HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
HEAVY FIGHTING IN
SOUTHERN SUDAN VIOLATES PEACE AGREEMENT
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply concerned about the
reports of heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on 28 November in the town of Malakal in Upper
Nile State, Southern Sudan. These hostilities constitute a serious violation of
the security arrangements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
While the situation in Malakal is relatively calm this
afternoon, tension remains. A Joint Military Delegation comprising high level
officers from the SPLA, SAF and the UNMIS (UN Mission in the Sudan) Force
Commander has arrived in Malakal to assess the situation.
The Secretary-General appeals to the Government of National
Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to make all possible efforts to
contain the situation, and expresses the hope that any differences in the area
will be resolved peacefully.
Some civilian United Nations staff have been temporarily
relocated to other locations in Southern Sudan.
No casualties’ figures were
immediately available.
Meanwhile, on Darfur, the
Humanitarian Coordinator for the UN system in Sudan has expressed grave concern
at the expulsion of the Norwegian Refugee Council from Darfur and his
disappointment at the lack of clear justification for this expulsion.
Manuel Aranda da Silva, the UN
Humanitarian coordinator said that NRC has played a key role in coordinating
humanitarian activities to respond to the needs of over a 100,000 internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in Kalma camp as well as tens of thousands of other
vulnerable persons with food and education programmes throughout South Darfur.
Asked whether the United Nations has yet received a
letter from Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Spokesman said it still has
not been received, although he continued to expect that it would arrive,
possibly later today. He noted that a meeting in Abuja on Darfur, which had
been scheduled to begin today, has now been delayed by 24 hours and will take
place on Thursday afternoon.
SECURITY
COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE FOR MULTINATIONAL FORCE FOR IRAQ
The
Security Council this morning heard a
briefing on sanctions in Somalia from the chairman of the Sanctions Committee
for that country, the ambassador of Qatar. Council members discussed the
recently-issued report of the Monitoring Group for Somalia.
After consultations adjourn, Council
members expect to hold a formal meeting to consider a resolution extending the
Monitoring Group’s mandate.
Also, under other matters in today’s
consultations, the Security Council heard about Nepal from the
Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for Nepal, Ian Martin. Yesterday
afternoon, the Council ended its open debate on children and armed conflict by
approving a
Presidential Statement, which, among other things, commended the work
carried out by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for that matter.
The Security Council also
extended the mandate of the multinational force n Iraq until the end of
2007.
Asked whether the Secretary-General had changed his
position on not having UN involvement in Iraq, the Spokesman disputed the
premise of the question and noted the extensive work the United Nations has
done in Iraq since the end of the previous regime.
Among other things, he said, the United Nations has
involved itself on issues of human rights, development and the creation of a
new constitution.
It has not, however, taken the lead on security matters
and does not seek that role. Dujarric said it would be up to the Security
Council to make any changes to the UN mandate in Iraq.
He added that the Secretary-General has urged the main
political factions in Iraq to meet and the United Nations would try to assist
reconciliation efforts among the Iraqis.
ANNAN
SAYS DARFUR SITUATION A GLARING OMMISSION
ON HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S AGENDA
The
Human Rights Council ended its second session, during which it adopted a
total of 18 texts on a number of issues, including the occupied Palestinian
territories, Afghanistan, Nepal and Darfur. The Human Rights Council then
officially opened its third session by hearing a message from the
Secretary-General, which was delivered by High Commissioner for Human Rights
Louise Arbour.
In that
message,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that there were “other situations, besides
the one in the Middle East, which would merit scrutiny by a special session of
the Council” and that Darfur was a “glaring case in point”. He added that if
the Human Rights Council was to fulfill its vocation and take its place as one
of the UN’s paramount bodies, its work must be marked by a strong sense of
purpose.
In her own presentation, Louise Arbour
briefed of her recent visits to Israel, the occupied Palestinian
territories, and Haiti. She also updated the Human Rights Council on the human
rights situations in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Darfur. On Darfur, Arbour
called on the Government of the Sudan to “provide convincing answers regarding
its well documented links with the militia, as well as the possible criminal
culpability of its officials in aiding or abetting acts committed by the
militia on the Government’s behalf”.
Also today, the Human Rights Council
heard a presentation by the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the
Prevention of Genocide, Juan Mendez. Mendez said that the UN is ashamed by not
having done enough to prevent genocide from taking place again in the 20th
century, despite the lessons from the Holocaust.
ANNAN
ALARMED BY REPORTS OF LOOMING COUP ON FIJI ISLANDS
The Secretary-General is
alarmed by the
continued possibility of a military coup d’état against the legitimate
government of the Republic of Fiji Islands. He encourages the parties to
continue their search for a peaceful reconciliation of their differences
within the constitutional framework.
The Secretary-General also wishes to
stress that further prolongation of the crisis may damage Fiji’s international
standing, which it has built carefully over the years, as an important
contributor to UN peacekeeping operations and more recently as a member of the
Peacebuilding Commission.
The Secretary-General stands ready to
complement national and regional efforts aimed at overcoming the crisis
through dialogue.
Asked how the message in the statement was conveyed to
the Fijians, the Spokesman noted that before the statement was issued, the
Secretary-General had spoken to Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. His
position was conveyed in the statement.
Asked about the effect on Fijian soldiers, the Spokesman
underscored that soldiers who may take part in the unlawful seizure of power
would most likely be unwelcome in UN peacekeeping missions; consequently, any
coup would have an effect on what troops would be welcome for UN work.
Asked how many Fijians currently serve in UN peacekeeping
operations, the Spokesman later said that number was 275.
U.N.
OBSERVES INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY
WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
The Secretary-General today
observed the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, saying at an
event to mark the occasion this morning that he feels “profound dismay” that a
peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains so elusive.
He said that, with the announcement of
a cease-fire in Gaza, there has been a glimmer of hope over the past few days
that the latest hostilities might give way to a period of calm. He called on
both sides to adhere to this commitment, to avoid any action that could
jeopardise further progress and to extend the cease-fire to the West Bank.
NUMBER
OF U.N. PEACEKEEPERS IN LEBANON ON THE INCREASE
The strength of the UN Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has
continued to
rise, with the deployment of additional troops from Indonesia, Portugal
and Italy. The current total is around 11,500 troops from 21 countries, of
which 9,800 are ground troops and 1,700 are naval personnel.
Over the past week, UNIFIL de-miners
from various national contingents destroyed over 300 separate explosive
devices, including rockets, grenades, and cluster bombs.
UNIFIL peacekeepers also continue to
provide humanitarian assistance to the local population, including medical,
dental and veterinary aid.
ANNAN
DECRIES “MUTUALLY ASSURED PARALYSIS”
ON NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
Speaking at Princeton University’s
Woodrow Wilson School yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General
warned that the
effort to deal with the threat of nuclear weapons, perhaps the greatest danger
of all, is the one area where there is a total lack of any common global
strategy.
He said that those who emphasise the
need for disarmament to take place first and those who support
non-proliferation before disarmament continue to wait for each other to move.
The result, the Secretary-General argued, is that “mutually assured
destruction” has been replaced by mutually assured paralysis.
He warned, “We are asleep at the
controls of a fast-moving aircraft. Unless we wake up and take control, the
outcome is all too predictable.” The Secretary-General laid out his case for
the urgent need to deal at the same time with both disarmament and
non-proliferation.
PROTESTERS
ATTACK U.N FACILITY IN KOSOVO CAPITAL
The UN Mission in Kosovo
reports that a protest in Pristina
turned violent yesterday when pro-independence protesters pulled down a
concrete barricade and tried to pull down two more, to gain entry to the UN
compound. The protesters also threw an incendiary device at police officers
located inside the compound, and broke over 20 windows.
Using tear gas, the police quickly
gained control of the situation. There were no reports of injuries to
protesters or police, and no arrests were made. In addition, Human Rights
Watch was on hand to observe the protest.
A criminal investigation is currently
underway.
UNITED
NATIONS TO ASSIST IN HAITI ELECTION
The
UN Mission in Haiti says that it will assist the Haitian authorities to
ensure peaceful run of municipal and local elections on Sunday, December 3rd,
when Haitians go to polls to elect more than 9,000 representatives and finish
a number of legislative run-off elections.
The Mission’s principal tasks on this
occasion are to provide security and logistic support throughout the country,
including distributing election material to some 9,200 polling stations.
A joint-security plan is being
implemented, involving the Haitian Police, the UN Police and the Mission’s
Military Force. The Mission’s 6,500- plus troops and 1,700 police will be out
in force on Election Day.
In spite of the recent upsurge in
violence -- which is a phenomenon that preceded the successful elections held
earlier this year -- and aware that anti-democratic forces may try to disturb
the coming elections, the Mission remains confident that it has taken all
necessary steps, in conjunction with the Government of Haiti, to ensure the
vote is held in a secure environment.
FOOD
AGENCY TO SPEED UP FOOD DELIVERY IN AFGHANISTAN
Ahead of winter, the
World Food Programme (WFP) is racing to
complete food deliveries to impoverished Afghans living in communities that
will be cut off once the bitter cold arrives and heavy snows set in. WFP has
already delivered 16,000 tons of food to a number of provinces.
Meanwhile, in other parts of
Afghanistan, WFP is providing aid to victims of severe floods.
U.N.
HUMANITARIAN CHIEF SLAMS LACK OF ACTION ON DARFUR
Jan Egeland held his last press
conference this morning in Geneva in his capacity as Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs.
He said that, although the
international community had solemnly sworn a responsibility to protect, it was
not living up to that oath in Darfur or other areas such as Iraq. He also
warned that Gaza was going to explode very soon unless there was progress on
the new political process that had started between Palestinian leaders and
Israelis.
Egeland added that neither in the
Darfur-Chad-Central African Republic subregion – which he called the biggest
conflict area in the world today – nor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, or Sri
Lanka, were the result of natural disasters. They were manmade disasters.
And man needed to put them right, he said.
Egeland will be stepping down from his
current post next month.
Asked about Egeland’s departure, the
Spokesman said it was expected in the early part of December. He said that it
would be up to the incoming Secretary-General to designate a successor; until
that happened, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs would
be headed by an officer-in-charge.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN NOT IN RECEIPT OF IRAN LETTER TO AMERICAN PEOPLE:
Asked about the UN’s reaction to a message sent by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad to the American people, the Spokesman noted that the
Secretary-General was not the letter’s recipient, and had not analysed it or
reacted to it.
SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF BAN KI-MOON SCHEDULED FOR
DECEMBER 14: Asked about the transition to a new Secretary-General, the
Spokesman said it was ongoing, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s team working
closely with Secretary-General-designate Ban Ki-moon’s team. The swearing-in of
Ban, he added, was scheduled for 14 December.
U.N. MISSION IN COTE D'IVOIRE IN CONTACT WITH ALL
POLITICAL ACTORS: Asked about a reported dispute between the President and
Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire, the Spokesman said that the United Nations has
not made any public comment about that, but he added that the UN Mission in that
country was in contact with all political actors there, to make sure that they
do their utmost to implement the relevant UN resolutions and maintain calm.
DRUGS AND CRIME OFFICE TO TAKE ON
HUMAN TRAFFICKING ISSUES AT PUBLIC FORUM:
Our colleagues in the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) would like to flag a public forum that will take place tomorrow night at
NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on issues of human trafficking in
the New York region. The expected speakers include executive director of the
UNODC, Antonio Maria Costa, the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and
actress Julia Ormond.
UNICEF CONCERNED BY
ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN UGANDA: The UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Uganda, in view of the continued violence linked to
the ongoing process of disarmament in areas of northern Kotido District,
expresses its serious concern about the impact of escalating insecurity on the
lives of children and families in those locations. UNICEF and its partners urge
national and local authorities to undertake all measures required to ensure the
protection of the most vulnerable members of the civilian population, including
children and 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
