HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Monday, February 7, 2005
ANNAN TO MEET
BLAIR AND SCHROEDER DURING TRIP TO EUROPE
Kofi Annan is scheduled to leave tomorrow for London,
where on Thursday he will meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair and other senior
government officials.
The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister will then
attend an event at which the Secretary-General will make a major speech on his
2005 agenda for both development and security.
He will then travel to Munich, Germany, where he will
attend an annual security conference and deliver a speech on “A More Secure
World: The Role of the United Nations.”
In Munich, the Secretary-General will also hold meetings
with German officials, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, as well as with
other European leaders.
The Secretary-General will return to New York on Sunday.
Asked about the
ٲ-ұԱ’s speech in London, the Spokesman noted that the
Secretary-General has recently received major reports on security matters, in
the case of the
last December, and on development, as with the
report by Jeffrey Sachs and the Millennium Project on the
The Secretary-General, he added, would
issue his own report on those issues in March, with the London speech serving
as a preview of that report.
Asked about the Munich
Conference, the Spokesman said it would be a more in-depth discussion on
security issues, as part of the 41st Munich Conference on Security Policy.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would meet on the Quartet for the Middle East while he is in
London, the Spokesman said that, as of now, the Quartet is not on the agenda,
although the Middle East could come up in bilateral discussions.
ANNAN EXPRESSES
SORROW OVER DEATH OF TOGO’S PRESIDENT
In a
issued Saturday, the
expressed his deep sorrow upon learning of the sudden
death of President Gnassingbe Eyadema of the Republic of Togo.
President Eyadema played a central role in the governance
of his country for almost forty years, the statement said. During that period,
he also made a significant contribution to the peaceful settlement of disputes
in Africa in general and in West Africa in particular.
The Secretary-General extended his sincere condolences to
the bereaved family and to the Government and people of Togo.
In that statement, the Secretary-General said he trusts
that the Togolese authorities will take all necessary measures to preserve
stability in the country and ensure a peaceful transfer of power consistent
with the constitution and the rule of law.
The UN flag at UN Headquarters
were flown at half-mast today in observance of the official mourning of
President Eyadema.
ANNAN CONCERNED OVER TRANSFER OF POWER
IN TOGO
In a
issued today following the
swearing-in of Faure Gnassingbe as the new president of Togo, the
expressed his concern that the transfer of power that
has taken place in Togo following the death of President Eyadema has not been
done in full respect of the provisions of the Constitution.
The Secretary-General reemphasizes the need for
constitutionality and respect for the rule of law.
UNITED NATIONS SUSPENDS TWO STAFF
MEMBERS
FOLLOWING OIL-FOR-FOOD REPORT
Based on the information contained the interim
of the
, the United Nations has initiated
procedures against the two staff named in the report, Benon Sevan and Joseph
Stephanides.
Both are expected to receive by Wednesday official
letters which outline the internal charges against them. They then have two
weeks to respond, at which time the administration will take its final
decision on appropriate sanction.
This is only the beginning of a disciplinary procedure,
respectful of due process.
Asked about the suspensions
with pay, the Spokesman said that was the standard way of proceeding when
there is a disciplinary action proceeding. He said the two were informed last
Friday that they had been suspended with pay.
Asked about the lifting of
immunity, the Spokesman said that no action has been taken on immunity.
Neither individual has had criminal charges laid at their doorstep by the
Volcker committee, although, Eckhard noted, Volcker has said that the
investigation of Sevan is continuing.
What is involved now, the
Spokesman said, does not involve a prosecutable offense, but concerns the
breaking of UN rules and regulations. The question of immunity would arise if
there were an indictment by a national authority, Eckhard said, adding, “We’re
not there yet.”
Asked what the suspensions
entail, the Spokesman said the two should not come onto UN premises, unless it
is in connection with preparing their defense, which they should deliver in
writing within 14 days. Sevan’s files, he added in response to another
question, had already all been given to Volcker.
Asked what further punishments
the two could face, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General has the
option to summarily dismiss them, to put a note in their file or to find them
not guilty.
The Secretary-General, he
added, could also refer the matter to the Joint Disciplinary Committee, which
can make a recommendation to the Secretary-General, involving a range of
options from closing the case to dismissing the staff members.
Asked how meaningful those
steps are, given that Sevan is retired, the Spokesman noted that Sevan is
technically still a staff member, and the process allows him to defend himself
against the charges.
Asked whether pensions could be
affected by the disciplinary measures, the Spokesman said that they were
separate and could not be touched.
He noted that the staff members
had the option, down the line, to appeal their case to the UN’s Joint Appeals
Board and then to the UN Administrative Tribunal, whose decisions are binding.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General should recuse himself from dealing with their case given the
ongoing investigation, the Spokesman said he did not think that anything that
Volcker has come up with to date reflects negatively on the Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General, he added, is the chief UN administrative officer and is
following due process in dealing with the staff members.
Asked whether Volcker had
obtained full access to Kofi Annan’s e-mails and documents, the Spokesman said
that he had.
Asked about the
ٲ-ұԱ’s letter last week to UN staff, the Spokesman said it was
intended to assure staff that the findings in the Volcker report would be
acted upon promptly.
Asked about criticisms of the
UN management of the oil-for-food program made by Iraq’s UN Ambassador, the
Spokesman said that it was for Volcker to decide how the so-called "2.2"
administrative cost account
had been managed. He added that Volcker was expected to look at the role of
member states, including Security Council members, in the administration of
the program.
Asked who was replacing
Stephanides in his post, the Spokesman later said that Linda Perkin,
Stephanides' deputy, was now acting Director of the Security Council Affairs
Branch.
UNITED NATIONS REPAIRING SCHOOLS IN IRAQ
The
is continuing to rehabilitate schools
throughout
, with the
currently carrying out comprehensive rehabilitation of
84 schools. It is also repairing water and sanitation facilities in 20
schools.
Meanwhile, the
trained seven mine action advisers in Amman,
Jordan, last month, who are being deployed in Iraq.
Over the weekend, the ٲ-ұԱ’s Special
Representative for Iraq,
, met with Sheikh Hareth al-Dhari, head of the Association of
Muslim Scholars, and told him that the United Nations is exploring means to
encourage a broad-based national dialogue among all Iraqis.
Qazi also met on Saturday with the Interim Iraqi Minister
of Planning, Mahdi Hafeth, for similar talks on the political environment in
the country. |
Asked about UN efforts to
“placate” Sunni elements in Iraq, the Spokesman said that Qazi was actively
trying to bring in as many elements of Iraqi society under the tent for the
writing of the Constitution. He noted that the Secretary-General had said that
even those who did not participate in the elections should join that process.
Qazi, Eckhard said, has
received indications from some political elements that had stayed outside the
process that they want to be involved in writing the Constitution, and Qazi is
looking to facilitate that.
ANNAN LOOKS FORWARD TO EARLY
IMPLEMENTATION
OF DISENGAGEMENT PLAN IN PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The
said this morning that the coming year is an important
one for the cause of peace in the
, which began auspiciously with the successful holding of the
Palestinian presidential elections.
Speaking to the opening session of the
,
the Secretary-General said that the meeting, scheduled for tomorrow in Sharm
el-Sheikh, Egypt, between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders is “a welcome
Ծپپ.”
He said he was sure that Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas would move swiftly to act on his commitments to restructure the
Palestinian security forces, strengthen Palestinian institutions and carry
forward democratic reform.
The Secretary-General also looks forward to the early
implementation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan, in
coordination with the Palestinian leadership.
NO U.N.
OFFICIAL TO ATTEND MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT AT SHARM EL SHEIKH
There will be no UN representative at the summit in Sharm
el Shaikh.
The Sharm el Sheikh summit is an Egyptian initiative.
There will be Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as Jordanians, but no
member of the Quartet will be there.
, Under Secretary-General for
, is currently in London where he is attending a meeting
of the
envoys in preparation for a possible Quartet
meeting next month.
SECURITY
COUNCIL TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON SUDAN TOMORROW
There are no meetings or consultations of the
scheduled for today.
Tomorrow morning, a public
meeting on Sudan has been scheduled.
Invited and expected to attend
that meeting are Sudanese Vice President Osman Taha, John Garang, Chairman of
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, and African Union Representative Baba
Gana Kingibe.
The
, when about that meeting this morning, told reporters that he believed it
was important to have them all here to discuss not only the peace process but
the implementation of the process and the action they need to take on the
ground to make it hold.
Meanwhile, the
continues to report on insecurity in Darfur and the
warns of risks of a meningitis outbreak in
.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would enter UN Headquarters for the Sudan meeting before
traveling from New York, the Spokesman said he would do so.
U.N.
ENVOY MEETS LEBANESE AND SYRIAN OFFICIALS
, the ٲ-ұԱ’s Special Envoy for the
implementation of Security Council
is meeting with both Lebanese and Syrian officials for the
first time since assuming his new responsibilities.
Yesterday and today, he was in Damascus, where he met
with Foreign Minister Farouk al Shara and Deputy Foreign Minister Wald
Muallen.
He is now headed to Beirut, where he will meet with
senior officials including President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Omar Kamari
and the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
U.N. MISSION APPOINTS LIAISON OFFICER
TO COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING AFGHAN PLANE CRASH
The
over the weekend
its deepest sympathies following the crash of a Kam Air flight,
with 104 passengers on board, last Thursday.
The Mission welcomed the establishment of a Joint
Security Committee Center to investigate the crash; the Mission has a liaison
officer within that Committee.
Also, the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in
Afghanistan,
, gave a press conference on Saturday summarizing his
latest mission to the country, in which he expressed, among other things, his
concern that foreign forces in the country have arrested and detained, and
even mistreated prisoners, without any legal process.
ANNAN: STATES NEED A PRINCIPLED STRATEGY
AGAINST TERROR
The
, in a message, praised a counter-terrorism conference
that began in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday for sending out the message
that “terrorism is a threat to all civilized countries, and anathema to all
ڲٳ.”
In the message, he says that all States need a principled
strategy against terrorism that includes, but is much broader than, coercive
measures.
He added that, while all States have a duty to speak out
against terrorism, they also have a duty to hear the full range of voices
within the Islamic world, so that people can see that legitimate grievances
can be addressed through peaceful means.
ALMOST 500,000 TSUNAMI SURVIVORS RECEIVE
FOOD IN INDONESIA
The
(WFP) reports that, in Indonesia, close to 500,000
people have each received a one-month supply of food.
WFP also says it is rapidly increasing its logistical
capacity in Aceh province, with seven to 10 helicopters now at its disposal.
Meanwhile, a landing craft off the coast of Meulaboh has
begun to ferry food from a floating warehouse to a storage space on land, to
preposition supplies there.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
U.S. CONGRESSMAN
TO BRIEF ANNAN ON RECENT VISIT TO NORTH KOREA: Asked about the
meeting with U.S. Congressman
Curtis Weldon, the Spokesman said that Weldon had wanted to brief the
Secretary-General on his recent visit to North Korea.
U.N. ENVOY CONVEYS SUFFERING OF CHILDREN ORPHANED BY
AIDS:
, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, today reported
on a wrenching scene of HIV-positive children -- neglected and suffering -- in
a project in Lusaka, Zambia. He did so in remarks at a conference organized by
the
, or UNICEF, in Barcelona,
Spain, focusing on children orphaned by
. When it comes to the treatment of children living with AIDS, the
is a virtual dead letter, he says.
U.N. REFUGEE CHIEF CALLS FOR REGIONAL APPROACH IN WEST
AFRICA: The
,
, has
for a regional approach to disarmament in order to firmly stabilize
the situation in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, thereby
allowing refugees to return in safety and dignity. He made those remarks at the
end of a visit to West Africa.
U.N. OFFICIALS IN TALKS ON
SECURITY CONCERNS IN COTE D’IVOIRE:
The Acting Special Representative for
,
, and UN Force Commander General
traveled to Bouake to carry on discussions on security
concerns of Forces Nouvelles officials who are reluctant to return to cabinet
meetings without their own body guards.
UNICEF RENEWS CALLS FOR END TO FEMALE GENITAL
MUTILATION: The
, or UNICEF, has
its call on governments to move swiftly to stop the harmful
practice of
and cutting. Speaking on the eve of the
International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation, UNICEF
Executive Director
said that ending the practice is crucial to the success of two
of the Millennium Development Goals: improving maternal health and promoting
gender equality.
RECENT CASES OF “MAD COW
DISEASE” ARE ISOLATED INCIDENTS: The few
cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or 'mad cow disease' in cattle
in Canada and the United States should not cause panic among consumers and
producers, the
said in a
today. Nor should the single case of BSE recently confirmed in a
goat in France.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION TO REVIEW COMMITMENTS:
The
will meet, starting this Wednesday, to
the commitments made by world leaders at the World Summit for Social
Development, which took place in Copenhagen ten years ago.
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