HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Tuesday, 14 March, 2006
SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply
concerned at today's violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in which
several people, including Palestinian police officers, have been killed, and a
number of international personnel have been kidnapped. He calls for an
immediate end to the violence, respect for civilian lives, and urgent steps to
restore calm. The Secretary-General also calls for the immediate release of
those who have been kidnapped, and full respect of the safety of international
personnel on the ground.
Asked about the situation of kidnapped journalists in
Gaza, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General’s main message was that
the captors should release them and all the others being held, including
international aid workers.
Asked whether the United Nations was involved in efforts
to free the abductees, the Spokesman said it was not directly involved. He
added, in response to a further question, that the United Nations wishes they
can all be released as soon as possible.
Asked about UN actions on the ground, he said that the
United Nations is watching and monitoring the situation and is taking all
appropriate measures to ensure that all UN staff is safe.
Asked about any movements of the staff of the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
the Spokesman said that the vast majority of staff for that Agency was hired
locally, and their security would also be ensured.
SOUTH AFRICA
CAN SHOW BEST WAY FORWARD FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The Secretary-General today
addressed a joint session of the South African Parliament, and said that
the kind of things South Africa is doing at home, and promoting on the wider
African scene, may show the best way for developing countries to respond to
today's world. South Africa, he said, has shown that a nation need not be
imprisoned by its history.
He told the Parliament that no country today can be
unaffected by events in its neighborhood, and it is the responsibility of the
stronger countries in each neighborhood to lend a hand to the weaker, without
seeking to impose their domination.
Earlier, the Secretary-General met with President Thabo
Mbeki. In a joint press conference that followed, the Secretary-General said
he had thanked the President for the wonderful contribution and leadership
that South Africa has shown, not just in terms of
UN reform but in efforts to resolve conflicts from the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC)
to
Cote d’Ivoire to
Burundi and
Darfur.
He was asked whether he would travel to Zimbabwe, and he
said he intended to do so and is discussing a possible trip with the
authorities, although it wouldn’t take place now.
The Secretary-General said that country “has great
potential and we all need to work with Zimbabwe to resolve the current
difficulties and restore it to the position that it ought to occupy.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Secretary-General accompanied
his wife, Nane, on a visit to a center offering 24-hour services for women and
children rape victims. The center provides care and treatment, counseling,
shelter referrals and legal assistance. It is linked to a specialized sexual
offences court which seeks to bring offenders to justice, where the
convictions rate for perpetrators was reported to be more than 90%.
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will go to Johannesburg
to visit the Soweto Township and Nelson Mandela.
Asked whether the Secretary-General’s comments indicated
he was preparing for South Africa to have a permanent seat on the Security
Council, the Spokesman said that the decision on who can have a permanent seat
on the Council is up to Member States and not the Secretary-General.
U.N. ENVOY CONDEMNS TARGETING OF JOURNALISTS
IN IRAQ
Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Iraq,
condemned the continued targeting of Iraqi journalists by unknown
assailants.
He called on the Iraqi security authorities to
investigate these killings fully and bring the perpetrators before the law.
“Journalists should be granted security and freedom of speech so they can
perform their duties,” he said.
Iraq has become the most dangerous place in the world for
journalists. More than 70 reporters have been killed on duty in Iraq since the
war began three years ago.
Asked whether the UN’s statements on Iraq achieve
anything, the Spokesman said that, in parallel with the public statements that
have been made, Qazi has been engaged with Iraq’s political and religious
leaders, and has given a message to them encouraging reconciliation and
pushing them to find ways to lessen the violence.
Dujarric said that the United Nations is fully engaged
with a wide range of political actors in Iraq. He noted that, when the
Secretary-General visited Iraq last year, Iraqi government officials and
opposition leaders both welcomed the UN’s efforts, particularly on
reconciliation. It is a long term process, he said, and the United Nations
will keep working on it.
SECURITY STILL
A MAJOR CONCERN IN AFGHANISTAN
Tom Koenigs, the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative for
Afghanistan, today briefed the
Security Council in an open meeting on the Secretary-General’s latest
report on that country.
He said that Afghan institutions on all levels must be
strengthened to deliver basic services. Also, he said, security continues to
be a serious concern, with a rise in insurgent and terrorist attacks and more
sophisticated tactics.
The Council held an open debate on Afghanistan, with more
than 30 speakers inscribed.
The Security Council began its work this morning by
adopting a resolution to
extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
by one month.
The Council scheduled informal consultations on the
Middle East for Tuesday afternoon.
U.N. MILITARY
OPERATION IN DARFUR WOULD DEPEND ON CEASEFIRE ARRANGEMENTS
The Secretary-General’s latest
monthly report on
Darfur is available on the Internet today. In it, the Secretary-General
says that contingency planning for a possible transition to a UN operation in
Darfur will be guided by objectives such as creating an environment that’s
conducive to national reconciliation.
He notes that the determining factor for the military
component of this kind of operation may be the status of ceasefire
arrangements in Darfur. Without an effective ceasefire in place, any
international security presence there will have to be mandated to take robust
action to protect civilians at risk.
The Secretary-General adds that given the escalation of
violence on the ground, it’s essential for the international community to keep
supporting the African Union Mission in Sudan pending a possible transition to
the UN.
Asked about figures on humanitarian funding for Sudan,
the Spokesman later confirmed that a humanitarian work plan for Sudan, for
$1.7 billion, had been launched recently.
LEBANON: U.N. ENVOY SAYS NEXT WEEKS ARE CRITICAL
Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the
implementation of Security Council
resolution 1559, met in Brussels today with European Common Foreign and
Security Policy High Representative Javier Solana and EU Middle East Special
Envoy Marc Otte, and said that the coming weeks are a crucial period for the
Middle East. He said, “My hope, of course, is that we will make further
headway in Lebanon, which will send important signals across the region.”
Roed-Larsen particularly welcomed the news, announced by
Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, that political parties in
Lebanon had reached agreement to disarm Palestinian militias and to establish
formal diplomatic ties with Syria, as called for repeatedly by the
Secretary-General. “Such a consensus is an important foundation,” he said.
“The National Dialogue in Lebanon should be guided by the principles of
Security Council Resolution 1559, and I am glad to say that today's agreement
is in full accordance with the resolution.”
Roed-Larsen is continuing his high-level talks with key
members of the
Security Council. He will be in Beijing, where he is due to confer with
China's Foreign Minister later this week, before he travels to the Middle
East.
U.N. AND
CAMBODIA INK AGREEMENT ON KHMER ROUGE TRIALS
The United Nations and Cambodia’s Government today signed
two agreements that put in place the legal foundations for the administrative
set-up and operations of the Extraordinary Chambers to try Khmer Rouge
leaders.
One of the agreements signed today concerns supplementary
arrangements on the facilities, utilities and services the Cambodian
Government would provide for the premises of those Chambers; the other deals
with safety and security arrangements.
Today’s signing puts in place the last legal instruments
needed on the logistics and administrative side before the trials take place.
U.N. STAFF IS ITS BEST ASSET, DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS
The
Deputy Secretary-General addressed the International Women’s Forum earlier
today. In her remarks, she said that a challenge before the UN is recruiting,
retaining and rewarding the next generation of younger women needed to build
critical mass within the organization.
She also said that the staff of the UN is the
organization’s greatest asset, and they’re often poorly served by inadequate
management systems inside the organization.
She added that the organization is in the midst of a
management reform effort which she hopes will give staff the improved
leadership and systems they deserve.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
U.N. AGENCY UNABLE TO REACH REFUGEES IN CHAD: The
Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
reports that, because of insecurity and rebel military activity, it is
unable to reach an estimated 2,600 refugees from the Central African Republic,
who have reportedly fled to a remote border area in southern Chad. If confirmed,
the refugees’ arrival would bring to more than 7,000 the number of people from
the Central African Republic who have arrived in southern Chad since the
beginning of the year. Meanwhile, officials from UNHCR and the Zambian
Government are
visiting camps in Zambia to inform Angolan refugees that facilitated
voluntary repatriation will start up again and continue until December 2006.
U.N. FOOD AGENCY REDUCES AID TO SOMALI, SUDANESE
REFUGEES: A lack of funds has
forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to
reduce food aid to some 230,000 Somali and Sudanese refugees living in two
remote camps in northeastern Kenya. The 20 percent ration cut comes as WFP also
struggles to raise $170 million to feed 3.5 million Kenyans affected by severe
drought.
U.N. REPORTS 11 CHILDREN IN PALESTINE KILLED THIS YEAR:
The
UN Children’s Fund today
reports that since the beginning of the year 50 Palestinian children have
been wounded and 11 have died. The agency also reports that chronic malnutrition
in children under five has continuously increased among Palestinian children,
and access to education continues to be challenged by restrictions of movement.
UNICEF said that its December appeal for $ 8 million had been met by pledges
amounted to less than a quarter of that amount.
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<![endif]>UNICEF TO ORGANIZE CHILDREN’S WATER FORUM: The
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today reports that it is organizing a
Children’s World Water Forum in Mexico starting Thursday to coincide with the
World Water Forum beginning tomorrow in Mexico City. Young activists from 30
countries will meet the convening ministers and officials to discuss how
children can help solve the world’s growing water crisis. UNICEF says that many
of the children have interesting stories to tell about projects they have come
up with in their home countries.
U.N. MISSION TO HELP BORDER VILLAGES IN COTE D'IVOIRE:
The UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
today reports that its patrols near the Ivorian border with Guinea found that
several small villages have been without reliable services since the outbreak of
the civil war in 2002. The Mission said there are health centres, schools and
even water pumps but there was no manpower to operate them, since civil servants
fled at the outbreak of the war. The Mission said it will liaise with the
relevant agencies to carry out an assessment of how the needs could be met on a
stable and sustainable basis.
ANNAN IN TOUCH WITH TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Asked
whether the Secretary-General recently spoke to the Prime Minister of Turkey,
the Spokesman said that the two had not spoken since the Secretary-General’s
visit to Paris. However, following that visit, the Secretary-General did talk to
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on March 5, to discuss the Paris meetings.
U.N. PROJECTS STRATEGIC VISION FOR MANAGEMENT REFORM:
Asked about comments, seemingly critical of UN staff from the developing
world, that were attributed to an interview that Chef de Cabinet
Mark Malloch Brown had with BBC, the Spokesman said that he could not check
the veracity of those comments. He said that the United Nations has put forward
a strategic vision for management reform and was now communicating with staff
about its proposals, including through meetings that heads of UN departments
were having with their staff. He added that such dialogue was best pursued in
discussions with staff rather than in comments to press.
ANNAN URGES MOVEMENT ON RIGHTS COUNCIL: Asked
whether the Secretary-General and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had
spoken about the Human Rights Council, the Spokesman noted that the discussions
on the Council are ongoing. He said the Secretary-General has made clear his
position that Member States should move forward on the present text concerning
the Council.
U.N. CONDEMNS MURDER OF MEXICAN PHOTOGRAPHER: The
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today
condemned the murder of Jaime Arturo Olvera Bravo, a freelance press
photographer who was shot on Thursday, 9 March, in La Piedad,
in the state of Michoacán, in Mexico. While
condemning the murder, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura also said, “I
welcome news that the special prosecutor for crimes against journalists has
already opened an enquiry into this crime, to determine whether Mr. Olvera’s
murder was related to his work.”
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