HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, 22 May 2006
HEAD OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DIES FOLLOWING SHORT ILLNESS
Dr Lee Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), died this morning following a short illness.
The Secretary-General issued a statement from China, expressing his shock and deep sadness at the news. He noted that Dr. Lee had been at the forefront of the global fight to prevent an avian flu pandemic, and was a champion in the battle against a host of other public health threats as well, from AIDS to tuberculosis.
The Secretary-General added that Dr. Lee, who had given more than 20 years of dedicated service to WHO, had been a valuable leader and cherished colleague. We have the full statement upstairs.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anders Nordström of Sweden – who was recently WHO’s Assistant Director-General for General Management – will now serve as the agency’s Acting Director-General. The World Health Assembly opened its annual meeting in Geneva today.
ANNAN DISCUSSED U.N. REFORM AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS WITH CHINESE LEADERS
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is in China. He began the day in Beijing with a meeting with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the Great Hall of the People.
They discussed UN-China cooperation and UN reform, the Millennium Development Goals, China's contribution in Africa, as well as the Global Compact.
The Secretary-General then met with the UN country team and spoke with UN staff at the UN compound in Beijing. In the afternoon, he met with State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, and discussed topics including Iran and East Asian relations – their discussion continued over a dinner hosted by the State Councillor.
Over the weekend, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan visited the Yellow Mountains of China, where he met officials of the region and had the opportunity to name a pine tree at the well-known tourist region.
SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON ETHIOPIA & ERITREA
This morning the Security Council held consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as other matters.
On Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Council discussed the future of the UN Mission there. That mandate expires on 31 May. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno briefed.
U.N. MISSION: SUDANESE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES U.N. ENVOYS
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reports that Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced over the weekend that the Government welcomes the upcoming visit of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi.
The talks are expected to focus on the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the transition from African Union troops to U.N. peacekeeping forces in Darfur.
UNMIS also says that, in the first such development since the signing of the Peace Agreement, the Sudan Liberation Movement’s Minnawi faction – the only Darfurian rebel group that signed the deal so far – has accused the Sudanese Government of violating the agreement by attacking and looting a village in North Darfur.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, has agreed to hold regular meetings between UNMIS and local government leaders in West Darfur, as part of ongoing efforts to explain the Darfur Peace Agreement. The decision follows his three-day visit to West Darfur which ended over the weekend.
He spent the trip in intensive meetings, discussions and field visits, focused on explaining terms of the new agreement to various groups and NGOs; he also urged tribal and community leaders to lend it their support and to demand its endorsement by holdout rebel leaders.
Pronk met twice with commanders and troops of the African Union’s force in two different locations in Darfur. When African Union commanders raised the issue of insufficient resources for its current tasks, Pronk assured them that the international community was currently preparing to start strengthening the force.
Asked when Brahimi and Annabi would arrive in Khartoum, the Spokesman said they were expected to start their meetings there on Wednesday. In response to a question on whether they would brief the Security Council upon their return, the Spokesman said it was not yet known what arrangements were in place.
Asked if the Government of Sudan had yet given permission to the UN sending a technical assessment team to Darfur to prepare for the transition from an African Union force there to a UN operation, the Spokesman said the dialogue is continuing.
“That dialogue will continue and will obviously intensify with Mr. Brahimi’s and Mr. Annabi’s presence in Khartoum towards the end of the week,” Dujarric said.
Asked how the lack of permission fit with the Security Council’s call for the deployment of the assessment mission by Tuesday, the Spokesman said the next step was the meetings being held with Brahimi and Annabi. “We’re all fully aware of the time-frame but obviously those discussions will continue,” Dujarric said.
U.N. POLITICAL OFFICIAL MET AUNG SAN SUU KYI BEFORE COMPLETING MYANMAR VISIT
Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, completed his trip to Myanmar on Saturday. On his third and final day in Myanmar, Gambari met with the country's head of state, Senior General than Shwe, outside the capital.
Following his return to Yangon, he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. That meeting lasted close to an hour and took place at a government guest house.
During his three-day visit to Myanmar, Gambari met with key political stakeholders and held wide-ranging discussions on the country's National Convention and democratisation process. He urged all his interlocutors to engage in an inclusive political process for the benefit of the country and its people.
Gambari also held extensive discussions on the humanitarian challenges that Myanmar faces, and in particular the need to establish an enabling environment for humanitarian actors, including access. He placed particular emphasis on the continuing conflict in Kayin State and the need to protect civilians.
ANNAN WELCOMES NEW IRAQI GOVERNMENT
In a statement issued Saturday, the Secretary-General welcomed the formation of the new Iraqi government.
The Secretary-General said he hoped that the process of forming a broad-based and inclusive government will be completed as soon as possible, so that it will be able to quickly address the crucial issues of national reconciliation, security, the rule of law, respect for human rights, reconstruction and development.
The Secretary-General also pays tribute to the courage and determination that the Iraqi people have shown despite the ongoing violence.
He urges them to seize the opportunity offered by the successful establishment of a broad-based and inclusive government, and come together to support their new Government and build the foundations of a united, peaceful and prosperous Iraq.
U.N. ENVOY IN SRI LANKA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON AID WORKERS
The UN’s Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Amin Awad, has issued a statement, condemning recent attacks on humanitarian workers in the country’s north and east.
He says that such appalling acts instil fear into the thousands of men, women and children to whom the humanitarian community is attempting to provide relief and assistance.
Awad calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection and safety of all humanitarian workers in the country. He adds that all parties must urgently halt the current escalation of violence that is harming innocent civilians.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT TO ATTEND AIDS MEETING
Jan Eliasson, the President of the General Assembly, speaking from Stockholm, said that he was very sad and shocked to hear of the sudden death of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, who has been playing a leading role on so many public health issues, from preventing an avian flu epidemic to fighting AIDS and tuberculosis, according to Eliasson’s Spokesperson.
President Eliasson will be sending an official letter of condolence to the acting WHO Director-General, Dr. Anders Nordstrom.
President Eliasson left on Friday for a week in Sweden, where he will be taking care of his duties as Foreign Minister. He returns to Headquarters on 30 May, in time for the General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS.
Today in the General Assembly, a one-week review conference opened, which will aim to determine whether additional measures are needed to preserve high-seas fisheries. This morning Ambassador David A. Balton, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries, was elected Chair of the review conference.
With about three-quarters of the world's ocean fisheries fished to their limits or beyond, the review conference, which brings together representatives of governments, regional fisheries organizations, the fishing industry and environmental organizations, will see what can be done to fully implement the 1995 Agreement for the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.
Today the Fifth Committee begins the second part of its resumed session, where it is considering the financing of a number of peacekeeping missions.
The Committee is scheduled to take up management reform again on 14 June. An additional report requested from the Secretary-General, focusing on information technology and financial management, is currently under consideration in the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. It will be issued as an official document this week (A/60/846/Add.1-4), and that report will be the basis of the Fifth Committee’s discussions scheduled to start on 14 June.
REUTERS REPORTER TONY GOODMAN PASSED AWAY
Tony Goodman, a veteran Reuters reporter died at his home in New York over the weekend. He was 74 years old.
A forty year veteran of the Reuters news agency, Tony spent 20 of those years covering the United Nations until he retired in 2000. He also covered Watergate and the siege of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
Tony was a quiet, self effacing, gentlemanly and considerate to the nth degree. During his time at the UN he was considered by journalists and diplomats alike an expert on Cyprus – rarely missing a twist of that never-ending saga.
Tony was a journalist's journalist and he will be sorely missed by all of us here.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRAMMERTZ REPORT DUE IN MID-JUNE: Asked for an update on a report being prepared by Serge Brammertz, the Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission into the 14 February 2005 bombing that killed the Premier and 22 others, the Spokesman said the report would be handed over in mid-June as requested by the Security Council. Asked about press reports which claim to feature Brammertz’ findings, the Spokesman said, “We’ll just have to wait for the report to be handed in to get any details of what’s in it,” Dujarric said. Asked about Brammertz’s activities, the Spokesman noted that Brammertz is continuing his work “below the radar.”
UNITED NATIONS AWAITS OFFICIAL RESULTS OF MONTENEGRO VOTE: Asked if the Secretary-General had any comment to make on the independence referendum held in Montenegro over the weekend, the Spokesman said that the UN had no official comment to make as it is awaiting the official results to be announced. He added that the UN had taken note of the peaceful manner in which the referendum took place. Asked what the referendum meant for possible membership of the UN general Assembly, the Spokesman said membership is decided by the General Assembly.
U.N. CONDEMNS MURDER OF JOURNALIST IN JAVA: The Director-General of the UN Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the murder of freelance journalist Herliyanto in Takoran, in the east of Java Indonesia. Herliyanto, 40, wrote for several publications, including the Delta Pos Tabloid of Sidoarjo and the Visual Tabloid of Jakarta. His body was found on 29 April in a forest near the village of Takoran. An autopsy revealed numerous stab wounds.
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