United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-11-14

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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

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, November 14, 2005

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply concerned about the upsurge in violence in Afghanistan. He strongly condemns the suicide bombing attacks carried out against the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul today. The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to the families of the victims, to ISAF and to their respective governments.

The Secretary-General

calls upon the Government of Afghanistan, the Coalition Forces and the International Security Assistance Force to take all necessary measures to address the security situation.

Asked whether the suicide attack today was intended to affect the UN Mission in Afghanistan, the Spokeswoman said that a UN Office for Project Services vehicle had in fact been affected, but, luckily, there were no UN casualties.

ANNAN VISITS IRAQI LEADERS; CONDEMNS MURDER OF CIVILIANS

The Secretary-General travelled to Baghdad on Saturday morning to meet with the staff of the

UN Assistance Mission in Iraq and with a number of Iraqi leaders.

In a town hall meeting with national and international UN staff he expressed his solidarity and the thanks of the Organization for the crucial work they are doing, in very trying circumstances, in assisting the Iraqi people during this period of political transition and reconstruction.

After meeting with the senior staff of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, the Secretary-General met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. He and the Prime Minister discussed, among other political developments, the initiative by the Arab League to convene a reconciliation conference for Iraq.

In comments to the press afterwards, the Secretary-General said the United Nations has had a long relationship with Iraq and will continue its efforts to help the Iraqi people. He said that the United Nations had been discreetly aiding the Iraqis, adding, You have to remember that sometimes those who are not seen also serve.

The Secretary-General then held separate meetings with Iraqi political leaders, starting with Deputy Prime Minister Rowsh Shaways and then Acting President Ghazi Al-Yawar. He also separately met leaders of a number of Iraqi political parties and communities, including former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

In his discussions he underscored that the political transition process is extremely important and that this process must be inclusive and transparent and take into account the concerns of all groups.

He also heard from them of the varied expectations the Iraqi people have of the UN during this political process.

In speaking to the press just before leaving the Iraqi capital, the Secretary-General noted that, just as he arrived in Baghdad, a car bomb had exploded in a market, killing five people. No ideology, no cause, can justify the killings or maiming of innocent civilians. It is murder. It is terrorism, he said.

While the Secretary-General was in Iraq, Nane Annan met with a group of prominent Kuwaiti women from government and civil society, including the Minister of Planning, Masouma Al-Mubarak, who in June 2005 became the first woman to be appointed Cabinet minister in Kuwait. Discussions focused on how to encourage women's political participation ahead of elections scheduled for 2007 in which Kuwaiti women will for the first time have the right to vote and run as candidates.

Asked about the work of the human rights office for the UN Mission in Iraq, the Spokeswoman noted the Secretary-Generals comments that there is much work the United Nations does that is not necessarily seen. [The

UN Mission in Iraq has issued its latest human rights report for that country, voicing its concerns at the violence across the country while recognizing the efforts by the Government to improve the rule of law. The report draws attention to repeated bombing campaigns by armed groups against civilians and mosques, which it says increases fears that community relations are descending into a pattern of fear, animosity and revenge.]

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS TUNISIAN PRESIDENT

The Secretary-General is in Tunis today, to attend the

World Summit on the Information Society. He met today with the Tunisian President, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

Prior to arriving in Tunisia, the Secretary-General met over the weekend with the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, and briefed him on his trip to Iraq, as well as on the Syria/Lebanon issue and the Middle East.

Just prior to leaving Kuwait City yesterday, the Secretary-General met briefly at the airport with the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister and spoke to the press.

Asked by reporters to evaluate his visit to Baghdad, the Secretary-General said he had given all his interlocutors in Baghdad a message of reconciliation. The only way, he said, to see stability and peace in Iraq is for all to come together and join the political process in an inclusive and transparent way, bearing in mind the concerns and interests of others.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would talk about freedom of the press with the Tunisian President, the Spokeswoman said that freedom of the press and human rights issues did in fact come up during their talks.

Asked whether the United Nations wants to take more control over the Internet, the Spokeswoman referred to the Secretary-Generals remarks in his recent op-ed that nothing could be further from the truth. Far from plotting its capture, the UN wants only to ensure the Internets global reach. That effort is at the heart of the World Summit on the Information Society. The United Nations, she added, wants to promote dialogue and consensus among all stakeholders.

Asked about reports concerning an adviser to the Secretary-General on the World Summit who resigned, the Spokeswoman said that the individual was not a Personal Adviser to the Secretary-General, and promised to ascertain details about his status.

Asked why the summit was being held in Tunis, the Spokeswoman later said that the 46-nation Council of the International Telecommunications Union decided in 2001 that Switzerland would host the first phase of the Summit in 2003, and Tunisia would host the second phase in 2005. The General Assembly welcomed that decision that year. Tunisiahad been the country that first proposed convening the Summit, in 1998.

U.N. ENVOY SUDAN IN TALKS WITH SUDANESE LEADERS

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan,

Jan Pronk, is today meeting officials of the Government of Southern Sudan, in the city of Juba, in the countrys south, for talks on the ongoing implementation of

Sudans Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The

UN Mission in Sudan says Pronk arrived there yesterday for three days of talks, and his meetings include Riek Machar, the Vice-President of the Government of Southern Sudan as well as the Speaker of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.

Pronk will also meet the commanders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army for talks on security issues.

Meanwhile, the Mission says the situation in Darfur is reportedly tense due to both inter-tribal and factional fighting in many areas of the region.

U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF VISITS LEBANON

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs

Ibrahim Gambari has arrived in Lebanon, where he met with President Emile Lahoud. He is to meet later today with the Foreign Minister.

Earlier, Gambari met with the Justice Minister and commended the Lebanese Government for its cooperation with the UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He urged that Syria also cooperate fully, adding that the assassination was a terrorist act that should not go unpunished.

Asked about UN reactions to recent Syrian comments on their cooperation, the Spokeswoman said that the head of the investigation, Detlev Mehlis, has not made any recent comment.

She noted that the Secretary-General, in his recent press remarks, said he supported Mehliss investigation and would back whatever Mehlis decides on the way ahead.

ANNAN NAMES DIRECTOR OF THE ALLIANCE FOR CIVILIZATIONS

The Secretary-General has

named Professor Tomas Mastnak as the Director of the

Office of the Alliance for Civilizations. He will take office toward the end of December. Mr. Shamil Idriss has also been named Deputy Director of the Office and is Officer-in-charge.

The Secretary-General regrets being unable to participate, as he had intended, in the inaugural session of the High-level Group for the Alliance of Civilizations that will take place in Spain on 27 November.

He will be sending as his Personal Representative, Mr. S. Iqbal Riza, who currently serves as his Special Advisor on the Alliance of Civilizations.

COLOMBIANS FLEEING TO ECUADOR TO ESCAPE ARMED COMBAT

The

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is very concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in southern Colombia, after more than 500 Colombians fled to Ecuador over the weekend to escape armed combat in the Putumayo and Nariño areas of Colombia.

This is the biggest influx of Colombian refugees into Ecuador this year, and the new arrivals say there are many more people on their way to Ecuador.

There are also reports that some of those arriving are badly wounded.

UNHCR is working with local authorities, the Red Cross and other UN agencies to provide shelter and food for the asylum-seekers in Ecuador and will continue to monitor the situation in Colombia.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR UNITY AGAINST EXTREMISM

The Secretary-General today sent a

message to the Vienna Conference on Islam in a Pluralistic World, calling on its participants to unite against extremism.

In the message, read by his special advisor Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary General said, We must unite in our efforts to address the extremism that is on the rise, not only in Islam but among adherents of many faiths. But, he said, responding to violence with violence, would be accepting the logic of those we seek to defeat, and thereby help them win new converts to their ideas.

NEW FOOD PROGRAM LAUNCHED FOR PORT-AU-PRINCE

The

World Food Programme and Yéle Haiti which was founded by the Haitian singer/songwriter, Wyclef Jean today

announced the launch of a new joint food distribution programme in two of the most violent and vulnerable neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

The neighbourhoods are Cité Soleil and Bel Air and the food conditions are so bad there that residents bake mud pies, using toxic clay, containing a small amount of nutrients, which they gather from the polluted earth.

Large scale food distributions had been significantly decreased or even stopped altogether last year in Cité Soleil and Bel Air because of the prevailing level of danger there.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. LEGAL OFFICE TO HELP IN ACCESS TO PROBE DOCUMENTS: Asked about Transparency Internationals concerns about how documents collected by the

Independent Inquiry Committee would be handled, the Spokeswoman said she was aware of its concerns, and it was precisely for those reasons that the UN Legal Office is discussing with the Committee how the documents will be dealt with. The United Nations, she said, would fundamentally like to provide the best access possible to the documents, and she added that the details were being discussed.

STEPHANIDES CASE TO BE ADDRESSED LATER TODAY: Asked about former UN Director Joseph Stephanides, the Spokeswoman said more details concerning his case would be provided later today.

SECRETARIAT WORKING ON REFORM LETTER FROM G77: Asked about a recent letter from the Group of 77 concerning the UN Secretariat, the Spokeswoman said that it has been read by the Secretariats management, and she stressed that the Secretary-General and the Secretariat are following up on recommendations from the Outcome Document.

CANDIDATES FOR AFRICAN COMMISSION HEAD WERE VETTED THOROUGHLY: The Spokeswoman responded to several questions about the appointment of the head of the

Economic Commission for Africa by noting that his candidacy was vetted thoroughly, and he was chosen on the basis of his able work as a UN Development Programme official in Africa. Ultimately, she said, the decision on his appointment was made by the Secretary-General. She noted, in response to questions about how that official was mentioned in a September report of the Independent Inquiry Committee, that no adverse findings had been made against him by the Committee.

SANCTIONS COMMITTEE STUDYING COTE DIVOIRE EXPERTS REPORT: The Sanctions Committee today is studying a

report from a panel of experts looking into the arms embargo in Cote dIvoire. The experts recommend, among other things, in-depth audits of the cacao, cotton and diamond industries to see if any funds are being used for arms.

BUILDING SHELTERS FROM RUBBLE FROM SOUTH ASIA QUAKE: The

UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched an initiative this week aimed at helping 30,000 families in high altitude, rural areas to build locally designed winterized shelters from the rubble of their homes and locally available materials. For its part, the

UN refugee agency has deployed teams to fix water- and sanitation-related problems in relief camps that have sprung up across hard-hit areas. In organized camps, UNICEF and its partners have already set up water points, latrines and bathrooms. Regarding the $550 million flash appeal, the UN has only received $119 million, as well an additional $40 million in pledges.

WORLDS FORESTS DISAPPEARING AT ALARMING RATE: The worlds forests are continuing to disappear at what the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls an alarming rate, the agency

reports today. A new study shows that every year about 13 million hectares of the worlds forests are lost. That is about the size of Panama or Sierra Leone. But the agency reports that the rate of loss may be declining.

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