Secretario General

Noon briefing of 17 August 2005


HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, 17 August 2005

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPALLED BY BAGHDAD BOMBINGS

  • The Secretary-General is appalled by the bombings today in Baghdad that killed at least 43 people and wounded many more. He strongly condemns these attacks, which appear to have been coordinated to hurt as many innocent civilians as possible, including by obstructing medical access, in violation of all humanitarian principles.

  • The Secretary-General conveys his deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.

BANGLADESH: ANNAN OUTRAGED BY BOMB ATTACKS

  • The Secretary-General was outraged at reports of simultaneous bomb attacks in the capital and other cities across Bangladesh which left one person dead and hundreds injured. He condemns these senseless acts of indiscriminate violence and extends his condolences to the families of the victims.

  • The Secretary-General calls for those responsible to be brought to justice and appeals for calm and restraint in the face of these brazen and cowardly acts.

DEPUTY ENVOYS TO LIBERIA & COTE D’IVOIRE APPOINTED

  • The Secretary-General announced today the appointment of Luiz Carlos da Costa of Brazil as his Deputy Special Representative for Operations and Rule of Law for Liberia.

  • Da Costa most recently served as the Director of the Logistics Support Division, Office of Mission Support in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York.

  • The Secretary-General has also appointed Abou Moussa of Chad as his Principal Deputy Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire.

  • Moussa has served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery and Rehabilitation in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) since the establishment of the Mission in October 2003.

COTE D’IVOIRE MILITIAS TO DISARM

  • The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire has welcomed the announcement by three armed groups that they will start to disarm next week.

  • The groups, all in the western part of the country, agreed in a meeting with security forces and mediators to begin disarming on Wednesday.

  • The UN statement salutes the spirit of conciliation shown by the militias.

U.N. URGES HAITIANS TO REJECT VIOLENCE

  • The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has condemned the rising rate of shooting deaths and lynchings in the past two weeks in the capital, Port-au Prince.

  • The Mission has called for calm and urged all Haitians to reject violence and to collaborate with public security forces.

  • The UN Mission is helping Haiti prepare for elections in October and November.

ANNAN: STATES CAN DO MORE TO HELP WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS

  • Available today is a report of the Secretary-General on violence against women migrant workers.

  • While some countries have put in place support services for victims, and others promote and protect their rights, the report concludes that States need to put in place more systematic measures.

  • Some of these could include stronger labour laws, public awareness programmes, and training of government officials and law enforcement agents. For the victims themselves – States should provide better access to shelters, legal, medical and psychological aid, as well as social and economic assistance.

HIV/AIDS ENVOY TO VISIT LESOTHO

  • The Secretary General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, is going to Lesotho today for a three-day visit.

  • He will be meeting with the country’s Prime Minister and Ministers of Health and Foreign Affairs, as well as with the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team. He will also visit Lesotho’s National AIDS Secretariat and the newly established Lesotho Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

  • The purpose of this visit is to look into HIV/AIDS treatment in Lesotho, at both the health centre and household level.

POLIO CASES IN ANGOLA A MATTER OF CONCERN

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is concerned that Angola has now reported six cases of polio. To contain the outbreak, WHO, together with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners, is carrying out a series of immunization campaigns in that country.

  • Because the two recent most cases were found near Angola’s borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia, WHO is also discussing with the Congolese authorities the possibility of immunizing people in the DRC-Angola border region.

ALMOST ONE MILLION SOMALIS NEED URGENT HUMANITARIAN HELP

  • Nearly one million Somalis need urgent humanitarian assistance through the end of 2005, including help with food, shelter, health and nutrition, and livelihoods, according to a recent assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization. That represents an increase from the 875,000 individuals identified last winter.

  • According to the report, in central Somalia, unresolved conflicts are continuing to delay recovery from humanitarian crises. Meanwhile, in the south, approximately one-quarter of children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition.

ANNOUNCEMENT ON PROCUREMENT CONSULTING FIRM TO BE MADE SOON

  • Asked whether an independent consultant had been hired to look at the UN’s procurement office and the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the Spokesman said that a decision by the Controller’s Office on that matter would be made shortly.

  • Asked why Controller Warren Sach was in charge of procurement while the management review was underway, the Spokesman said it was only normal that responsibility for the division shifts during the time of the review. The head of the procurement office, Andrew Toh, would, in the meantime, continue with his other responsibilities, including among others plant management and information systems, in the meantime.

  • Asked about the difference between the management review taking place and an investigation, Dujarric said that a management review looks at the way a division has been managed and how controls have been put in place, unlike an investigation, which would look into allegations of mismanagement or wrongdoing. The Spokesman stressed that Mr. Toh was not the target of the investigation.

  • He noted that OIOS continues with its investigation of former procurement officer Alexander Yakovlev. OIOS, he said in response to questions, had said that its investigation is focusing on Yakovlev and his activities at the procurement office; it is up to OIOS to determine the scope of its investigation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

DISARMAMENT INSTITUTE RESEARCHES ILLEGAL TRADE IN SMALL ARMS: Available today is a report on the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). It notes that UNIDIR’s work programme continues to be centred on three main areas: global security and disarmament; regional security and disarmament; and human security and disarmament. Additionally, among other things, in collaboration with the Department for Disarmament Affairs, UNIDIR is embarking on a research project to study the issue of illicit brokering and its impact on the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons.

EMERGENCY FOOD HANDED OUT IN MAURITANIA: The World Food Programme (WFP) is stepping up emergency distributions of food in Mauritania, including to 6,300 people suffering from serious food shortages in parts of the remote Hodh Chargui region. Following reports of several cases of severe malnutrition in the area, WFP completed a rapid assessment mission and on Tuesday began distributing 90 metric tons of food – equivalent to a complete monthly ration for 6,300 people.

DISCUSSIONS ON U.N. REFORM TO RESUME ON 22 AUGUST: Asked about the status of discussions on UN reform and the General Assembly President’s outcome document, the Spokesman said that discussions on that document are set to resume on 22 August. That does not imply, he added, that work has halted until then; discussions among Member States continue in capitals and bilaterally.

NO INDICATIONS THAT ZIMBABWE CLEARANCES TO RESUME: Asked whether housing clearances were resuming in Zimbabwe, the Spokesman said that the UN Resident Coordinator in that country reported that he had no indication that clearances would resume.

***The guests at the noon briefing were Meg Carey, Principal Officer of the Africa Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and François Dureau, Director of the Situation Centre, who briefed on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.