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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

ÌýOF THE UNITED NATIONS

Ìý

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, October 22, 2004

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON VIOLENCE, DRIFT IN MIDDLE EAST



In an open briefing to the


Security Council,
Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast said that
since his last briefing "violence, not negotiation, continues to be the
all-too-frequent mode of communication in the

Middle East."

He noted a palpable sense of drift and foreboding, and added that neither
side has fulfilled its obligations under the road map.

He highlighted the major Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, which
resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinians, including numerous
civilians. He also underscored the fact that the terror attacks in Taba
Egypt, were an attack on a place that had been known as haven of coexistence
and peace.

He told Council members that the United Nations remains gravely concerned
at the extensive destruction of civilian property by the Israeli army,
adding that movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians continue to erode
the humanitarian situation. He also expressed renewed concern at the
continuous, illegal Israeli policy of targeted assassination.

Prendergast also called on the Palestinian Authority to do everything
possible to quell the terror emanating from territory under its control; and
to pursue a determined course of reform, including the appointment of an
empowered Prime Minister.

He reminded Council members that the planned Israeli pullout from Gaza
and the northern West Bank must be full and complete, and be carried out in
the context of the


Road Map
. Israel and the Palestinian
Authority must coordinate the implementation of the pullout.

In conclusion, Prendergast said that the time had come for renewed
commitment and effort. He said that the international community’s more
vigorous engagement is an indispensable ingredient if we want end the
violence and restore hope for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, as
the parties cannot succeed left to themselves.

Council members continued their discussions in closed consultations.



SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES GUINEA-BISSAU, VOTES ON CYPRUS


After the consultations on the


Middle East
ended,
Security
Council
members held consultations
on Guinea-Bissau. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Tuliameni Kalomoh briefed the Council on the situation in that country.

After consultations ended, the Security Council held a formal meeting in
which it voted to adopt a resolution extending the mandate of the


UN peacekeeping force in
Cyprus
.



UN: SOME TWO MILLION PEOPLE IN CRITICAL NEED IN DARFUR, SUDAN


The number of people in Darfur,


Sudan,
who are now in critical need of relief has risen by nearly ten percent in
the past month, according to a new report from the UN

Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs
. This
increase means that two million of Darfur’s six million people are now
affected by the crisis.

Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said, "Though we are steadily
increasing the amount of aid we deliver to Darfur, we are constantly running
to catch up with growing needs." He noted that the number of humanitarian
personnel in Darfur has tripled, to more than 6,000, since July.

Of the two million people in Darfur affected by the crisis, some 1.6
million are internally displaced persons. The number does not include an
additional 200,000 Darfuri refugees in Chad.



UN VOICES DOUBTS ABOUT SUPPORT FOR IRAQI TRIBUNAL


Asked about the refusal of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to allow UN
support for an

Iraqi
tribunal, the Spokesman said that, earlier this month, the United Nations
sent a letter to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (
ICTY)
concerning a request to authorize Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte’s attendance at
a training conference for the judges and prosecutors of the Iraqi Special
Tribunal.

The Spokesman said that the United Nations informed the ICTY that
accepting such invitations would divert Tribunal officials from performing
their duties at the Tribunal, at a time when it is expected to do its utmost
to meet the target dates for its completion strategy, as stressed by the
Security Council and the General Assembly.

From a legal point of view, the United Nations added, it is doubtful
whether UN officials should be involved in the establishment of a tribunal
that is not a UN body. In this case, there is no specific mandate for this
from a competent political organ, the Spokesman said.

In addition, the United Nations noted that serious doubts exist regarding
the capability of the Iraqi Special Tribunal to meet relevant international
standards.

The Secretary-General recently stated that UN officials should not be
directly involved in lending assistance to any court or tribunal that is
empowered to impose the death penalty, the Spokesman added.

Asked why this approach differs from UN support for mixed courts in

Sierra Leone
and Cambodia, the Spokesman noted that the mixed courts had mandates from
the Security Council and General Assembly.

Asked about


Afghanistan
, the Spokesman said he
was not aware of UN involvement in any tribunal for that country.



SPOKESMAN SAYS ELECTIONS TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE IN IRAQ


Asked whether elections in


Iraq
would be postponed, the Spokesman said that the United Nations believes that
it is possible, from a technical standpoint, to hold elections. He said that
the United Nations is providing technical assistance for the elections, but
that it is ultimately the decision of the Iraqi authorities to go ahead with
the elections.

Asked whether the United Nations was ready to send in more electoral
workers, he said that the present ceiling of UN international personnel in
Iraq, set at 35, was unchanged. He added that there were some eight UN
electoral workers in the country, but that number did not reflect the much
larger number of electoral staff doing out-of-country work.



ANNAN SAYS WESTERN SAHARA PARTIES NO CLOSER TO AGREEMENT


The Secretary-General’s


report
on the
UN Mission in
the Western Sahara
says that the
parties are no closer to agreement on the ¹ú²úAV Plan for the
Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara than they were when he
last reported in April. Moreover, he adds, there is currently no agreement
on what can be done to overcome the existing deadlock.

The Secretary-General also expresses concern regarding the recent
escalation of public rhetoric emanating from the parties and the region, and
he urges them to exercise the utmost restraint.

Regarding the Security Council’s call for the United Nations to review
its military strength in Western Sahara, the Secretary-General recommends
either the maintenance of the status quo or the withdrawal of no more than
37 military observers from the Mission.



UN ENVOY TO HAITI SHOWS SUPPORT FOR DEMOBILIZATION EFFORTS


The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for


Haiti,
Juan Gabriel Valdés, is traveling to the northern coastal city of Cap
Haitien today, where he will hold meetings with the Mayor, the Government
delegate and the Archbishop, among other local authorities.

Valdes will also show support for the Government’s office to support
demobilized military, which started its work on Thursday. There are a
number of former members of the Haitian army that are still operating in the
Cap Haitien area.



UNICEF SAYS SCHOOLS HAVE REOPENED IN GRENADA


Thousands of children have begun returning to school in Grenada just one
month after Hurricane Ivan battered the island.

The UN Children’s Fund (

UNICEF)
says that the schools have reopened thanks to the clean up efforts of school
administrators, teachers, government officials and children, as well as help
from several neighboring governments.

Children are resuming schooling in classrooms whose roofs have been
temporarily sealed with plastic sheeting provided by the US government, and
a shipment of 74 UNICEF-provided tent classrooms will provide more classroom
space when it arrives next week.

Nearly 30,000 children were affected when Hurricane Ivan struck in
September, with many of the island’s schools either severely damaged or used
as shelters for the homeless.



UNEP WELCOMES RUSSIAN RATIFICATION OF KYOTO PROTOCOL




Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the


UN Environment Programme,
has welcomed the Russian Duma’s decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

In a statement released today, he also said that while the US has
declined to ratify the treaty, dialogue on the issue must be kept open so
that hopefully it can eventually be won over.



OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNEP CITES RESOURCE PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN CAUCASUS: A new


report
co-authored by the
UN
Environment Programme

finds
that environmental degradation and access to natural resources could deepen
contention in areas of existing conflicts in the Southern Caucasus. The report
also says that the militarized situation in the region is holding back economic
growth because it hampers waste management and disposal, and the maintenance of
irrigation and hydroelectric dams.

ANNAN WELCOMES COOPERATION AMONG ASIAN STATES: The Secretary-General, in
a

message,
welcomed the meeting today in Kazakhstan of the foreign ministers of the
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building in Asia. He noted that the
geopolitical and security situation in Asia and the world is changing rapidly,
as we face challenges like terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, drug
trafficking and regional conflict.

WFP WELCOMES SOUTH KOREA DONATION: The


World Food Programme
has welcomed a donation of 100,000 tons of maize from South Korea for an
emergency operation in North Korea. The operation seeks to help 6.5 million
vulnerable people, most of them children and women. WFP says the donation will
allow it to keep providing vital rations to the neediest of the needy in North
Korea throughout the harsh winter.

ANNAN MEETS WITH NEPAD PANEL: The Secretary-General is hosting a lunch
today of the members of the Advisory Panel on International Support for the New
Partnership for Africa, known as NEPAD.Ìý



THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, October 25

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Central African
Republic and a private meeting with the troop contributors to the UN Mission in
Western Sahara.

The Seventh Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control
of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal will take
place in Geneva through Friday.


Tuesday, October 26

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Somalia and Western
Sahara.


Wednesday, October 27

From 1:15 to 2:209 p.m. in Conference Room Four, the Secretary-General will
launch his reform initiative on strengthening UN country-level support for the
promotion and protection of human rights, called the "Action Two" initiative. At
2:45 p.m., in Room 226, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy, Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland and
UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, will brief on the "Action Two"
initiative.

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Great Lakes and
Georgia.

Global health leaders and Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the Director-General of the
World Health Organization, are launching the World Alliance for Patient Safety
at 10:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., at the Pan American Health Organization.

Other press conferences:

10:00 a.m. -- Ambassador Philippe Djangone-Bi of Cote d’Ivoire on the
situation in his country

12:45 p.m. -- Hina Jilani, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
Human Rights Defenders

3:30 p.m. – Theo van Boven, the Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur
on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment


Thursday, October 28

The Security Council has scheduled formal meetings to vote on the mandates of
the UN Mission and in Western Sahara. It also expects to hold an open debate on
women, peace and security.

The guest at the noon briefing will be Jean-Marie Guehenno,
Under-Secretary-General for ¹ú²úAVkeeping Operations, who will brief on the
Secretary-General’s report on women, peace and security.

Press conferences:

11:00 a.m. – Jean Ziegler, Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on
the right to food

3:00 p.m. – Cherif Bassiouni, Independent Expert appointed by the
Secretary-General on human rights in Afghanistan


Friday, October 29

Press conferences:

11:00 a.m. – Vitit Muntarbhorn, Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur
on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

3:00 p.m. – Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Minister of Development of Norway

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, 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

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