HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, February
2, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
WELCOMES FINDINGS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The Secretary-General
welcomes the
important findings of the Working Group 1 contribution of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
released today in Paris. The
report highlights the scientific consensus regarding the quickening and
threatening pace of human-induced climate change.
The global response therefore needs to move much more
rapidly as well, and with more determination.
The Secretary-General congratulates the panel of
independent climate scientists and experts, who have deepened our
understanding of the changes that are affecting the global environment and the
human causes at their root.
Today’s study, and the follow-up reports of the IPCC
during 2007, will be critical guides for the UN’s response to anthropogenic
climate change, and undoubtedly will assist many other stakeholders in taking
actions at the global, national and local levels.
MIDDLE EAST
QUARTET MEETING OPENS IN WASHINGTON
The Secretary-General is in Washington today, where he is
currently participating in a meeting with the other principal members of the
Quartet dealing with the Middle East.
The other senior participants at that meeting are US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov,
European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy
Javier Solana, European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and German Foreign
Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, representing the Presidency of the European
Union.
At the end of the meeting, there will be a joint press
encounter by the principal members of the Quartet.
The Secretary-General met earlier this morning separately
with Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Steinmeier, and he will attend a working
luncheon with Secretary Rice and the other Quartet principals after the
meeting ends.
He plans to be in New York this evening to attend the
concert by Maestro Ennio Morricone in honour of staff working in the areas of
peace and development. That concert is sponsored by the Mission of Italy and
the UN Staff Council.
Asked if Lebanon would come up in today’s Quartet
meeting, the Spokesman urged reporters to wait for the group’s communiqué,
which was expected to be issued later this afternoon.
NEW DEPUTY
SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BE OFFICIALLY INDUCTED ON MONDAY
The Secretary-General will meet with the Member States
informally on Monday morning, at 10:00 a.m., to talk to them about his
restructuring proposals and his recent travels.
Prior to that, at 9:00, the Secretary-General and the new
Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, will attend a meeting of the UN’s
senior managers, at which the Deputy Secretary-General will sign a declaration
in the presence of the Secretary-General and the other senior officials, to
mark her formal induction.
SECURITY
COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON SOMALIA
The Security Council
today held consultations on its programme of work, Somalia and other matters.
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim
Gambari briefed the Council on Somalia, emphasizing the importance of
political dialogue and inclusiveness in that country.
Regarding the African Union’s encouragement of an African
force in Somalia, Gambari informed the Council that next week a UN team would
discuss operational plans for such a force with the African Union.
U.N. ENVOY
UNVEILS KOSOVO PLAN TO BELGRADE AND PRISTINA
Today the UN Special Envoy for the
Kosovo Final Status
Process, Martti Ahtisaari, presented his status proposal to Belgrade and
Pristina. An
executive summary of that proposal is now available.
The summary of the proposal says that Kosovo shall have
the right to negotiate and conclude international agreements, including the
right to seek membership in international organizations.
At the same time, the proposal foresees a future
international civilian and military presence in Kosovo, to help Kosovo’s
authorities ensure peace and stability, among other things.
Asked
about the next steps on Kosovo, the Spokesman said
that Ahtisaari would engage the parties in the coming weeks for more
discussions and consultations before finalizing the proposal and sending it to
the Secretary-General.
Thereafter, the proposal would be transmitted to the
Security Council, and it would be up to the Council to decide how it wanted to
consider it. No date had yet been set.
Haq added that it was important that the future
status process not lose momentum and move forward, and that the
Secretary-General hoped that the two sides would discuss the plan in a serious
manner and show responsibility and flexibility in this process.
He later said that Ahtisaari would be in New York
next week and would give a press conference on Thursday.
LEBANON: U.N.
FORCE COMMANDER HANDS OVER CONTROL TO SUCCESSOR
The formal ceremony marking the transfer of command of
the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
took place today between Major-General Alain Pellegrini (France) and his
successor, Major-General Claudio Graziano (Italy).
Major-General Pellegrini, who has been UNIFIL Force
Commander since February 2004, extended his appreciation to colleagues in
peacekeeping, the Lebanese Army and to the communities in southern Lebanon. He
told them, “I leave with the conviction that we have together laid new
foundations for a solid and, I hope, lasting stability.”
Major-General Graziano expressed his appreciation to
Pellegrini and underscored his own determination to ensure that UNIFIL
accomplishes the job with which it is tasked.
Asked why UNIFIL had said there had been no infiltration
of arms into Lebanon despite reports to the contrary, the Spokesman clarified
that UNIFIL only reported on events taking place within its own area of
operations.
Haq added that UN Special Envoy Terje-Roed Larsen had
mentioned such reports about infiltration but had added that he had no hard
evidence to support them.
INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE RETURN FROM KHARTOUM
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
says that tomorrow, the first group of internally displaced persons will
depart in an organized return from a camp in Khartoum to southern Sudan and
South Kordofan.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is escorting the convoy of
300 IDPs.
The return process is a joint effort bringing together the UN Mission, the
IOM, Sudan’s Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern
Sudan.
The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), in a press release
yesterday, strongly condemned the killing of a member of Civilian Police of
the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) who was shot dead by unknown armed
men during a hijacking of an AMIS vehicle in North Darfur.
The UN Mission in Sudan urges all parties to fully
cooperate with AMIS and to ensure the safety and security of its personnel,
and it also requests the release of the AMIS peacekeeper abducted on 10
December 2006 and the handover of all hijacked AMIS vehicles
The Mission is particularly alarmed at the fact that the
killing happened inside a camp for internally displaced persons and urges all
concerned to prevent the presence and access of armed individuals to the
camps.
D.R. CONGO:
U.N. MISSION CONCERNED BY VIOLENCE
The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic (MONUC)
of the Congo says it is gravely concerned about the recent incidents in the
Lower Congo province, which have claimed scores of lives and left a great
number of people wounded.
The Mission calls for an immediate return to calm and
appeals to all involved for an end to the violence. The Mission also urges the
Congolese military and police forces to restore order and appeals to the
political authorities to work toward a comprehensive solution to the crisis.
The Mission will be sending a multidisciplinary team to
the region to assess the security and humanitarian needs of the civilian
population.
HUMAN RIGHTS
CHIEF CONCERNED BY VIOLATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
Louise Arbour has expressed concern that the national stability plan passed by
Afghanistan's lower house of Parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, on 31 January,
could lead to past serious human rights violations going unpunished.
The High Commissioner said the plan "will undermine the process towards
securing long term peace through re-establishing the rule of law in
Afghanistan".
U.N. ENVOY TO
MEET WITH FOUR PARTNERS ON IRAQ
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
António Guterres
leaves today on a weeklong mission to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and
Syria, aimed at strengthening cooperation between UNHCR and its partners in
the four countries and assessing its programmes for hundreds of thousands of
displaced Iraqis in the region.
UNHCR just issued a $60 million appeal to fund its work
for Iraqis displaced inside their country, for non-Iraqi refugees in Iraq, and
for Iraqis and others who have fled to neighbouring countries. We have more on
Guterres’ trip in today’s UNHCR briefing notes.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LATEST ACTIVITIES BY SPECIAL ENVOY ON IRAQ: Asked
about the latest activities by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in
Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, the Spokesman said that Qazi had recently
met with senior officials in Syria and
Saudi Arabia, to discuss recent developments in Iraq.
INVESTIGATION ON DEATH OF FORMER LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER
ONGOING: One reporter asked about Serge Brammertz, head of the International
Independent Investigation
Commission into the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,
and whether his June report would be his last. The Spokesman responded that
Brammertz himself had told reporters in December that he did not think it was
possible to wrap up his investigation by this coming June. Nevertheless, Haq
added, we should wait for that June report before speculating.
SECRETARY-GENERAL BELIEVES IN HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL
PEOPLE: Asked about the Secretary-General’s views about gay and lesbian
non-governmental organizations being denied consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),
the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General believed in human rights for all
people. At the same time, it was up to Member States to decide how to conduct
proceedings in bodies such as ECOSOC.
CALLING FOR MORE REPRESENTATION IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL:
Asked if the Secretary-General was encouraging seats for Islamic countries
in the Security Council, the Spokesman said that was a matter for Member States,
adding that the Secretary-General recommended a larger and more representative
Security Council.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED
NATIONS
3-9 February 2007
[This document is for planning purposes only and is
subject to change.]
Monday, February 5
This morning at 9:00 a.m. the new Deputy
Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, will sign a declaration in the presence of
the Secretary-General and other senior officials, to mark her formal induction.
She will then be introduced by the Secretary-General at the press stakeout at
about 9:40 a.m. At 10:00 a.m. the Secretary-General will meet with the Member
States informally, in the General Assembly Hall, to talk about his restructuring
proposals and his recent travels.
The first session of the Conference of States Parties
to the International Convention against Doping in Sport will be convened today
by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, and will end on 7 February
at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Paul Hunt, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health started his visit to
Uganda yesterday, at the invitation of the Government. He will end his visit on
Friday.
Tuesday, February 6
This morning at 10:00 a.m. there will be a General
Assembly plenary meeting in the General assembly Hall, on the progress in the
work of the Peacebuilding Commission.
Wednesday, February 7
At 1:15 pm, there will be a press briefing on the
45th session of the Commission for Social Development, which starts today. The
press conference will be held by the Chair of the Commission and Iranian Deputy
Permanent Representative Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, as well as Barbados Central Bank
Governor Marion Williams.
Thursday, February 8
At 11:00 a.m., there will be a press briefing by
Martti Ahtisaari, the UN Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo.
The guest at today’s briefing will be Radhika
Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and
Armed Conflict, to brief on her mission to Sudan.The General Assembly’s
Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council reform is scheduled to meet this
morning at 10:00 a.m. in a closed, informal meeting.
Friday, February 9
Today at 11:15 a.m., Assistant
Secretary-General for Economic Development Jomo Kwame Sundaram and expert
Jacques Baudot will present their new book: "Flat World, Big Gaps: Economic
Liberalization, Globalization, Poverty and Inequality."
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
