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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

There was no briefing today because of a press conference by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

KOFI ANNAN SAYS FAILURE TO INCLUDE NON-PROLIFERATION
IN SUMMIT DOCUMENT IS A "A REAL DISGRACE"

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me apologize for the delay, but I suspect you all knew what was happening, and it wasn’t in my hands. But the good news is that we do have an outcome document (on UN reform), which has just been approved by the General Assembly, almost unanimously, with two delegations reserving their position.

The document includes a good chapter on development We have got the establishment of the Human Rights Council approved. We have got the Peace Building Commission approved. We also have Responsibility to Protect. We have got a definition, a statement on terrorism, as well as the Democracy Fund which has been established.

The big item missing is non-proliferation and disarmament. This is a real disgrace. We have failed twice this year. We failed at the (nuclear) Non-Proliferation Treaty and we failed now. I hope the leaders will see this as a real signal for them to pick up the ashes and really show leadership on this important issue when we are all concerned about weapons of mass destruction and the possibility that they may even get into the wrong hands. So I will appeal to the leaders who are coming here in the next few days to really step up to the plate and accept the challenge and show leadership on this issue.

I think I will pause here and take your questions."

[A transcript of the questions and answers will follow]

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UN SYSTEM

ANNAN CO-CHAIRS "MINI-SUMMIT" ON BURUNDI

• The Secretary General co-chaired a "mini summit" on Burundi today with the president of the Republic of Uganda to mark the assumption of power of the new government in Burundi. Also in attendance were presidents, heads government, and foreign ministers of regional countries, representatives of the African Union and the European Commission, and senior officials representing the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
  
• The summit agreed in principle to the establishment of a forum of Burundi’s partners to help support the new government and promote peace and development in that country. The secretary general told the group the suggested mechanism could bring together international support "in a coordinated and coherent manner."

  The Secretary-General said, "Its establishment would be in line with the recommendations on Peacebuilding made in my report ‘In larger freedom’. And if, as I hope, Member States agree this week to establish a Peacebuilding Commission, the proposed forum could be expected to liaise closely with the new body."

ANNAN: UNITED NATIONS AND ASEAN MUST WORK HAND-IN-HAND

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in an address to the leaders attending the ASEAN-UN Summit today, stressed the importance of close cooperation between regional organizations and the United Nations in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the world, and outlined a wide range of areas of cooperation between the two organizations.
  
• The Secretary-General also expressed his concern about the threat posed by the current avian flu epidemic. "I am glad that a number of ASEAN governments have taken firm action to improve surveillance, identify infections and control the disease at its source," he said. "Many governments, notably Malaysia and Thailand, have prevented human infection. But we must all remain vigilant. Human influenza pandemics exact a terribly high human and economic cost. Early warning of a transmissible human flu virus is vital."
  
• He went on to say that "I understand that some governments are working closely with civil society and private entities on prevention and preparation, and that is indeed the way we should move forward. Those efforts deserve strong international support, including from the United Nations system."

SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTIONS
ON ERITREA/ETHIOPIA AND AFGHANISTAN

• The

today unanimously approved two resolutions. It extended the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until 15 March 2006, and also approved the reconfiguration of the Mission’s Military Component.

U.N. ENVOY MEETS IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met on Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Vice President Ghazi el-Yawar, among other senior Iraqi officials.
  

• Qazi discussed the latest developments regarding the draft constitution and UN efforts to facilitate voter registration prior to the referendum scheduled for 15 October.

In a statement issued on Monday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his pleasure that all Israeli military personnel and installations have been withdrawn from the Gaza Strip and praises the determination and political courage shown in this regard by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

FUEL SHORTAGE CUTS FOOD DELIVERIES TO SOUTHERN SUDAN

• The World Food Programme (WFP) today

that a crippling shortage of jet fuel for its air hub at El Obeid had slashed its ability to airlift and airdrop food aid in Sudan at the height of the annual hunger season.

NEW CAMPAIGNS TO FIGHT POLIO IN HORN OF AFRICA

• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative - spearheaded by the World Health Organization, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners – today

an ambitious new series of polio immunization campaigns to prevent the re-establishment of the disease in the Horn of Africa.

UNITED NATIONS HELPS PACIFIC ISLANDER POLICE CHIEFS FIGHT A.I.D.S.

• Twenty one police chiefs from the Pacific today joined forces with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to tackle the disease among the region’s police forces.
  
• The ceremony, which saw the signing of a Declaration of Partnership, took place during the 34th Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Conference in Fiji. The Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police represents 75,000 police personnel from twenty-one nations across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.

U.N. STUDY FINDS ASIA JOB GROWTHS ‘DISAPPOINTING’

• Despite encouraging progress in cutting poverty and improving the working lives of people in Asia under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), unemployment reached a new record high in the region while jobs growth remained "disappointing", says a new report from the International Labour Office (ILO) issued here today.
  

• The report, "Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005", says new data show that some three quarters of the world’s poor– or close to 2 billion people subsisting on less than the equivalent of US$ 2 a day—live in Asia .

UNESCO AWARDS PEACE PRIZE TO SENEGAL PRESIDENT

• The

(UNESCO) today announced that it has chosen the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, as winner of its 2004 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL LAUNCHES HIGH-LEVEL COMMISSION ON LEGAL EMPOWERMENT OF THE POOR

• Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette will be giving the closing remarks today at the launching of the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor"(HLCLEP). The event is to start at 6:00 p.m. The HLCLEP is a new, independent, global intergovernmental initiative that sets out to explore how nations can reduce poverty through reforms that expand access to legal protection and economic opportunities for all.
  
• The Commission is being launched by a group of developing and developed countries. The Commission, which will complete its work by late 2007, is co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto.
  
• The Deputy Secretary-General is to give an address today at the opening of the Roundtable Forum on "Innovation and Investment: Scaling Science and Technology to Meet the MDGs". The event starts at 2:30 p.m. The roundtable’s objective is to enable policy makers to deliberate on the role of innovation and technologies in the achievement of the MDGs. It is aimed at amplifying the recommendations of the Report "In Larger Freedom" and at building partnerships to support the UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force ahead of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The Secretary-General went on Monday afternoon to New York’s Holy Family Church, where the yearly service prior to the start of the opening of the General Assembly was held.

, "Whatever is achieved or not in the next few days, let us not imagine that it represents the end of the process. Rather, it is a beginning." He asked for prayers that the leaders attending the Summit "will find the wisdom to guide the human family towards a better, safer, fairer and healthier future."

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME CREATES "GREEN ROOM"

• The

has created a "green room" at UN Headquarters and on its website to provide environmental information throughout the World Summit. The move is a collaborative effort by a range of partners from the UN family, the NGO community and beyond, to communicate the central role of environmental sustainability in development planning.

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