HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Tuesday,
December 20, 2005
UNITED NATIONS APPROVES NEW PEACE-BUILDING
COMMISSION
The
General Assembly and the
Security Council approved resolutions establishing a new UN Peace-building
Commission.
Speaking in the General
Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said he was delighted that member states had now agreed in detail on how
to implement the World Summit
decision to establish a Peace-building Commission. After the adoption of the
revolving humanitarian fund last week, this is another important step towards
revitalizing the United Nations, he said.
The Peace-building
Commission, he said, marks a turning point in our efforts to help states and
societies manage the difficult transition between war and peace. He added this
decision must only be the beginning of this historic measure as we must ensure
that the Commission functions properly, if it is truly to make a difference,
not in these halls but in the countries where its help is needed.
He also said that we must
see to it that the Commission is adequately supported by a new Peace-building
Support Office.
Asked how long it would
take for the Commission to be functional, the Spokesman noted the issue of
lack of additional funding for the Peace-building Support Office is of
concern.
He added: “We continue to
see how the Peace-building Support Office can work within existing resources,
and the General Assembly has asked us to come back in late February or early
March with a report from the Secretary-General to the General Assembly to see
how we can do it under existing resources and if we cannot, why not.”
ANNAN
ASKS BOLIVIANS TO SUPPORT THE NEW GOVERNMENT
The Secretary-General has followed with great
interest Bolivia’s general elections, which were held on 18 December. He is
pleased to
note that a peaceful climate prevailed and that the Bolivian people
demonstrated a great sense of civic responsibility.
The Secretary-General
reiterates his message calling on all Bolivians to support the new government
and parliament and to take advantage of the opportunity offered by these
elections to work together to reach political and economic agreements and
promote stability and progress in the country. The period ahead will require
compromise and consensus-building.
The UN system stands ready
to assist the new Government and the people of Bolivia in addressing the
important challenges they face.
SECURITY
COUNCIL MEETS ON SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA AND PEACE-BUILDING
After a meeting with troop contributing
countries to the UN
Mission in Sierra Leone, the
Security Council held consultations on draft resolutions on the
establishment of the Peace-building Commission.
Three formal meetings were
held.
At the first meeting, a
presidential statement on Sierra Leone was read out, which thanked all troop
and police contributing countries "who have made UNAMSIL a success" in
helping Sierra Leone recover from the crisis it faced six years ago. The
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sierra Leone,
Daudi Mwakawago, began that meeting with a briefing.
The Security Council then
voted on two resolutions on the Peace-building Commission. The vote on the
establishment of that Commission was adopted unanimously and the resolution
regarding the members of the Commission’s Organizational Committee was 13 in
favour with 2 abstentions (Argentina and Brazil).
A third formal meeting was
held to vote on a resolution on sanctions against Liberia. [The Security
Council unanimously passed a resolution on Liberia, which extends prohibitions
on export of timber and diamonds for six months. It also extends for 12 months
arms sanctions against Liberia, and travel sanctions against any person who
the Sanctions Committee deems a threat to the peace process in Liberia, which
include senior members of the former government of former President Charles
Taylor.]
A press statement on
Afghanistan was also read by Security Council President, Ambassador Emyr Jones
Parry of the United Kingdom, in which Council members
congratulated the people of the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on the inauguration of their new Parliament,
which marked the completion of the Bonn political process.
In the afternoon, a formal
meeting to be followed by consultations on the Middle East is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. The Under-Secretary-General for
Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to provide the briefing.
AID
NOT REACHING MORE THAN A MILLION CHILDREN IN DARFUR
A new report by
UNICEF details the impact of conflict on children’s lives in Darfur,
almost three years after the violence began. It
notes that an estimated 1.25 million children cannot be reached because of
insecurity and their situation remains largely unknown.
Meanwhile, the
Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees said the first groups of
refugees who went home to South Sudan with UNHCR’s help over the weekend
should be arriving in their home villages today – the first of about 60,000
refugees which the agency planned to bring home in the next five months as its
organized repatriation got underway.
SPECIAL
ADVISER LAKHDAR BRAHIMI TO RETIRE
The Secretary-General has
accepted, with great regret, the decision of his Special Adviser,
Lakhdar Brahimi, to retire at the end of this year after long and highly
valuable service to the United Nations.
The Secretary-General
extends his deep and abiding gratitude to Mr. Brahimi for his courage,
counsel, wisdom and dedication, and hopes to be able to continue to call on
his advice.
He wishes Mr. Brahimi an
enjoyable and well-earned rest after a series of profoundly challenging
assignments, during which he indisputably helped build better lives for
millions of people in some of the most troubled regions of the world.
Asked if there any other
reasons for Brahimi’s retirement, the Spokesman said he was not aware of any
other reason, but he added: “If you look back on the assignments he’s had
throughout his career, notably in the last four or five years, I think his
decision is quite understandable.”
U.N.
MISSION IN COTE D’IVOIRE CONDEMNS TOMB DESECRATIONS
The UN
Mission in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today
condemned a desecration of the tomb of Blin
N’Guessan, the father of the Minister for Education, Michel Amani N’Guessan.
The incident took place at Messoukro village about 70 kilometers from
Bouaké.
UNOCI had
condemned the desecration of the tomb of Nabintou Cisse, the mother of the
ex-Prime Minister, Alassane Quattara, on Monday. The mission said the
attempted removal of the body was a shameful act which was in contract with
the impressive show of sympathy and compassion that came from all parts of the
country at the time of her death. UNOCI has offered its assistance in the
investigation of the incident.
SECRETARY-GENERAL SIGNS WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTION
POLICY
The Secretary-General has
signed a new whistleblower protection
policy for UN staff, which will take effect on January 1, 2006.
The official name of the
Secretary-General’s Bulletin is “Protection against retaliation for reporting
misconduct and for cooperating with duly authorized audits or
investigations.” The
policy can be found on the UN web site under the reform heading.
As its name makes it
clear, this new policy provides protection from retaliation to those who
report misconduct as well as those who cooperate in audits or
investigations.
This policy represents
“best practice” from many nations and international organizations. As you
know, the Organization has worked on this policy for many months, consulting
with staff as well as the Government Accountability Project and a consultant
recommended by Transparency International.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Asked why the Rev. Al
Sharpton was meeting the Secretary-General this afternoon, the Spokesman said
Sharpton had expressed an interest in meeting the Secretary-General to discuss
a number of issues related to Africa.
*** The guest at the noon
briefing was Martti Ahtisaari, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for
the Future Status Process for Kosovo.
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