HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, May 7, 2004

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON DARFUR CRISIS

• In closed consultations of the Security Council, members heard back-to-back
  briefings on the two concluded UN missions to the Darfur region.
• James Morris, Executive Director of the World
  Food Programme , briefed on the high-level humanitarian mission he
  led. He said he had never visited people as terrified as the people he
  met in Darfur.
• Bertrand Ramcharan, the Acting High Commissioner
  for Refugees , briefed on the human rights situation there, based
  on his report (see
  below).
• Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on his way to the consultations, told reporters
  that Morris had some very concrete ideas as to what we can do. The Secretary-General
  also said he had been on the phone fairly regularly with the Sudanese President
  on their obligations and responsibilities. He also said that he would inform
  the Council that the African Union monitors, who are going to monitor the
  ceasefire in Darfur, will begin to arrive shortly.
• Germany's Vice Foreign Minister Kerstin Mueller, who had just returned
  from Chad, also participated in the consultations.
• Following consultations, Ramcharan told reporters that the events in
  Sudan were happening in front of the world, and that Council members had
  been informed about the human rights violations in Darfur. "No one can
  say, 'We were not told'," he said.
• Prior to the closed consultations, the Security Council began its work
  this morning with a briefing in an
  open meeting by Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and
  Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) , Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy.

ANNAN CONDEMNS ATTACK ON MOSQUE IN PAKISTAN

• The Secretary-General, in a statement issued
  through his Spokesman, is appalled by the news of yet another attack in
  a place of worship, this time in a mosque in the city of Karachi in Pakistan,
  which has reportedly killed about a dozen innocent worshippers and wounded
  about one hundred more.
• He condemns in the strongest terms this terrorist act and calls for action
  to bring the perpetrators to justice. He reiterates his position that no
  political or other cause can justify brutal acts of indiscriminate violence
  against civilians.
• The Secretary-General extends his sincere condolences to the families
  of the victims of this attack.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS ON SUDAN TO DISARM MILITIAS IN SUDAN

• Sudan's Government should unequivocally condemn all actions and crimes
  committed by the Janjaweed militia and ensure that all militias are immediately
  disarmed and disbanded, the acting High
  Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report today.
• The report of the UN human rights team – which visited Chad and Darfur,
  in western Sudan, in April and May – says that, in its response to a rebellion
  in Darfur, the Sudanese Government appears to have sponsored the Janjaweed
  militia, composed of fighters of apparently Arab background.
• In its interviews with refugees and displaced persons from Darfur, the
  team received frequent reports, often eyewitness accounts, of killings,
  and of sexual violence – particularly rape. The mission added that it is
  clear from its findings that a climate of impunity has prevailed, and continues
  today to prevail, in Darfur.
• The Acting High Commissioner calls for humanitarian workers to be given
  full and unimpeded access to the region. It urges the Sudanese Government
  to pursue a policy of national reconciliation for Darfur and adds that
  an international, independent Commission of Inquiry is required.
• The UN
  High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), meanwhile, started moving
  the first of thousands of Sudanese refugees from the southernmost tip
  of the 600-km stretch of Chad-Sudan border where refugees have been fleeing
  Darfur.

 SEXUAL ABUSE OF CIVILIANS BY U.N. STAFF INVESTIGATED IN DR CONGO

• The UN
  Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a comprehensive
  investigation into reported instances of sexual exploitation and sexual
  abuse of civilians, including minors, by its personnel in Bunia.
• The mission is determined to enforce the Secretary-General's policy of
  zero tolerance of any sexual misconduct, in accordance with his Bulletin
  on Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual
  abuse, of   October 9, 2003.
• The UN mission is committed to completing a full and thorough investigation
  as a matter of urgency, and to applying all available sanctions against
  any of its personnel found responsible.

U.N. AGENCIES PROVIDE AID TO CONGOLESE EXPELLED FROM ANGOLA

• The UN's Office of Humanitarian Affairs reports that
  the humanitarian situation of tens of thousands of Congolese expelled from
  neighbouring Angola over these past few weeks appears to be stabilizing. 
• The number of expellees entering into one of the main entry points has
  decreased from a rate of hundreds to dozens of persons crossing each day.
• Since the expulsions began in March, some 67,000 Congolese have been
  registered by local crisis committees. It's estimated that up to 100,000
  Congolese migrant diamond workers will be expelled from Angola.
• UN agencies, such as UNICEF and
  the World Food Pro gramme, along with
  other humanitarian partners are continue to deliver aid where possible.

ANNAN SAYS HE WILL CARRY ON WORK DESPITE BIN LADEN THREAT

• The Secretary-General was asked upon entering the Security Council for
  its consultations about his reaction to the threat against him purportedly
  issued by Osama bin Laden.
• He responded that
  the United Nations will take precautions, and that he intends to carry
  on with his life and his work.
• Asked about the recent apologies from U.S. officials concerning the photographs
  of prisoner abuses in Iraq, the Secretary-General said he was relieved
  that U.S. officials have taken it seriously, including President Bush,
  by saying that he was sorry for what happened. He added, “I hope the people
  in the region pay attention to that reaction.”

BRAHIMI DISCUSSES POLITICAL TRANSITION,
  DETAINEE TREATMENT WITH IRAQI LEADERS

• The Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Lakhdar Brahimi, continues his
  discussions in Iraq .
  Today he met a number of members of the Governing Council to discuss the
  political transition and to listen to their views.
• Among the Council members he met were, Sheikh Ghazi, a tribal leader
  from Mosul, Dr. Mahmouh Othman, Adel Abdel Mahdi of the Supreme Council
  for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and Adnan Pachachi.
• Also attending his meeting with Dr. Othman was the newly appointed Iraqi
  Minister for Human Rights, Bakhtyar Amin. They discussed the situation
  surrounding the treatment of detainees, which Brahimi again condemned.
  The minister briefed him on the mechanisms that were being put in place
  to ensure that these incidents do not occur again.
• Lastly, Brahimi also met with the National Security Advisor of the Council
  of Ministers, Mouwafak al-Rubei.
• UNHCR announced today that convoys of Iraqis returning home had resumed
  on Wednesday. More than a 100 Iraqis who insisted on returning to their
  country, were bussed in from camps in western Iran, to the Basra region.
  UNHCR had suspended the convoys for security reasons more than a month
  ago. More than 6,000 Iraqis have returned from Iran with assistance from
  the UN refugee agency since convoys started last November, while some 4,800
  have returned from Saudi Arabia.

ANNAN ASSURES VOLCKER OF FULL COOPERATION WITH INDEPENDENT INQUIRY

• Thursday afternoon, the Spokesman's Office made available  a statement
  from Paul Volcker, the Chairman of the Independent
  Inquiry Committee into the Oil for Food Programme.
• In his statement, Volcker said that, at his request, the Secretary-General
  had taken the necessary steps to ensure that all UN staff cooperated fully
  with the investigation and the all relevant documents are secured solely
  for the committee's use.
• Also on the issue of documents, Volcker said as the investigation proceeds,
  and as the committee arrives at an understanding of the substance and scope
  of the relevant documentation, including material in Baghdad, the committee
  will consider appropriate disclosure.
• Subsequently, the Secretary-General issued a statement ,
  through his Spokesman, in which he fully accepts the arrangements set out
  by Volcker. 
• In the statement, the Secretary-General again assures the Inquiry of
  the full cooperation of all United Nations staff. He earnestly hopes that
  the Inquiry will reveal the full truth about the management of the Programme,
  and repeats his undertaking to waive the immunity of any official found
  by the Inquiry to have broken the law.
• Asked whether Paul Volcker's investigation of allegations of corruption
  in the Oil-for-Food Programme was credible, given the United Nations' refusal
  to make public 55 internal audits of that Programme, the Spokesman said
  the naming of Volcker to head the investigating panel was irrelevant to
  the institutional position taken by the United Nations in relation to the
  release of documentation.
• Asked about the manner in which documentation would be released to the
  public, the Spokesman said internal audits, carried out by the UN's Office
  for Internal Oversight Services, are a management tool and it is common
  practice – in both the public and private sectors – to not release them
  publicly.
• The Spokesman added that audits carried out by external auditors, as
  well as weekly reports, were all given to the Security Council's 661 Sanctions
  Committee, which deals with Iraq.
• “It's our obligation to inform the Committee of the results of those
  audits and share those reports with them,” Eckhard said. “If members of
  the Committee want to share those reports with the press, that's for members
  of the Committee to do. But we are not obligated to turn over the external
  audits to the press.”
• The Spokesman noted that the United Nations has handed over all documentation,
  including both internal and external audits, to Volcker. “His investigation
  is just getting underway,” Eckhard said.
• Asked if not sharing the reports indicated a cover-up, the Spokesman
  said that he resented the accusation. “There's been a lot of irresponsible
  charges made in the media over the last several weeks about the United
  Nations,” Eckhard said. “We've been essentially tried and convicted in
  the press, on the basis of virtually no evidence. We've turned over all
  of the documentation to a panel that's been appointed to study it.”

  A NNAN GREATLY CONCERNED AT ESCALATION ALONG THE BLUE LINE

• The UN
  peacekeeping force in Lebanon reported that early this morning local
  time, there was an exchange of fire between Hizbollah and Israeli Defense
  Forces across the Blue Line in the Shab'a Farms area. 
• According to the Israeli army, one Israeli soldier was killed and five
  others wounded. There are conflicting claims by both sides as to how
  the incident started.  The UN mission is investigating. 
• This incident came less than 48 hours after a day of heavy Israeli air
  incursions into Lebanon, Hizbollah anti-aircraft fire across the line and
  an Israeli air strike on Hizbollah positions.
• The Secretary-General is greatly concerned about this new escalation
  along the Blue Line and strongly urges both parties to exercise restraint.

FRECHETTE SAYS UNAIDS IS EXAMPLE OF HOW U.N. SYSTEM SHOULD OPERATE

• The Deputy Secretary-General is
  in Geneva today where she participated in UNAIDS' first
  Global Staff meeting, which brought together more than 300 of its Geneva
  and country-based staff.  In her address to the meeting,  Frechétte
  reviewed the broad challenges facing the UN today and the need to continue
  pursuing UN reform.
• “UNAIDS is a great example of what the United Nations can and should
  be; it is a unified voice heard loud and clear around the world.” She
  highlighted that the strength of UNAIDS was that it brings together partners
  in the United Nations system as well as civil society and the private sector. Frechétte
  also underlined the Secretary-General's deep personal commitment to the
  fight against the pandemic. 
• Following her address staff from different regions took the floor to
  comment on their day-to-day work and the challenges they face.  Issues
  were raised on stigma and discrimination, building coalitions of support,
  including with people living with AIDS, and conflict situations.
• “We all need to be a little humble in terms of what we can accomplish
  unless there is grass root support.  Unless we connect with the people
  our impact would not be felt," the Deputy Secretary-General said. 
• Earlier in the day, the Deputy Secretary-General met with Ruud Lubbers,
  the High Commissioner for Refugees.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF VISITS COLOMBIA

• Today is the third day of the five-day visit to Colombia by
  Jan Egeland, the UN's Emergency
  Relief Coordinator. He held meetings in Bogota with the UN country
  team, representatives of civil society, and donors. This afternoon he will
  visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will meet President Álvaro
  Uribe Vélez. 
• Egeland is evaluating Colombia's humanitarian situation, and this includes
  visits to internally displaced persons – it's estimated that the cumulative
  number of people displaced over the past decade stands at 3 million.
• Egeland has called for more effort to help displaced people, adding that
  the international community must look for solutions to the crisis.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
LIBERIAN DEFENSE MINISTER TURNS IN PERSONAL WEAPONS: In a symbolic
disarmament ceremony yesterday, the UN
mission in Liberia reported receiving personal automatic weapons from Minister
of Defense Daniel Chea. He submitted one AK-47, one shot-gun and a sub-machine
gun, saying that he was disarming himself as part of the charting a  new
course for Liberia. The ceremony marked the start of disarmament of ex- Government
of Liberia militias at Kakata. Two hundred and fifty-one combatants voluntarily
turned in their weapons to UNMIL peacekeepers in an orderly and controlled manner,
and were transported for demobilization to the cantonment site at VOA.

ATTACKS IN NORTHERN UGANDA DISPLACE SUDANESE REFUGEES : UNHCR reports that
more than 31,000 Sudanese refugees have been displaced from their settlements
in northern Uganda in recent weeks, following repeated raids by marauding rebels
of the feared Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

AFGHAN REFUGEE RETURN PROGRAM REACHES MILESTONE: The UN
Refugee Agency reports that its Afghan repatriation programme has reached
another milestone, with more than 2 million refugees returning from Pakistan
and 700,000 leaving Iran. This has pushed the total number of returns past
the 3 million mark since the agency started helping them return home in early
2002.

NANE ANNAN TO RECEIVE FOUR FREEDOMS AWARD ON BEHALF OF SECRETARY-GENERAL:
Nane Annan will be receiving the  Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms
Award in the Netherlands tomorrow, on behalf of the Secretary-General. The
Secretary General had originally planned to attend but due to international
development that require his presence here at UN headquarters, he can no longer
attend the ceremony. The Four Freedoms Award are presented to national and
world citizens of who've made extraordinary contributions to advancing freedom
on a global scale. 
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Monday, May 10

The Secretary-General will speak to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,
which begins a meeting in New York.

The Security Council has scheduled a public meeting on Timor-Leste.

The guest at the noon briefing will be Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland,
who will discuss his visit to Colombia.

At 12:45 p.m., Oscar de Rojas, Chief of the Financing for Development Section
of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Richard Samans of the
World Economic Forum will give a press briefing on a memorandum of understanding
between the UN and the Forum.

Tuesday, May 11

The Security Council has scheduled a public meeting on Kosovo.

The World Health Report for 2004 will be launched in Geneva.

Wednesday, May 12

Thursday, May 13

Friday, May 14

The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting on Timor-Leste, as well
as consultations on Cote d'Ivoire.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
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