HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MARIE OKABE
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, June 29, 2006
ANNAN CALLS ON ISRAELIS AND
PALESTINIANS TO DEFUSE TENSIONS
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, according to a statement issued shortly
after the noon briefing, is deeply
concerned about developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
territory, including the continued detention of an Israeli soldier by
Palestinian militants; the killing by Palestinian militants of an Israeli
civilian, whose body was found this morning; further rocket attacks against
Israel; and Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip which have resulted
in a serious deterioration in humanitarian conditions there.
He is also concerned that Israel has detained 64
Palestinian officials, cabinet ministers and members of the Legislative
Council, who were elected in January.
The Secretary-General calls on the Palestinian Authority
to do its utmost to secure the release of the Israeli soldier, and to end
rocket attacks against Israel and other action by militants.
The Secretary-General also calls on the Government of
Israel to show restraint, to avoid actions that damages civilian
infrastructure and that aggravates the hardship of the Palestinian population,
and to abide by international humanitarian law.
To prevent a further decline in the humanitarian
situation, Israel should also act urgently to facilitate the import of
essential medical supplies, food stuffs, and particularly fuel into the Gaza
Strip.
The Secretary-General
yesterday told reporters that he had been in touch with the leaders in the
Middle East, including the Prime Minister of Israel and the Palestinian
and Syrian Presidents, to try to calm the situation.
ELECTRICITY CUTS AFFECTING WATER SUPPLY FOR
GAZA RESIDENTS
The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has been assessing
the situation in the Gaza Strip, where it says that nearly half the population
is currently without electricity, and this situation could persist for up to
nine months. The reduced capacity is affecting the provision of water, with
daily access for families being cut by up to 50% in some parts of the Gaza
Strip.
The
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
has stepped up its activities in pre-positioning food and other supplies in
parts of Gaza so that it can offer assistance to people in need. The World
Food Programme and Food and Agricultural Organization have also been
increasing food aid.
Asked whether the UN’s
humanitarian agencies were getting access to Gaza to get around the roadblocks
there, the Spokeswoman said that UN humanitarian agencies as a rule talk to
all parties to gain access for their aid deliveries.
INQUIRY BOARD
APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE VIOLENCE IN TIMOR-LESTE
The Secretary-General has appointed three people – Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil, Zelda Holtzman of South Africa and Ralph Zacklin of
the United Kingdom – to the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for
Timor-Leste. He has informed the Security Council of the appointment in a
letter dated June 28.
That commission is tasked with establishing the facts and
circumstances relevant to the violent incidents that took place in the country
on 28-29 April and 23-25 May.
The mandate of the Commission includes clarifying the
responsibility for the events and recommending measures to ensure
accountability for crimes and serious violations of human rights allegedly
committed during the period.
Pinheiro will chair the Commission of Inquiry, which is
to begin its work next month and report its findings to the Secretary-General
within three months. The panel will be based in Dili.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour,
set up the Commission of Inquiry at the Secretary-General’s request earlier
this month.
TIMOR-LESTE’S POLITICAL LEADERS URGED TO
RESTRAIN SUPPORTERS
The
UN Office in Timor-Leste says that some 3,000 demonstrators riding in
about 150 trucks descended on Dili Thursday to show support for former Prime
Minister Mari Alkatiri, following his resignation on Monday.
Speaking with political leaders today, the head of the UN
Office, Sukehiro Hasegawa, reminded them that they must ensure that their
supporters restrain themselves from any behavior that might result in
violence.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Ian
Martin, held a series of high-level meetings with government leaders in his
dual roles of planning the next stages of UN assistance to Timor-Leste and
offering his good offices to assist in the resolution of the present crisis.
Martin held a working meeting with a group of government
ministers, including Senior Minister Jose Ramos-Horta and Minister of State
Ana Pessoa, among others.
In a separate meeting with President Xanana Gusmao, he
and UN Police Advisor Mark Kroeker exchanged concrete ideas on the role of an
expanded UN police force in Timor-Leste.
Martin also briefed the diplomatic corps on his work and
sought their opinions on the political situation.
Asked whether Timor-Leste has a
prime minister yet, the Spokeswoman said that for now, that process has not
happened.She added that the Secretary-General, as well as Hasegawa and Martin,
had made repeated appeals to all parties for calm and called on them to bring
about a swift solution. Martin, she added, would present specific proposals
about what the United Nations can do in the country.
BAKASSI
PENINSULA FOLLOW-UP COMMITTEE TO MEET IN JULY
The Secretary-General on 28 June wrote to the
President of the
Security Council informing Council members that the first meeting of the
Follow-up committee on the implementation of the Greentree Agreement between
Cameroon and Nigeria on the modalities of withdrawal and transfer of authority
in the Bakassi Peninsula, will take place in Geneva during the first week of
July.
The United Nations will be represented by Kieran
Prendergast, who will serve as the committee’s chairman, and by General Seth
Kofi Obeng. Cameroon is represented by Maurice Kanto, a Minister delegate at
the Ministry of Justice, and Joseph Dion-Ngute, a minister delegate at the
Ministry of External affairs in charge of the Commonwealth. Nigeria is
represented by chief Bayo Ojo, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the
Federation and Sunday Ehindero, the Inspector General of the Nigerian Police.
The four witness states (France, Germany, the United
Kingdom and the United States) will also be represented on the Follow-up
Committee, whose establishment “within sixty days” was mandated by the 12 June
agreement.
In that agreement, Nigeria conclusively recognized
Cameroon’s sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula in accordance with the 10
October 2002 judgment of the International Court of Justice, and agreed to
withdraw its troops and administration from that territory.
SECURITY COUNCIL APPALLED BY MURDER OF
RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS IN IRAQ
After brief consultations, the
Security Council adopted a
presidential statement in which it said it was appalled by the horrific
death of members of the Russian diplomatic mission in Iraq who had been
kidnapped by a terrorist group.
The Security Council condemned the crime in the strongest
possible terms and urged all States to cooperate actively in finding and
bringing to justice its perpetrators, organizers and sponsors.
Following that meeting, the Security Council began a
second open meeting, in which it discussed the Council’s mission earlier this
month to Sudan and Chad. British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, who headed the
mission to Sudan and Chad, and French Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sabliére, who
headed the one to the Democratic Republic oft eh Congo, briefed Council
members.
BETTER PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS NEEDED IN
ARMED CONFLICT
Yesterday afternoon, Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland
briefed the
Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
In his remarks, Egeland said that peacekeeping missions
must be equipped with better, more comprehensive mandates and the means to
fulfill them. Peacekeepers had to be given tools, guidance and support if they
were to be able to respond flexibly to emerging threats and provide better
protection, he added.
Regarding humanitarian access, Egeland said that, by not
responding more forcefully in cases where access had been unreasonably denied,
the Council risked exposing humanitarian workers to attack.
On the political front, he called for the activation and
strengthening of the Secretary General’s good offices more often and earlier.
He also said that targeted sanctions should be employed at the earliest
opportunity where violations against civilians prevailed, to signal
international concern.
ANNAN REAPPOINTS MEMBERS OF THE PANEL OF
EXPERTS ON LIBERIA
A
letter from the Secretary-General to the
Security Council was issued today, in which the Secretary-General informed
Council members of the reappointment, for a period of six months ending 21
December 2006, of members of the Panel of Experts on Liberia, as requested by
Security Council
resolution 1689 (2006).
The Secretary-General has designated Arthur Blundell of
Canada to serve as the Chairman of the Panel, which includes four other expert
members from France, India, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom.
NINE U.N. NATIONAL STAFF STILL DETAINED
BY ERITREAN AUTHORITIES
The
UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea says it was informed today that
Eritrean authorities released one of the Mission’s detained national staff
members last week.
There are now a total of nine Eritrean national staff
detained and the Mission continues to protest against their detention.
Elsewhere, the Mission
says that the military situation in the Temporary Situation Zone and
Adjacent Areas is stable but tense, with routine troop movements noted on both
sides of the border.
U.N.D.P. HALTS
DISARMAMENT PROGRAM IN UGANDA
FOLLOWING ARMY ABUSES
Asked about the
U.N. Development Programme’s (UNDP) halting of its voluntary disarmament
programme in eastern Uganda, the Spokeswoman said the action was taken because
UNDP field officers found that Government troops were abusing the rights of
civilians in the region targeted by the project.
The project was designed to
provide people in the Karamoja region of Uganda who agreed to disarm with
food, building materials or cash in exchange for their weapons.
To date, UNDP has spent about a
third of the $1 million at its disposal for this project.
That programme, she said, had
originated in response to international concerns about earlier reports of
abuses within a local Ugandan disarmament programme.
Today, the Spokeswoman added,
in a meeting with the local Donor Technical Working Group, the UNDP Deputy
Representative for Programmes said that they had raised the issue of forced
disarmament and its repercussions for development in Karamoja with the
Government.
SPENDING CAP ON U.N. BUDGET LIFTED
The Spokeswoman for the President of the
General Assembly said that yesterday afternoon the
Fifth Committee adopted by consensus a draft decision authorizing
expenditure of the remaining funds appropriated in the biennial budget.
Three countries – Australia, Japan and the United States
– disassociated themselves from the consensus. This decision is expected to
be acted on by the Plenary late on Friday.
Just prior to the Fifth Committee action lifting the
spending cap, as a contribution to the process, the General Assembly President
issued a letter summarizing the reforms achieved thus far, as well as the
elements of a draft resolution on management reform, on which he understands
Member States generally agree. He said that he expects that this draft
resolution will be agreed on Friday, by the Fifth Committee and the Plenary.
The President also noted that Member States may wish to
defer the comprehensive review of governance, oversight and accountability to
the 61st Assembly session.
And finally, on the mandate review process, based on an
interim report received from the Co-Chairs, he outlined the way forward, which
he also hoped and expected to be agreed in a draft resolution.
It is expected that the Working Group will conclude the
review of unrenewed mandates older than five years, preferably before the end
of July.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNAN TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT
MUGABE OF ZIMBABWE Asked whether the
Secretary-General would meet with the President of Zimbabwe at the African Union
summit in Banjul, the Gambia, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General
had publicly expressed that he would meet the President there. Aasked whether
the Secretary-General would visit Zimbabwe, Okabe said she had nothing to add to
the Secretary-General’s
recent comments
made on the matter.
SMALL ARMS REVIEW CONFERENCE HOLDS READING OF DRAFT
OUTCOME PAPER: The
Small Arms Review Conference is continuing today. At 3:00 this afternoon, it
will go into a closed session for its first reading of the draft final outcome
paper. And then tomorrow morning at 10:00, the Conference will hear from 13
speakers representing the World Federation of Sport-shooting Societies and 15
speakers from the International Action Network on Small Arms.
IRAQ COMPENSATION COMMISSION ENDS 60th
SESSION: The Governing Council of the
United Nations Compensation Commission, under the Presidency of Ambassador
Tassos Kriekoukis of Greece, has today concluded its sixtieth session in Geneva.
The Council considered a number of reports and information notes, including on
the distribution of payments to successful claimants; the transparency of the
distribution process and the return of undistributed funds; and continuing
efforts to identify erroneous awards.
BASEBALL PLAYERS RECOGNIZED FOR AID TO FLOOD-STRICKEN
TOWN: The
UN Development Programme will be honouring two Red Sox and one New York Mets
players, as well as the Red Sox Foundation and that team’s fans, at a ceremony
today in Boston, ahead of the first pitch of the final game of the Red Sox-Mets
series. The event is being held to honour their financial contributions to
rebuild the town of Jimaní, in the Dominican Republic, following catastrophic
floods in May 2004 that left more than 700 people dead and some 900 homes
destroyed.
U.N. MEETING TO ENSURE SAFER FOOD: The Codex
Alimentarius Commission, a joint venture of the
Food and Agriculture Organization and the
World Health Organization, will
meet in Geneva from 3-7 July 2006 to consider adopting proposals to improve
protection from food contaminants. Issues on the agenda include maximum
limits for lead in fish and cadmium in rice, ways to reduce PCB contamination in
food and feed, and measures to prevent antimicrobial resistance.
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