HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
U.N.
HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, July 2, 2007
BAN KI-MOON
NAMES HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISARMAMENT
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has appointed Sergio de Queiroz Duarte of Brazil as the
High Representative for Disarmament
at the Under-Secretary-General level.
Mr. Duarte is a career diplomat and
holds the rank of Ambassador in the Brazilian Foreign Service, where he has
served for 48 years.
During his career, Ambassador Duarte
represented his country at numerous international meetings in the field of
disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation,
including the General Assembly’s First Committee and the UN Disarmament
Commission.
In 1988, Mr. Duarte was elected President of the Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty Prohibiting the Emplacement of Nuclear
Weapons on the Sea-bed and the Subsoil Thereof (Geneva). He served a one-year
term (September 1999-September 2000) as Chairman of the Board of Governors of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In 2005, he was elected President of the VII Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT), in New York. During his career, he attended 12 sessions of the
First Committee of the UN General Assembly in different capacities and 6
sessions of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC).
In response to a question, the
Spokeswoman later told the correspondent that the High Representative will
report directly to the Secretary-General with greater access and participation
in top policy-making.
BAN KI-MOON
NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL MASTER PLAN
The Secretary-General has also
appointed Michael Adlerstein of the United States as Executive Director of the
Capital Master Plan
(CMP).
This appointment will enable the
United Nations to move forward with the implementation phase of the Capital
Master Plan, the $1.9 billion renovation project of the organization’s New
York Headquarter complex, which will take place over the next seven years.
Most recently, Mr. Adlerstein was the
Vice President and Architect of The New York Botanical Garden.
Alderstein had a long and
distinguished career with the US Department of the Interior. Most notably, he
oversaw the restoration of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, He led the
Master Planning team and managed the team of architects, engineers, landscape
architects and other consultants through the planning and design process and
later managed the complexities of construction on Ellis Island. The success
of the project led to his promotion to Chief Historical Architect for the
Department of the Interior.
Born in New York in October 1945,
Adlerstein also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia, and has worked
as a State Department consultant on preservation issues on numerous projects,
including the preservation of the Taj Mahal.
Asked if the appointment of the new
Executive Director would prompt a rethinking of how the CMP is carried out to
make the UN Secretariat more environment-friendly, Okabe said that the general
scope of the CMP has been approved by the General Assembly and that, in
carrying it out, due attention will be paid to the Secretary-General's stated
desire to make the new Secretariat as environment-friendly as possible.
SECRETARY-GENERAL
STRESSES NEED FOR SUSTAINED EFFORTS
TO REACH MILLENNIUM GOALS
Speaking this morning at the
High-level segment of the Economic and Social Council in Geneva, the Secretary
General underlined
the need for a strong, sustained effort to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals. It can mean, the
Secretary General said, “the difference between the success and failure of our
grand endeavour. Needless to say, millions of lives quite literally hang in
the balance.”
The Secretary General welcomed the
focus of the meeting on two of the Millennium Goals: cutting extreme poverty
and hunger in half, and building the global partnership for development.
Speaking later at a press
conference, he
added “The goals are achievable if countries commit themselves to sound
governance and accountability, and receive adequate financial and technical
assistance from the developed countries”.
Turning to Darfur, the Secretary
General stated that it has been the highest priority on his agenda and said
that “during the last six months, we have made slow, but credible and
considerable progress. The people in
Darfur have suffered too much and the international community has waited
too long. It is now high time for us to take the necessary action, and I hope
that the Sudanese Government will implement faithfully the commitments they
have made”, he said. It is vital, he added, that the African troops now
deployed on the ground until December receive the financial resources so badly
needed to protect and assist the populations in Darfur.
On climate change, the
Secretary-General emphasized the need to galvanize “political will and
coordinate concrete action before the Bali negotiations in December. Time is
of the essence,” he said.
Recalling his brief visit to
Afghanistan on Friday, the Secretary-General once again expressed his concern
and sadness by the continuing violence and particularly the casualties
suffered by civilians. He said he had made a strong request to Afghani
leaders, as well as military commanders, to avoid such casualties.
The Secretary-General is scheduled to travel tomorrow to
Rome for a Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan.
CONFERENCE ON RULE OF
LAW IN AFGHANISTAN GETS UNDERWAY
A two-day
Conference on the Rule of Law in Afghanistan opened today in Rome.
The
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, is
co-chairing it today on behalf of the Secretary-General, who will arrive in
Rome tomorrow.
One of
the key goals of the conference is to ensure international and Afghan support
at the highest levels for the consolidation of the rule of law and for
improving the justice and law enforcement institutions in a post-conflict
Afghanistan. Among the documents being presented today are the Government’s
Justice Sector Priorities; a Donor Implementation Plan; and an outline of the
National Justice Programme for Afghanistan.
President
Hamid Karzai is leading the Afghan delegation and is
expected to meet the Secretary-General in the course of the event to continue
the conversation they began on Friday during the Secretary-General’s visit
there.
SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPLORES U.K.
TERRORIST INCIDENTS
The Secretary-General on Sunday issued a statement in which he deplores
the terrorist attack that took place Saturday at Glasgow airport in Great
Britain, as well as the attempt to explode car bombs in London on Friday.
He reiterates that no cause
or belief can justify such acts of terrorism.
The Secretary-General
expresses his strong support for the Government and the people of Great
Britain at this time of heightened security threats in the country.
He looks forward to his
visit to London next week, when he will have the opportunity to meet with
Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss, among other issues, how the
international community can best implement the global strategy against
terrorism adopted last year by the General Assembly.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS
ON DAY OF THE AU SUMMIT IN ACCRA
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose
Migiro is participating today in the two-day Summit of the African Union,
which ends today, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Addressing the opening session of the
summit on Sunday, the Deputy Secretary-General
stressed the need
for strong partnerships to help Africa achieve the Millennium Development
Goals.
She stated that the Secretary-General,
during last month’s G8 summit in Germany, had launched the MDG Africa Steering
Group, bringing together the leaders of UN entities, international financial
institutions and the African Union Commission to work closely with donors and
developing countries to provide a vital new impetus for a continent-wide
scaling up of interventions.
On the subject of a Union Government
for Africa – the theme of the summit – the Deputy Secretary-General noted the
UN’s long-standing support for stronger regional integration in Africa as a
way of assisting efforts to overcoming obstacles to closer union.
She has also highlighted UN-AU efforts
to bring a speedy resolution to the Darfur crisis.
She has been holding bilateral
meetings with a number of Heads of State and Government, including Presidents
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of Côte D’Ivoire, Jakaya
Kikwete of Tanzania, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Ahmad Teijan Kabbah of
Sierra Leone and also with the Chairman of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar
Konaré.
The Deputy Secretary-General is
scheduled to leave Accra this evening for Nairobi, Kenya, which is the last
stop of her current trip overseas.
NO CHANGE IN
POLICY OF ANNOUNCING OFFICIAL VISITS
The Spokeswoman, in response to a
question, said that there were no changes in practice or in policy on the
announcement of the official travels of the Secretary-General and the Deputy
Secretary-General. The established practice, she said, is to announce trips
within the United States at least one day before they commence while other
travels are usually announced to correspondents at least five days prior to
their start.
Asked why the Secretary-General's
Friday visit in Kabul had not been announced, Okabe explained that that was a
surprise visit, unannounced for security reasons.
In response to another question, the
Spokeswoman said that Friday's meeting of the Secretary-General and the
President of Georgia had been initiated and set up spontaneously during a
technical stopover in Georgia of the plane carrying the Secretary-General.
CHINA ASSUMES SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY FOR
JULY
China has assumed the presidency of the Security
Council for the month of July.
On
Friday, the Council adopted a number of decisions, including a technical
rollover
extending the mandate of the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire until July 16th
and a Presidential Statement condemning the attack on Friday on a plane
carrying Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.
On
Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Council members adopted a resolution approving the
recommendation by the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council to
appoint Miroslav Lajčák as High Representative. The Council also approved the
Steering Board’s recommendation to extend the mandate of the Office of the
High Representative for another year until 30 June 2008.
CYPRUS:
BODIES OF 28 MISSING PERSONS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED
The Committee on Missing Persons in
Cyprus announced today that the bodies of the first 28 missing persons have
been positively identified. The Committee plans to personally notify the
families concerned.
The Special Representative of the
Secretary-General in Cyprus, Michael
Moller, urged everyone to exercise all due restraint in this sensitive and
emotional times and to respect the privacy of the affected families.
Both the Committee and the Special
Representative hope that, despite their sorrow, the families will find relief
and solace after so many years of uncertainty about the fate of their
relatives.
According to UN data, over 1,400 Greek
Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots are listed as missing. Some 270 remains
have been unearthed on both sides of the ceasefire line following an agreement
last year.
U.N.
REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON COTE D’IVOIRE’S GOVERNMENT
TO HELP DISPLACED PERSONS RETURN
The Representative of the
Secretary-General for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Walter Kalin,
concluded his week-long visit to Côte d’Ivoire this week-end.
Saying it was time for action, Kalin
called on the Government to implement the necessary means to help the
return process of IDPs. He also called on the international community and
donors to support IDP programmes.
During his trip, the Representative
continued his dialogue with the authorities and all concerned actors
concerning IDPs. He was also in Côte d’Ivoire to identify the needs of IDPs in
the country and to assess their overall situation, following the signing of
the Ouagadougou Agreement.
PPRELIMINARY
RESULTS OF TIMOR-LESTE POLLS EXPECTED THIS WEEK
In Timor-Leste,
Saturday’s Parliamentary elections were conducted in a generally peaceful
atmosphere and the security situation remains calm with no major incidents
reported.
The National Election Commission
announced that so far, approximately 20 percent of the total votes cast have
been counted.
Preliminary results of the elections
are expected to be out this week.
NO
DECISION MADE ON WHERE TO ARCHIVE FILES
OF U.N. IRAQ MONITORING COMMISSION
In response to a question, the
Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General commends the
dedicated work of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)
and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
in implementing their mandates given by the Security Council to verify Iraq's
compliance with its obligations under relevant resolutions.
The Secretary-General will take all
necessary measures to implement the decision made by the Security Council in
relation to the appropriate disposition of archives and other property, and to
transfer the remaining funds to the Government of Iraq. Okabe added, "The
Secretary-General looks forward to Iraq's adherence to all applicable
non-proliferation treaties and arrangements."
Asked if any decisions had been made
by the Secretary-General on how and where to archive UNMOVIC's files, Okabe
said that no such decisions had yet been made. She added that there would is
enough expertise left at UNMOVIC to study the best ways to handle these
issues, as per the Security Council's resolution on the matter.
REVISED
REPORT ON WESTERN SAHARA EXPECTED SOON
The Spokeswoman, in response to
questions, confirmed that a new, revised report on the recent direct talks on
Western Sahara between Morocco and the Frente Polisario would be out shortly.
She added that the Secretary-General's
personal envoy for Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, would be give an oral
briefing to the Security Council on the conclusions of the talks in the course
of this month.
Asked if it was a common occurrence
that the United Nations to pulls out published
reports from circulation in order to revise them, Okabe said that it was not.
"In this particular case, given the sensitivity and the delicate situation of
the talks," she explained, "much consideration went into it, as a result of
which the decision was taken" to reissue the report.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
NO CHANGE ON U.N. POLICY ON EAST
JERUSALEM: Asked if the United Nations
had changed its policy on the status of East Jerusalem as an occupied
Palestinian territory, Okabe stressed that there had been no change in policy.
NEXT MEETING OF QUARTET EXPECTED TO
TAKE PLACE SOON: In response to a question, the
Spokeswoman said that the next meeting of the Middle East Quartet principals
would take place very soon in the region.
Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary-General
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New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
