HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FARHAN HAQ
ASSOCIATE
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, June 12, 2006
ANNAN MEETS LEADERS OF NIGERIA AND CAMEROON IN EFFORT
TO SOLVE BORDER DISPUTE
The Secretary-General has been
meeting with the
leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon over the weekend and today, as part of his
efforts since 2002 to assist in the implementation of the International Court
of Justice’s ruling on the Cameroon-Nigeria border dispute.
The Secretary-General met with
the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, on Sunday evening, and the President of
Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, this morning.
It is expected that, following
a joint meeting with the two presidents and the Secretary-General today at the
Greentree Estate in Manhasset, New York, an agreement will be finalized.
SECURITY
COUNCIL DELEGATION VISITS D.R. CONGO
A delegation from the
Security Council is in Kinshasa and
yesterday met with officials from the Independent Electoral Commission, the
High authority on Media, parliamentarians and local women groups as well as
members of the international humanitarian community.
This morning, the delegation met with President Joseph
Kabila, and later held separate meetings with the four Vice-Presidents.
Afterward, they met with the joint commission on security, which includes both
Congolese police and Army representatives as well as military personnel from
the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
and police advisors for the UN Mission, and is chaired by Vice-President
Azarias Ruberwa.
The delegation received an update on the preparations for
the July 30 elections and on other issues of concern to the Security Council,
including fair access to the media and voting facilities. The delegation took
note of the reported rise of acrimonious language in the campaign for the
elections.
The delegation is holding a press conference at this
moment and Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sabliere, who heads this part of the
delegation visit, will be a guest of
Radio Okapi.
Asked for an update on UN peacekeepers detained in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokesman said the UN was continuing
with its efforts to secure their release.
LEBANON BOMB
PROBE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS
The Secretary-General on Saturday received from
Commissioner Serge Brammertz the fourth report of the International
Independent Investigation
Commission investigating the murder last year of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others. The Secretary-General then transmitted
the report to the members of the Security Council.
In his letter to the Council transmitting the report, the
Secretary-General said that the report highlights the considerable progress
made in consolidating the Commission’s investigative capacity and
organizational structure; in developing its investigative activities; and in
adapting its internal procedures to the standards and requirements of a future
judicial process, possibly a tribunal of an international character.
The Security Council intends to hear from Commissioner
Brammertz in an open meeting, followed by consultations, on Wednesday.
TIMOR-LESTE:
U.N. ENVOY CONTINUES TALKS WITH GOVERNMENT LEADERS
The Secretary-General’s Special
Representative in
Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, today held a series of meetings with top
Timorese leaders to determine how the UN can best respond to the current
crisis. Hasegawa met with the Timorese President and Prime Minister, as well
as the Speaker of the National Parliament, to seek their views on the
requirements for a follow-on UN mission in Timor-Leste.
Also today, Hasegawa welcomed
the decision by the Timorese Government to invite the UN to investigate the
shooting incidents of April and May, which took many lives.
Asked if the UN would accept the Timorese Government’s
invitation for the UN to investigate past shooting incidents, the Spokesman
said the UN would look at the specifics later. He added that on Tuesday, the
Secretary-General’s Special Envoy in Timor-Leste, Ian Martin, would be
briefing the Security Council on latest developments in that country.
Asked about Security Council involvement in Timor-Leste,
the Spokesman said the Security Council would decide in general what the scope
of the future UN presence would be. The Secretary-General’s thinking was that
the UN presence ought to be increased. The Spokesman said that the next steps
were to see what sorts of recommendations Martin would give the Security
Council and how the Council would respond.
NUCLEAR WATCHDOG
URGES IRAN TO COOPERATE WITH VERIFICATION ACTIVITIES
The Board of Governors of
the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting in Vienna today, and has
among other items before it a progress report regarding the implementation of
safeguards in Iran.
In a
statement to the Board, the Agency’s Director-General, Mohamed ElBaradei,
says that the report makes it clear that the Agency has not made much progress
in resolving outstanding verification issues. He continues to urge Iran to
provide the cooperation needed to resolve these issues.
He added that he remains convinced that the way forward
lies through dialogue and mutual accommodation among all concerned parties.
KOSOVO:
U.N. ENVOY TO RESIGN FROM POST
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo,
Soren Jessen-Petersen, today
announced that he will be leaving his post at the end of June, because of
family reasons.
In the statement he gave today, he said he is aware that
he will be departing at an important moment in the history of Kosovo. At the
same time, however, he is confident that the political process leading towards
a status decision is on track.
ANNAN URGES ALL SIDES IN MIDDLE EAST TO EXERCISE
RESTRAINT
Asked about the Secretary-General’s recent call for an
investigation into the killing on Friday of Palestinian civilians, reportedly
by Israeli forces, the Spokesman noted that that call had just been made on
Friday. He pointed out that the Israeli Government had expressed its intention
to investigate and that the UN would look at what kind of form that
investigation would take.
Regarding the violence in Gaza, the Spokesman referred to
a statement
issued on Friday, which reminded all concerned of their obligations under
international humanitarian law to avoid placing civilians in danger, and urged
the utmost restraint to avoid further escalation and bloodshed.
Asked if the omission of Qassam rockets from the
Secretary-General’s latest statement on Gaza showed a certain one-sidedness,
the Spokesman said, “No, not at all.” He added that, in the past, the
Secretary-General and the United Nations had criticized the firing of such
rockets. Additionally, in Friday’s statement, the Secretary-General had urged
all sides to exercise restraint, whatever the form.
U.N. OFFICE TAKES STAND AGAINST CHILD LABOR
With the World Cup now taking place in Germany, the
International Labour Organization has issued a symbolical "Red Card" against
child labour. This is part of a series of global events, which began last week
to mark this year’s World Day against Child Labor, which is marked today
around the world.
In Geneva earlier today, Cameroonian football legend
Roger Milla and other leaders in the field of sports, scouting and labour are
taking part in an event highlighting the ILO's
"Red
Card to Child Labour" campaign which, through the partnership with
Federation of International Football Association, has reached millions of
people around the world since its launch in 2002.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
GUANTANAMO DETENTION CENTER SHOULD BE CLOSED: Asked
if the Secretary-General had any comments on the recent suicides in Guantanamo,
the Spokesman drew attention to past comments by the Secretary-General, which
had made clear that the detention facilities at Guantanamo should be closed as
soon as possible, as a decision by the United States Government. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and various Special Rapporteurs had
also stressed the need for Guantanamo to be closed. The Spokesman added that
Arbour was studying the matter of these “unfortunate” suicides.
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM HEADS TO RUSSIA: Asked
about a trip to the Russian Federation by the UN Special Rapporteur on
contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, Doudou Diène, the Spokesman referred to a
press release by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which
contained details of that visit.
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY AND MONITORING BOARD: Asked
about developments regarding oil metering, as they
related to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB)
dealing with Iraq, the Spokesman noted that the IAMB, in the notes from
its last meeting, had expressed frustration at the slow pace of oil metering in
that country.
CRIMINAL COURT GETS CUSTODY OF BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES
SUSPECT: Dragan Zelenovic was brought into the
custody of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia on Saturday, after nearly ten years on the run.
The former Bosnian Serb policeman is indicted for a range of war crimes,
including torture and rape, in and around the Bosnian town of Foca in 1992. A
date for his initial appearance before the Tribunal will be announced shortly.
More details are available in a press release upstairs.
WORLD BOOK CAPITAL CITY CHOSEN: An international
jury of experts has just chosen
Amsterdam as World Book Capital City in 2008. Each year, a city is chosen as
the World Book Capital City based on an evaluation of how it promotes books and
fosters reading. Madrid became the first Capital City in 2001 when UNESCO first
initiated the programme.
DRYLANDS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD: A three-day
Future of Drylands
conference will be held June 19 in Tunis. The meeting is part of the United
Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification 2006.Organized by
UNESCO, discussion will focus on research, conservation, policy and sustainable
development. According to findings at the UN Earth Summit, soil and plant
deterioration have affected 70% of the world's drylands as a result of droughts
and mismanagement of land.
*** The guest at the noon briefing today was Jan Egeland,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who
launched a humanitarian flash appeal for Timor-Leste.
Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
United Nations, S-378
New York, NY 10017
Tel. 212-963-7162
Fax. 212-963-7055
