HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS,
NEW YORK
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
ANNAN
CONDEMNS SUICIDE BOMBING IN SRI LANKA
Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly
condemns today’s atrocious suicide bombing at a military installation in
Colombo that claimed the lives of several army personnel and civilians, and
seriously wounded the Head of Sri Lanka’s army, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka.
He reiterates that no cause can
justify such acts of violence and expresses his condolences to the families of
the bereaved and the Government of Sri Lanka.
The Secretary-General is disturbed by
the rapidly escalating violence on the island, as seen in a vicious cycle of
attacks and retaliations that appears to seriously endanger the fragile peace
process.
He would like to again stress that a
return to civil war will not resolve outstanding differences between the
parties. He calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to summon the political will to resume their dialogue under
the facilitation of the Norwegian Government.
U.N.
OFFICIALS: CURFEW IN NEPAL LIFTED TODAY
The UN Human Rights Office in Nepal
reports that the curfew in that country has been lifted today, following King
Gyanendra’s speech last night.
The Human Rights Office had teams
traveling throughout the capital, Kathmandu, today, observing the rallies that
took place in many locations. There were no clashes reported between security
forces and the people holding the rallies. Also, no clashes were reported by
UN human rights teams that were observing rallies in
the other Nepalese cities and regions.
Also, many detainees held under the
Public Security Act were released today. The Nepalese authorities told the UN
Human Rights Office that all such detainees would be released, and the Office
is monitoring this.
HEAD OF
U.N. HARIRI INVESTIGATION MEETS WITH SYRIAN LEADERS
In response to questions on the
travels of
Serge Brammertz and his
International Independent Investigation Commission on the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,
the Spokesman said Brammertz traveled to Damascus today, where he held two
separate meetings: one with President Bashar al-Assad and one with
Vice-President Farouk al-Shar'a.
These
meetings had been referred to in the Commission’s third report, dated 14
March.
Asked whether Brammertz would
conduct any further work in Syria, the Spokesman said he had no further
details about his operational work.
SECURITY
COUNCIL BRIEFED ON WESTERN SAHARA AND
TAKES ACTION ON DR CONGO, SUDAN
The
Security Council held consultations on the Secretary-General’s latest
report on Western Sahara, which came out on the racks yesterday.
Assistant Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi briefed the Council on the report, as
did the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy,
Peter van Walsum. Annabi also briefed the Council on the second round of
the legislative elections in Haiti.
[Council members adopted
two Presidential Statements and a resolution on
Sudan.
The Council voted unanimously on a
resolution concerning a European force that would contribute to stability in
the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Council President, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China,
read out a presidential statement condemning the bombings in Egypt, and two
press statements on Haiti and Iraq.]
U.N. PEACEKEEPING
OFFICIAL TO PRESENT SECURITY COUNCIL
WITH OPTIONS ON DARFUR
Asked about UN
planning work on
Darfur, the Spokesman said that on Wednesday, the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations was expected to present to the
Security Council a number of options on a possible transfer from the current
African Union mission in Darfur to a UN peacekeeping force.
Asked whether the
Department had dropped the idea of visiting Darfur, the Spokesman pointed to
continuing work on planning for a Darfur force and said that the deployment of
a UN peacekeeping force would require a prior field assessment visit.
He noted that the
earlier denial of access to UN peacekeeping assessment team had not stopped
the United Nations from working on and presenting options to the Security
Council.
He added, in
response to a question on security in Darfur, that security is constantly
being assessed and changes are mad accordingly.
Asked whether the
Wednesday report was in response to a
Security Council request, the Spokesman
said it was. He said it would be an oral report, and also expressed the
intention to provide a peacekeeping official to brief reporters afterward.
ANNAN
CONDEMNED THE BOMBINGS IN DAHAB, EGYPT
A
statement was issued late Monday, in which the
Secretary-General condemned the targeting of innocent people in the
explosions that took place in Dahab, Egypt.
The Secretary-General offered his
sincere condolences to the injured, the families of those that have been
killed and to the people and Government of Egypt.
ANNAN:
HAITI ELECTIONS REPRESENT A CRUCIAL STEP ON PATH TO PEACE
On
Haiti’s second round of parliamentary elections last week, the
Secretary-General
says that together with the outcome of the Presidential election, Friday's
vote represents a crucial step towards placing Haiti firmly on the path to
peaceful and stable development.
The Secretary-General also believes
that it’ll be essential for the country's progress that all elements of
Haiti's political spectrum and the various branches of Haiti's Government work
in a spirit of close cooperation to ensure that this opportunity is fully
grasped.
U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY
WELCOMES SYRIAN ACCEPTANCE OF REFUGEE GROUP
The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today
said it was grateful that the Syrian Government had agreed to receive a
group of 181 Palestinian refugees stranded at the Iraq-Jordanian border since
March 19th.
The group had left Baghdad out of fear
for its safety. UNHCR says contacts are underway with all concerned to ensure
a smooth transfer of the group to Syria.
The agency said it has not been
informed whether other Palestinians would be accepted into Syria.
INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PERSONS FORGOTTEN IN COTE D’IVOIRE
Following a one week visit to
Cote d’Ivoire, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human Rights
of Internally Displaced Persons,
Dr Walter Kalin,
says the internally displaced there have largely been forgotten.
Kalin says the country is facing a
protection crisis in terms of the human rights of the displaced, and that this
was mainly due to the lack of an adequate response to their needs and the lack
of knowledge of their rights.
U.N.
ENVOY FOR HORN OF AFRICA BEGINS REGIONAL MISSION
The Secretary-General’s Special
Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa,
Kjell Magne Bondevik, arrives in Eritrea tonight to begin a regional
mission, which will also include Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Somalia and Kenya.
Bondevik will be studying the
recurrent drought and food insecurity that is threatening the lives of 11
million people and devastating the region.
He will meet with Heads of State and
senior Government officials to discuss strategies for strengthening
partnerships with the international community to ensure assistance is as
effective, timely and efficient as possible. He will also study long-term
approaches that will reduce the region’s vulnerability to drought.
ANNAN
HAD ASKED DENMARK FOR HELP WITH CHARLES TAYLOR TRIAL
Asked whether the
Secretary-General had formally appealed
to Denmark for help concerning the trial of former Liberian President Charles
Taylor, the Spokesman confirmed press reports that the Secretary-General had
written to Denmark regarding assistance after a judgment in the Taylor case.
He said, in
response to further questions, that the process of finding such assistance is
still underway, but he had no further details to share.
Dujarric added
that the
Special Court for Sierra Leone has said that the process by which Taylor
is going to trial is still proceeding.
AT
LEAST A MILLION CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA
A new report out today from the
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today says that at least a million children
continue to be severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia,
and UNICEF does not have adequate resources to respond to their needs.
The report says that between 2.5 and
3.5 million persons are internally displaced in Colombia, and about half of
them are children and adolescents.
UNICEF says it has a shortfall of
about $1.7 million for its work in Colombia.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
MORE THAN 80
MEMBER STATES HAVE PAID BUDGET ASSESSMENTS: The
arrival of checks from Grenada and Mozambique today
brings the number
of fully paid-up member states to 81. Both countries contributed about $17,000
UNITED NATIONS SEES MAJOR SHIFT TO
BIO-ENERGY: Under the
pressure of soaring oil prices and growing environmental constraints, momentum
is gathering for a major international switch from fossil fuels to renewable
bioenergy,
according to the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “The gradual move away from oil
has begun. Over the next 15 to 20 years we may see biofuels providing a full 25%
of the world’s energy needs,” Alexander Müller, the new Assistant
Director-General for the Sustainable Development Department of FAO.
NEW MALARIA TREATMENT INTRODUCED
IN SOMALIA: A new, effective
treatment has been introduced in Somalia to curb the incidence of malaria, the
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today. The new treatment is a combination
of two drugs, Artesunate and Sulfadoxine- Pyramethamine. Since January UNICEF
has been training health workers in the country on malaria treatment using the
combination to replace drugs to which there is high resistance.
ANNAN’S TRAVEL PLANS TO BE ANNOUNCED
WHEN APPROPRIATE:
Asked whether the Secretary-General has further
travels planned, the Spokesman said that he has extensive travel plans which
will be announced when appropriate.
NO FURTHER DETAILS ON MAN
SENTENCED OVER BOMBING OF U.N. OFFICE IN IRAQ:
Asked about the person seized in Iraq for the 19 August 2003
bombing of the UN compound, the Spokesman said that the United Nations wants
further details about the person and his confession. He characterized the
information received so far as “confusing”.
MORE DETAILS ON QAZI REVIEW
WHEN FULL INVESTIGATION REPORT IS RELEASED:
Asked if the Spokesman would retract a statement in defense of
Ashraf Qazi, the head of the
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, given the lack of comment by the
Office for Internal Oversight Service (OIOS), the Spokesman said he would
not. He added that a statement could be expected once the full OIOS report comes
out.
*** The guests at the Noon Briefing
were Peter Smith, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education, and Albert
Motivans, of UNESCO's Institute for Statistics. They spoke about teacher
shortages in the developing world.
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