HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE
DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Friday, September 30, 2005
KOFI ANNAN
APPALLED BY LATEST BOMBINGS IN IRAQ
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is extremely concerned about
the heightened violence in
, which is overwhelmingly aimed against the civilian population. He is
appalled by the latest series of bombings yesterday in Balad that killed more
than 90 people and wounded many more, including many women and children, and
another serious attack today in Hilla.
He strongly condemns these attacks, which appear to have
been coordinated so as to kill and injure as many innocent civilians as
possible. No cause can justify such acts of terror. The Secretary-General
conveys his deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.
The Secretary-General believes
that those who refuse to participate in the political process should not, by
acts of intimidation and violence, deprive others of their right to do so.
He once again urges
Iraqis of all persuasions not to be deterred by such violence and to express
themselves peacefully through the democratic process, starting with the
forthcoming national referendum on the draft permanent constitution.
The United Nations remains committed to working with all
Iraqi communities and political entities in supporting the peaceful political
transition of their country.
SUDAN: ANNAN CONDEMNS ATTACKS IN DARFUR
The Secretary-General is alarmed at the recent escalation
in violence in Darfur.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attacks on
civilians, humanitarian workers and assets, and the African Union Mission in
, and deplores the many casualties. He is concerned about the
additional suffering and displacement these attacks have caused to the
civilian populations.
The Secretary-General is particularly appalled by the 28
September attack on a displaced persons camp in West Darfur, during which 34
people are reported to have been killed.
The Secretary-General emphasizes the need to immediately
halt the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint to
avoid any further escalation. In the meantime, the parties must apply
themselves fully at the six round of the Abuja talks to bring an end to the
suffering of the people of Darfur.
The Secretary-General calls upon the Government of Sudan
to protect its civilians and to continue its efforts in bringing stability and
fostering national reconciliation in the country.
DEATH TOLL
RISES IN DARFUR CAMP ATTACK
The death toll from an assault on a camp and nearby
villages in the West Darfur region of Sudan
to 34, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said on Friday after a team it sent to the Aro Sharow camp learned
more details about Wednesday’s attack by a large group of armed men riding
horses and camels.
The UNHCR team reported Friday that many of the 4,000 to
5,000 residents of the camp had returned from nearby mountains and the
surrounding countryside, where they initially fled when the horsemen swooped
into the camp, killing residents and burning down their makeshift shelters.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative
for Sudan,
, has condemned the attack and called on the Sudanese Government
and local authorities in Darfur to exert all efforts to protect the camps for
displaced persons in close cooperation with the African Union Mission in
Darfur.
Asked for further information
on who perpetrated the attack, the Spokesman noted that UNHCR and the African
Union had people on the ground who would look into it.
COTE D’IVOIRE: U.N. MISSION CAUTIONS
AGAINST
FORCIBLY MOVING INTERNAL REFUGEES
The
has warned that any attempt to remove some
2,700 internally displaced persons from a Catholic mission there would be a
violation of human rights.
The UN unit was reacting to a published report that the
local defense forces would forcibly evacuate a Catholic refugee center in the
western city of Duekoue tomorrow.
The UN mission called on the national authorities to help
protect the internal refugees.
Jan Egeland,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator,
“the United Nations is deeply troubled by this flagrant display of
lack of respect for humanitarian principles and for the people under our
humanitarian protection.”
SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF
MISSION IN D.R. CONGO
The Security Council today held two formal meetings.
In the first one, the Council
the mandate of the
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by one month, until the
end of October.
Then, the Council
a technical adjustment in the term of one of the judges for the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ().
Today is the last day of the Philippine Presidency of the
Security Council. Romania will take over the Presidency of the Council for
October.
SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT NEEDS $25
MILLION
Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette this morning
urged countries to give generously at a pledging conference for the
. By doing so, she said, States will make
clear that those who commit heinous crimes against international law, wherever
they may be, must be held accountable.
The Court’s Registrar, Robin Vincent, estimates that $25
million will be needed to finance the Court’s activities next year, when the
Court’s funding will come from voluntary contributions.
UZBEKISTAN: HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF FAVORS
SENDING
OBSERVER TO ANDIJAN TRIALS
High Commissioner for
Louise Arbour has written to the Uzbek Government proposing
to send an observer to the ongoing and future trials of persons accused of
crimes committed in connection with the events in Andijan in mid-May.
The purpose of the observer
mission is to establish whether they are conducted in compliance with
international fair trial guarantees.
In order for the observer
mission to work effectively, it was necessary that it be granted unhindered
and unrestricted access to places of detention, registers, including protocols
and medical examination certificates, and all interrogations of detainees.
FOOD AGENCY CONCERNED BY SITUATIONS IN
MALAWI & COLOMBIA
The World Food Programme (WFP) today
that at least five million people in Malawi may require
international assistance, as maize prices and malnutrition rates continue to
rise sharply.
The agency reports that hundreds of unregistered people
are turning up at its food distribution points in southern Malawi, trying to
get rations. Many say they are only eating one meal or less per day and that
they are resorting to eating water lily bulbs, which have little nutritional
value and are dangerous to harvest.
In other news, WFP has
on donors to provide $1 million for immediate food assistance for
more than 6,000 Colombian refugees and asylum seekers in Ecuador.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
INDIAN & PAKISTANI CRICKET TEAMS NAMED AS PEACE ENVOYS:
Adolf Ogi, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on
Sport for Development and ̽ѡ, has appointed the national cricket teams of
India and Pakistan as Spokespersons for the
, in recognition of
their efforts to use sport as a vehicle of peace.
INFORMATION SOCIETY MEETING WRAPS UP TODAY:
The third meeting of the Preparatory Committee on the
is scheduled to close today in
Geneva, with the last plenary meeting starting at 6:00 p.m. and going into
midnight. Delegates today were considering setting up an open-ended working
group that will meet in October in Geneva.
REFUGEE AGENCY MONITORS UNREST IN CENTRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
is concerned about continuing unrest in northern areas
of the Central African Republic, including a Tuesday attack on a town by an
unidentified armed group. The refugee agency has received reports that between
1,000 and 3,000 residents of the town, which is about 50 kms from the Chad
border, may have fled and could be headed north toward the Chad border. A UNHCR
team has been deployed to the border to check if there are any new influxes.
ANNAN FOLLOWING UP ON U.N.
REFORMS: Asked about the
Secretary-General’s actions to follow up on the reforms outlined in the
’s outcome document, the Spokesman said that the
Secretary-General and his management team were working to implement the
management aspects of that document. Currently, he said, an ethics office had
been approved and work is on-going on strengthening integrity, staff buyout,
examining mandates older than five years and overhauling rules and policies on
budget and human resources, to mention just a few.
***Robin Vincent, the Registrar for the Special Court
for Sierra Leone, and the Court’s Prosecutor, Desmond da Silva, were the guests
at today’s noon briefing.
THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS
Monday, October 3
The guest at the noon briefing will be the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Sierra Leone, Daudi Ngelautwa
Mwakawago.
Tuesday, October 4
The new President of the Security Council, Romanian
Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc, will brief the press on the Council’s programme of
work for the month.
Johan Scholvinck from the Department of Economic and Social
Affairs will also brief the press, on the World Youth Report 2005.
Wednesday, October 5
At 11:00 a.m. there will be a press conference on the
Global Commission on International Migration.
Thursday, October 6
Friday, October 7
Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom
will brief on the UN’s humanitarian appeal for Nepal.
Office
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