HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
ASSOCIATE
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
ANNAN APPALLED
BY ASSASSINATION OF LEBANESE LEADER
The Secretary-General was appalled to learn of yet
another assassination in Lebanon. He strongly
condemns the murder, in a bomb blast in Beirut, of Mr. George Hawi, a
long-time leader of the Communist Party.
His sympathies and condolences are with the family of the
victim and, indeed, all of the people of
Lebanon. The Secretary-General stands with the Lebanese today in their
determination to shape a peaceful, independent and sovereign future.
The Secretary-General urges the Lebanese authorities to
bring promptly to justice the perpetrators and the instigators of today's
callous crime and to put an end to impunity and acts of intimidation. He
calls on all concerned parties to contribute to the unity and stability in
Lebanon.
Asked about any Council response to today’s bombing, the
Spokeswoman said that was in the hands of the Security Council, and she noted
that Council members would be busy with today’s open debate on the protection
of civilians.
ANNAN WELCOMES MEETING BETWEEN
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER AND PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT
As the announced date for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
and the northern West Bank, 15 August 2005, approaches, the Secretary-General
has been following events concerning the situation in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory carefully.
He
welcomes the meeting today between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and looks forward to evaluating
the situation at the meeting of the Quartet in London later this week.
IRAQ: MONEY FOR WEAPONS INSPECTORS
TO BE TRANSFERRED TO DEVELOPMENT FUND
The Secretary-General this morning sent a letter to the
President of the Security Council informing them of his intention, subject to
the Council’s concurrence, to transfer the amount of $220,256,697 from the
escrow account set up under the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission for Iraq (UNMOVIC).
Of that amount, $200,000,000 would be transferred to the
Development Fund for
Iraq, bearing in mind the resources required to be retained in the account
for UNMOVIC.
The balance of $20,256,697, the Secretary-General says,
would be credited against Iraq’s arrears in its contributions to the UN
Regular Budget, Peacekeeping Operations and Tribunal activities.
ANNAN ARRIVES IN BRUSSELS FOR IRAQ
CONFERENCE
The Secretary-General arrived
in Brussels today, one day in advance of the International Conference on
Iraq.
A few hours after arrival, the
Secretary-General was briefed on the preparations for the conference by Ashraf
Jehangir Qazi, his Special Representative for Iraq.
Later in the evening, he will
attend an official dinner for the conference participants, hosted by European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Secretary-General is
expected to deliver the opening and closing remarks at the conference
tomorrow. On the sidelines of the conference, he is expected to hold a series
of bilateral meetings with a number of other conference participants.
WORLD MUST DO MORE TO PROTECT CIVILIANS
IN ARMED CONFLICT
The
Security Council held a
meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
Briefing the Council this morning,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, said that key
challenges in that area involved addressing displacement and the needs of
children, as well as ensuring humanitarian access
and the safety and security of humanitarian personnel. He also said that
sexual violence was one of his biggest concerns, because of its scale,
prevalence and profound impact.
To better protect civilians,
Egeland said the world must: fight impunity by supporting the
International Criminal Court and strengthening national judicial systems;
include the protection of civilians in all peacekeeping mandates; strengthen
engagement with regional and intergovernmental organizations; and improve
humanitarian funding.
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS DIAMOND
SANCTIONS ON LIBERIA
Prior to the meeting on civilians and armed conflict, the
Council
unanimously adopted a resolution on Liberia, by which it decided to renew
sanctions on diamonds for a further six months, and urged Liberia’s National
Transitional Government to work harder to establish authority over
diamond-producing areas.
SUDAN: BANDITRY & ARMED ATTACKS CONTINUE
IN DARFUR
The UN Mission in
Sudan reports that banditry activities and looting, including armed
attacks, continued to be reported in Darfur. The Mission also says that
non-governmental organizations still continue to face difficulties in certain
areas of the Darfurs.
It also reported an attack in
eastern Sudan that was repelled by the Sudanese army. UN commercially rented
trucks carrying food were in the area during the incident.
The Mission reports that the
fourth round of a polio vaccination campaign was completed in the three Darfur
States.
AFGHANISTAN: U.N. MISSION ASKS ALL
ELECTION CANDIDATES
TO TURN IN THEIR WEAPONS
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan today welcomed the news that a number
of candidates for legislative and provincial elections are handing in their
weapons, answering a call made by the country’s electoral authorities.
The UN Mission joins the Afghan Government and the
electoral authorities in appealing to all those candidates who still possess
weapons and ammunition to hand them in voluntarily at designated collection
points. That step, the Mission says, would be a major contribution to
restoring peace in Afghanistan.
WORLD HAS “ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION” CHANCE
TO REFORM U.N., ANNAN SAYS
The Secretary-General last night
spoke to the international councilors of the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, and he told them that this September’s summit
represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to
reform the United Nations. “If we miss it this time, I don’t know when
they are going to get the opportunity again,” he said.
The Secretary-General said that an expanded Security
Council with a broader membership would allow the Council to be more
democratic. At the same time, he said, he has made concrete proposals for
renewing the UN architecture, by which we should be willing and able to
abolish institutions that are no longer required, such as the Trusteeship
Council.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEGINS TO MEET ON
SEPTEMBER SUMMIT’S FINAL DOCUMENT
The General Assembly (GA) is conducting its first
informal meeting of the plenary today, and possibly tomorrow, on the draft
outcome document of the September summit, which GA President Jean Ping
submitted to Member States in early June.
On Thursday and Friday, 23-24 June, the GA will hold
informal interactive hearings with civil society representatives, as part of
the preparations for the September summit. Approximately 200 civil society
organizations are registered to take part in the hearings, which consist of
plenary meetings and interactive roundtable sessions focusing on the four
theme clusters of the Secretary-General’s “In
Larger Freedom” report.
Jean Ping will give a press briefing tomorrow at 2:30
p.m. with a civil society representative, to give a preview of the
non-governmental organization hearings, and also to give an early assessment
of the consultations today and tomorrow on his draft outcome document.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.N. INTERNAL WATCHDOG LOOKING INTO NEPOTISM ALLEGATIONS:
Asked about the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation into
procurement officer Alexander Yakovlev, the Spokeswoman noted that the
officer-in-charge of OIOS is Barbara Dixon. She said the OIOS would look into
allegations that Yakovlev had sought an internship for a relative from a company
that did business with the United Nations.
U.N. PEACEKEEPING HEAD TO VISIT HAITI:
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, will
be leaving tomorrow for
Haiti, to visit the UN peacekeeping mission there and consult with senior
leadership on the ground. He will return to New York on Sunday.
U.N. MISSION IN BURUNDI CALLS FOR AN
END TO RECENT CRIMINAL ACTS: The UN Operation in
Burundi (ONUB)
reports that there have been serious incidents in and around the capital,
Bujumbura, over the past five days that have tried to derail the electoral
process. ONUB calls for an immediate end to all criminal and barbaric acts and
urges the new National Police force, the National Defence Force and all civil
society organisations to do everything possible to denounce or facilitate the
arrest of the perpetrators of these acts so that they can be prosecuted.
IRAQI SCHOOLS TO GET UPGRADED SANITATION FACILITIES:
Nearly half a million children in
Iraq will benefit from upgraded sanitation facilities at schools across the
country this year, thanks to UN-backed efforts to improve conditions at some 800
schools. Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special
Representative for Iraq, said that protecting schoolchildren and enabling them
to receive an education is “the best possible investment in the future
development of a stable and peaceful Iraq.”
AGRICULTURE EXPORT COMPETITION
TO INTENSIFY: Global competition among
exporters of wheat, rice, oilseeds, sugar and livestock is expected to intensify
over the next ten years among both developed and developing countries, according
to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's latest
Agricultural Outlook -
produced for first time in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO). Policy reforms could help improve agricultural markets, the
Outlook adds.
TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM TO BE
LAUNCHED DURING SESSION THAT STARTS TODAY:
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System will be
launched during the 23rd Session of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission Assembly of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), to be held at UNESCO’s Headquarters from June 21 to 30. The Assembly,
which meets every two years, will approve the Plan of Action for the Warning
System and establish an Intergovernmental Coordination Group to govern it.
HEALTH GROUPS RECOGNIZE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S ROLE IN
THE FIGHT AGAINST POLIO: On the occasion of Rotary International’s 100th
anniversary, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative today
paid tribute to the humanitarian service organization’s commitment to ending
polio worldwide. As a key partner in the Initiative – the world’s largest health
drive which also includes the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – Rotary is the leading private-sector contributor
second only to the United States Government.
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