United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-04-10

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, April 10, 2006

SECRETARY-GENERAL GETS CROSS-CULTURAL AWARD IN SPAIN

In Seville, Spain, Secretary-General

Kofi Annan today accepted the first Seville Node between Cultures Award, conferred by the Seville Noda Foundation to recognize an individuals contribution to cross-cultural understanding among Christians, Jews and Muslims.

In accepting the award, the Secretary-General

said, there is a need to unlearn our collective prejudices and promote dialogue based on the premise that diversity is a precious gift, not a threat.

He received a 30,000-euro prize, which he said would be directed by the foundation at his request to the

UN Population Fund (UNFPA), to support a project combating sexual violence against women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That shelter project was visited by Mrs. Annan during a recent trip to Kisangani, when she was there with the Secretary-General last month.

Asked how various prize monies that the Secretary-General had received in the past were spent, the Spokesman said that with the Zayed Prize, which currently sits in an escrow account, the Secretary-General is in the process of setting up a Foundation focusing on girls education and agricultural development in Africa. With the Nobel Prize money, the Secretary-General had donated it to a memorial fund to benefit the educational needs of the children of UN staff killed in the line of duty; and todays Noda Prize of 30,000 Euro would go directly to UNFPA to fund a rape victim project in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which had been visited in March by Mrs. Nane Annan.

The Spokesman reminded the correspondents that the Volcker report had clearly shown that the Secretary-General had given all his prize money to charitable causes.

When asked what message the Secretary-General would be bringing to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), when he travels to the Netherlands tomorrow, the Spokesman said that the aim of the visit to The Hague was to participate in the 60th anniversary celebrations of the International Court of Justice, the Secretary-General would also pay a courtesy visit to the ICTY. That visit, the Spokesman added, will provide an opportunity to underscore the importance of the work done so far and, also, that a number of people are missing from the dock specifically Radtko Mladic and Radovan Karadjic and the need to bring them to justice.

SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES TROOP TRANSFER FROM BURUNDI TO D.R. CONGO

The

Security Council met this morning to adopt two resolutions. With the first, it

decided to extend the term of a temporary judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

With the second, it

authorized the transfer of an infantry battalion, as well as military observers and a military hospital, from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), until 1 July 2006. The Secretary-General had requested that transfer to deal with the upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Council then held consultations on Sierra Leone and other matters.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY MIDDLE EAST VIOLENCE

Yesterday the Spokesmans Office issued a

statement on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory.

In it, the Secretary-General expressed his extreme concern about the continuation and intensification of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, including indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, a suicide bombing last week, and major Israeli reprisal operations.

The Secretary-General calls on the Palestinian Authority to take a clear public stand against violence and to take firm measures against the perpetrators of rocket attacks and suicide bombings.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Israel to ensure that its responses are proportionate and do not endanger the civilian population.

He asks both sides to act in conformity with international law, and to refrain from taking any steps which further escalate the violence.

Asked what the Secretary-General could do to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, the Spokesman said that the situation as a whole is of concern to the Secretary-General, who is working the phones and talking to Quartet colleagues in an effort to reach coordinated political decisions. In the meanwhile, the UNs humanitarian work continues, spearheaded mostly by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

U.N. LAUDS MIDDLE EAST HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS

Jan Egeland, the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs today gave the keynote address at the third annual Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition.

He encouraged the Governments and non-governmental organizations from the Middle East to work with the United Nations to develop stronger partnerships in the region to make their joint humanitarian work more effective.

He also recognized the prominent role of the region in charitable and humanitarian work and said there should be greater recognition for it. The humanitarian community continues to be perceived as too UN- and too Western-centric, he said.

U.N. INVESTIGATING SOMALIA SHOOTING DEATHS

The

World Food Programme (WFP) is investigating reports of a shooting incident near one of its food convoys in Somalia Monday in which there was loss of live and several persons wounded.

The convoy was en route to Baidoa, 250 kilometers west of Mogadishu, when the incident occurred, the agency said.

The 70- truck convoy was subcontracted to a local vendor and there were no WFP personnel involved.

WFP said it regrets the loss of life.

ANNAN NAMES NEW GENERAL FOR ETHIOPIA & ERITREA

The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Major-General Mohammad Taisir Masadeh of Jordan as the Force Commander of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

He replaces Major-General Rajender Singh of India who will have completed an assignment of nearly two years.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN HAS APPEALED FOR FUNDS FOR TAYLOR TRIAL: Asked what specifically the Secretary-General is doing to finance the trial of Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had sent a letter last week to all Member States appealing for funds for the

Special Court for Sierra Leone.

U.N. OFFICIAL PAYS FAIR MARKET RENT RATE: The Spokesman was asked questions about whether senior officials, including the Secretary-General, had completed the new financial disclosure forms, and how the Ethics Office viewed the issue of subsidized rental housing for certain officials. The Spokesman promised the journalist that he would provide answers as soon as he was able to. On a specific question about a reported rental subsidy for Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, the Spokesman denied that Mr. Malloch Brown was getting a subsidy and reiterated that he pays fair market rate for the house he rents.

ANNAN HAS CONFIDENCE IN ENVOY TO IRAQ: Asked again about a reported investigation into Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General Special Representative in Iraq, the Spokesman reiterated the Secretary-Generals full confidence in Qazis work, under difficult circumstances, in Iraq. He added that whenever allegations are made, they are looked into.

NUMBER OF FULLY PAID-UP MEMBER STATES CLIMBS TO 74: Botswana sent the UN a cheque last Friday, bringing to 74 the number of Member States fully paid up for the current budget. Botswana sent about $205,000.

ANNAN URGES ASIAN GROUP TO SUSTAIN SUMMIT MOMENTUM: The Secretary-General, in a

message sent to the annual meeting of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), urged the delegates meeting in Jakarta to sustain the momentum generated by last Septembers World Summit. His message was delivered by the executive secretary of UNESCAP, Kim Hak-Su

AIR DROP, NOT PARACHUTE DROP: The following is a correction from a note read on Friday. The World Food Programme (WFP)

reports that the air drop of food into the Katanga area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was just that, a low level airdrop, not a parachute drop as the Spokesman reported. WFP finds the low level airdrops much more accurate and safe.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 100178

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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