United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-02-10

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE

SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, February 10, 2005

ANNAN: UNITED NATIONS IS "MOVING WITH THE TIMES

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today laid out his vision for the United Nations agenda over the coming year, in a

speech delivered at Whitehall, in London.

He told the gathered officials, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that today, we face threats to the world order and world peace of a kind and a scale not seen since the height of the Cold War. Those threats range from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction to AIDS and other diseases that could spread globally.

The Secretary-General noted the two recent reports that he had commissioned one on

Threats, Challenges and Change, and the other on

Investing in Development and said that, taken together, the recommendations in those reports would provide the chance of a better, fairer and safer world in this century.

He said that the summit scheduled to take place at the United Nations this September will offer a unique opportunity to bring those issues together. Meanwhile, he said, the United Nations is already moving with the times, working more on supporting good governance and democracy.

He said, noting the UNs electoral work, that we are very proud of the role we have played in helping the people of Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq take significant steps on the long, hard road to democracy.

The Secretary-General detailed the UNs work in

Iraq, from electoral assistance to its willingness to provide technical help, if asked, on drafting a constitution.

He concluded that the time is ripe to bring economic and military security back into a common framework, as our fathers did at San Francisco sixty years ago.

ANNAN URGES COUNTRIES TO BRING D.P.R. KOREA BACK TO THE TABLE

The Secretary-General was asked at a

press encounter in London today about the Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreas statement on its nuclear program, and said that he hoped that it was not a definitive position.

He urged the other countries involved in the six-party talks to engage North Korea and bring them back to the table, and for the talks to resume as quickly as possible.

ANNAN AND BLAIR DISCUSS U.N. REFORM, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN AND AFRICA

British Prime Minister Tony Blair introduced the Secretary-General by saying that, in a tough time, he has handled himself with great distinction and wisdom, and has been a tremendous unifier.

Following his

speech, the Secretary-General attended a debate on the work done by his

High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. After that, he had a working lunch with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who launched that debate, and the two then

spoke to the press.

Besides his comment on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the Secretary-General was asked about Iran, and said that he was very encouraged by the discussions taking place between Iran and three European countries: France, Germany and the United Kingdom. I think it is a very healthy sign, and dialogue is the way to go, he said.

The Secretary-General began his day in London by meeting with the British Prime Minister. They discussed the results of the

Iraq elections and the transitional process currently underway. They also discussed UN reform, Afghanistan and development in Africa.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, and with the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn. The Chancellor and the Secretary-General discussed the recent decision by the Group of 7 industrialized countries to forgive the debts of African nations. They also touched on financing for development, including involvement by the private sector.

MAKE GLOBALIZATION WORK FOR ALL,

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BODY

Relying on market forces alone will not achieve major development gains. Instead, sustained economic growth will occur only when we put people at the center of our development policies.

That is what Deputy Secretary-General

Louise Fréchette said today as she

opened the high-level segment of the Commission on Social Development.

She added that the international communitys challenge is to make globalization work for all the worlds people.

U.N. ENVOY ENCOURAGED BY TALKS IN SYRIA

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for

resolution 1559,

Terje Roed-Larsen, was in Damascus today where he met with President Bashar Al-Assad.

Larsen said his meeting with the President was extremely encouraging and constructive. Part of the meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara and the remainder was a tête-à-tête between Larsen and the President. He delivered to the President a letter from the Secretary-General.

In a statement released afterwards, Larsen said he was now leaving the region and that his stay had been very positive. He stressed that he had been encouraged by the many conversations he has had and by the working relationships he has established.

HELPING CIVILIANS RETURN HOME IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO IS PRIORITY

Regarding recent fighting in the Ituri district in the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo, the

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has

confirmed that 52 civilians were killed in the attacks, which were carried out by a Lendu militia known as the Nationalist Front for Integration against local ethnic Hema people.

A MONUC team which was investigating these latest attacks was told that armed civilians and around 30 children, aged from 12 to 15, were included in the militia.

The attacks provoked the displacement of tens of thousands of people, and the UN is currently providing humanitarian aid to them.

MONUC says that returning the displaced persons to their homes will be a priority as soon as security conditions allow for it.

AFGHANISTAN: U.N. MISSION AIDS RECOVERY WORK AT CRASH SITE

The

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is providing support to the International Security Assistance Force as it conducts recovery operations at the site of last weeks Kam Air crash.

The

UN Office for Project Services has provided three snowmobiles to the Force, to help create a path to the crash site. Two members of that Offices staff, who have avalanche and mountaineering expertise, will also establish a base camp near the site.

Also, the

UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan will provide technical and data support on the landmines at the crash site area, and will have sniffer dogs on site.

U.N. GETS STRONG BASE-LINE SUPPORT FROM U.S. CONGRESS

Asked about the trip that Mark Malloch Brown, the Secretary-Generals Chef de Cabinet, made on Wednesday to Washington, D.C., the Spokeswoman said that he met with a number of leading members of Congress -- Republicans and Democrats -- from both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Malloch Browns message to those he met was two-fold: that the United Nations is undergoing thorough management and administrative reforms, including in the areas of transparency, strengthening of audit practices, procurement and protection of whistleblowers; and that the United Nations is eager to get to the bottom of the

Oil-for- Food scandal and is willing to work with Congress wherever possible.

Malloch Brown said that he heard strong base-line support from all sides for the United Nations, the Spokeswoman noted. Members of Congress expressed willingness to work with the Secretary-General as he leads the reform process.

On Oil-for-Food, congressional members also expressed concern about lack of access to UN documents and UN staff for their own investigations. Malloch Brown said the United Nations is currently cooperating fully, both in terms of personnel and documents, with the

Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), led by Paul Volcker. Once the IIC has completed its work, the United Nations will be available to answer any questions that remain.

Asked about a letter from Representatives Henry Hyde and Dana Rohrabacher to the Secretary-General, which requested internal audits from the United Nations and UN specialized agencies, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations had received the letter and would be responding shortly.

She noted that, following a

resolution approved last year by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Office of Internal Oversight Services had been working with Member States to make internal audits available to them upon request, and had already made some audits requested by the United States available.

Okabe added, however, that specialized agencies have their own governing bodies, which would have to be consulted before they could do the same.

Asked further about the Secretary-Generals response to the Congressmen, she said she was not sure the letter would be made public, but added it would mention UN efforts to improve transparency, accountability, the strengthening of audit practices and the protection of whistle-blowers.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would consult with other agency heads, she said that he is continually in touch with them.

Asked whether Malloch Brown had invited members of Congress to come to the United Nations, the Spokeswoman said she was unaware of any such proposal, but noted that the dialogue with the members of Congress was beginning.

UNITED NATIONS PLANNING FOR HEADQUARTERS RENOVATION

Asked about a news story claiming that UN personnel may be relocated to office space in Brooklyn or Queens while UN Headquarters undergoes refurbishing, the Spokeswoman said that the United Nations was not looking at Brooklyn or Queens for office space.

She said that the United Nations may have to rent space during the planned renovation, and was working with New York City to find the best possible space.

At the moment, there is no legislative approval by New York State officials for the area that the United Nations had initially explored as possible office space, she said, so the United Nations is being prudent and planning to look at alternatives.

Asked about the process ahead for refurbishing the United Nations, she said that a number of steps needed to take place, including the financing of that plan.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO MEETINGS OF SECURITY COUNCIL: There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

NEW I.D. SYSTEM FOR SEAFARERS COMES INTO FORCE: The Seafarers

Identity Documents Convention, which creates the first global biometric identification system to issue secure identity documents to seafarers, came into force yesterday. The convention, adopted by representatives of governments, employers and workers at the International Labour Organization conference in June 2003, is aimed at providing more security while guaranteeing the right of the 1 .2 million workers in the shipping fleet that handles nearly 90 per cent of world trade.

ECONOMIC COMMISSION URGES AFRICA TO JOIN INTERNET GOVERNANCE DEBATE: Speaking in Accra, Ghana, at the end of the Africa preparatory conference for the World Summit on the Information Society, the Executive Secretary of the UNs

Economic Commission for Africa, K.Y.Amoako called for a "multidimensional approach" to financing the information society on the continent. He also called on African countries to become major actors in the Internet governance debate, and noted the need for tapping into resources from the African Diaspora.