HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE
DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, October 24, 2005
SECURITY COUNCIL ENDORSES START OF
POLITICAL PROCESS
TO DETERMINE KOSOVO'S FUTURE STATUS
Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended an
open meeting in the Security Council
on Kosovo. Speaking in that meeting were the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy
for reviewing the situation in Kosovo, Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative in Kosovo,
Søren Jessen-Petersen, and the Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro.
The Security Council was discussing
Kai Eide’s recent report, which concluded that the time had come to move
to the next phase of the political process in Kosovo.
In his remarks to the Council, Søren Jessen-Petersen said
that, though its ultimate outcome could not be known, the resolution of
Kosovo’s status could only have a positive effect on the wider region,
including on Serbia, in terms of political stabilization.
He also said that, over the coming months, the
UN Mission in Kosovo would focus on six priority areas, namely
implementing the internationally-agreed standards for Kosovo, reforming the
local government, bolstering Kosovo’s institutions, restructuring the UN
Mission, and maintaining a safe and secure environment for everyone in Kosovo.
The Security Council then held consultations on Kosovo.
[It later issued a presidential statement, which said
that it supports the Secretary-General's intention to start a political
process to determine Kosovo's Future Status."]
The Secretary-General was asked at a
press encounter,
following today’s Security Council meeting on Kosovo, about his intention to
appoint a Special Envoy to deal with status talks there. He said he expected
to make an appointment over the course of the week, and that “it is likely to
be
Martti Ahtisaari,” the former Finnish President
SECURITY COUNCIL TO TAKE UP ISSUE OF
WESTERN SAHARA TODAY
The Security Council is
scheduled to hold a 3:00 p.m. meeting with troop-contributing countries for
the UN Mission in Western Sahara.
Following that meeting, the
Council has scheduled consultations on Western Sahara.
WORSENING
WEATHER COULD HAMPER SOUTH ASIA QUAKE AID EFFORT
Plunging temperatures and sheer
desperation are driving earthquake survivors out of their devastated mountain
villages into a rising number of camps in northern Pakistan, where the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says it is rushing supplies to people who have lost their homes.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
says there is a three-week window of opportunity to deliver assistance to
quake-hit areas of Pakistan before the first snowfall. In addition, severe
weather, with heavy rain, is forecast to hit the are in the next three
to four days.
MEHLIS TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL TUESDAY
MORNING
The Secretary-General took
questions from the press
today about
Detlev Mehlis’s
report on Lebanon, on which he said, “We are at the beginning of the
process, not the end.” The investigation will continue, with the mandate of
the Mehlis team extended until 15 December, he noted.
Mehlis will brief the Security Council in an open
meeting, followed by consultations, tomorrow morning.
Asked about comments made by the Secretary-General this
morning that indicated that he intended to meet with the Syrian Foreign
Minister in New York, the Spokesman said that the United Nations had been
advised today that the Foreign Minister would not be coming. Because of his
participation in the Council meeting, the Secretary-General had not been
informed of that change of plans when he made his comments this morning.
Asked whether the Secretary-General might still receive a
message from the Syrian Government, Dujarric noted that Syria could send a
message through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations if it so chooses.
Asked when the Secretary-General’s report on the
implementation of
Resolution 1559 would go to the Security Council, the Spokesman noted that
the Secretary-General said he expected to release it sometime this week. It
would not come out on Tuesday, to avoid confusion with the Mehlis report, he
added.
The 1559 report, the Spokesman asserted, is the
Secretary-General’s report, and he will release it when he is ready with it.
FURTHER RESTRICTIONS FACED BY U.N.
PEACEKEEPERS IN ERITREA
The
UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), whose peacekeeping operations
are already being hampered by the ban on its helicopter flights, now reports
restrictions on its land vehicle movements.
UNMEE reports an increase in
restrictions to the freedom of movement of its patrols at the local level
during the past two weeks, especially after dusk. In some areas patrols have
indeed been warned "to confine their land vehicle movements to the main roads"
in the 25-kilometre (16-mile) wide demilitarised buffer zone.
The issue has been taken up at
the Sector level and with the Eritrean Commissioner for Coordination with the
Peacekeeping Mission. In both instances, officials have denied issuing any
official orders to this effect. These restrictions, however, continue.
Asked how significant the most recent restriction was,
the Spokesman said that the UN Mission wants to go wherever its patrols feel
they need to go. Noting the hard terrain in the area, he said that confining
the Mission to main roads hampers its work.
Asked about a letter from the Eritrean President
questioning the UN’s authority on this issue, the Spokesman noted that the
UN’s role is set by a Security Council mandate. The United Nations, he added,
will continue to seek a response from Eritrea on why it persists in
restricting the UN Mission’s freedom of movement.
U.N.
SOLDIER SHOT IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
A Nepalese peacekeeper serving
with the
UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was wounded over the
weekend during an operation in the northeastern district of Ituri. The
peacekeeper was part of a unit made up of more than 30 ‘blue helmets.’
They had been sent to Fataki,
around 70 kilometres north of the city of Bunia, to search for weapons
following reports of militia activity there.
The patrol came under fire
while in Fataki's marketplace, and it returned fire – it was able to capture
one of the attackers, while the other suspected militia members escaped.
During the exchange, the
peacekeeper received a gunshot wound to the head.
He was evacuated and is now in
Kinshasa where he is in a stable condition.
U.N. MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN REACTS TO
JAILING OF REPORTER
The
UN Mission in Afghanistan expressed its concerns today about the case of
an Afghan journalist who was sentenced to two years in prison for publishing
an article considered by a court to be offensive to Islam.
The Mission, in a statement, said it believes the right
to freedom of expression applies to everyone, including journalists, and
should be strongly defended.
UNITED NATIONS TO HELP BIRD FLU BATTLE
IN INDONESIA
The UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today announced that it will
assemble a team of experts in Indonesia to help that country start a new phase
of the battle against avian flu.
The new team will include national veterinary
authorities, ministries, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World
Food Programme, the agency said.
The project is supported by a donation of $1.5 million
from the US Agency for International Development.
Asked whether the United Nations may immunize its staff
from avian influenza, the Spokesman said that was an issue that the United
Nations was exploring, with advice from the World Health Organization.
UNITED NATIONS MARKS 60TH BIRTHDAY
The Secretary-General today marked the 60th birthday of
the United Nations, noting that the anniversary is being celebrated around the
world by men and women coming together from all walks of life.
He said that celebrating UN Day “energizes us” and
pledged to make the United Nations as effective as it can be. The
Secretary-General this morning also honored our fallen colleagues with a
wreath-laying ceremony.
In a video message, the Secretary-General said that, if
the United Nations is to serve the peoples of the world, it must reflect the
new age and respond to its challenges, including epidemics, climate change,
terrorism and deadly weapons.
General Assembly President Jan Eliasson participated in
this morning’s ceremony, where he stated that “we need to work with a sense of
urgency and common purpose to implement the necessary reforms to make the
United Nations an even stronger and more effective actor on the international
scene.” He told the crowd present that their continued dedication to the
Organization was the best birthday gift possible. We have those remarks
upstairs
Among the events scheduled to mark the Day, at 6:00 this
evening, the Deputy Secretary-General will participate in a ceremony to
dedicate the completed restoration of the Peace Window done by Marc Chagall.
Then at 7:00, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
will hold a concert at the General Assembly Hall, at which the
Secretary-General will speak.
Also, the building will be lit up at night to read “UN
60”.
*** The guest at the noon briefing was
Margareta Wahlstrom, the UN Deputy Relief Coordinator, who briefed on the
response to the south Asian earthquake.
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