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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, October 20, 2006

SECURITY COUNCIL IS ENCOURAGED BY LIBERIA’S DRIVE
TO MEET SANCTIONS’ REQUIREMENTS

• The Security Council held consultations this morning on Liberia.
  

• Ambassador Ellen Loj of Denmark, who chairs the Security Council’s sanctions committee for that country, briefed Council members about the status of the diamond and timber sanctions imposed on Liberia.
  

• Afterward, the Security Council President, Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan, told reporters that the Security Council members commended the Liberian legislature for passing legislation to ensure a transparent, accountable and government-controlled forestry sector.
  

• Security Council members were also encouraged by the steps Liberia has taken towards meeting the requirements for the lifting of the measures on diamonds.

ANNAN URGES NORTH KOREA TO RETURN TO SIX-PARTY TALKS

• Asked whether the sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be lifted following reports that it would not undertake further nuclear tests, the Spokesman said that was a decision for the Security Council, which had imposed the sanctions.
  

• He said that, if the DPRK were committed not to conducting another test, it would be very welcome. Dujarric added that the Secretary-General Kofi Annan encouraged the DPRK to return to the six-party talks.
  

• Asked about reports of camps for disabled people in the DPRK, the Spokesman said that the practices described were condemnable. He said the United Nations would examine the report of the special rapporteur for the DPRK.
  

• He added that the Secretary-General has been clear about the need for all to respect the rights and dignity of all people.
  

• Asked whether a Member State could be expelled from the United Nations for actions such as those that had been reported, the Spokesman noted that, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, such decisions are in the hands of the Member States.

LARGE NUMBER OF IRAQI FAMILIES DISPLACED BY CONFLICT

• The Office of theUN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today said that its Iraq unit estimates that some 754,000 Iraqis have been internally displaced since the start of the conflict in 2003. Of that number, some 365,000 have been displaced just since the recent sectarian violence began after the Samara bombings in February.
  

• Meanwhile, UNHCR adds, some 40,000 Iraqis are now arriving in Syria from Iraq each month.
  

• The Refugee Agency also reiterated its concern about the threats faced by Palestinian refugees living in Baghdad and near the borders with Syria and Lebanon. Last night, UNHCR says, a mortar attack in a Palestinian neighbourhood left four Palestinians dead and a dozen wounded. Asked about UN activity to protect Palestinians, the Spokesman said that UNHCR is working to ensure the safety of Palestinians in Iraq.
  

• He added that the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, had briefed the Security Council at length about the need for a cessation of the violence in Gaza and the West Bank.

SECURITY SITUATION IS TENSE IN ERITREA-ETHIOPIA BORDER AREA

• The UN Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) says that the military situation in the Temporary Security Zone between the two countries is volatile and tense. The Mission says that in addition to routine troop movements on both sides of the border, there has been a large-scale induction of Eritrean troops inside the Temporary Security Zone.
  

• Meanwhile, the ban imposed by the Eritrean Government on the Mission’s helicopter flights remains in place. And restrictions also remain in place on the movement of the Mission’s patrols in the central and western sectors of the security zone, and UN peacekeepers’ night-time movement is also curtailed in certain areas.
  

• Even so, UN peacekeepers were able to conduct a total of 711 ground patrols in throughout their Area of Responsibility. UN troops also continued to provide medical assistance to the local population in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas. They also provided some 21,000 litres of water to local communities in the past week.

U.N. CHIEF IN SUDAN REMAINS IN HIS POST;
COMMENT ON HIS BLOG A PERSONAL VIEW

• Asked about reports in the media that the Sudanese military had declared the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, to be persona non grata, the Spokesman said that, as far as the United Nations is aware, he has not been officially made persona non grata.
  

• He noted that the views of the Government of Sudan are expressed through normal, official channels and there had been nothing on Pronk being declared persona non grata in those channels.
  

• In that regard, he said, it’s clear that the Government of Sudan has welcomed the joint African Union-UN initiative to boost the work done by the African Union Mission in Sudan.
  

• Asked what Mr. Pronk’s location is, the Spokesman said that Pronk was in Khartoum and continues to express the official views of the United Nations and the in his official communications.
  

• Asked whether the views expressed in Pronk’s blog are shared by the United Nations, the Spokesman emphasized that the views expressed by Pronk in his blog are his personal views.
  

• Asked about the UN’s views, he added that the Secretary-General’s views on the situation in Darfur are well known and expressed through numerous reports and public statements.
  

• Asked about rules for staff members to write blogs, Dujarric said that there are no specific regulations on the use of blogs by UN staff, but the United Nations expects staff members to exercise proper judgment in what they include. He noted that the United Nations does have specific rules for public speaking and for publications which lay out the UN’s expectations on how staff use their judgment in expressing their views.
  

• Asked whether Pronk had been told to stop writing his blog, the Spokesman said that there have been discussions with him concerning the blog and the UN’s expectations that staff use judgment in writing on blogs.

REFUGEES’ RETURN TO SUDAN IS TEMPORARILY HALTED

• The UN Refugee Agency has temporarily suspended convoys returning people to South Sudan from Uganda following reports yesterday that gunmen killed at least 38 civilians in a series of attacks in southern Sudan.
  

• The agency will be monitoring the security situation closely before deciding to resume the repatriation convoys.

IRAQ’S WORKING RELATION WITH UNITED NATIONS IS IN GOOD SHAPE

• Asked about a media report that the United Nations had been informed by Iraqi authorities that they would no longer be receiving mortality figures from them, the Spokesman said that the United Nations does not comment on reported leaks or on intra-governmental communications.
  

• Dujarric said that the (UNAMI) has enjoyed excellent cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Health and its Medico-Legal Institute and hopes very much that this cooperation will continue in the future. He said that UNAMI was in contact with those bodies.
  

• Asked about the UN’s view on any effort by a government to suppress information, the Spokesman said that part of the UNAMI mandate was a reporting mandate.
  

• He added that Iraq is a sovereign government, and that discussions continue with that government.

“ROOF FIRST” STRATEGY DELIVERS RESULTS FOR INDONESIA QUAKE VICTIMS

• As many as 50,000 families who lost their homes in last spring’s Yogyakarta earthquake in Indonesia do not have sufficient shelter for the approaching rainy season, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
  

• To address these families’ needs, the Government of Indonesia, UN agencies and other humanitarian partners have developed a joint “roof first” strategy. To date, 23,000 roof structures have been constructed and tens of thousands of additional roofs are planned to be delivered by early 2007.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

TRUCKERS FACE PROBLEMS WITH EXCESSIVE BORDER DELAYS: The International Labour Organization, in a new reportt, says that truckers and other road transport workers face problems with excessive border delays, corruption by border officials and drivers' vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. ILO will hold a meeting next Monday in Geneva on those challenges.

U.N. DEVELOPMENT AGENCY FUNDS BI-COMMUNAL PROJECT IN CYPRUS: Asked about United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP) money going to a bi-communal project in Cyprus, the Spokesman said that UNDP has been in touch with the Cypriot authorities to address their concerns. The Secretary-General, he added, is leaving the matter in UNDP’s hands.

U.N. CONTRACTS FOR MANY TOP OFFICIALS EXPIRE IN FEBRUARY: Asked when the terms of the Special Representatives and Special Envoys end, the Spokesman reiterated that most contracts for Under-Secretaries-General end next February, after which the next Secretary-General can decide on their terms.

***Rogelio Pfirter, head of the , was the guest at the noon briefing.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, October 23

At 1:00, Vitit Muntabhorn, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, will hold a press conference.

At 3:00, Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, will hold a press conference.

In Geneva, the International Labour Organization will hold a four-day meeting on international road transport, starting today.

Tuesday, October 24

UN Headquarters will be closed in observance of Eid Al-Fitr.

Today is both United Nations Day and World Development Information Day.

The Eighth International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions, partly organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, will start today in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and last until 26 October. The theme will be migration.

Wednesday, October 25

At 10:30, the Permanent Mission of Japan is sponsoring a press conference by the Stop AIDS Organization on the “Africa AIDS Orphan Soccer Project”.

The guest at the noon briefing will be Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women.

At 2:00, Martin Scheinin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, will hold a press conference.

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting for troop-contributing countries, followed by consultations, on the UN Mission in Western Sahara. It is also scheduled to hold afternoon consultations on Cote d’Ivoire.

Voting resumes in General Assembly plenary to elect a non-permanent member of the Security Council from the Latin American and Caribbean States.

Thursday, October 26

The 2007 Education for All Global Monitoring Report will be launched by the Director General of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koïchiro Matsuura, and UNICEF’s Executive Director, Ann Veneman, at UNICEF House in New York at 9:30 a.m. A panel discussion will follow. The director of the Report, Nicholas Burnett, and Peter Smith, UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Education, will be the guests at the noon briefing.

At 11:15, in connection to the Security Council open debate on women, peace and security, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), is sponsoring a press conference with the women peacebuilders from Timor-Leste, Burundi and Liberia who will be participating in the Council’s open debate and in its Arria formula meeting.

At 1:00, Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, will hold a press conference.

The Security Council is scheduled to hold an open debate this morning on women and peace and security.

Friday, October 27

This morning, the Security Council is scheduled to hold a private debate on the International Court of Justice, followed by consultations on Timor-Leste.

The Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General will attend the annual fall session of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, at UN Headquarters. Later today they will go to the Greentree Foundation for a related retreat, which will last until Saturday.

More than two dozen UN Permanent Representatives will meet for two days of closed-door sessions at UNICEF House in New York, to analyze the world’s greatest challenges and determine a prioritization of the problems using the Copenhagen Consensus framework.