Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 19 December 2005


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, December 19, 2005

ANNAN RELIEVED THAT W.T.O TALKS IN HONG KONG DID NOT END IN FAILURE

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan is relieved that the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong did not end in failure, as had been widely predicted.

  • He recognizes the effort made by the negotiators, and especially by the WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, to keep the Doha Round on track; and congratulates those who negotiated on behalf of the developing countries, particularly the least developed, on their success in working together and securing limited gains.

  • These gains, if fully implemented, should bring improved opportunities for some of the world’s poorest people to trade their way out of poverty.

  • But the Secretary-General also notes that the ambitions set out four years ago in Doha have note been realized, and that a real effort of political will is required from all parties in 2006 if these negotiations are to deserve the name of Development Round.

  • He recalls that trade is no less important than aid for successful development, and that without open markets and fair competition few countries will have a real chance of meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF APPEALS FOR BETTER SECURITY IN DARFUR

  • The Security Council is holding a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Africa.

  • Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, focused his briefing on the crisis in Darfur and its impact on Chad, and the regional crisis caused by the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, Sudan and most recently the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

  • He also discussed Zimbabwe, from which he just returned.

  • On Darfur, he noted that unless measures taken by the Security Council have a real impact on the ground, the wound will continue to bleed, and appealed for an expanded and more effective security presence on the ground as soon as possible.

  • “It cannot be right that we have twice as many humanitarian workers in Darfur as international security personnel,” he said.

  • He made proposals to the Council to address the crisis caused by the LRA including a creation of a panel of experts to explore the sources of funding and support of the group.

  • On Zimbabwe, he said that he is convinced that the United Nations and the humanitarian community at large must try to engage more actively with the government.

CHAIRS OF SECURITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES TO HOLD OPEN BRIEFING

  • At 3:00 p.m., the Chairs of Security Council committees and working groups will hold an open briefing on their work.

DR CONGO’S CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM WAS CARRIED OUT PEACEFULLY

  • The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) says that the constitutional referendum held over the weekend was carried out peacefully throughout the country with few incidents.

  • If approved, the draft constitution would pave the way for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) first democratic elections next year.

  • The referendum was the first democratic ballot held in the DRC since 1965; and it’s also one of the biggest polls the United Nations has ever been involved in – with 36,000 vote offices, close to 200,000 electoral agents and 25 million voters.

  • The event was organized by the DRC’s Independent Electoral Commission, and MONUC provided technical and logistical assistance.

  • The referendum's provisional results will be announced this evening by the electoral authorities, while the definitive ones are expected to be officially announced on 18 January next year.

COURT FINDS THAT UGANDA ENGAGED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITY
ON DR CONGO TERRITORY

  • Today in The Hague, the International Court of Justice ruled that Uganda has violated the principle of non-intervention by occupying the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and engaging in military activity on DRC territory.

  • It also finds that Uganda has violated its obligation under international human rights and humanitarian law by committing acts of killing, torture and other inhuman treatment of the Congolese civilian population, and deems that Uganda is obliged to make reparations to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

THREE PEACEKEEPERS IN HAITI RECOVERING FROM WOUNDS

  • Three Chilean peacekeepers serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti were wounded last Friday afternoon, during a patrol in Plaisance which is around 30 kilometers south of the northern city of Cap Haitien.

  • At least four gunmen opened fire on the vehicle the peacekeepers were traveling in. The “blue helmets” returned fire, and the attackers retreated.

  • The wounded peacekeepers were evacuated to Port-au-Prince for medical care – the Mission says their lives are not in danger.

LIBERIAN ELECTION WINNERS URGED
TO DISCHARGE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH WISDOM

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Liberia, Alan Doss, has called on that country’s recent election winners to discharge their responsibilities with wisdom, diligence and integrity.

  • Doss was speaking on the Secretary-General’s behalf at a certification ceremony for elected officials held in Monrovia today.

  • He added that they will have the full support of the United Nations and other international partners as they go about addressing the many difficult and complex tasks that lie ahead.

ANNAN: BOLIVIAN ELECTIONS A CHANCE TO ADVANCE PEACE

  • Last week, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane traveled to Bolivia on the Secretary-General’s behalf to convey a message of support to the President of Bolivia and the Bolivian people ahead of the elections that took place yesterday.

  • Ms. Kane delivered a letter from the Secretary-General, in which he emphasized that the elections constitute an invaluable opportunity to advance the search for peaceful and democratic solutions to the challenges Bolivia faces.

  • Asked about the fairness of the elections, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was not present in Bolivia observing the elections. He noted that the Secretary-General saw the elections as an opportunity not to be missed and called on all Bolivians to abide by the results.

MEHLIS’ COMMENTS DON’T GO MUCH FURTHER THAN HIS REPORT

  • Asked about comments on Syria made in a recent Asharq al-Awsat interview by the chair of the International Independent Investigation Commission, Detlev Mehlis, the Spokesman encouraged reporters to read the full and precise transcript of that interview, since some media descriptions of it were erroneous.

  • He said that, in the UN’s view, the comments made by Mehlis in the interview did not go much further than what he wrote in his first report to the Security Council on his investigation.

  • Asked whether Mehlis’s comments about involvement by the Syrian authorities prejudged their guilt, the Spokesman said that Mehlis is an experienced investigator who does not prejudge developments. The United Nations, he said, would base its actions on his written reports, and looked further to further reports by the investigation as it continues.

  • The reports by Mehlis, Dujarric said, are the authoritative account of where the investigation stands, and contain all the information that Mehlis had to report.

  • For the time being, he added, Mehlis is continuing on as the head of the investigation until a successor is found, which is expected to happen shortly.

ANNAN: COUNTRIES NEED TO FORGE NEW PARTNERSHIPS

  • The Secretary-General, in a message to mark the UN Day for South-South Cooperation, says that, in an era of globalization, countries have to forge new partnerships to meet the challenges ahead. He notes some recent developments that provide cause for optimism, including the strong support for South-South cooperation expressed at this year’s World Summit.

  • The Second Annual UN Day for South-South Cooperation will be observed at UN Headquarters in a ceremony beginning at 3:00 this afternoon in the Trusteeship Council. UN Development Programme Administrator Kemal Dervis and Nane Annan, the Secretary-General’s wife, will be among the participants.

ANNAN HOPES MEMBER STATES WILL AGREE ON A BUDGET

  • Asked about the Secretary-General’s views on the UN budget, the Spokesman said that the budget was at the forefront of his mind, as the United Nations was “getting close to midnight” on that issue.

  • He said the Secretary-General hopes that Member States will agree on a budget, and has been clear on the need for a budget, presenting the facts to the Member States, along with his Controller, Warren Sach.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ECONOMIC REPORT ON AFRICA RELEASED TODAY: The UN Economic Commission for Africa has released its annual “Economic Report on Africa” today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This year’s report, entitled “Meeting the Challenges of Unemployment and Poverty in Africa”, puts job creation at the centre of successful poverty reduction efforts in Africa. It shows how donor countries can help create the employment opportunities that will give young Africans a future in Africa.

UNICEF TO LAUNCH NEW ADVOCACY TOOL ON SOLIENT EMERGENCIES: Tomorrow in both London and Khartoum, UNICEF will be launching the first of a series of “Child Alerts” – a new advocacy tool on silent emergencies. It focuses on what it’s like to be a child in Darfur three years after the conflict there began, and the kind of future they face as a result of that violence.

ANNAN AWARDED 2005 PRIZE FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND THE ENVIRONMENT: The Secretary-General today was announced as the unanimous winner of the 2005 Prize for Global Leadership and the Environment that is conferred by the Zayed Prize International Jury. The UN Environment Programme said that, in their citation, the jury for that prize said that “one person has done more than most to catalyze political and public opinion to an understanding that the environment is a fundamental pillar of sustainable development. That person is Mr. Kofi Annan.”

NOTHING TO ADD TO EXHAUSTIVE VOLCKER REPORTS: Asked about reported e-mail communication between a UN staff member and the Secretary-General’s son, Kojo Annan, the Spokesman said he had nothing to add to matters relating to the exhaustive reports by Paul Volcker’s Independent Investigation Committee.

INVESTIGATION IN TO U.N. PROCUREMENT PRACTICES CONTINUES: Asked about the UN Office of Internal Oversight Service’s investigation into UN procurement practices, the Spokesman said that as Under-Secretary-General Chris Burnham told the press recently, the investigation is continuing actively.

U.N. POLICY ON WHISTLEBLOWERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY: Asked when UN management reforms will be rolled out, the Spokesman said that a policy on whistleblowers is ready to be announced shortly. However, he added, an important part of that policy is the creation of an Ethics Office, and the United Nations hopes that Member States will agree on that in the coming days.