HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, June 19, 2006
INAUGURATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MARKS NEW ERA
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
spoke to the
first meeting of the new
Human Rights Council, saying that a new era had been proclaimed in the
history of the UN’s human rights work. He told the delegates that the eyes of
the world are on them.
The Secretary-General called on the
new Council to make a clean break with the past. “In place of culture of
confrontation and distrust,” the Secretary-General told the assembled guests,
“we must see a culture of cooperation and commitment, inspired by mature
leadership.”
He also held a number of bilateral
meetings following the opening of the Council. Among others, he met with the
Foreign Ministers of Austria, Nepal and Serbia, as well as with the Minister
for Human Rights and Disaster Management of Sri Lanka.
He was also scheduled to hold a town
hall meeting with UN staff in Geneva.
ANNAN
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SOLUTION FOR U.N. BUDGET CRISIS
On Sunday, the Secretary-General
attended the World Food Programme’s
Global Meeting, which every two years brings together the Programme’s
managers, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Prior to addressing the meeting, the
Secretary-General was hosted by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen
for a working lunch at his official residence just outside of Copenhagen.
Following the luncheon, the
Secretary-General and the Prime Minister held a
press encounter,
at which the Secretary-General said there was currently an opportunity to
resolve the current crisis over Iran’s nuclear programme diplomatically.
He was also asked about the current UN
budget impasse, and the Secretary-General expressed optimism that the
situation would be resolved soon. “There has been a considerable mistrust
within the membership and between groups,” the Secretary-General said, “and I
think that is dissipating and all of them seem to be working very seriously
now towards reform.”
SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED ON SOMALIA
The Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Somalia,
Francois
Lonseny Fall, briefed the Security
Council this morning on the political, humanitarian and security situation
in that country, in light of recent developments.
Fall also updated Security Council
members on a series of meeting he held with Somali and regional officials.
SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS IN DARFUR MARRED BY INCREASES IN BANDITRY
The
UN Mission in Sudan
says there has been an improvement in the security situation in
Darfur due to a significant reduction of fighting between government
forces and the Sudan Liberation Army.
However, there has been an alarming
increase in banditry, in which convoys and compounds belonging to
international non-government organizations and the United Nations have been
targeted.
The Mission also says there has been
an increase in insecurity in and around camps for internally displaced persons
that cannot be addressed at the moment by the African Union forces on the
ground.
In Khartoum, the Deputy Special
Representative of the Secretary-General in Sudan,
Manuel Aranda da Silva,
held a press conference today where he expressed concern over significant
funding shortfalls despite an increase in pledges. For instance, only slightly
more than a third has so far been received of the $1.7 billion needed for
humanitarian, recovery and development activities in Sudan this year.
Da Silva also spoke about restrictions
on access to eastern Sudan for the humanitarian community and warned that if
these continue, it could lead to a serious humanitarian situation in that part
of the country.
The
UN Children’s Fund, meanwhile, has
welcomed the
demobilization of 181 children from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in
Sudan’s Nuba Mountains area earlier this month.
MIDDLE
EAST QUARTET BACKS FUNDING MECHANISM FOR PALESTINIANS
On Saturday, the members of the
Middle East Quartet – the European Union, Russian Federation, United
States and United Nations – issued a
joint statement
endorsing a European Union proposal for a temporary international mechanism,
limited in scope and duration, which facilitates needs-based assistance
directly to the Palestinian people.
The Quartet expressed its hope that
other donors, international organizations, and the State of Israel would
consider participation in this mechanism. The Quartet will review the
continued need for such a mechanism after three months. Donors are also
encouraged to respond to humanitarian and other assistance requests by
international organizations, especially UN agencies, active in the West Bank
and Gaza.
In its statement, the Quartet
reiterated its call for the Palestinian Authority government to commit to the
principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous
agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap.
U.N.
ENVOY CONDEMNS LATEST VIOLENCE IN IRAQ
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative for Iraq, over the weekend strongly
condemned Friday’s attack on Buratha Mosque in
Baghdad, which killed a number of innocent worshippers and injured many
others.
He also strongly condemned the
assassination of the Imam of Al-Basra Kabir Mosque and three other persons
accompanying him, while he was on his way to the mosque for the Friday
prayers.
Qazi called on the government and
political and religious leaders to intensify their mutual efforts to bring
about a reduction of violence and to strengthen human rights protection for
all Iraqis. He also called for the protection of the sanctity of holy sites
and places of worship.
UNITED
NATIONS TO SUPPORT NEW IRAQI COMPACT
Late Friday, a
statement was
issued, saying that the Secretary-General had agreed to an Iraqi request for
the UN to provide strong support in developing an International Compact for
Iraq.
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.
U.N.
MISSION CALLS ON SECURITY FORCES TO ENSURE SAFETY OF AFGHANIS
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA) has
called on security forces, both national and international, to ensure the
safety and protection of local communities in areas where operations are
taking place.
Also, in the UNAMA press briefing
earlier today, the spokesman noted the latest casualties among deminers
in the country and that deminers have cleared more than one
billion square meters of contaminated land across Afghanistan since 1990, but
more than 700 million square meters of contaminated land remain. The remaining
contaminated land affects an estimated four million Afghans.
NUMBER
OF DISPLACED PEOPLE GROWS TO NEARLY 80,000 OUTSIDE OF
DILI
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in
Timor-Leste, Finn Reske-Nielsen, and the Timorese Labour Ministry said
today that the number of people displaced throughout the country’s 13
districts has now been discovered to be 15,000 more than previously recorded,
bringing the total number of displaced people outside of the capital to
78,000.
Reske-Nielseen met President Xanana
Gusmão today for talks on ways of getting food aid to the outlaying districts
of the country.
In addition, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative in Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, today met Japan’s
Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs to discuss Tokyo’s $5 million
pledge made in response to the recent
flash appeal for humanitarian assistance for Timor-Leste. Hasegawa also
met Norwegian diplomats about Norway’s continued support for Timor-Leste.
PEACEKEEPING
DEPARTMENT CHECKING ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING DR CONGO
Asked about the United
Nations’ reaction to a UK press report over the weekend, which claimed that UN
peacekeepers provided support to government troops who razed a town called
Kazana in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokesman said that the
UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations is aware of the report and is looking into the
allegations.
Asked whether the United Nations would
carry out any assessments on the number of civilians hurt during operations in
peacekeeping missions, the Spokesman noted that UN peacekeepers have clear
standing rules and these include avoiding civilian casualties. “Whenever there
are problems reported to us, we look into them and we’ll continue to do that,”
Haq said.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW PARTNERSHIP TO FIGHT SEXUAL
VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT AND CRISIS SETTINGS: UN
organizations and civil society groups today
announced
a Joint Partnership to tackle sexual violence in conflict and crisis situations
around the world. This Joint Partnership builds on existing initiatives and will
address not only the threat that sexual violence poses to life and livelihood of
survivors, but also the longer-term impact on community and national
development. The need for stronger collaborative efforts to deal with
gender-based violence is extremely urgent, UNIFEM
Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer said, speaking at the launch of the
partnership at the Swedish permanent mission in Geneva.
THAROOR’S COMMENTS MADE DURING ANNUAL
LEAVE: Asked whether comments made in India by the
Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, Shashi
Tharoor, concerning his candidacy for the position of Secretary-General were
made while there in an official capacity, the Spokesman said Tharoor was in
India on annual leave.
UNITED NATIONS CONCERNED OVER
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN NORTHERN UGANDA: Asked
about the UN’s stance on the situation in northern Uganda, the Spokesman noted
that the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator,
Jan Egeland,
has raised his concerns about the humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda and
Security Council members have been briefed on the issue on the occasions they
have taken up the issue of humanitarian crises in Africa. Asked about Egeland’s
concerns, the Spokesman said that he had made these known to the Security
Council.
***The guest at today’s noon briefing
was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Francois
Lonseny Fall.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
