Quartet Special Envoy (QSE) support extension – SecGen letter to SecCo President

Letter dated 6 April 2006 from the Secretary-General

to the President of the Security Council

  I have the honour to refer to my letter of 13 December 2005 (S/2005/797) and the response dated 16 December 2005 (S/2005/798) regarding the activities of the Quartet, including the mandate of its Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement, James Wolfensohn, and the support for those activities by the Organization through the provision of logistical, technical and financial assistance to Mr. Wolfensohn’s office.

  From 1 June 2005, Mr. Wolfensohn was charged by the Quartet with coordinating the international community’s efforts in support of the disengagement initiative; promoting coordination and cooperation between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority on the implementation of Israel’s disengagement initiative from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank; and working with the Palestinian Authority on specific reforms and steps to promote economic recovery and growth, democracy, good governance and transparency, job creation and improved living standards. Mr. Wolfensohn’s mandate as the Quartet’s Special Envoy, which was initially planned to end on 31 December 2005, was extended through 31 March 2006.

  The members of the Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, have agreed that Mr. Wolfensohn and his team should continue to be provided with the support necessary to operate an office in Jerusalem until the end of April 2006. In the context of Security Council resolution 1515 (2003), in which the Council endorsed the Quartet’s road map and encouraged the diplomatic efforts of the Quartet and others, I should be grateful if you could confirm the Council’s continued support for the proposed arrangements. It would then be my intention to maintain the provision of logistical, technical and financial assistance in support of his office for the period of Mr. Wolfensohn’s extended mandate.

(Signed) Kofi A. Annan 

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