAKE PLACE: The
UN Population Fund (UNFPA) says that there is a
panel discussion tomorrow on obstetric fistula – the devastating
childbearing injury that affects more than 2 million women in the developing
world. The Fund and its partners launched the first-ever global
Campaign to End Fistula in 2003, with the overall goal of making the
condition as rare in developing countries as it is in industrialized countries.
Those on the panel include the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Madame Chantal
Compaoré and Dr. Sayeba Akhter of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in
Bangladesh. The discussion will be held in Conference Room 4 in the UN
Secretariat building, and runs from 1:15 p.m. until 2:45 p.m.
STUDENT CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY HALL:
There will be a UN International School/UN student conference on Thursday and
Friday in the General Assembly Hall. Entitled "The Role of the Corporation in
Today’s World," the objective of the conference is to present and assess various
views on the issue in order to stimulate student interest and to enable them to
better understand the issue. The conference runs from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
each
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