United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-06-13

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY

FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, June 13, 2005

SECRETARY-GENERAL BRIEFED BY ENVOY ON MEETING WITH SYRIAN PRESIDENT

Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Paris this morning. Shortly after his arrival, he met with his Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen who briefed him on his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which took place on Sunday.

The Secretary-General issued a

statement from Paris saying that Larsen had told him that his discussion with the Syrian President was constructive and helpful. The Secretary-General was encouraged by Roed-Larsens report. He will continue to work together with President Assad, the Syrian government and other parties for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1559.

Asked for details about Roed-Larsens meeting with President Assad, the Spokesman said that the meeting was tete-a-tete, and lasted for more than two hours.

Asked about the verification team that was returning to

Lebanon, the Spokesman said the team is in the process of being deployed. The team, he said, is the same three-member one as had previously traveled to Lebanon. Currently, the three members were proceeding to Beirut from separate locations. He declined to give a timetable for their work.

Asked why the team was going back, the Spokesman said the United Nations was reacting to reports that there could be security elements from Syria still in Lebanon. The Secretary-Generals responsibility, he noted, is to verify the complete withdrawal of such forces.

Asked whether the Secretary-General was meeting with European and other officials on Lebanon in Paris, the Spokesman said that no such meeting was on his program.

ANNAN TO MEET FRENCH PRESIDENT, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

Later today the Secretary-General will have a meeting with the newly appointed Foreign Minster of France, Philippe Douste-Blazy.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will deliver an address to a meeting hosted by President Jacques Chirac of France and the Office of the

Global Compact, on business contributions to the millennium development goals. Also tomorrow the Secretary-General will hold separate bilaterals with President Chirac and Prime Minister Tony Blair, and will have a working lunch with President Chirac and Prime Minister Blair.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals travel plans, the Spokesman said that he is to return Tuesday from Paris, and is expected back in the office on Thursday.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY BOMBINGS IN IRAN

The Secretary-General has learned with great concern of the loss of lives and the severe injuries of many bystanders as a result of a string of bomb explosions in Teheran and other cities in the country.

He

reiterates that no cause can justify the use of violence and the indiscriminate targeting of innocent civilians. He expresses his condolences to the families of the bereaved and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON COMPLETION STRATEGY OF TRIBUNALS

The

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will have to conduct trials in 2009, and trials will most likely continue until the end of that year. That is the estimate that the Tribunals President, Judge Theodor Meron, gave the

Security Council in its open meeting on the work of the two Tribunals this morning.

Judge Meron and Tribunal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte emphasized the importance of arresting the most notorious fugitives indicted by the Tribunal, including Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Ante Gotovina.

Judge Erik Mose, President of the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, said that there has been steady progress in that Tribunals work, with trials scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.

ATTACKS, LOOTING REPORTED OVER THE WEEKEND IN DARFUR

A number of security-related incidents have been reported by the UN Mission in Sudan during the week-end in

Darfur, including attacks on and looting of humanitarian and commercial trucks, a tribal militia attack on a village and an alleged rape of four girls.

The Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs and Development, Manuel Aranda Da Silva, will visit Kalma camp in South Darfur on Wednesday, along with Sudans Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister.

They will assess the situation in the camp, which is the largest camp for internally displaced people in Darfur,with a population of approximately 140,000. Citing banditry and security incidents, the Sudanese Government has imposed a blockade on the camp whereby no commercial traffic to the camp is allowed, and displaced persons cannot travel to Nyala.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, will head the UN and partners team during the Joint Implementation Mechanism visit to West Darfur, scheduled to take place on 15 and 16 June. The visit aims at assessing the progress made almost a year after the signing of the Joint Communiqué between the Secretary-General and the Sudanese Government.

UN ENVOY FOR IRAQ CONGRATULATES KURDISTAN PRESIDENT

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, today congratulated Masoud Barzani on his inauguration as President of the Kurdistan Regional Government. He reiterated his assurance that the United Nations will work to establish an effective, transparent and fair relationship between the Kurdistan authorities and the Government in Baghdad.

On Saturday, Qazi welcomed the role that the Secretary-General of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Mohsen Abdel Hamid, is playing along with other Sunni political leaders in supporting the constitutional process.

The recent discussions between the two men focused on the efforts underway to enable groups and parties that were not represented in the Transitional National Assembly to participate in the drafting of the constitution and participate in the subsequent referendum and elections scheduled for October and December this year.

Qazi also met on Saturday with the former Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi. They had wide-ranging discussions about the ongoing political process and the risk of political fragmentation in Iraq as the country approaches the 15 August deadline for drafting the constitution.

ANNAN CALLS FOR EXTENSION OF FORCE IN GOLAN HEIGHTS

The Secretary-General says that the situation in the Israel-Syria sector has remained generally quiet, in his latest

report to the Security Council on the

UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights.

Nevertheless, he writes, the situation in the

Middle East is very tense and is likely to remain so, unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached.

Under the prevailing circumstances, he considers the continued presence of the UN Force in the area to be essential, and recommends that the Council extend its mandate for a further six months, until the end of December.

UN MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN WELCOMES END OF ABDUCTION

The

UN Mission in Afghanistan today expressed its relief and pleasure at the safe release late last week of a staff member of the non-governmental organization CARE, Clementina Cantoni.

The UN Mission welcomed her release and thanked the Afghan authorities for their role. It also expressed its gratitude to the Afghan people, who expressed their clear outrage at her kidnapping and offered wide-scale public support for her safe release.

UN ENVOY TO ARRIVE IN BOLIVIA TODAY

The Secretary-Generals

Personal Envoy to Bolivia, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo, will be arriving in that country this afternoon.

Ocampo is going to Bolivia after the new President renewed the invitation from former President Carlos Mesa. The goal of his mission will be to assess how the UN can be helpful to Bolivia as it tackles the political transition and economic issues.

Ocampo will meet with a broad spectrum of actors in order to assess the situation and report back to the Secretary-General.

REPORT WARNS OF THREATS TO LIBERIAS TRANSITION PROCESS

A new

report by the Secretary-General on Liberia voices hope that the peace process will succeed now that disarmament is complete and all armed factions have been dissolved.

But he warns that potential sources of instability continue to threaten the transitional process. These include delays in restructuring Liberias armed forces and in helping ex-fighters find other employment.

The report also notes that the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) lacks the mandate and capacity to ensure that diamonds arent being used to fuel the conflict, and recommends that the Security Council consider enabling the mission to help the Government in providing security to diamond- and timber-producing areas.

The Secretary-General calls on States to support Liberia so that it can continue to make progress in meeting the conditions required for sanctions to be lifted.

IAEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS RE-APPOINTS ELBARADEI

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened in Vienna today, and, by consensus, it appointed Mohamed ElBaradei to a third term as the Director-General of the Agency.

The Board of Governors also intends during its session to discuss the Safeguards Implementation Report for 2004 and a report by the Director-General on the implementation of safeguards in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS PRESIDENT: Ambassador Jan Eliasson of Sweden was elected today as President of the 60th session of the

General Assembly.

UN LOOKS FORWARD TO REPORT BY US PANEL: Asked about a report from a panel mandated by the US Congress to examine the United Nations, the Spokesman said the United Nations looks forward to the issuance of its report.

UN reform efforts, Eckhard said, are well underway and are being pursued actively, and the United Nations wants to see what the panel, which represents a wide range of views, has to say about it.

WORK OF UN ENVOY TO COLOMBIA HAS FINISHED: Asked whether James LeMoyne continues to work as the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Colombia, the Spokesman said LeMoyne paid his farewell call to the Secretary-General last week. He will not be replaced. The Government of Colombia, Eckhard said, did not see the reason for a UN good offices mission in that country at this time.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO DOHA: Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette is due to arrive in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday evening to address the opening of the South-South Summit which begins the following day. The Deputy Secretary-General will also hold a number of bilateral meetings.

SECRETARY-GENERAL GIVES MESSAGE TO MEDIA SEMINAR: Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor in Cairo today read the Secretary-Generals message to a two day International Media Seminar on Peace in the

Middle East. The Secretary-General urged Palestinians to do more to prevent acts of violence and terror, and also stressed the need to avoid unilateral actions, such as the Israeli Barrier and continued settlement expansion, that could prejudge the resolution of final status issues or the implementation of UN resolutions.

UN ENVOY CALLS FOR STABLE AND TOLERANT KOSOVO: Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for

Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, today told a conference on Pristina that all political leaders and institutions there must "show that they are acting to build a stable, tolerant, multi-ethnic and democratic society in Kosovo - one in which all communities live in peace with each other and which is at peace with its neighbors."

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only

Fax. 212-963-7055

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article