HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, October 13, 2006
GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO APPOINT NEXT SECRETARY-GENERAL
The General Assembly has scheduled a plenary meeting at 3
p.m. today to appoint Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as
the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan will attend and
speak at the plenary meeting.
The Secretary-General-designate, Ban
Ki-moon, is also scheduled to speak at the meeting.
After the General
Assembly meeting ends, the Secretary-General and Ban
Ki-moon will go out to the east foyer outside the General Assembly Hall, for a
photo opportunity.
The Secretary-General-designate will
hold a press conference.
Asked whether Ban Ki-moon would speak
in his capacity as Secretary-General-designate, the Spokesman said that was
the case, but added that Ban was not expected to take the oath of office as
Secretary-General until December.
SECURITY COUNCIL TO
VOTE ON NORTH KOREA RESOLUTION SATURDAY
The Security Council then held
consultations to consider a revised draft resolution concerning the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea.
Once those consultations ended, the
Security Council President,
Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan, told reporters at
the stakeout that he expects the Council to hold a formal meeting
Saturday vote on that draft resolution, sometime in the
morning.
ANNAN
DELIGHTED WITH SELECTION FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The
Secretary-General is
delighted that
the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has been awarded to Professor Muhammad Yunus
and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, pioneers of the microfinance movement and
long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the
empowerment of women.
He notes that thanks to Professor
Yunus and the Grameen Bank, microfinance has proved its value as a way for
low-income families to break the vicious circle of poverty, for productive
enterprises to grow, and for communities to prosper.
They have provided a powerful weapon
to help the world reach the
Millennium Development Goals, by helping people change their lives for the
better -- especially those who need it most.
U.N.
ELECTORAL EXPERTS TO VERIFY POLLING PROCESS IN TIMOR -LESTE
As part of the assistance being
provided by the United Nations for the presidential and parliamentary
elections scheduled to be held in
Timor-Leste in 2007, the
Secretary-General has
appointed a team
of high-level electoral experts to verify the satisfactory conduct of each
phase of the electoral process.
The members of the team are Ms.
Lucinda Almeida of Portugal, Mr. Reginald Austin of Zimbabwe and Mr. Michael
Maley of Australia. They will work independently of the United Nations
Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, and will submit their findings and
recommendations to the Secretary-General and the Timor-Leste authorities.
The Secretary-General sees next year’s
elections as an important step on the path to peace and stability in
Timor-Leste, and reaffirms the determination of the United Nations to do its
part in supporting a credible and transparent electoral process.
SECURITY COUNCIL
EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN GEORGIA
After brief consultations on Georgia,
the Security Council went into a
formal meeting in which it unanimously adopted a resolution extending the
mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia
until 15 April 2007.
Among other things, the resolution
also calls on the Secretary-General to explore with the sides ways and means
to build confidence, in particular by improving the welfare and security of
the inhabitants of the districts of Gali and Zugdidi.
The Council then adopted a resolution
extending until the end of 2008 the terms of 18 “ad litem” (or short-term)
judges serving on the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF STARTS
VISIT IN D.R. CONGO
The Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs,
Ibrahim Gambari, arrived yesterday afternoon in
Kinshasa for a three-day visit.
Gambari, who is in the country to lend
UN support to the ongoing democratic transition, commended the Congolese
people on their firm determination to see the transition succeed.
Earlier today, Gambari attended a
consultative meeting on the elections and later met with representatives of
the two candidates in the run-off presidential vote planned for 29 October.
Gambari will also meet with members of
the International Committee to Support the Transition as well as officials at
the Independent Electoral Commission. And tomorrow, he will travel to the
Equator Province for meetings with civil society and local political leaders.
Meanwhile, the
World Food Programme
says that a
train carrying some 580 metric tons of food aid is en route to
the Katanga Province where the food will distributed
among internally displaced persons and refugees arriving from neighboring
countries.
Asked whether the United Nations would
respond to recent appointments made by the Congolese Government, the Spokesman
noted that the
Democratic Republic of the Congo had a sovereign government and was not
under UN administration.
Asked about the provision of a
helicopter to one of the Presidential candidates, Jean Pierre Bemba, Dujarric
said that he understood that the helicopter had been provided in Bemba’s
capacity as Vice-President. He noted that this was also a matter for the
Congolese Government to settle, adding that the United Nations was not
directly involved in the issue.
ANNAN
APPOINTS EXPERTS TO STRENGTHEN ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY
The
Secretary-General has appointed a
second Group of Legal Experts to study the best ways to strengthen the Zero
Tolerance Policy against
sexual exploitation
and abuse, and to ensure that the Secretary-General’s Bulletin on this
issue is binding on contingent members and that UN norms of conduct are
applicable to all categories of peacekeeping personnel.
The Group is composed of four experts
from Australia, Nigeria, Singapore and the United States, who will be working
in close co-operation with the
UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations and the
UN Office of Legal Affairs
to develop recommendations to improve conduct and discipline in UN operations.
The appointment of the experts is part
of a range of actions recommended by Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the
Secretary-General’s Adviser on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN
Peacekeeping Personnel, in a report adopted by the General Assembly in June
2005.
LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE RECEIVES
GRANTS FROM U.N. DEMOCRACY FUND
The
UN Mission in Liberia
reports that the Liberian Legislature yesterday received two grants from the
UN Democracy Fund to promote
youth involvement in the democratic process and to help formulate an
anti-corruption strategy.
Speaking at the signing ceremony
earlier today in Monrovia, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Liberia, Alan Doss, said that the grants are important in that they will
help meet two key needs: strengthening the legislature and thus the Liberian
government and democracy, as well as bringing the youth to play a more active
role in the country’s political life.
OPPORTUNITY TO KICK-START
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
HAS NOT MATERIALIZED
The latest
report
by the Secretary-General to the
General Assembly and the
Security Council on the question of
Palestine was issued today.
In it, the Secretary-General says
that, as the current round of Israeli-Palestinian violence enters its seventh
year, he regrets that the opportunity for the revitalization of the
Middle East peace process he had hoped for last year has not materialized.
He notes the recent rise in violence, including worrying incidents of
intra-Palestinian violence.
The Secretary-General deplores the
killing of civilians, who too often have fallen victim to this violence
because of a lack of adherence by the parties to their obligations under
international law, the report says.
Asked about a report that Israeli
checkpoints have increased, the Spokesman noted that the
UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs had reported the increase in checkpoints and
expressed its concern, which is in line with the Secretary-General’s concern
about the drastic humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza.
U.N.
REFUGEE AGENCY IS CONCERNED ABOUT DISPLACED IRAQIS
The
Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says that it is
increasingly concerned over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation
facing hundreds of thousands of displaced
Iraqis, both within and outside their country.
UNHCR relayed its fears to donors
during a meeting last Wednesday in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Senior staff from Iraq, Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon told donors that displacement caused by continuing sectarian
violence in Iraq has necessitated a reassessment of the agency's work and
priorities throughout the region.
UNITED
NATIONS STANDS BY “STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY” CAMPAIGN
This coming Sunday, there will be a
global event “Stand Up Against Poverty” in support of the
Millennium Development Goals
at multiple locations around the world.
The event will be in New York on
Sunday evening in Times Square and also on Monday, this campaign will be on
the North Lawn here in the UN Headquarters.
To mark this occasion, the Secretary
General says that “we are standing up for the Millennium Development Goals; we
are standing up to hold leaders to their promises; we are standing up until we
meet the Goals.”
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LACK OF FUNDING PROMPTS EARLY
END TO ANGOLA FOOD AID OPERATION:
The
World Food Programme (WFP)
says that a lack of funding has
prompted it to wind down all its food aid operations in Angola by the end of the
year – after three decades of direct involvement in the country.
WORK OF RAPPORTEURS IS INDEPENDENT:
Asked about a report concerning Spain that was put
out by Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak, the Spokesman pointed out
that the work of those rapporteurs is independent. and
they act on their own authority. The reports, he said, can spur debate, but he
declined to comment further on them.
DENIAL OF VISA IS A BILATERAL ISSUE:
Asked about the denial of a visa that would have allowed an Abkhaz official to
visit the United States, the Spokesman said that the issue at this point seems
to be a bilateral one between Russia and the United States. The Host Country
Committee, he noted, could take up the issue if asked, and the UN Secretariat
could then get involved if its help is sought.
U.N. LEGAL CHIEF TO BRIEF COUNCIL ON
LEBANON TRIBUNAL BEFORE END OF MONTH: Asked when
Under-Secretary-General for
Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel would report to the
Security Council on a possible
international tribunal for Lebanon, the Spokesman said he was expected to report
to the Council before the end of this month.
*** The guest at the Noon Briefing
was Djibril Diallo, the Director of the UN Office for Sport and Development. He
provided an update on the UN Global Youth Leadership Summit.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Sunday,
October 15
At 6:00 p.m., there
will be a “Stand Up Against Poverty” campaign event in New York’s Times Square,
between 43rd and 44th Streets.
Monday, October
16
Today is World Food Day.
The General Assembly is scheduled to
meet at 10:00 a.m. to elect five non-permanent members of the Security Council.
The Secretary-General will open the fifth
seminar in the Department of Public Information’s “Unlearning Intolerance”
seminar series, entitled “Cartooning for Peace: The Responsibility of Political
Cartoonists.” The seminar will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at UN
Headquarters. French cartoonist Jean Plantu will give a keynote address and
Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor
will moderate. A press conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. with several
cartoonists, including Plantu.
At 1:00 p.m., all UN Headquarters staff
and Permanent Missions have been invited to "Stand Up against Poverty" at an
event on the North Lawn. The Deputy Secretary-General will lead the
participants in reciting an anti-poverty pledge, and "standing up" from a crouch
position as a symbolic act. Millions of people are
expected to join in "Stand Up" events around the world to set a new Guinness
World Record and remind leaders of their commitments.
At 1:30 p.m., Georg Kell will hold a
press conference to present the “World Investment Report 2006”.
There will be a simultaneous release of
the Timor Leste Commission of Inquiry report, via the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva and the UN Integrated Mission in Timor.
Tuesday, October
17
Today is the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. A
series of events will be held at the UN Secretariat to commemorate the day.
These include a press conference at UN Headquarters at
which Under-Secretary-General for Communications and
Public Information Shashi Tharoor will announce the results of the Stand
Up Against Poverty worldwide events. The annual ceremony for the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty will
take place in the United Nations Garden, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
The Security Council
is scheduled to hold consultations this morning on the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.
The
Secretary-General will attend the monthly Security Council luncheon.
Wednesday,
October 18
Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the
Food and Agriculture Organization, will be in Conference Room 4 at 1:15 p.m. for
the official observance of World Food Day.
Radhika
Coomaraswamy, the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, will
launch of her Office’s Strategic Framework 2006-2007 and new website from
1:15 to 2:30 p.m.in Conference Room 9.
Two parts of the TV series “At the Glass
Building: the History of the UN told by its Secretaries-General” will be
screened in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public
Information Shashi Tharoor will moderate.
Thursday,
October 19
The Security Council
is scheduled to hold a debate this morning on the Middle East.
Major-General Alain Pellegrini, the
Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon will be the guest at the
Spokesman’s Noon Briefing.
Friday, October
20
The Security Council
is scheduled to hold consultations this morning on Liberia sanctions.
Rogelio Pfirter, Director-General of the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will be the guest
at the Spokesman’s Noon Briefing.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
