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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE
SECRETARY-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday,
September 16, 2004
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, in a statement on
he made at UN headquarters this afternoon,
said: "As you know, the Security Council is
discussing the [draft] resolution on Darfur, which may require me to appoint
an international commission to decide whether acts of genocide have been
committed.泭 If this resolution is adopted, I shall of course do so with all
speed, and we are making preliminary preparations.泭 But I want to make it
clear that, no matter how the crimes that are being committed against
civilians in Darfur are characterized or legally defined, it is urgent to
take action now.
泭
Civilians are still being
attacked and fleeing their villages even as we speak, many months after the
Government committed itself to bring the militias under control.泭 The
ceasefire is also being violated by both groups.泭 Both sides have to stop
violating the ceasefire.泭
泭
I have urged the Security
Council to act on the draft resolution without delay, and to be as united as
possible in the face of this crisis.泭 This is the first time in the
Councils history that it has ever been seized under Article 8 of the
Genocide Convention, and it seems to me inconceivable that it should fail to
respond.泭泭 In any case, the Council must be fully engaged.泭 It must continue
to pressure all sides.泭 And it must galvanize full international support for
the efforts of the African Union, which needs immediate and extensive
support to deploy expanded troops to Darfur.泭 Time is of the essence.泭 I
appeal to all member states and organizations with the necessary logistical
and financial capacity to do whatever they can to make this deployment
happen as quickly as possible.
泭
I have asked the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and my special adviser on the
prevention of genocide, Juan M矇ndez, to visit Darfur and see what can be
done, now and in the future, to provide better protection for the civilians
who are desperately in need of it.泭They will arrive in Khartoum on
Saturday.泭Their job is not to describe or characterize what is happening,
but to see what more can be done to stop it, and to prevent further abuses.
泭
Meanwhile, we are
seeing positive developments in delivery of humanitarian relief.泭Since the
horrifying mortality figures that the World Health Organization (WHO) issued
for June and July, we have further increased our capacity on the ground.泭But
thousands of people are still dying from easily preventable diseases, and
there is still a funding gap of $250 million. This is absolutely
unacceptable.泭 The money must be found now.
泭
That said, everyone
including the refugees and displaced people realizes that their long-term
security can only be guaranteed through a political solution agreed by the
parties themselves.泭 All of us must put pressure on both sides to resume
their negotiations as soon as possible in a spirit of compromise, and with a
real commitment to reach agreement, for the sake of the people of Darfur.
泭
The Security Council has scheduled closed consultations
at 4 p.m. to discuss the latest draft resolution on Sudan.
U.N. MISSION SEEKS HUMANITARIAN
ACCESS IN DARFUR, SUDAN
The
Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, on
Wednesday visited the African Union Cease-fire Commission Headquarters in Al
Fasher in North ,
where he met with General Festus Okonkwo, the Commission chairman. They exchanged views
on the situation on the ground in Darfur, as well as means and ways to
enhance communications between the Commission and the 51勛圖.
泭
Today, the Deputy
Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs, Manuel Aranda da Silva, is
visiting Al Fasher to meet with the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) leaders. The discussions today
will focus on granting security arrangements for humanitarian access to the
areas under SLA control, similar to the ones in effect with the Sudanese
Government.
泭
Meanwhile, the UN
mission continues to receive reports on acts of banditry attributed to
unknown armed individuals, particularly in North and South Darfur, including
attacks on passenger buses and humanitarian agency vehicles, and looting.
泭
Jan Pronk has
indicated that since the political talks on Darfur taking place in
Abuja, Nigeria, are to be adjourned, there are more
reasons to be concerned, because there will be no venue to discuss such
security problems.
泭
The rebel movements,
particularly the
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM),
泭indicated Wednesday to the African Union
(AU) mediation
that they needed more time to reflect on AU Chairman President Olusegun
Obasanjo's request to the parties to the Abuja Talks to sign the
humanitarian protocol on which they agreed.
泭
Meanwhile, on the
North-South peace process, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) are
expected to resume their talks in October in Kenya.
Asked whether his
Wednesday interview with the BBC was the first time the Secretary-General
has called the war in
illegal, the Spokesman said he has repeatedly said that war was not
in conformity with the .
One of the purposes of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and
Change was to look at the issue of preventive war and to see how it could be
employed in conformity with the Charter, which does not allow pre-emptive
attacks, he said.
泭
On March 10, 2003,
the Secretary-General said at a in The Hague, If the U.S. and others were to go outside the
Council and take military action it would not be in conformity with the
唬堯硃娶喧梗娶.
泭
On April 2, 2003, he
was asked by Al-Jazeera, Therefore, because you are saying that the
Council did not endorse this war, would you condemn it? The
Secretary-General ,
And that is why the legitimacy of this action has been questioned, and
widely questioned, and I myself have raised questions about it. I have
raised questions about the legitimacy and whether it was in conformity with
the 唬堯硃娶喧梗娶.
泭
On March 8, 2004, the
Secretary-General had a meeting with Arab journalists and ,
I myself indicated that a war would not be in conformity with the Charter
and the credibility of any such action would be widely questioned and the
legitimacy would be widely questioned. And this is what has happened.
泭
The conformity with
the Charter language has been his consistent position. The Spokesman said
that the BBC interview shows that the Secretary-General was quite reluctant
to use the word illegal, but after repeated pressure from the
interviewer about whether the war was illegal, he said, Yes, I have
indicated it is not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of
view, and from the Charter point of view, it was illegal.
泭
This position has
been his consistent one for more than a year, the Spokesman said, and has
been well known to Member States. We see nothing new in it, he said.
泭
Asked whether the
Secretary-General intended to highlight the issue of legality at the
upcoming , the
Spokesman said he did not think so. Since the war, he has emphasized the
need for the Security Council and UN Member States to come together,
stressing that the restoration of Iraqs stability is in everyones
interest. He has tried to look forward, not back.
泭
However, the
principles of the UN Charter need to be addressed in a serious way, which is
why he has asked the High-Level Panel to look at the issue. The Panel will
report by the end of this year, and the Secretary-General will put its
recommendations to the General Assembly next year.
泭
Asked whether the
elections in Iraq would be postponed, the Spokesman noted that the
Secretary-General said as recently as Wednesday that the decision on the
elections in Iraq is to be made by the Independent Iraqi Electoral
Commission.
The Spokesman noted
that 15 UN international staff had remained in the city of Herat, in Western
,
even after last weekends violent demonstration, when other staff was
temporarily relocated from the city.
泭
Staff have been
returning to Herat, with 25 international staff there yesterday. Another 18
national and international staff flew back today. They continue to be
supported by hundreds of UN Afghan staff who work and live in the city.
泭
The UN Refugee Agency
()
resumed its voluntary repatriation convoys in Herat yesterday, following a
three-day suspension of activity. The decision to restart the convoys coming
in from Iran was made after UNHCR received firm assurances from the new
Governor of the province, as well as from central Government officials, that
the convoys could cross safely.
EMERGENCY SUPPLIES SENT
TO HURRICANE IVAN VICTIMS
The UN Disaster
Assessment and Coordination team that went to Grenada has carried out two
missions on the island, following the damage caused by . They said that
approximately 90 percent of the houses on the island have been damaged or
destroyed by the hurricane, and consequently tents, building materials and
tools are urgently needed. The teams found that
there is no power supply at all in northern Grenada, and crops have been
badly damaged there. Lack of food continues to be a serious problem in the
parish of St. Andrews.
泭
Meanwhile, the UN
Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has sent water containers, oral rehydration salts and
health kits to ,
as it seeks to recover from the hurricane.
泭
Also, the UN country
team in Cuba continues to exchange data with the national authorities, and
field assessment missions to two areas in western Cuba are being scheduled.
The UN Childrens
Fund ()
representative in Russia, Carel de Rooy, said the next priority for the
children of Beslan must be to restore their faith in schooling.
泭
He said, after
meeting with children who had been hospitalized following the hostage-taking
in the school in Beslan last week, that most of the children he had spoken
to do not want to return to school. For these children, he said,
their own school has become a place of terror.
泭
UNICEF plans to help
the children by supporting their psychological rehabilitation, and it is
also trying to make the other seven schools in Beslan more comfortable and
attractive to children, so that they can take in the students affected by
the hostage taking.
In a
to mark the , the Secretary-General notes
that, 17 years after the signing of the Montreal Protocol, more than 90
percent of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out. While
congratulating the parties to the protocol for this remarkable success, he
asks them to overcome some of the remaining challenges in this area.
泭
In a separate
message, Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the 51勛圖 Environment
Programme (), says that scientists
estimate that, by the middle of the century and as a result of the
phasing-out of numerous ozone-damaging chemicals, the ozone layer will be
repaired. But, Toepfer adds, this is far from guaranteed.
泭
UNEP is now asking
countries to assess the quantities of methyl bromide, an ozone-damaging
chemical, being used to kill pests on shipments of rice, maize, nuts and
other big commodity export crops.
SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS
ON SIERRA LEONE: The
is holding consultations today on the . Daudi泭 Mwakawago,
Special Representative for Sierra Leone, briefed on the on the Mission.
ANNAN TO LAY WREATH
FOR HAMMARSKJLD: On Friday morning at 10:00, the Secretary-General will
lay a wreath outside the Meditation Room in the Visitors Lobby, to mark the 43rd
anniversary of the death of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskj繹ld and his
companions.
EUROPE MUST DEAL WITH
AIDS, AGENCIES WARN: and the today urged European Governments to adopt integrated HIV
prevention and treatment programs, at a time when more than 1.8 million people
are living with HIV in Europe and Central Asia.
ROTTERDAM CONVENTION
TO DEBUT NEXT WEEK: Ministers and officials from more than 100 countries
will mark the debut of the ,
dealing with hazardous chemicals and pesticides, at a high-level conference that
begins in Geneva on September 20.
LIBERIA FILM TO BE
SHOWN: The Department of Peace Keeping Operations is showing at 6:00 p.m. a
film, "Liberia: An Uncivil War," at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium,
and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for
Jacques Klein and the filmmaker will answer questions afterward.
* The guest at
todays briefing was Stephen Lewis, the Secretary-Generals Special
Representative for HIV/AIDS in Africa, who discussed his recent missions to
Uganda and Lesotho.
泭Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General
51勛圖, 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
泭
