United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-09-22

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 STEPHANE

DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, September 22, 2005

KOFI ANNAN TO TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON, D.C. TOMORROW

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will travel to Washington, D.C. on Friday, where hell be the keynote speaker at a forum on the topic Africa Matters. The event is being held in conjunction with the Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Following his appearance there, the Secretary-General will meet the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, at the State Department.

He will return to New York later that day.

ANNAN WELCOMES NEW GOVERNMENT IN SUDAN

The Secretary-General

welcomes the swearing in of the Government of National Unity of Sudan and commends the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for achieving this major milestone on the road to lasting peace.

The UN Mission in Sudan will do its utmost to support the new Government of National Unity as it addresses the enormous challenges of establishing a durable peace and bringing economic development and reconstruction to Sudan after decades of civil war.

The Secretary-General also notes that, as the new Government begins its work, the parties to the conflict in Darfur have convened in Abuja where they have been brought together by the African Union, to negotiate an end to the terrible conflict that has caused so much suffering in that troubled region. The Secretary-General calls on participants in the Abuja negotiations to apply themselves fully to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Darfur by reaching an agreement during this round of talks and by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, in the latest monthly

report to the Security Council on Darfur, the Secretary-General said that the establishment of the Government of National Unity and the normalization of the situation in the rest of Sudan offers tremendous promise for Darfur, and that the resumption of the Abuja peace talks is a positive development.

He also flags the importance for the expansion of the African Union force to be successfully concluded for the safety and security of the people in Darfur.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan,

Jan Pronk, who held a press conference after briefing the Security Council yesterday,

told reporters of increasing violence in Darfur.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES GUINEA BISSAU, AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council held consultations on Guinea Bissau and Afghanistan today.

The Secretary-Generals Representative for

Guinea Bissau, João Bernardo Honwana, briefed the Security Council on the latest

report, in which the Secretary-General had said the country cannot meet its multiple challenges without international assistance.

In a press statement, members of the Security Council underscored that Guinea-Bissau will enter now a delicate post-electoral phase and will need further international assistance to meet its multiple short-term and long-term political and economic challenges.

On Afghanistan, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, briefed on last weekends elections.

In a press statement on Afghanistan, members of the Security Council said they hope that the ballot counting and certification process will be conducted peacefully in the coming weeks, and strongly called on all participants in Afghanistan to continue to work constructively toward the early establishment of the new Parliament.

U.N. ENVOY UPDATES SECURITY COUNCIL ON IRAQ

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, told the

Security Council yesterday afternoon that it is remarkable that the initial number of sensitive issues in the Iraqi constitution was significantly reduced within a very demanding timeframe. Yet the relative non-participation by one major segment of Iraqi society inevitably affected the subsequent drafting of the Constitution, he added.

Qazi also voiced his concern at the high toll of civilian casualties caused by the ongoing violence. Also of great concern, he added, is the deteriorating human rights situation.

That open meeting was followed by a private meeting, in which both Qazi and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari participated.

Meanwhile, the

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, today

condemned the murder last week of two journalists in separate incidents in Iraq. The agency said there was a deliberate campaign in that country to kill journalists. Hind Ismail, of the Mosul daily As-Saffir, was killed on September 16, and Fakher Haider of the New York Times, was shot on September 18.

SECURITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS PEACE EFFORTS ON COTE DIVOIRE

Security Council President Lauro Baja yesterday read a

press statement on Cote dIvoire in which members reiterated their support for the efforts of the Secretary-General, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), towards promoting peace and national reconciliation, as well as for the continuing facilitation efforts of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

Council members also expressed their support for the upcoming visit to the Chairman of the Sanctions Committee on Cote dIvoire, so that the Council will be in a position to take appropriate action in response to those who pose a threat to the peace and national reconciliation process, or who are determined to be responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Côte dIvoire.

ANNAN THANKS G-77 FOR SUMMIT PROGRESS ON DEVELOPMENT

The Secretary-General today

addressed the annual ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 foreign ministers, and he congratulated the G-77 on the very important role it played in promoting the interests of developing countries in the negotiations on the outcome document for the World Summit.

We all know that the Summit did not achieve everything that we had hoped for, he said. But it did achieve important progress, across a broad front, not least on development.

The task now, he added, is to implement what was agreed, and on no issue is implementation more important than development. He also pointed to the need to move ahead on management reform for the United Nations.

ANNAN CONCERNED WITH NUCLEAR TREATY DELAYS

The Secretary-General yesterday afternoon opened the fourth conference on facilitating the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty,

saying that we should all be concerned that, after nine years, the treaty is still not in force.

The Secretary-General said we meet at a time of heightened global anxiety about weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. Yet, he argued, we are not yet rising to the challenge, as we saw with the failure to reach agreement on disarmament and non-proliferation at last weeks Summit. We have copies of that speech upstairs.

Also yesterday, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was elected President of the Conference, and Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs

Nobuyasu Abe was elected its Vice President.

Meanwhile, the Treaty parties have been discussing a proposal to work together to use the CTBT network as an early warning network to deal with natural disasters, like the tsunami.

Asked what the Secretary-General can do so that the CTBT can enter into force, the Spokesman said the main thing is to appeal to the States that are required to ratify the treaty to sign on.

ANNAN CALLS SHEBA FARMS A THORN IN NEED OF EXTRACTION

Asked whether the Secretary-General and the Israeli Prime Minister had discussed Israeli withdrawal from Sheba Farms over the weekend, the Spokesman said that, in the course of a very friendly and productive meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Secretary-General recalled the work the United Nations had done in connection to

Security Council resolution 426, including the drawing of the withdrawal line (the so-called Blue Line).

The Secretary-General noted that the Sheba Farms remained one of the issues to be resolved, calling it "a thorn in need of extraction." However, the Spokesman said, he made no specific call or request for action at this time.

Asked whether arbitration is needed over the Sheba Farms, Dujarric noted that the Secretary-General and the Security Council made it clear in 2000 that Israel did comply with resolution 426 when it withdrew.

Asked about the significance of an Israeli withdrawal from Sheba Farms, the Spokesman said that resolving this issue, among others, would be helpful for achieving a comprehensive resolution in the Middle East.

The Spokesman was also asked about the investigation headed by Detlev Mehlis and said that it was continuing its work.

U.N. REPORTS NO NEW DEMOLITIONS IN ZIMBABWE

Asked whether housing demolitions are continuing in Zimbabwe, the Spokesman said that the information received from the UN Country Team is that there have been no new demolitions.

He noted an incident that took place towards the end of August in the Province of Manicaland, where the Zimbabwean Government tore down tents that had been set up to accommodate displaced people. The UN Country Team lodged a protest.

The Spokesman noted that the Country Teams information is based on its network of non-governmental organizations and civil society.

BILL CLINTON AND TSUNAMI EXPERTS STUDY RECOVERY WORK

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the UNs Special Envoy for

Tsunami Recovery, today convened key players in Washington, D.C. to take stock of current efforts. Among the participants attending the meeting were World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, heads of UN agencies, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and delegates from both the affected and donor countries.

The gathering endorsed a range of measures to sustain momentum in the longer term tsunami recovery effort.

ONE BILLION PEOPLE ARE OVERWEIGHT

The

World Health Organization (WHO)

estimates that over one billion people are overweight globally, and that if current trends continue, that number will increase to 1.5 billion by 2015.

The agency also says that obesity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the worlds number one cause of death and accounts for over 17 million deaths every year.

According to WHO estimates, the Pacific island nations of Nauru and Tonga have the highest global prevalence of the problem, with nine out of every 10 adults being overweight. But the problem is also a cause for concern across a much wider range of countries, including Barbados, Egypt, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE TO WRAP UP TOMORROW

In the

General Assembly, the General Debate continues today, with statements in the morning and afternoon meetings. General Assembly President Jan Eliasson noted that the statement by Singapore this morning was a particularly useful intervention, focusing on the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in the world today.

The General Debate will wrap up tomorrow.

There are no meetings of the Plenary expected on Monday through Wednesday of next week, but on Thursday, 29 September, the Plenary is expected to meet in the morning to take up the agenda item on the Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization.

The Main Committees of the Assembly will also begin meetings next week to discuss their organization of work.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SUDANS CHECK PUTS HONOUR ROLL AT 122: With the arrival of a check from Sudan, the number of fully paid-up Member-States has reached 122.

ANNAN ANNOUNCES TWO HIGH-LEVEL APPOINTMENTS: The Secretary-General today announced his intention to appoint

Angela Kane of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. She will replace Danilo Turk. And he will appoint Jan Beagle of New Zealand as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management. She will replace Rosemary McCreery.

UNITED NATIONS TO HELP INDONESIA WITH BIRD FLU CONTROL: The UN

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

reports today that it has offered technical and financial assistance to Indonesia in its battle against avian influenza. In a statement issued in its Rome office, the agency also called upon governments to step up their efforts to control the virus.

SECRETARIAT REFORM IDEAS DUE WITHIN 10 DAYS: Asked whether the Secretariat has sent the costs for management reform proposals to the General Assembly, the Spokesman said it had not yet done so. But he added that, within the next week to 10 days, it would provide more information on what can be done for Secretariat reform.

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