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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
SECURITY
COUNCIL URGED TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT
The Security Council is holding an
.
泭
, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children
and Armed Conflict, briefed on the Secretary-Generals latest
on the subject and outlined measures to take for the protection of
children.
泭
He concluded his remarks by reciting from a Bob Marley
song: Hear the children cryin.
泭
The children are waiting, Otunnu told the participants in
the Security Council meeting. They are waiting for the redemption Songs from
this Council. I know you will not let them down, he said.
泭
The meeting is being chaired by the Foreign Minister of
Benin, Rogatien Biaou, in his capacity as the
for the month of February.
泭
A presidential statement is
expected at the end of the meeting.
泭U.N. POLITICAL CHIEF CALLS ON ISRAEL AND
PALESTINE
泭TO KEEP MOVING TOWARDS PEACE DURING YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY
Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran
Prendergast,
Tuesday afternoon to the Security Council the periodic briefing
on the situation in the
.
泭
He applauded Israeli and Palestinian leaders for their
recent actions to revive the Middle East peace process, urging both sides to
seize on this year of opportunity for peace.
泭
He noted that since the recent summit at Sharm el Sheikh,
both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders had taken action to keep up the
momentum. This includes, on the Palestinian side, the restructuring by
President Mahmoud Abbas of the security services and the deployment of more
than 1,000 security officers throughout Gaza. On the Israeli side, Prendergast
cited the release of more than 500 Palestinian prisoners and the decision to
halt punitive demolitions of houses.泭
泭
He called on the international community to provide
political and financial support to the process.
泭
Prendergast added that even as hopes are rekindled on the
Israeli/Palestinian front, people around the Middle East were angered and
outraged by the cold-blooded terror attack in Lebanon that took the life of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others.
泭
Afterwards, Council members met in closed consultations
to continue their discussion on the Middle East.
泭
During those consultations, France introduced a draft
resolution on
. 泭
泭U.N. ENVOY DISCUSSES POLITICAL
DEVELOPMENTS WITH IRAQI LEADERS
The Secretary Generals Special Representative in
,
, met today with Interim Vice President Ibrahim Jafari.
Jafari has been nominated for the post of Transitional Prime Minister by the
United Iraqi Coalition, which won the majority of seats in the Transitional
Assembly.
泭
The talks focused on political developments in Iraq ahead
of the convening of the Transitional National Assembly and the role the UN
will play in supporting the political process in the post elections process.
泭
Qazi held similar talks with representatives of the
Kurdish list that won over 75 seats in the elections. In talks with the group,
which included Interim Vice President Rouch Nouri Shaways, Interim Deputy
Prime Minister Barham Saleh and Interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zubari, Qazi
also stressed that the UN stands ready to support the Iraqis in the
constitution making process if asked by the Iraqi authorities, as stipulated
by Security Council
(2004).
泭U.N. MISSION IN SUDAN REPORTS OF
DETAINED RELIEF WORKERS IN DARFUR
The UN Advance Mission in
continues to receive reports of insecurity in Darfur, including the
detention of relief workers.
泭
Seven Sudanese staff members of one relief group were
detained for 24 hours following food distribution Monday in West Darfur,
before being released with assistance from the African Union.
泭
Meanwhile, over the weekend, two international and two
Sudanese members of one non-governmental organization were detained by SLA
rebels over the weekend, but have since been released.
泭
The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan,
, ended his visit to Rumbek, in southern Sudan, yesterday. He is
now in Germany, where he is to meet with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and
other senior officials.
泭IRAN: UNITED NATIONS SENDS STAFF TO
EARTHQUAKE-HIT AREAS
The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
and the World Health Organization (WHO) have
staff to areas affected by the earthquake that hit Zarand, in
Irans Kerman province.泭
泭
A WHO field team is currently
visiting Zarand, while technical staff are providing support for disease
surveillance teams.
泭
The UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has been informed that weather conditions
in the region are difficult, as there is heavy snowfall, resulting in a number
of road blockades.
泭KOSOVO: LATEST REPORT NOTES TANGIBLE
捩賊倏勞賊楚釦釦
BUT SAYS STANDARDS HAVE YET TO BET MET
The Secretary-Generals latest
on Kosovo notes that, although tangible progress has been made,
none of the eight standards, which were laid out for Kosovo by the
international community, has been completely met.
泭
Praising democratic structures and growing political
maturity in Kosovo, the report also says that the security situation has
remained stable since last June.
泭
At the same time, however, it notes that Kosovo Serbs
still consider themselves at risk, and that members of the majority community
need to better engage them.
泭
The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for
Kosovo,
, is presently in New York, and will brief the
Security Council on the report tomorrow morning.
泭TIMOR-LESTE: INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT WILL
STILL BE NEEDED
AFTER U.N. MANDATE EXPIRES
Although Timor-Leste has made progress in recent years in
establishing state institutions, international assistance will be crucial for
the countrys long-term security and stability, after the mandate of the
(UNMISET) expires on May 20, the
Secretary-General says.
泭
In a
to the Security Council, he says the Timorese authorities will
continue to require assistance for border management and control; the
development of a professional police service and of critical institutions; and
the observance of democratic governance and human rights.
泭
Following analysis by transition working groups, the
Secretary-General recommends therefore that a scaled-down UN Mission be
maintained for a 12-month period, until May 20, 2006.
泭
That Mission would include 35 military liaison officers,
down from 42 at present, and 40 police officers, down from the current 157.
The number of civilian advisers would also be reduced, from 58 now to 45,
while the Mission would have ten human rights officers, down from the current
14.
泭
As the Secretary-General writes, it is critical to
support Timorese institution-building efforts, to protect the gains made until
now.
ANNAN SUPPORTS
TOUGHER INSPECTION STANDARDS TO VERIFY
COMPLIANCE WITH NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
The Secretary-General will meet with his
this afternoon, and he will tell
them that the
faces serious challenges to its
credibility.
泭
The Treaty, which is marking its 35th year,
will be reviewed in a
this May. The Secretary-General says he will urge states to
agree soon on an agenda for that conference.
泭
He is to tell the Advisory Board to give serious
consideration to a proposal to raise the bar for inspection standards, by
establishing an additional protocol as the norm for verifying compliance with
the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
泭DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES U.N.
REFORM WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS
Deputy Secretary-General
is in Strasbourg, France, today, where she is scheduled
to address the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. Her
speech will discuss UN reform.
泭
This evening, the Deputy Secretary-General will meet with
the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell Font矇lles.
泭
She also attended a working
lunch hosted by Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice-President of the European
Parliament with the chairs of political groups in the parliament.
Fr矇chette also met with Luisa Morgantini, the Chair of the Development
Committee, and Elmar Brok, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.泭
泭
The main subjects have been UN
reform, the recommendations of the , the Secretary-General' s March Report and the
,
progress towards the and relief coordination in humanitarian emergencies.
泭
The Deputy Secretary-General
also had discussions with Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for Environment.泭
Environmental issues, climate change and water were among the key topics
discussed.
泭UNITED NATIONS WARNS THAT BIRD FLU COULD
SPREAD TO HUMANS
The World Health Organization (WHO) today repeated its
warning that bird flu continues to pose a serious risk to humans. The agency
is also concerned by the risk that the virus will mutate into a form that can
be transmitted from person to person, thus igniting a global flu pandemic.
泭
The warning came at a regional meeting on bird flu, which
opened today in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
泭
Also present at the meeting was a representative from the
Food and Agriculture Organization, who
the international community to help Asian countries tackle the
virus.
泭
For its part, WHO is coordinating the preparation of flu
vaccines, assisting with disease surveillance efforts, and helping countries
to produce pandemic preparedness plans.
U.N. HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICIAL TO REVIEW
STAFF COUNCILS INFORMATION ON DILEEP NAIR
Asked about the
timetable by which the 51勛圖 would review information provided by the
UN Staff Council about the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight
Services,
, the Spokesman said that Assistant Secretary-General for Human
Resources Management Rosemary McCreery was to meet with a representative of
the Staff Council this week.
泭
The Spokesman said that the
Staff Council had presented information concerning charges made against Nair,
which all involved administrative matters.
泭
He noted that the
Secretary-General had told the Staff Council that if they submitted such
information in writing, McCreery would meet with a Staff Council
representative to review it, after which it could be presented to Chief of
Staff Mark Malloch Brown. The Spokesman added that we dont expect to drag
this out.
OTHER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
REPORT PROPOSES BAN ON THIN PLASTIC BAGS IN KENYA:
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today welcomed a Kenyan report that would
ultra-thin plastic bags in Kenya and slap a hefty levy on thicker ones.
According to the report, funded in part by UNEP, the bags block gutters and
drains, choke farm animals and marine wildlife, and can fill with rainwater,
offering ideal breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
PHILIPPINES TO HELP IMPROVE FOOD ACCESS IN PACIFIC
ISLANDS: The Philippines will send 28 experts and technicians to six Pacific
Island countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
. The initiative is part of FAO's South-South Cooperation Programme,
which aims to strengthen cooperation among developing countries, to improve
agricultural productivity and ensure better access to food.
*** Todays guest was Martina Clark, a human resources
officer from UNICEFs HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Division. She spoke about HIV
infection rates among UN staff.
泭泭泭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
