United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-11-30

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

KOFI ANNAN TO BEGIN ASIA VISIT THIS WEEKEND

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be traveling to Asia starting this weekend.

His 14-day trip includes official visits to China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

While in Beijing, his first stop, the Secretary-General is expected to meet with President Hu Jintao and other senior officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dan Bingguo as well as the Vice Prime Minister in charge of Avian Influenza, Hui Liangyu. He plans to have a question and answer session with students at Beijing University.

From Beijing, he travels to Seoul, where he has a meeting planned with President Roh Moo-hyun as well as one with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ban Ki-Moon.

The next stop is Tokyo where, in addition to meetings with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, he will meet with a parliamentary group on UN reform. He also has an audience scheduled with the Emperor.

The Secretary-General then goes to Hong Kong, where he will address the opening of the World Trade Organization Ministerial conference.

His last stop is Vietnam, his first visit to that country as Secretary-General. Among his meetings with Vietnamese leaders is one with the Chair of the National Steering committee on Avian Influenza.

ANNAN MAKES HUMANITARIAN APPEAL FOR 2006

The Secretary-General today

called for $4.7 billion to provide urgent support to 31 million people in humanitarian emergencies in 26 countries worldwide.

Launching the

Humanitarian Appeal 2006, the Secretary-General

said that the past year, although terrible in terms of natural disasters, demonstrated the worlds tremendous capacity for giving.

In that regard, the Appeal was an opportunity, which must not be missed, to extend that generosity to people whose plight may not capture the worlds attention, but whose suffering was no less tragic.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES NEW ECUADORIAN COURT

The Secretary-General

welcomes the appointment of the new Court of Justice in Ecuador. He has sent Angela Kane, Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, as his representative to todays swearing in ceremony in Quito.

The Secretary-General notes that the selection of the judges to the Court of Justice was monitored by a group of international witnesses (veedores) from the Organization of American States, the Andean Community, and the United Nations, working in close consultation with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy.

The Secretary-General hopes that the appointment of the new Court will contribute to strengthening the rule of law and the protection of human rights in Ecuador.

TOP U.N. POLITICAL ENVOY REPORTS ON MIDDLE EAST TRIP

Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, talked to the Security Council about his visit to the Middle East in an open meeting this morning, in which he said he had seen many things that made him optimistic.

Among them, he said, were the Rafah crossing, where the Palestinians had assumed control of part of their border; the settlements in Gaza that Israel evacuated; and the determination of Lebanons Government to assert its control over the entire country.

Gambari added that he had also seen or discussed a number of very real challenges to process, including the extent to which the Barrier, checkpoints and Israeli settlements dominate the landscape in the West Bank, and the genuine insecurity and fear faced by Israelis.

The Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement welcoming the opening of the Rafah crossing.

In addition to the briefing on the Middle East, the

Security Council is wrapping up its work for the month, which it started this morning by voting to approve a resolution extending by two months the mandate of the UN Operation in Burundi (UNOB). The Council issued a press statement saying the extension of UNOB was made to allow time for the discussion on the future of the mission.

After its consideration of the Middle East, the Security Council held a formal meeting to adopt a Presidential Statement on Cote dIvoire, expressing its deep concern at the persistent disagreement on the parties there on the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Today is the last day of the Russian Presidency of the Security Council. Tomorrow, the United Kingdom will assume the Council Presidency for the month of December.

UNITED NATIONS AND CHINA DISCUSS POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE TO SPILL RECOVERY

According to the UN

Development Programme (UNDP), because of interest from the Chinese Government, representatives from

the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the UN

Environment Programme, the UNDP and the

World Health Organization are in discussions with the Chinese authorities over a suitable date for sending a UN disaster management team to the area of the recent chemical spill in northeastern China.

The first order of business for such a mission would be to assess damage and needs.

The mission would also consider visiting areas of the Russian Federation that had also been affected by the chemical spill.

In answer to a question the spokesman stressed that U.N. assistance on this issue would only come if there was an official Chinese request.

KYOTO PROTOCOL ON CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOW OPERATIONAL

The

UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal has just voted to finalize the rule book of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions.

The vote today at the meeting of 157 parties to the Kyoto Protocol puts into concrete form the agreements made in Japan.

The President of the Conference, Stéphane Dion, said: The Kyoto Protocol is now fully operational.

BILL CLINTON IN ACEH FOR U.N. TSUNAMI RECOVERY EFFORT

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

Tsunami Recovery, was in Aceh, Indonesia, today, to discuss progress and challenges in the recovery effort with a wide range of actors.

Regarding the political situation there, Clinton said a long-term vision for Aceh's development depended on the peaceful resolution of the regions three-decade long conflict.

UNITED NATIONS IN CONSULTATIONS ON FUTURE OF OIL-FOR-FOOD PROBE PAPERS

Asked about how the documents currently possessed by Paul Volckers

Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) will be handled once that Committee ends its existence, the Spokesman said that discussions are continuing on that matter between the UN

Office for Legal Affairs and the Committee.

The Spokesman said that the discussions deal not only with the documents owned by the United Nations that were given to the IIC, but those received from governments, as well as testimony received by Volcker on the understanding that such testimony would remain confidential.

Ultimately, Dujarric said, what is being sought is a way to maintain the documents in such a way that they are made as accessible as possible, and are as helpful as possible to governments as they follow up on the IICs reports.

The Spokesman noted that the Committee has been extended at least through the end of December. Asked about the Committees cooperation with governments, he said he understood that it is cooperating with national governments, and is believed to have been talking to the governments that have provided documents for the IICs work.

Asked whether there is any concern that documents might be destroyed if they are given to the United Nations, the Spokesman asserted that there is no question that any documents will be destroyed, and that every piece of paper collected by the IIC will be preserved.

Asked whether the United Nations would release a letter written by then-UNDP official Abdoulieye Janneh to Ghanaian authorities about a Mercedes, referred to in an IIC report, the Spokesman declined to answer further questions on this issue and reiterated his earlier statement that the lawyers for Kojo Annan are discussing the issue of the car with the Ghanaian authorities. The reporter made a formal request for the United Nations to release the letter from Janneh.

SECRETARY-GENERAL IS OPEN TO BRIEFING SECURITY COUNCIL ON MANY ISSUES

Asked about a US request for the Secretary-General to brief the Security Council on Myanmar, the Spokesman said he was not aware of an official request from the Council as a whole on the matter.

He said that the Secretary-General is open to briefing the Security Council on many issues.

It does take some time, however, to bring together the necessary information to make these briefings relevant.

The Spokesman confirmed that yesterday U.S. Ambassador John Bolton had raised the issue of the Secretary-Generals possibly briefing the Security Council on Myanmar.

When the Secretary-General is ready to brief on Myanmar, he will do so, the Spokesman added.

Asked whether Razali Ismail was still the Special Envoy dealing with Myanmar, the Spokesman said he was. Asked whether Razali has filled a financial disclosure statement, the Spokesman responded that most such disclosures are expected to be filed by the end of the year.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

EDUCATIONAL GOALS NOT ON TRACK: Current rates of progress in school enrollments need to quadruple in sub-Saharan Africa and double in South Asia to reach the 2015 goal of providing all children with a quality basic education, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today. UNESCO said the prediction was reached by participants at the fifth meeting of the High Level Group on Education for All (EFA), which closed in Beijing Wednesday.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MAINTAINS CONTACTS ON BUDGET ISSUES: Asked whether the Secretary-General has had meetings with groups of ambassadors concerning the budget situation, the Spokesman said that he was not aware of a formal meeting, but contacts are being held at various levels on the matter.

BRIEFING ON U.N. REFORM EXPECTED NEXT WEEK: Asked whether a briefing would be provided on UN reform, the Spokesman said that the Member States had unanimously set a deadline for submissions from the Secretariat on reform for the first quarter of next year. However, the Spokesman added that he expected an early harvest of a number of management reform initiatives to be unveiled in the first half of December. These would include, among others, the proposed Ethics Office and rules for financial disclosures.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL HOLD END-OF-YEAR PRESS BRIEFING: Asked when the Secretary-General might hold his end-of-the-year press briefing, the Spokesman said that arrangements were being made, and noted that it would have to take place after he returned from his Asia trip on December 19.

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

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