鶹ý

Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 13 June 2006

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, 13 June 2006

ANNAN CONCERNED ABOUT STUDENTS’ DEATHS IN GUINEA

  • Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply concerned by the killings of approximately ten students during the demonstrations in Guinea on 12 June 2006. He expresses sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

  • He underlines the need for the non-violent resolution of disputes and calls on the authorities to exercise restraint.

  • The Secretary-General also appeals to the various segments of Guinean society to continue to engage in constructive dialogue to address the challenges confronting their country.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF ASKED TO LEAD INQUIRY INTO EVENTS IN TIMOR-LESTE

  • The Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning that he has been deeply concerned about the evolution of the situation in Timor-Leste since the incidents in late April. The sad events of recent weeks reveal shortcomings not only in the Timorese leadership, he said, but also on the part of the international community in adequately sustaining the country’s nation-building process.

  • The Secretary-General told the Council that he is asking UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to take the lead in establishing an inquiry commission dealing with the recent events in Timor-Leste, following a request from the Government.

  • The Secretary-General just spoke to reporters and told them that a larger UN presence would be needed on the ground in Timor-Leste, and an assessment team would have to go there to determine needs. He said he intends to send such an assessment mission shortly, led by his Special Envoy, Ian Martin.

  • Ian Martin also briefed the Council on his recent visit to the country and meetings with leaders there. He said that the Timorese he had met with expressed a strong consensus that the United Nations should play a major role in ensuring that elections in 2007 will be free and fair.

  • The Timorese, Martin said, also want the United Nations to play a major role regarding support for the Timorese police and for the United Nations to offer its good offices to foster political and community reconciliation.

MEASLES VACCINATION CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED FOR DISPLACED CHILDREN IN TIMOR-LESTE

  • The UN Children’s Fund today launched a measles vaccination campaign targeting children living in displacement camps in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. The aim is to vaccinate an estimated 30,000 children living in more than 50 camps in Dili in the first seven days of the two-week campaign.

  • And the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that the first phase of its emergency air and sea operation to rush relief supplies to Timor-Leste has been completed, with the arrival in Dili of a container ship carrying 150 tonnes of supplies. The agency has so far sent more than 200 metric tonnes of supplies for more than 17,000 people.

  • And UNHCR says that the first phase of its emergency air and sea operation to rush relief supplies to Timor-Leste has been completed with the arrival in Dili of a container ship carrying 150 tonnes of supplies.

  • UNHCR has so far sent more than 200 metric tonnes of supplies for more than 17,000 people.

ANNAN CONCERNED ABOUT ISRAELI MISSILE ATTACK

  • In his comments to reporters outside the Security Council today, the Secretary-General voiced concern at an Israeli missile attack which reportedly killed nine people and wounded about 40. He stressed that the use of force must be proportionate, and that Governments have to be careful not to take action in areas where civilians are likely to be put in harm’s way.

  • At the same time, the Secretary-General also condemned the rocket attacks by the Palestinians and noted that he has consistently asked for them to cease.

  • Asked about reports that Israel had not been responsible for the Friday attack in Gaza, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had addressed that matter in his press encounter. He added that there was no UN investigation into that attack.

SECURITY COUNCIL CLEARS WAY FOR ARMS USED BY LIBERIAN AUTHORITIES

  • Prior to today’s meeting on Timor-Leste, the Security Council unanimously adopted three resolutions.

  • On Liberia, the Council adopted a resolution deciding that arms sanctions shall not apply to weapons and ammunition intended for use by members of the Liberian Government’s police and security forces who have been trained since the inception of the .

  • The Council also decided to extend the terms in office of eleven judges sitting on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, until the end of 2008.

  • And the Council extended the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights until the end of this year, and also adopted an accompanying Presidential Statement.

  • Council members this afternoon will have their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General.

SECURITY COUNCIL PLEASED WITH PREPARATIONS FOR ELECTION IN D.R. CONGO

  • A delegation from the Security Council yesterday wrapped up a two-day visit in Kinshasa with a press encounter after meeting with Congolese officials including President Joseph Kabila and his four vice-presidents, as well as with members of civil society and the humanitarian community.

  • Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the French ambassador to the UN who headed the delegation, told the press that the delegation was satisfied with the state of preparations for the landmark July 30 elections.

  • Ambassador de la Sabliere congratulated the Congolese people on the considerable amount of work completed so far and reaffirmed the Security Council’s and the international community’s commitment to assisting them in this task. He, however, pleaded for respect of the electoral calendar and urged candidates and their supporters to refrain from xenophobic rhetoric.

  • He also condemned violence against journalists in the run-up to the elections, as well as slanderous media attacks on the candidates.

  • Underlining the need for greater tolerance and an appeased electoral playing field, the delegation regretted the lack of genuine political debate in the country and expressed the wish that the next elected government would move vigorously to restore public order and fight corruption and impunity.

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT MISSION ARRIVES IN DARFUR

  • In Sudan, the joint UN and African Union technical assessment mission for a UN deployment in Darfur arrived in the region today, where it will meet local regional leaders, representatives of internally displaced people and the African Union mission in Darfur.

  • The delegation, which is being led by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean- Marie Guehenno, is starting its meetings in El Fasher and will visit other locations in Darfur.

  • Before arriving in Darfur, Guehenno held wide-ranging consultations in Khartoum, and these included government ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, and local and international non-government organizations.

  • Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it is concerned about the security situation in Habila, which is in far western Darfur, after an attack on its field office there by four armed men in military uniform. A guard was shot in the leg during the attack and is now in a stable condition.

  • Noting that the Secretary-General had met with Lakhdar Brahimi today, a journalist asked if the Secretary-General was satisfied with the implemention of the agreement with Sudan. "So far, so good," the Spokesman said, noting that Mr. Guéhenno’s mission has been going according to plan so far.

PRESIDENTS OF CAMEROON AND NIGERIA SETTLE BAKASSI PENINSULA DISPUTE

  • At the invitation of Secretary-General, the President of Cameroon and Nigeria met yesterday in Manhasset, New York, and signed a definitive agreement settling the long-standing dispute between the two countries over the Bakassi peninsula.

  • Speaking after the meeting, the Secretary-General called the agreement historic and said, “The entire process has been creative, low-cost and efficient. Progress has been achieved at a fraction of the cost of comparable undertakings elsewhere. It has demonstrated that -- given political will and appropriate UN support -- countries can work together to settle disputes not only peacefully, but very cost-effectively for themselves and for the international community.”

  • The two Heads of State and the Secretary-General agreed on the modalities of Nigeria’s withdrawal from Bakassi in accordance with the International Court of Justice ruling, which has confirmed the sovereignty of Cameroon over the peninsula.

  • The Secretary-General told reporters, “Under the agreement, the Nigerian troops will withdraw in sixty days. If it is absolutely necessary, the parties have agreed to allow me to offer a brief extension, but under no circumstances exceeding an additional thirty days. And the transitional arrangements should end within two years.”

  • Asked who the witness states to the agreement were, the Spokesman said they were France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, all of whom were present at the signing ceremony.

FLEXIBILITY AND COMPROMISE NEEDED FOR PROGRESS IN KOSOVO’S FUTURE STATUS

  • The 𳦰ٲ-ұԱ’s latest report on Kosovo was issue today. In it, he says he is pleased that the political process to determine the future status of Kosovo is under way.

  • Much, however, remains to be done to ensure substantial progress. There needs to be flexibility, generosity and a spirit of compromise, he says.

  • Saying that it is essential that Kosovo Serbs rejoin the Provisional Institutions, so they can help their own communities, he calls upon Belgrade not to hamper their participation. At the same time, he says that, regarding inter-communal reconciliation, the principal responsibility rests with the majority.

  • The Secretary-General also says that, despite the stable security situation, he remains concerned about incidents of violence, whatever the source, directed against people and religious sites. Violence will affect the future status process, and must not be tolerated by any part of Kosovo society, he adds.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE AID TO SOMALIA THROUGH TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

  • After meeting local authorities in Hargeisa in Somaliland on 9 June to assess UN assistance to the region, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, yesterday chaired a meeting in Nairobi, during which the mayor of Mogadishu and the Governor of the Somali region of Banadir briefed members of the international community on the political, humanitarian and security situation in their respective localities.

  • The Somali officials sought emergency assistance for their crisis-affected populations, and members of the international community indicated their support for assistance to be delivered through the Somali Transitional Federal Government.

  • Today, Fall is meeting Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi in Nairobi. Prior to his trip to New York to meet the Security Council next Monday, Fall is scheduled to hold a consultative meeting on Somalia with African Union representatives in Addis Ababa this Thursday.

U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF BEGINS CENTRAL ASIA VISIT

  • Under-Secretary-General for Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Tajikistan today at the start of a four-day visit to Central Asia.

  • The visit will focus on reviewing UN cooperation with the Central Asian countries, as they work together to address challenges such as extremism, organized crime, terrorism and drug trafficking.

  • In Tajikistan, Gambari will meet with senior officials to discuss ongoing efforts to consolidate peace in that country, including the work of the UN Peacebuilding Office in Tajikistan. He will then travel to Kazakhstan to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, a forum for regional cooperation.

U.N. SYSTEM OF INTERNAL JUSTICE NEEDS TO BE MODERNIZED

  • Asked about the UN’s response to complaints from the Staff Council, alleging that the United Nations was in breach of its own human rights standards with its administrative justice system, the Spokesman said that, while he had not yet seen the Staff Council report, it was clear to the Secretary-General that the current system of internal justice has its shortcomings, and needs to be modernized and made more professional.

  • To that end, Dujarric said, the Secretary-General had, at the request of the General Assembly, appointed a panel to look at how to make the UN’s administrative justice system more accountable, efficient and professional. He said that effort, along with the establishment of an Ethics Office and a new whistle-blower policy, helped improve the UN’s management practices.

  • Asked about complaints that the Secretary-General isn’t following his own message regarding the way the system is used, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General follows the internal judicial system as it is set up and exercises his rights under that system. The point, he said, is that no one is happy with the existing system and the Secretary-General intends to make it better.

  • Asked about complaints that the system is not transparent, the Spokesman referred journalists to the press release that had been issued when the panel was appointed a few months ago, which clearly stated that the panel’s guidelines was to establish a system that is independent, transparent, effective and adequately resourced.

  • The Spokesman said that the panel was appointed in February and would present its recommendations to the General Assembly, which would need to then act on it.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

EFFORTS TO SECURE RELEASE OF PEACEKEEPERS IN DR CONGO CONTINUE: Asked about the situation of UN peacekeepers detained in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri Province, the Spokesman said that efforts to secure their release are continuing.

FUNDS APPROVED FOR WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME IN AZERBAIJAN: The head of the (WFP), James Morris, has a two-year operation in Azerbaijan, which will provide food to 143,500 people displaced by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The new operation will cost nearly $16 million and is likely to be the last phase of WFP’s work in Azerbaijan.

BASIC EDUCATION FOR RURAL PEOPLE REQUIRES $1.64 BILLION A YEAR: At a two-day conference on education held in Rome, Assistant Director-General of the , Alexander Müller, announced that donors would have to give $1.64 billion each year to meet basic education for rural people in low-income countries. External assistance is badly needed to support more than 94 million rural children who are currently out of school, he said.

MOST COUNTRIES FALL SHORT OF ENSURING SAFE BLOOD SUPPLY: On World Blood Donor Day, 14 June, the will publish findings from its most recent global survey on blood collection and testing. According to the report, most countries are falling short of the goal of 100% unpaid, voluntary blood donation.

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC GROWTH REVIEWED: The Secretary-General sent a message today to the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. The message outlined the opportunities and challenges countries are likely to face when sustaining economic progress. He calls for the active participation of both public and private sectors, as well as greater attention to environmental protection initiatives.