HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, November 3, 2006
ANNAN IS DEEPLY
CONCERNED AT ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN GAZA
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
is deeply
concerned about the continuing escalation of violence and rising death
toll caused by the Israeli military operation in northern Gaza. Military
operations in populated areas inevitably cause civilian casualties, and in
this operation several civilians have already been killed and wounded,
including women and at least one Palestinian child.
The Secretary-General urges
Israel to exercise maximum restraint, do their utmost to protect civilians and
to refrain from further escalating an already grave situation. He also calls
on Palestinian militants to stop firing rockets against Israeli civilian
targets.
All concerned should remember
that continuing violence is liable to make the search for a just and lasting
peace in the region even more difficult.
Asked about concrete UN actions
regarding the violence, the Spokesman said that the issue is one of great
concern to the Secretary-General, and the envoys of the Middle East Quartet
are in constant contact on how to deal with the situation.
U.N. AGENCY WARNS AGAINST ISRAELI
OPERATION IN DENSELY POPULATED AREA
The UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warns that the operation is
taking place in an area densely populated by Palestinian refugees, with more
than 10,000 students going to UNRWA schools, as well as more than 400 of the
Agency’s staff, affected by the operations.
UNRWA adds that between 30 and 40 women today were
collected inside two of its elementary schools, where their mobile phones were
taken from them by Israeli soldiers; the Agency confirmed that two of the
women subsequently suffered gunshot wounds. The ambulance was initially
forbidden entry, but the injured women have since been taken to Beit Hanoun
hospital.
After a lengthy delay waiting for Israeli approval to
enter Beit Hanoun, three UNRWA humanitarian delivery vehicles containing food,
water, milk, blankets and mattresses are moving into the area. The Agency is
also sending a medical team to the Beit Hanoun health clinic.
Asked whether the United
Nations had made a protest to the Israelis over the school incident, the
Spokesman said that UNRWA is currently trying to obtain more information, and
would, as it has done in the past, protest the incident.
ANNAN CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN
DARFUR
The Secretary-General
condemns the
large-scale militia attacks in the Jebel Moon area of West Darfur on 29 and 30
October. The attacks on eight civilian settlements, including a camp
harbouring some 3,500 internally displaced persons, caused scores of civilian
deaths and forced thousands to flee the area.
The Secretary-General is particularly distressed on
hearing reports that 27 of those killed were children under the age of 12.
The Secretary-General calls again in the strongest
possible terms on the parties to respect their agreements and the provisions
of international humanitarian law. He appeals once more to the Government of
Sudan to take all necessary measures to prevent further attacks against
civilians, particularly by militia forces.
The Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights reports from Geneva that the
above-mentioned attacks resulted in approximately 50 civilian deaths and as
many as 7,000 persons in the area were affected by the violence. Many fled to
the south or across the border to Chad and in other directions. The attacks
affected nine villages or locations, including a camp for internally displaced
persons.
The most recent report on the human rights situation in
Sudan compiled by the Human Rights office in cooperation with the
UN Mission in Sudan being issued in Geneva
calls on Sudan to conduct an impartial, transparent and timely investigation
into the attacks with the aim of persecuting those who planned, orchestrated
and carried them out.
Meanwhile, the Office of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
also expressed extreme concern about the Jebel Moon attacks and announced it
was sending a team today to the border area to monitor the situation and
assess the needs of the refugees who were seen fleeing the attacks into Chad.
Recent inter-ethnic violence, including attacks by
Arab-led armed groups along the tense border areas in eastern Chad adjacent to
Darfur, has now pushed the numbers of internally displaced in the past year up
to an estimated 63,000 from an earlier figure of 50,000, according to UNHCR.
ANNAN TO ADDRESS IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT
IN URUGUAY
The Secretary-General this evening will address the 16th
Ibero-American Summit in Montevideo, Uruguay, and he will highlight the
challenge of entrenched inequality, the need for fair distribution of the
gains from international trade and the importance of the upcoming
Global Forum on
International Migration and Development.
He will detail the ways in which that Forum, which he had
proposed as a way to continue the debate that began with last month’s UN
High-Level Dialogue on migration, can help mark a sea change in how
governments deal with that issue.
The Secretary-General began his work today with a
one-on-one meeting with the Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General
Secretariat, Enrique Iglesias. He also met with the UN country team for
Uruguay.
NUMBER OF TROOPS FOR LEBANON FORCE
TOTALS AROUND 9,500
The
UN Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL)
says that
it has now deployed a total of around 9,450 troops from 20 different
countries. Of that number, 7,730 troops are deployed on the ground between the
Litani River and the Blue Line, in addition to a UNIFIL Maritime Task Force
with 1,700 naval personnel.
Two Sector Headquarters have become operational as of the
start of November, with the headquarters for the western sector located in
Tibnine, and the one in the east located near Marjayoun.
Asked whether Israel was
conducting aerial surveillance over Lebanon to pressure the United Nations to
deal with arms smuggling in that country, the Spokesman said that the United
Nations continues to protest Israeli overflights, which are a violation of the
Blue Line and of Security Council resolution 1701. He noted that any
violations of that resolution would be protested, from wherever it came.
Asked about disarmament of
militias, the Spokesman said it was clear from resolution
1701 that disarmament would be based on a political agreement by the
Lebanese.
U.N. REFUGEE
AGENCY ALARMED BY SLOW RESPONSE TO
MASSIVE DISPLACEMENTS IN IRAQ
UNHCR is increasingly
alarmed over the
incessant violence in Iraq and distressed over the lack of an international
humanitarian response to deal with the massive numbers of people being
displaced.
UNHCR officials who just returned from the region warned
that the organization was now facing an even larger humanitarian crisis than
we had initially prepared for in 2002-03. Yet UNHCR is sorely lacking in funds
to cope with the growing numbers of displaced and increasingly desperate
Iraqis needing help both within and outside their country.
On Colombia, the agency
says dozens of
Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities are at risk because of an upsurge in
violence in the northwestern part of the country.
In Western Sahara, after a five-month suspension, UNHCR
today resumed
family visits between Sahrawi refugees living in camps in Tindouf, Algeria,
and their relatives living in Western Sahara.
Finally, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR
is scheduled to
start distribution today of clothing to some 50,000 internally displaced
persons and returnees in the Ituri region.
ANNAN CONSULTS WITH
SECRETARY-GENERAL-DESIGNATE
IN RECRUITMENT OF WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME HEAD
Asked who makes the decision on
appointing a new Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), the
Spokesman said that the WFP appointment is to be made by the sitting
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and by the Food and Agriculture Organization
Director-General, Jacques Diouf. They would then write jointly to WFP’s Board
of Directors.
However, Dujarric added, the
Secretary-General had made it clear that he would consult with the
Secretary-General designate. Asked about the rules governing the appointment
process, the Spokesman said that the appointment would be done consistent with
all applicable rules.
HUMANITARIAN
AIR SERVICE TO RESUME FOR PAKISTAN QUAKE SURVIVORS
According to the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), agencies are
working to improve tented camps where some 2 million quake survivors are still
living, ahead of winter.
In addition, the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which is
managed by the World Food Programme, is set to resume helicopter operations
next week in that region, to carry building and agricultural materials to
remote communities.
PEACEKEEPING DEPARTMENT TO OPEN SECOND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS HUB
The
Department of Peacekeeping
Operations, subject to the approval of the
General Assembly, has accepted a proposal from the Government of Spain to
locate a Telecommunications Facility in Valencia, Spain. The facility will
serve to reinforce our current capacities provided through the
United Nations Logistics Base
(UNLB) in Brindisi, Italy.
In addition, the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations has accepted a proposal from the
Government of Italy to host the Standing Police Capacity (SPC) at the United
Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi. The SPC, which will be launched in spring
2007, will be based in New York until spring 2008 when it will be relocated to
Brindisi.
The Standing Police Capacity
will assist in fulfilling the strategic mission of UN police, which is to
build institutional police capacity in post-conflict environments. The SPC
will provide the start-up capability for the police components of new UN peace
operations, providing strategic direction and organization and helping to
ensure both immediate and long term effectiveness, efficiency and
professionalism. The unit, currently comprised of 25 officers, is anticipated
to expand up to 100 by 2008.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
UNITED NATIONS
IS NOT A PARTY IN SIX-PARTY TALKS ON NORTH KOREA:
Asked about the UN’s role in the six-party talks concerning the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Spokesman said that the United Nations is
not a party to those talks. However, he said, the Secretary-General has
consistently expressed support for the six-party talks and recently issued a
statement welcoming the agreement on their resumption. He noted that not every
initiative requires the Secretary-General’s direct intervention. In some
situations he acts alone on his Good Offices, like Cyprus, or as part of a
group, like the Quartet. Asked about the lack of a UN envoy dealing with DPRK
following the departure of Maurice Strong, Dujarric said that did not indicate
any lack of interest by the United Nations in the DPRK. Rather, he said, the
United Nations continues to be involved through the humanitarian work of the
World Food Programme and through its active support for the six-party talks.
U.N. COMPENSATION BODY CONCLUDES SESSION: The
Governing Council of the United
Nations Compensation Commission dealing with Iraq today concluded its
sixty-first session in Geneva. The Governing Council
considered the issue of inaccurate awards involving overpayments, and approved a
significant number of claims for correction. The Council decided that all
affected Governments and submitting entities be required to undertake best
efforts to recover the overpaid amounts and return them to the Commission.
U.N. FOOD AGENCY MAY AIR-DROP FOOD FOR ETHIOPIA FLOOD
VICTIMS: In the wake of worsening floods in southeastern Ethiopia, the World
Food Programme is
working closely with the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that food aid
urgently reaches tens of thousands of flood survivors in the country’s Somali
region. As access to the flood-hit area is difficult, the option of air-dropping
food aid is being considered.
CONTRACT FOR HEAD OF PEACEKEEPING TO EXPIRE IN FEBRUARY:
Asked about the duration of
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno’s
contract, the Spokesman said that as a general rule, Under-Secretaries-General
in the UN Secretariat had their contracts expire by next February, to give the
next Secretary-General more flexibility in appointments.
U.N. MISSION IN D.R. CONGO HAS COMPLETED 150,000 HOURS
OF FLIGHTS: The Aviation section of the UN
Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has accomplished a
major feat in achieving 150,000 hours of safe operations, which is a notable
record for peacekeeping operations. MONUC Aviation has now flown approximately
175,000 hours, with zero fatalities. Aviation Section supports Mission
requirements with operational, logistical and general support tasks.
**The
guest today was Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for
Sport for Development and Peace.
He spoke about a new book on the achievements of the International Year of Sport
and Physical Education 2005, and the Action Plan on Sport for Development and
Peace.
THE WEEK AHEAD
AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Sunday, November 5
Allan Rock, the Special Advisor on Sri Lanka to
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed
Conflict, will travel to Sri Lanka from November 5 to
14.
A UNICEF- and WHO-supported
polio immunization campaign starts in Sudan today.
Monday, November 6
Today is the International Day for Preventing the
Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert will hold an
embargoed media briefing at 10:00 a.m. in the UN Correspondents’ Association
Club, on this year’s Human Development Report.
A team of experts led by the
Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate begins a weeklong visit to
India to monitor progress in implementation of Security Council resolution 1373
(2001).
The Conference of Parties to the
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will hold its annual meeting in
Nairobi from 6 to 17 November.
The UN Office for Outer Space
Affairs, within the framework of the UN Programme on Space Applications, will
hold a four-day workshop on space law in Kiev, Ukraine.
Tuesday, November 7
The Security Council is scheduled
to hold consultations this morning on Somalia, as well as the
Secretary-General’s report on the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
in Uganda and the surrounding region. Francois Lonseny Fall, the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, will be the guest at the
noon briefing.
Today the General Assembly is scheduled to elect the final
members of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
The Third Review Conference of States Parties to the
Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional
Weapons which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have
Indiscriminate Effects (CCW) will be held from 7 to 17 November in Geneva.
The World Trade Organization’s General Council will meet
today to decide on accepting Viet Nam as a member.
Wednesday, November 8
The Secretary-General is
scheduled to attend the monthly Security Council luncheon.
The Security Council is scheduled
to hold a debate this morning on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The General Assembly President will preside over the vote
on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo
imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.
At 11:00, Eli Moyal, Mayor of
Sderot, Israel, will hold a press conference.
The UN Environment Programme will
be launching its Billion Tree Campaign.
At 12:45 p.m., there will be a
background briefing by a senior UN official on the report of the High-Level
Group on the Alliance of Civilizations.
Thursday, November 9
The report of the
Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence
will be launched today in New York. The Panel
Co-Chairs will present the report to the Secretary-General and then to the
General Assembly, and will give a press conference at 12:30 pm in S-226.
At 2:00 p.m., the Canadian Mission is sponsoring a press
conference by the NGO Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO),
on women’s groups’ response to the recommendations on gender equality in the
report of the Secretary-General’s High-Panel on UN
System-Wide Coherence.
The Human Development Report
2006, on freshwater issues, will be launched
today around the world. The main launch event will take place with UNDP
Administrator Kemal Dervis in Cape Town, South Africa.
Friday, November 10
The Security Council mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to
depart today.
The General Assembly President will participate in
activities for International Human Solidarity Day. She will also chair and
participate in a roundtable to mark the 60th anniversary of the
UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
