HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, November
4, 2004
ANNAN CONCERNED ABOUT MILITARY
ACTIONS TAKEN IN COTE D’IVOIRE
The
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, is deeply
concerned at the military actions taken today in Côte d’Ivoire where
several air attacks have been carried out by the armed forces of Côte d’Ivoire
(FANCI) against Forces Nouvelles positions in Bouaké and Korhogo.
Some several dozen civilians may
have been killed and wounded during these attacks. A major violation of the
ceasefire has thus taken place.
The
Secretary-General urges President Laurent Gbagbo and all the Ivorian parties
to immediately cease all hostilities and to take all possible actions to
prevent further bloodshed.
He strongly
calls for the immediate resumption of dialogue in order to resume with the
implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra III agreements which remain
the only viable roadmap for resolution of the crisis in the country.
He reminds
all parties of their responsibilities to ensure the protection and safety of
the civilian population, and of UN and other international personnel.
FIGHTING IN
NORTHERN COTE
D’IVOIRE THREATENS TO CUT OFF AID
The eruption of fighting around the Ivorian city of Bouaké, some 300
kilometers north of Abidjan, threatens to cut thousands of people off from
urgently needed humanitarian aid.
Due to tensions across Cote d’Ivoire, UN humanitarian workers are suspending
their activities throughout the country today.
Further, the
World Food Programme has not been able to deliver aid to beneficiaries
around Bouaké since the weekend because of a sharp rise in the number of
roadblocks near the “Zone of Confidence”, an area separating rebel and
government forces around the city in the past week.
The
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that since the
crisis began two years ago, the humanitarian situation in northern Cote
d’Ivoire - once the economic engine of West Africa - has been characterized by
the prolonged absence of public administration and basic social services.
Civilians in the North have been sinking further into poverty, having been cut
of from the commercial activities and the social services of the South.
SECURITY
COUNCIL TOLD OF PROGRESS AND SETBACKS IN
SUDAN
The
Security Council today held an
open meeting
this morning to hear a briefing on the latest
Secretary-General’s
report on
Sudan.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan,
Jan Pronk, noted that there is progress on the political front but
regression on the ground. He says the
progress is slow and the regression is alarming.
Fighting is
breaking out in more and more places, Pronk said, adding that the parties are
provoking one another and governmental authorities are not able to exert a
moderating influence or they respond with untimely and even counter-productive
measures.
He warned
that Darfur may easily enter a state of anarchy.
He outlined a three-pronged approach to reverse the current trend. He cited an
even more speedy deployment
of the African Union force to effectively deter violations, the speeding up of
all negotiation processes, and steps to ensure that political leaders – the
official ones as well as the self-selected ones – be held accountable for
ongoing violations of agreements and further human misery.
ELECTION FOR VACANCY ON
INT'L
COURT OF JUSTICE TO BE HELD IN
FEBRUARY
The
Security Council started its work this morning by adopting a resolution on
holding an election, on
15 February, 2005,
to fill a vacancy on the
International Court of Justice.
The resignation of Judge Gilbert Guillaume of France will take effect on 11
February of next year.
WORRIES
INTENSIFY OVER ABDUCTED
U.N.
STAFF MEMBERS
IN AFGHANISTAN
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan today expressed increasing worry
about the three staff members who were abducted a week ago in
Kabul.
The Mission
said that it has serious concerns for their health, noting that the
psychological pressure on them “must be tremendous” and calling for them to be
released immediately and unharmed.
The Mission
also expressed its gratitude for the work of the Afghan authorities to obtain
their release, and said that the United Nations is doing all it can to support
these efforts. Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry has set up a telephone hotline
so that Afghans can call to provide information on the case.
U.N. ENVOY CONCERNED OVER
VIOLATION OF BLUE LINE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
Earlier
today, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative for southern
Lebanon,
Staffan de Mistura, issued a statement noting with concern once more the
numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line that took place today.
De Mistura
said the United Nations reminds all concerned that one violation cannot
justify another.
He called on
Israel to cease its overflights which represent a continuing violation of the
Blue Line.
THREE
GANG LEADERS ARRESTED IN HAITI
The
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti is reporting that a joint operation by
UN military and police personnel and Haitian National Police, launched early
this morning in the
Port au Prince neighbourhood of Bel Air, led to the arrest of three gang
leaders and the sealing of a logistical base used by them.
According to
the spokesman of the UN mission, calm is gradually returning to this area,
which has been largely controlled by gangs in the past weeks.
He also
reports that two trucks carrying supplies for non-governmental organizations
operating in Gonaives were attacked and looted yesterday.
The UN
system in Haiti has reminded non-governmental organizations that the
peacekeepers can only ensure security for those trucks that join the
World Food Programme convoys that leave every other day from Port au
Prince.
EXPERTS ENDORSE SINGLE
SET OF SAFETY STANDARDS
FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
Safety
experts from 37 countries have
endorsed the need to develop a
single set of international
standards for nuclear power plants, from design to de-commissioning.
The experts
came to agreement at an
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference on nuclear safety,
held in China last month.
IAEA says the
experts’ recommendations
will provide it with steps it can take to develop international co-operation
and safety programmes in the future.
UNESCO CHIEF OUTRAGED AT
ESCALATING NUMBER
OF JOURNALISTS KILLED IN IRAQ
The
Director-General of the
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
Koichiro Matsuura, has
expressed outrage at the killing of an unprecedented number of journalists
in Iraq over the past week.
His
condemnation comes in the wake of Monday’s assassination in Ramadi of a
freelance cameraman who worked for Reuters and The Associated Press; a car
bomb attack Saturday on the Baghdad bureau of Al-Arabiya, which killed five
support staff; and the assassination of journalist from Iraq’s Al Charkia
television channel on 27 October. Matsuura says “the murderous campaign waged
against journalists in Iraq, must be recognized for what it is: a campaign to
terrorize and cower the people of Iraq.”
In a separate
statement, Matsuura condemned the murder, in Amsterdam on 2 November, of
documentary film-maker, Theo van Gogh.
According to
Matsuura, Van Gogh, “in his way exemplified freedom of expression.” Democracy
and rule of law require that people like him express themselves freely, even
when their words and the ideas they hold are disturbing,” he added.
NO COMMENT ON REPORTS OF
YASSER ARAFAT’S DEATH
Asked about
reports that Yasser Arafat may have died, the Spokesman said that the United
Nations was following media reports on the matter.
He noted
that recent comments from hospital officials in Paris suggest that Arafat is
still alive.
Asked what
adjustments the United Nations might make to its efforts in the Middle East in
a post-Arafat era, the Spokesman declined to speculate, but said that the
Secretary-General would work with other members of the Quartet to try to
revive the
Road Map to realize the vision of two states, living side by side and in
peace.
Asked about
UN contacts with the Palestinian Authority, he said that the United Nations
has regular contacts through its Special Coordinator for the Middle East,
Terje Roed Larsen.
The
Spokesman said he was not aware of anything unusual regarding the intensity of
those contacts.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
INT'L
YEAR OF SPORT AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION 2005 TO BE LAUNCHED:
The
International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005 will be launched at
UN Headquarters on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer and
New York City Marathon record-holder Margaret Okayo will be here for the launch,
as will
Adolf Ogi, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for
Development and Peace.
The
Secretary-General will provide opening remarks at the event. The aim of the
year is to encourage the use of sports to promote education, health, development
and peace.
UNITED
NATIONS RESPONDING TO U.S. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION:
Asked about a UN response to a
U.S. request for information on the
sexual harassment charges concerning the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
Ruud Lubbers, the Spokesman said that the Secretariat routinely responds to
questions put to it by Member States and is in the process of responding to this
request. Asked by reporters if the response could be made public, he promised to
check.
NO CHANGES
SEEN TO U.N. POLICY IN IRAQ FOLLOWING BUSH RE-ELECTION:
Asked what changes would be expected in UN efforts in
Iraq following George W. Bush’s re-election, the Spokesman said he did not
foresee any changes. The United Nations, he said, was working with the Iraqi
authorities on preparations for the elections next January.
U.N. REPORT
PREDICTS NINE BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD BY 2300:
There will be an estimated nine billion people in the world in the year 2300,
according to a new report by the
Population Division of the
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. That figure is according to
the medium scenario of the report, “World
Population in 2300,” operating on the assumption that world fertility would
eventually stabilize at around two children per woman. But if world fertility
levels today continue to be the norm in the future, the world population would
rise to 44 billion by the end of this century – and an unimaginable 1.34
trillion by 2300.
U.N.
POPULATION FUND TO TARGET FISTULA IN UNITED KINGDOM:
The
UN Population Fund has
teamed up with the London office of the advertising agency Young & Rubicam
to launch a new campaign to break the silence around obstetric
fistula in the United Kingdom.
Obstetric fistula is a childbirth
injury that affects at least 2 million women worldwide. “Fistula is a double
sorrow because these women lose their babies and they lose their lives,” said
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA. “Fistula is more than just
a medical condition. It is also a social problem because it is linked with shame
and rejection.”
ADDITIONAL FUNDING NEEDED FOR DISARMAMENT PROGRAMME IN LIBERIA:
The
UN Development Programme is appealing for additional funding for the
disarmament programme in Liberia, saying that the reintegration of former
combatants is at risk. It says that an additional caseload of some 47,000
ex-combatants will require approximately $58 million.
BASIC LABOUR
RIGHTS DISCUSSED:
Government, employer and worker representatives are gathering at a new session
of the Governing Council of the
International Labour Organization to debate basic labour rights and new
partnerships to promote a fair globalization. The
session is taking place in Geneva from 4 to 19 November.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162 -
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Fax. 212-963-7055
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