Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 18 May 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, 18 May 2006

SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS AGAINST INCREASE IN NUCLEAR ARMS

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan today spoke about UN reform and the growing challenges of non-proliferation and disarmament, in an address delivered at the University of Tokyo.

  • He warned that the world seems to be sleepwalking down a path in which rapidly growing numbers of states feel obliged to arm themselves with nuclear weapons, and in which non-state actors acquire the means to carry out nuclear terrorism. He chided the failure of Governments to strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, twice last year, at the NPT review conference and the World Summit.

  • The Secretary-General called for increased efforts to achieve diplomatic solutions to the situations concerning the nuclear programmes in Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Secretary-General also received an honorary degree from the University.

  • He also held a press conference, capping his official visit to Japan.

  • The Secretary-General began the day with a meeting with the Global Compact, at which more than 20 companies as well as the mayor of one Japanese city were represented.

  • He than had a meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, which was also attended by Jayantha Dhanapala, former Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs.

  • The Secretary-General and Nane Annan then had an audience with the Emperor and the Empress of Japan.

  • In a separate programme, Nane Annan addressed about 500 students at Gakushuin Women’s College in Tokyo using slides to illustrate her experiences visiting UN projects throughout the world.

  • She paid special tribute to the role and contribution of women in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality, providing primary education for all children and ensuring environmental sustainability.

  • The Secretary-General will leave for Beijing on Friday.

U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN MYANMAR

  • Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Myanmar today, where he met with Foreign Minister U Nyan Win and other senior officials.

  • During his three-day visit, Mr. Gambari will also meet Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, and representatives of political parties, including in particular the National League for Democracy, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and the UN Country Team.

  • Under-Secretary-General Gambari is in Myanmar to convey a clear message that the country’s prospects for improved relations with the international community will depend on tangible progress in restoring democratic freedoms and full respect for human rights. He has also requested that he see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during this trip.

U.N. WELCOMES SUDAN’S FOOD CONTRIBUTIONS TO DARFUR

  • The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Manuel Aranda da Silva, has welcomed the recent announcement by the Government of Sudan to contribute some 20,000 metric tonnes of cereals for Darfur.

  • The contribution will help to meet some of the food gaps created by the rations cuts announced by the World Food Programme (WFP) due to funding shortfalls – specifically, the supplies will cover gaps in food rations in Darfur for July and August.

  • However, to ensure distribution of this food, WFP needs to cover all non-food associated costs such as transport – which amount to over $16 million, and da Silva is appealing to international donors to support WFP to meet these distribution costs.

  • The United Nations is extremely concerned that there will be no food available for vulnerable persons in Sudan from September onwards.

  • Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, is continuing his efforts in Darfur to widen the circle of support for the Darfur Peace Agreement.

  • Asked about any progress in the dispatch of a UN technical peacekeeping assessment mission to Darfur, the Spokesman said that he was aware of press reports with positive comments from the Sudanese Foreign Minister, made in Moscow, on that subject. He said that the UN’s discussions are continuing with the Government of Sudan, at various levels, on sending the mission, as mandated by the Security Council.

  • Asked about reports that the Sudanese Government was not allowing press permits, the Spokesman noted that, by contrast, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland had recently travelled to Sudan, including Darfur, with a large press delegation.

U.N. MISSION IN CONGO REPORTS TWO MILITIA LEADERS IN CUSTODY

  • The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo says that Kyungu Mutanga – the Mayi-Mayi militia leader who surrendered to peacekeepers in Katanga province last week and who is also known as “Gedeon” – is now in the custody of the Congolese judicial military authorities.

  • Mutanga was handed over on Tuesday. He is accused of murder, the recruitment of children, cannibalism, the use of firearms, and creating a rebel movement.

  • Meanwhile, MONUC says that along with the UN Children’s Fund and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it has concluded a training programme on humanitarian principles and the protection of civilians for 45 officers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s armed forces, in Bunia in the Ituri district.

  • MONUC also says that the DRC’s armed forces arrested Innocent Kaina, also known as “India Queen,” earlier this week near Mongbwalu, in the Ituri District.

  • Kaina was wounded during an exchange of fire, and has been receiving medical care in the town of Bunia.

  • His wounds are not life-threatening, and MONUC plans to hand him back to Congolese authorities once his health allows for it. The Mission says Kaina is one of the founding members of the group known as Mouvement Revolutionnaire Congolais.

CHINA TO HELP SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS IN DEVELOPING WORLD

  • The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Government of China today announced an agreement that will send some 3,000 Chinese experts to assist small-scale farmers and fishers in developing countries.

  • This FAO-China collaboration is part of FAO's South-South Cooperation initiative, which aims to strengthen cooperation among developing countries at different stages of development to improve agricultural productivity and ensure access to food for all.

  • The Chinese specialists will be gradually deployed for three-year assignments over a period of six years.

ANNAN WELCOMES ENTRY INTO EFFECT OF EXPLOSIVES PROTOCOL

  • The Secretary-General has noted with great satisfaction that, as of 12 May 2006, 21 States have expressed their consent to be bound by Protocol V to Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which addresses the threat posed by explosive remnants of war. As a result, the conditions for the entry into force of this important instrument have now been met, and the Protocol will enter into force in six months, on 12 November 2006.

  • The Secretary-General congratulates the 21 CCW States parties that have expressed their consent to be bound by the Protocol, and calls upon those States that have not yet done so, to do so as soon as possible.

NOBEL LAUREATE ADDRESSES U.N. INDIGENOUS MEETING

  • The fourth day of the annual session of Indigenous Peoples opened this morning with a statement by Nobel Laureate and indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu, of Guatemala.

  • Menchu will be attending other events at the Session throughout the day, including a seminar titled "The Evaluation of the First International Decade of Indigenous Peoples" at 1:15 pm in Conference Room 2

  • The indigenous meeting continues through 26 May.

U.N. TO HELP BATTLE ANGOLA CHOLERA OUTBREAK

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent six international experts to Angola, to help that country fight a deadly cholera outbreak.
    WHO is already undertaking a range of activities, including disinfecting specific areas; collecting specimens for examination; distributing safe drinking water and chlorine; and disseminating health-related educational materials.

  • As of this week, Angola has reported more than 35,000 cholera cases and nearly 1,300 deaths.

BIRD FLU PANDEMIC AIDE NAMED FOR NEW YORK U.N. SYSTEM

  • As part of the UN’s work to prepare for a possible human influenza pandemic, Imelda Henkin of the Netherlands has been designated as the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Coordinator for the UN System in New York.

  • She will work closely with Dr. David Nabarro, who is preparing a strategy for both avian and pandemic influenza prevention, preparedness and response -- for the entire UN system.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECRETARIAT MONITORING BUDGET DISCUSSIONS: Asked about the preparations at the United Nations if there is a freeze in the budget, the Spokesman said that the UN Secretariat is following the budget discussions closely and will make plans as needed.

ARTIST MARY FISHER BECOMES UNAIDS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE: Mary Davis Fisher, the artist, author and speaker who travels the world advocating for those who share her HIV-positive status, has accepted the appointment as Special Representative for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). As UNAIDS Special Representative, Ms. Fisher will continue to raise awareness on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, with an emphasis on women, children and the oppressed.

*** The guests at the noon briefing were Ross Mountain, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the UN Development Programme’s Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pippa Norris of the UNDP’s Democratic Governance Group and Jeff Fisher, co-author of a global survey on elections.