HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, 17 July, 2006
ANNAN URGES CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES IN MIDDLE EAST
Secretary-General Kofi Annan was in St Petersburg, Russia, today, to attend the Group of Eight Summit, and he met on the sidelines of that summit with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Following that meeting, the two held a joint press encounter, in which the Secretary-General expressed his concerns about the situation in Lebanon and in Gaza and said, “I think we need to get the parties to agree as soon as practicable to a cessation of hostilities.” To do that, he added, the parties need to give diplomacy the space and time to work.
He also reminded the parties of their obligation under international humanitarian law to spare civilian lives and civilian infrastructure.
In addition to the Middle East, the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister discussed Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, Sudan and the World Trade Organization.
The Secretary-General took part in the working meeting of the G8 leaders, invited leaders and heads of international organizations, during which the participants discussed energy security, the Middle East, the World Trade Organization, globalization and Africa.
He also took part in a working luncheon hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the Middle East and trade were again discussed.
The Secretary-General has left Russia and is now in Brussels, where tomorrow he will co-chair a pledging conference to support the African Union Mission in Darfur, Sudan.
The Secretary-General arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday afternoon and held two bilateral meetings on the eve of his attendance at the G8 Summit. He met with South African President Thabo Mbeki and then with Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Asked whether the Secretary-General has spoken recently to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General has had contact by phone in recent days with President Assad, as well as with the Israeli and Lebanese Prime Ministers and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, among many others.
He is fully engaged, the Spokesman said, in trying to obtain a cessation of hostilities and give diplomacy time to work, and also wants all parties to stop the increased killing of civilians.
The Spokesman declined to comment on remarks attributed to US President George W. Bush that may have been broadcast inadvertently.
Asked what the Secretary-General, in his press comments today, meant by asking nations to stop their “exhortations”, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General was looking to leaders to come up with practical measures that will lead to the cessation of hostilities, and he wants all sides to limit comments that could inflame the situation further.
Asked about the possibility of a stabilization force in Lebanon, the Spokesman said that the details of such a force would have to be considered by the Security Council. He added that the force could create the space for diplomacy to continue and for humanitarian relief to be provided to Lebanon.
Asked about the Secretary-General’s schedule of bilateral meetings at the G8 Summit, the Spokesman said that, besides the meeting with Prime Minister Blair, the Secretary-General also exchanged views with the Summit’s other participants during the working luncheon. He also had bilateral meetings with South African President Thabo Mbeki and Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Asked whether the focus on crises in the Middle East, as well as on Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, had taken attention away from other crises in the Secretary-General’s work, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General tries to balance consideration of all the crises.
He noted that, even in the midst of the crisis in the Middle East, the Secretary-General would co-chair on Tuesday the conference supporting the African Union’s work in Darfur, which shows that he does not want the crises outside the Middle East to be forgotten. Similarly, he had met in St. Petersburg with President Mbeki. The fact that there is a crisis in the Middle East, the Spokesman said, does not mean that the needs in Darfur have changed.
HIGH-LEVEL U.N. DELEGATION TO VISIT ISRAEL FOLLOWING PRODUCTIVE MEETINGS IN LEBANON
The high-level UN delegation to the Middle East, headed by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Vijay Nambiar, today met for the second time in two days with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and with Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri.
Following those meetings, Nambiar told the press that his delegation had held a productive round of meetings with the Lebanese government and had presented concrete ideas to the government. He added that the team will leave shortly for Israel, where it will convey its ideas for further discussion, along with the Lebanese comments.
As developments warrant, he added, it may become necessary to return to Lebanon to explore these ideas further.
The team also attended the meeting held by Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Saturday. The delegation carried with it the urgent message from the Secretary-General of the need to defuse the present crisis and the obvious need for restraint from all parties.
SPOKESMAN: UNIFIL HELPING CIVILIANS IN LEBANON WHERE POSSIBLE, ADVISES CIVILIANS TO REMAIN IN VILLAGES
There are allegations in the Lebanese media about the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) denying support to civilians. I would like to categorically deny that.
UNIFIL continues to do everything possible to help civilians threatened by the current hostilities within its area of operations. Its capacity to do so is regrettably limited, since in present circumstances it cannot even re-supply its own personnel.
Its general advice to civilians is to remain in their villages unless specifically advised to leave, and in the latter case to move northward in small groups. Experience has shown that large concentrations of people are more likely to be attacked, no matter what flag they may be carrying.
SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSED MIDDLE EAST TODAY, CONDEMNED NORTH KOREA MISSILE LAUNCH OVER WEEKEND
The Security Council discussed the situation in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza in its consultations today, with the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jane Holl Lute briefing the Council on recent developments.
Gambari told the Council that the situation in Lebanon has deteriorated sharply over the weekend, and the risks of further escalation are great. He also noted the precarious humanitarian situation in Gaza.
On Saturday, the Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that condemned the multiple launches earlier this month of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The resolution requires all Member States to prevent missiles and missile-related items and materials from being transferred to the DPRK’s missile or weapons of mass destruction programmes. It also demanded that the DPRK suspend all activities relating to its ballistic missile programme.
ANNAN TO APPOINT JEAN ARNAULT AS HEAD OF U.N. MISSION IN GEORGIA
The Secretary-General has sent a letter to the Security Council, informing the Council of his intention to appoint Jean Arnault of France as his Special Representative in Georgia and head of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia.
Arnault, as you will recall, previously served as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Afghanistan. He will be replacing Heidi Tagliavini.
$1 MILLION COMMITTED TO CREATING JOBS FOR LIBERIAN YOUTH
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Liberia, Alan Doss, has committed $1 million towards the creation of employment opportunities for Liberia’s youth, as part of the UN’s contribution to the Liberia Emergency Employment Programme. The Programme was officially launched yesterday in the capital Monrovia by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. We have a press release on that in my office.
And also on Liberia, UNICEF, in partnership with the Liberian Government, is building 10,000 benches for use in 100 public schools. 30,000 Liberian students in five counties will benefit from the donation.
U.N. AGENCIES OFFER ECUADOR HELP WITH RESPONSE TO VOLCANO
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that UN agencies are offering humanitarian assistance in support of the Government of Ecuador’s response to the eruption of the Tungurahua Volcano, which began last Friday.
The national authorities say that more than 3,600 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas near the volcano, and no deaths have been reported.
The Government of Ecuador has not requested international assistance – however, the UN Emergency Technical Team has been in contact and coordinating with the provincial authorities, who are leading the national response, as well as with the Civil Defence and the national Red Cross.
UNITED NATIONS AIMS TO HELP ALL IVORIANS
Asked about concerns regarding voter identification in Cote d’Ivoire, the Spokesman said that the United Nations hopes that identification will proceed as quickly as possible.
Asked about criticisms by President Laurent Gbagbo about the work of the UN Operation in Cote d’Ivoire, the Spokesman said that the United Nations is there to help all Ivorians reclaim their country and help build a peaceful Cote d’Ivoire.
The Spokesman noted that, at the mini-summit on Cote d’Ivoire recently convened by the Secretary-General, the five Ivorian parties pledged to take steps to move forward to elections, in a meeting attended by President Gbagbo.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL DISCUSSES GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES
In the context of the humanitarian segment of its ongoing Substantive Session in Geneva, the UN Economic and Social Council this morning held a panel discussion on the topic of gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies.
Experts reflected on this growing problem and identified legal, judicial, medical and psychological solutions to it.
Speaking at the event, Prasad Kairyawasam, the Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council, said ending gender-based violence, in all its forms, was the responsibility of all States. And Nicolas Michel, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, said that in responding to gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies, it is the role of the UN and its Member States to take effective measures both to ensure accountability for such crimes and to prevent their occurrence in the future.
The humanitarian segment will conclude on 19 July while the Substantive Session will run through 28 July.
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