United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-04-27

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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

Thursday, April 27, 2006

ANNAN WELCOMES RECENT POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN NEPAL

Secretary- General Kofi Annan is heartened by the recent positive developments in Nepal.

He considers the royal proclamation of 24 April reinstating Parliament as a positive step that opens the door for a political process to end the decade-old conflict and address its underlying causes on the basis of wishes of the Nepali people.

The Secretary-General also welcomes the announcement by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) of a three-month ceasefire as a step that will further ease the suffering of ordinary Nepalese and foster confidence between the soon-to-be-formed Government and the Maoists.

He trusts that the ceasefire will be reciprocated and that both sides will continue to exercise restraint and wisdom in managing what will be a complex democratic transition through patient dialogue.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL CALLS FOR RELEASE OF CIVILIANS IN NEPAL

The

UN Human Rights Office in Nepal today also welcomed the announcement by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) of a three-month unilateral ceasefire.

Ian Martin, the head of the Office, called for the Maoists to release immediately all the civilians it has abducted, to ensure that its cadres do not intimidate civilians from different political parties and to end actions against the families of Nepals security personnel.

The Human Rights Office also said it deplored the latest killing of seven unarmed civilians by the Royal Nepalese Army.

IVORIAN PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES DEVELOPMENTS WITH SECURITY COUNCIL

This morning, the

Security Council heard from the Prime Minister of Cote dIvoire, Charles Konan Banny, who discussed recent developments in his country in an open briefing. That meeting was then followed by a closed meeting, also with the Prime Minister. The

Secretary-General attended.

A third formal meeting will then take place, to consider a Presidential Statement on Cote dIvoire. In it, the Council took note of the progress achieved and reiterated its full support for the Prime Minister, but expressed its grave concern at the serious delay in implementing the disarmament and identification operations.

At 3:00 this afternoon, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with the Secretary-General.

The Security Council will also meet this afternoon at 3:00, to hear from the chairman of the Councils

committee dealing with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Ambassador Peter Burian of Slovakia. The Council also may hold a formal meeting to vote on a resolution extending the mandate of that committee.

ANNAN HELPS LAUNCH RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT PROJECT AT WALL STREET

The

Secretary- General was at Wall Street this morning to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange as part of the launch of the Principles for Responsible Investment.

The Principles are an initiative of the

UN Environment Programme and the

UN Global Compact, and they provide institutional investors with a common framework for integrating environmental and social issues into investment decision-making.

The Secretary-General was joined by the heads of a group of international funds who later signed the Principles; and in his remarks to them, he said that UN objectives go hand-in-hand with prosperity and growing markets, and the United Nations and business are natural partners.

He added that the principles will provide a set of common guidelines for investors to assess risks and opportunities fully.

The

UN Joint Staff Pension Fund also signed up to the Principles.

SYRIA ENCOURAGED TO TAKE UP LEBANONS OFFER FOR TALKS

Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the implementation of resolution 1559, yesterday afternoon briefed the

Security Council in its closed consultations on the most recent developments concerning that resolution, including the progress of the National Dialogue in

Lebanon.

Speaking to reporters following the consultations, Roed-Larsen noted the progress that Lebanon has made in the year since Syrian forces withdrew from the country. He encouraged Syria to take up Lebanons offer to engage in discussions to delineate their common border and to have diplomatic relations.

Here I think it needs two to tango and it needs good will from two parties, Roed-Larsen remarked.

UNITED NATIONS HELPS ENHANCE AFRICAN UNION FORCE IN DARFUR

The

UN Mission in Sudan reports that it is starting on Saturday a comprehensive training programme in Al-Fasher, Northern Darfur, aimed at enhancing the capacities of the African Union force in

Darfur. The training topics comprise international standards and rules, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law, rights of children, women, the elderly, handicapped and minorities. In addition, the program will also cover the Sudanese legal and traditional structures and social values. It also focus on confidence-building between local communities, refugees, humanitarian groups, the AU troops and civilian police.

Meanwhile,

UNICEF reports that malnutrition in Darfur is creeping back up towards levels of 2003, due to lack of security and lack of access by aid groups.

Asked whether there will be a re-hatting of African Union troops into a UN force, the Spokesman said that such a re-hatting would eventually take place. Meanwhile, he said, the United Nations was working on multiple tracks, including planning, as was presented by Assistant Secretary-General Hédi Annabi to the

Security Council, and efforts to strengthen the African Union Mission in Darfur.

The United Nations Secretariat, he added, was doing as much as it could, but the international community has a duty to support the African Union in Darfur.

The Spokesman said, in response to further questions about re-hatting, that a number of things have to happen before that can be accomplished. Planning has to be completed, and the Security Council, African Union and Sudanese Government all have to take decisions. While that process goes on, Dujarric said, the African Union has to be strengthened.

Asked whether todays announcement at the briefing about the operation in Al-Fasher was linked to the discussions the Security Council had on Wednesday of options for transfer to a UN force in Darfur, the Spokesman said that the two events were not linked directly.

Asked how the United Nations would protect UN personnel in Sudan following the threat made by al-Qaeda, the Spokesman said that the United Nations does not discuss security policy in public. He noted that the security of staff in sensitive areas is assessed regularly, and changes are made accordingly.

Asked how many UN personnel are in Darfur, the Spokesman later said there were about 250 international UN staff.

U.N. ENVOY ENCOURAGED BY COMMITMENT TO HELPING AFGHANISTAN

Tom Koenigs, the head of the

UN Mission in Afghanistan, told reporters in Kabul today that he has seen a growing commitment among neighbouring countries to stability in the region. He especially encouraged initiatives for

Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate on intelligence sharing and security efforts.

Asked about the security situation in southern Afghanistan, Koenigs said that, although three-quarters of the country is on a good path, the security situation still has to improve in the southern quarter.

He said that the UN Mission will try to increase its presence in the southern provinces during the course of this year.

ANNAN FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS IN FIFTH COMMITTEE CLOSELY

Asked about the developments at the

General Assemblys

Fifth Committee on the Secretary-General's management reform proposals, the Spokesman said that the

Secretary- General was following developments extremely closely and was making himself available to Member States to help them find consensus.

He noted that the Committees work had been suspended until 3:00 p.m.

Asked to respond to a question noting that the UN was headed or a train wreck and this could be the most serious crisis in the UNs history, the Spokesman noted that there had been a lot of rhetoric on all sides of this issue but refused to respond directly, noting that the Secretary-Generals focus was on helping the Member States find consensus on this issue.

INVESTIGATION REPORT ON QAZI NOT FINALIZED YET

The Spokesman, in response to a question about the investigation by the

UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of

Ashraf Qazi, head of the

UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, said that the Secretary-Generals office has not yet received a finalized report from OIOS. Once it is completed, he said, it would be made available to Member States at their request.

Asked whether the United Nations maintains that Qazi has been exonerated by OIOS, the Spokesman said that it continues to expect that he will be exonerated. The

Secretary- General continues to have full confidence in Qazi, who has been doing his job under difficult circumstances. He eagerly awaits the OIOS report.

Asked whether the Qazi investigation was an example of preferential treatment for senior officials at the United Nations, the Spokesman said that the United Nations expects all allegations to be investigated thoroughly.

U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICES REPORT ECHOES U.N.S OWN CONCLUSIONS

Asked for a response to a report that was published by the US General Accounting Office( GAO) on procurement and the

UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the Spokesman said that the report echoed conclusions that the United Nations had also come out with in the past following both internal and external reviews.

He noted that the firm of Deloitte, in its review of UN procurement, had indicated weak internal controls, which left open the possibility of waste and even fraud. The Department of Management is currently strengthening and improving the procurement department with the assistance of external experts.

Meanwhile, he added a special procurement task force in OIOS was following up on the allegations of fraud.

Also, the

Secretary- General, as one of the lessons learned following

Paul Volckers

oil-for-food inquiry, put forward a number of proposals to strengthen OIOS. He requested from the

General Assembly and received permission to increase the staffing and funding of OIOS.

Dujarric added that an external review of OIOS, as mandated by the General Assembly, was currently underway and looking at many of the issues raised in the GAO report.

Asked when the results of this reviews would be available, the Spokesman said he believed the OIOS review would be finished in the coming months.

GLOBAL CONSORTIUM ON TSUNAMI RECOVERY TO MEET FRIDAY

The

UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, former US President Bill Clinton, will be across the street at the UNICEF House, in New York, at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, for a meeting of the Global Consortium on Tsunami Recovery.

Among the gatherings participants will be Government representatives of countries that were hit by the 2004 tsunami, as well as delegates from donor countries, non-governmental organizations and UN agencies.

The event is closed to the press, but there will be a short photo spray at the start of the meeting.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO TIME YET FOR WHEN U.N. SECRETARIAT WILL RECEIVE REPORT ON IRAN: Asked whether the

International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran was expected to go first to the UN Secretariat and then to the

Security Council, the Spokesman agreed that was the expectation, but added that he had no timeline for when that would take place.

MANUAL ISSUED ON HOW TO AVOID KIDNAPPING: The

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has

published a Counter-Kidnapping Manual to help Member States in dealing with kidnapping. With the financial support of the Government of Colombia and the contribution of experts from 16 countries, UNODC developed the manual to give police officers and policy-makers concrete guidelines on how to respond to kidnappings effectively. UNODC has already piloted a "train the trainers" course based upon the Manual for countries of the Caribbean and more training is planned in Latin America this year.

UNITED NATIONS SETS UP LEARNING TOOL FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRY AGRICULTURE: The

UN Food and Agriculture Organization today

announced the establishment of a new, internet-based information exchange tool aimed at helping specialists in the developing world learn how to set up and run electronic communities. The idea is the eventual dissemination and exchanging of information on agriculture problems and solutions.

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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