BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, 16 June 2006
UNITED NATIONS TO SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL COMPACT FOR IRAQ
Secretary-General Kofi Annan received a telephone call from the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, earlier this week.
Yesterday, he met the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, who requested the UN's support in launching an International Compact for Iraq. Later in the day, he met US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt and State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow, who came with a message from President Bush supporting the Iraqi request for a lead UN role in the process.
The Secretary-General agreed to the Iraqi request for the UN to provide strong support in developing the International Compact.
Additionally, he told his interlocutors that the UN will be working closely in the coming days with the Iraqi Government and the donor community – including UNDP, other UN agencies, and the World Bank – to come up with a joint approach to support the new Government.
The Secretary-General looks forward to receiving more details from the Iraqis on the Compact and on the role they would wish the UN to play.
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON CHARLES TAYLOR TRIAL
The Security Council discussed this morning a draft resolution concerning the transfer to The Hague of the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, currently being carried out in Freetown by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Council members followed this with a formal meeting where they unanimously adopted the resolution.
Asked about how Charles Taylor will be transferred to The Hague, the Spokesman said that issues about a transfer are being worked out between the Special Court and the International Criminal Court, the venue for The Hague proceedings
Dujarric said that details of the physical transfer are being arranged in order to ensure the security of that transfer.
Asked about Britain’s offer to accommodate Charles Taylor if he is found guilty, the Spokesman said that no assumption was being made as to what the outcome of the trial would be. Options were being worked out to find some accommodation if Taylor were found innocent, he said; meanwhile, the British Parliament still had to pass a law on their own arrangements.
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON MISSION TO D.R. CONGO
The Security Council this morning heard about the Council mission that was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this week, in an open briefing by the head of that mission, Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sábliere of France.
The Council then went into closed consultations to hear from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi about recent developments in Liberia and the work of the UN Mission there.
Ambassador Ellen Loj of Denmark, who chairs the Sanctions Committee on Liberia, also provided an update on the sanctions regime.
ANNAN TO ATTEND WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME MEETING IN DENMARK
This Sunday, the Secretary-General will be in Copenhagen to speak to the World Food Programme’s bi-ennial Global Meeting.
While in Denmark, the Secretary-General will have a working lunch with the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and other members of the Danish government.
On Monday, he will be in Geneva to speak at the inaugural meeting of the new Human Rights Council. He will say that the eyes of the world, especially those whose human rights have been violated, are turned towards this new Council.
He will also call on the Council to make a clean break with past practices, while preserving the best features of the old system such as independent special rapporteurs, and will encourage its members not to get caught up in political point-scoring and petty manoeuvres.
On Tuesday he will be in Paris for a series of meetings with French government officials, which will include a working lunch with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and a separate meeting with Defense Minister Michele Aliot Marie.
In Paris, the Secretary-General will also attend the inauguration, with President Jacques Chirac, of France's Musée des Arts Premiers.
He will be back in Geneva the following day to speak to the Conference on Disarmament about the troubled state of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and about the challenges the Conference itself faces in breaking the impasse that has hindered its work. While in Geneva, the Secretary-General will also hold a town hall meeting with UN staff there.
The Secretary-General will back in the office on Friday.
TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE TO BE LAUNCHED NEXT WEEK
Next Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown will launch, along with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development. That Alliance is a new initiative by the Secretary-General to promote the use of such technologies for development.
The Deputy Secretary-General, while in Malaysia, will also hold meetings with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and meet the UN country team there. He is expected back in New York by mid-week.
This afternoon, he is travelling to Boston, where this evening he will speak at a conference of entrepreneurs that is held to discuss the theme of “Innovating in a Flat World”.
UNITED NATIONS OFFERS TO HELP DILI COURT IN SHOOTING TRIALS
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, today visited the District Court of Dili to offer the UN’s help in trying those charged in connection with the fatal shootings in April and May.
Hasegawa said the visit was to assess precisely what support the UN can provide to the Timorese Court to carry out the trials effectively and efficiently.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has stepped up its emergency relief operations in Timor-Leste and has started reaching out to the tens of thousands of people who fled the violence in Dili for the surrounding areas outside the capital.
It is estimated that there are more displaced people outside the capital than those in the various settlements in Dili.
$4 MILLION NEEDED TO AVOID FOOD SHORTAGE IN MAURITANIA
The World Food Programme (WFP) today issued an urgent appeal for $4 million, to prevent a complete break in supplies in Mauritania next month.
In its 260 food centers throughout the country, WFP currently feeds 16,000 children. But that number is expected to double in the upcoming weeks, as the annual “lean season” gets underway. WFP says the malnutrition rate for children in Mauritania is nearing the emergency figure of 15%.
URBAN SLUM DWELLERS MORE AT RISK THAN OTHER URBAN RESIDENTS
The UN Human Settlements Programme, also known as UN-Habitat, today launched the report “State of the World's Cities 2006/7.” The report shows that the world’s one billion slum dwellers are more likely to die earlier, experience more hunger and disease, attain less education and have fewer chances of employment than those urban residents that do not reside in a slum.
DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD MARKED AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS
Today is the Day of the African Child. To mark the occasion, the UN African Mothers Association and the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa are holding a series of events at UN Headquarters, including speeches by UN officials, performances of cultural diversity and several workshops on issues affecting children around the world.
The day of the African Child has been celebrated since 1991 to honour the memory of African schoolchildren who were shot down in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 for denouncing the inferior quality of the education they were receiving under the Apartheid regime. Today’s events also mark the 30th anniversary of that tragic incident.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
SENIOR APPOINTMENTS MADE IN EXECUTIVE OFFICE: The Secretary-General has the following senior appointments in his Executive Office with effect from 1 June: Alicia Barcena of Mexico to the post of Chef de Cabinet at the Under-Secretary-General, and Carlos Lopes to the post of Assistant Secretary-General and Director for Political Affairs.
13 MILLION DIE EACH YEAR FROM PREVENTABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES: The World Health Organization released a report today, saying that more than 13 million people die each year from preventable environmental causes. Environment-related diseases – such as malaria and respiratory infections – can easily be fought by promoting safe household water storage and better hygiene; using cleaner and safer fuels; monitoring toxic substances in the home and workplace; and effectively managing water resources.
TWO ROMA COMMUNITIES IN KOSOVO REMOVED FROM AT RISK GROUPS: In its latest position paper on Kosovo, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has decided to drop two specific Roma communities from its list of groups considered to be at risk. And that’s because of positive developments within the inter-ethnic environment. At the same time, however, UNHCR remains concerned about Kosovo Serbs, the Roma in general, and Albanians, in areas where they form a minority.
SOMALIA ENVOY TO ADDRESS PRESS NEXT WEEK: Asked whether the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, would talk to the press, the Spokesman said he was scheduled to be the guest at the noon briefing next Monday.
FOCUS WILL BE ON UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL DUTIES: Asked how Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor would avoid any conflicts of interest as he goes about his work while campaigning to be the next Secretary-General, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General, in his Thursday press conference, said that the Under-Secretary-General should focus on his duties as Under-Secretary-General.
NO PRIVATIZATION PLANNED FOR U.N. STAFF PENSION FUND: Asked about concerns expressed by some UN staff that the staff pension fund would be privatized, the Spokesman said his clear understanding is that there will be no privatization as such. Any changes in the pension fund, he added, would have to be made in consultations with the administrators and board of the fund.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
17-23 June 2006
Saturday, June 17
Today is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
Sunday, June 18
The Secretary-General will be in Copenhagen for the World Food Programme’s Global Meeting. He is also scheduled to meet with the Danish Prime Minister.
Monday, June 19
The Secretary-General will be in Geneva for the inauguration of the Human Rights Council. Also attending will be the General Assembly President and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown will launch, along with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development.
In the morning the Security Council will hold consultations on Somalia.
The guest at the noon briefing will be Ambassador Francois Lonseny Fall, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia.
The Secretary-General’s Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention will meet today and tomorrow in New York.
The 16th Meeting of States Parties to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will be held at Headquarters from 19 to 23 June.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland will address the International Conference on Emergency Communications in Tampere, Finland.
Tuesday, June 20
Today is World Refugee Day.
The Secretary-General will be in Paris for the opening of the Musée des Arts Premiers.
In the morning the Security Council will hold meetings to consider draft resolutions on Liberia sanctions and the UN Office in Timor-Leste. It will also hold a public meeting on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, with the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, briefing.
Wednesday, June 21
The Secretary-General will be in Geneva to address the Conference on Disarmament.
In the morning the Security Council will be holding an open briefing followed by consultations on the Middle East.
The guest at the noon briefing will be Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka and President of the 2006 Small Arms Review Conference.
Thursday, June 22
In the morning, the Security Council will hold an open debate on: “Strengthening International Law: Rule of Law and the Maintenance of International Peace and Security”.
The guest at the noon briefing will be Judge Rudiger Wolfrum, President of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea.
Friday, June 23
The Secretary-General will be back at Headquarters and will speak at the first meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission.
Today is UN Public Service Day. Eleven pioneering projects from the developing and developed world will be honoured with the prestigious UN Public Service Awards at UN Headquarters. The Awards ceremony will be at 10:00 a.m. in Conference Room 4.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
