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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

ANNAN CONDEMNS TERROR ATTACK ON MARKETPLACE IN ISRAEL

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan was shocked to hear of the terror attack today at the market in Hadera, Israel, which caused a number of casualties among Israeli civilians.
  

• The Secretary-General condemns this act and extends his condolences to the families of the victims. At the same time he calls for an immediate stop to the escalation of all violent acts.
  

• The Secretary-General believes that an opportunity exists to address the longstanding conflict between Palestinians and Israelis; it must not be allowed to fall victim to violence. The forces of moderation and negotiation must prevail.

ANNAN WARNS OF ‘RACE AGAINST TIME’ IN QUAKE RELIEF

• The Secretary-General today told a ministerial-level conference in Geneva that the need to provide aid and shelter to the earthquake-hit areas of South Asia before winter approaches gives a new meaning to the concept of a race against time. “I believe it is a race that can be won, and must be won,” he said.
  

• But he told donors that what is required is a dramatic escalation on all fronts, from helicopters to rescue the injured to shelter to save families from the ravages of winter. One thing should already be clear, he added: that with the world’s supply of winterized tents nearly exhausted, the need for other forms of shelter is acute.
  

• The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, presented to the gathered donors a revised flash appeal to respond to the earthquake, amounting to nearly $550 million for six months. That is an increase from the original $312 million.
  

• Prior to speaking to the conference, the Secretary-General met separately with senior officials from India and Pakistan to discuss the relief effort.
  

• At a press encounter earlier today, he said that the disaster showed the urgent need for a Global Emergency Fund, saying that otherwise, the United Nations was in the position of having to put out fires while only getting resources once the fire has begun.
  

• He also said, in response to another question, that funds are needed to respond to the damage created by the hurricanes in Central America, where so far only a fraction of the $22 million that was sought has been received.

QUAKE LARGER THAN ASSUMED: MORE FUNDS NEEDED

• The UN flash appeal for quake survivors was today revised up to $550 million from the original $312 million. The increase takes into account the latest data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which says that the disaster is much larger than first assumed.
  

• Where earlier estimates indicated that some one million people were in need of immediate assistance, that estimate has nearly doubled.
  

• Speaking to reporters in Geneva today, Jan Egeland said that tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives were at risk, making today’s event “one of the year’s most important conferences”.
  

• On a positive note, Egeland said the current relief effort was the best coordinated that he had ever seen, with UN coordinators having reached Islamabad within 24 hours after the earthquake hit. In addition, the effort was bolstered by more than 100 international relief organizations on the ground, 72 helicopters in operation, and deliveries of 120,000 tents, with another 200,000 in the pipeline.
  

• But while 700,000 people had received food aid, another 1.6 million were still in need, and thousands of tons of food would have to be prepositioned before the snow came.
  

• Noting that Pakistan had hosted three million refugees for nearly a generation, he said, “I can recall no other nation shouldering such a humanitarian responsibility over such a period of time. Now the world has to show equal generosity to the people of Northern Pakistan.”

SECURITY COUNCIL FOCUSES ON TERRORISM, ERITREA, MIDDLE EAST

• The Security Council is holding an open meeting this morning featuring briefings by the Chairmen of following subsidiary bodies: the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism; and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004).
  

• Then at 3:30 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled consultations on Eritrea and Ethiopia, and other matters.
  

• At 5 p.m., consultations have now been scheduled on the Middle East.
  

• Asked for updates on the Eritrea situation, the Spokesman said that the letter, which the Secretary-General sent to the Security Council yesterday on Ethiopia and Eritrea, would be the focus of Security Council consultations this afternoon.

SOME SIGNS OF NUTRITION SUCCESSES REPORTED IN DARFUR

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, gave a press briefing in Khartoum earlier today.
  

• He reported on the findings of a – UN Children’s Fund nutrition survey in Darfur that noted that in many areas which were reachable by the humanitarian community, the rate of malnutrition and deaths of children under five due to malnutrition had dropped sharply. Pronk, however, cautioned that the nutrition situation in Darfur remains fragile and these improvements will only be sustained depending on the security situation on the ground.
  

• He also noted the alarming security situation West Darfur and reported on recent disturbances at the Kalma camp for displaced persons in South Darfur. He noted the release of aid workers who had been taken hostage following the arrest by the authorities of a sheikh who was popular in the camp.
  

• Commenting on the recent round of the Abuja Peace talks on Darfur, which concluded last week, Pronk noted that the parties were committed to reaching agreement by the end of the year.

HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS ‘CONCERNED’ WITH UZBEK TRIALS

• UN human rights experts are concerned about the trial of alleged organizers of events that took place in the Uzbek city of Andijan last May.

• The Special Rapporteurs on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions; on human rights and counter-terrorism; on the independence of judges and lawyers, and on the question of torture.
  

• They express their concern regarding the conduct of the executive and prosecutorial authorities and the legislative framework in relation to the ongoing trial of 15 men before the criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan in Tashkent in connection with Andijan events.

U.N. ENVOY CONFERS WITH IRAQI PRESIDENT

• The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today.
  

• The pair discussed the latest political developments in Iraq including the results of the referendum on the constitution. They also discussed the upcoming December elections, and Qazi reiterated the UN’s commitment to helping with the electoral process.
  

• Talabani expressed his appreciation for the UN’s role in assisting and advising the International Electoral Commission for Iraq in conducting the referendum and the forthcoming December elections.

  U.N. REPORTS AID WORKER KILLED IN UGANDA
  

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that today a humanitarian aid worker, from an NGO, was killed in northern Uganda. The worker was shot dead in an ambush seemingly perpetrated by members of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The murder follows yesterday’s attack by the Lord’s Resistance Army on a humanitarian aid vehicle.
  

• Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said, “It is unconscionable that the Lord’s Resistance Army is carrying out this spate of vicious attacks on unarmed humanitarian workers. They are struggling to provide aid to Uganda’s desperately poor families in northern areas of the country.”

FINAL REPORT OF VOLCKER INQUIRY DUE ON THURSDAY

• Tomorrow, the Secretary-General is expected to receive the final report from the Independent Inquiry into the . That hand over is expected in the morning.
  
• Then, the Committee Chairman Paul Volcker will give a press briefing around mid-day.
  
• At 3 p.m., Volcker will hold an open briefing for interested member states.
  

• Asked if Volcker would take questions during the open briefing at 3:00 p.m., the Spokesman clarified that he would, but only from representatives of Member States, not the press.
  

• Asked if the Secretary-General would return to New York in time to see Volcker, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General would indeed be back tomorrow for Volcker.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ROLE OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION

• In an open meeting tomorrow, the Security Council will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Resolution 1325 which addressed the role of women in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction and called for increasing women’s contribution to sustainable peace.
  

• Council members will discuss how to speed up the resolution’s implementation and women’s equal participation in all peace processes.
  

• The Council will also hear first-hand from women from Afghanistan and Côte d’Ivoire who’ll be sharing their experiences of using Resolution 1325 to stake their claim at the peace table and lobby for their equal role in post-conflict political life.
  

• Other speakers at the meeting include Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; Rachel Mayanja, the and Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Director of .

NEW CODE FOR ELECTION OBSERVERS TO BE ENDORSED

• At U.N. headquarters tomorrow, nearly two dozen organizations including the United Nations will be endorsing a first ever Declaration of Principles and Code of Conduct governing the work of election observers around the world.
  

• As international election observation expands and plays a central role in helping nations consolidate peace and strengthen democracy, these standards should help ensure that observers are always making the best possible contribution.
  

• The Secretary-General is expected to attend the event and endorse the standards on behalf of the United Nations.
  

• Also in attendance will be former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (on behalf of the Carter Center), former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (on behalf of the National Democratic Institute), and the Secretaries General of the Organization of American States, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Pacific Islands Forum, among others.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETS ON SEVERAL ISSUES

• This morning, the General Assembly has been meeting in plenary to continue discussion on integrated implementation of the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, and on the global road safety crisis, for which a draft resolution has been tabled.
  

• In the Third Committee, this morning an interactive dialogue is taking place with, among others, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on protection of human rights while countering terrorism. This afternoon, the participants will include the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion and on violence against women. Tomorrow morning’s participants include the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Sudan and the Independent Expert on human rights in Burundi, as well as the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

LEBANON WITHDRAWAL REPORT MAY BE PRESENTED MONDAY

• Asked when the report by Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Envoy for the Implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, which was given to Council members today, will be formally presented to the Security Council, the Spokesman said that, although there was no firm date, it was expected that Larsen would present it on Monday.
  

• Asked for highlights from the Larsen report, the Spokesman said he could not comment, as the report had just gone to the Security Council and had not been officially released.
  

• Asked if this afternoon’s Security Council consultations on the Middle East would focus on the Larsen report, the Spokesman said that they would center on Lebanon and specifically on the investigation by Detlev Mehlis into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

U.N. BOMB INVESTIGATOR TO RETURN TO BEIRUT TO CONTINUE PROBE

• Asked about media reports that Detlev Mehlis, who was investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, would meet with the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations today, the Spokesman said that, as of one hour ago, no such meeting had been scheduled.
  

• Responding to an inquiry about Mehlis’s travel plans, the Spokesman said that Mehlis would leave New York by the end of today and would be back in Beirut early next week.
  

• Asked about a draft resolution in the Security Council, circulated by the United States, France and the United Kingdom, which allegedly proposed extending Mehlis’s investigation from Lebanon to Syria, the Spokesman said he could not discuss a draft resolution. He added that, in the coming weeks, Mehlis would focus on the cooperation he intended to get from Syria and would work out the details of the cooperation.
  

• Asked how the Secretary-General viewed Mehlis’s changing mandate, the Spokesman said that the resolution in question was still in draft form, and that as far as the Secretary-General was concerned, Mehlis’s mandate had not changed.
  

• Asked about the terms of the designation of suspects, and whether Mehlis would report to the Security Council earlier than 15 December, the Spokesman said Mehlis would report to the Security Council whenever he felt that he had enough substantial information to share. The Spokesman did not provide a firm date, however.
  

• Asked if the Secretary-General had spoken to the leaders of Syria and Lebanon following the issuance of the Mehlis report, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had spoken to both the Syrian President and the Lebanese Prime Minister the evening after the report came out, to flag the report’s early release.
  

• In response to a further question, the Spokesman said that the Syrian Foreign Minister called the Secretary-General two days ago, to give Syria’s views on the report. The Secretary-General encouraged Syria to cooperate with the investigation, and the Foreign Minister said that he would do so.

NORTH KOREA PAYS U.N. BUDGET ASSESSMENT

• The number of Member States that have fully paid their dues has climbed to 129 today, with the arrival of a check from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
  

• The DPRK paid $177,951

*** José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; and Mr. Guido Bertucci, Director, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, Department of Economic and Social Affairs were the guests at the noon briefing to launch the World Public Sector Report 2005.