DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
| Press Briefing |
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
AND THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General and Richard Sydenham, Spokesman for the General Assembly President.
Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General
Good Afternoon.
**G-8/Guest
The Group of 8 summit will take place in Evian, France, next week, and the Secretary-General, in a personal letter this week, called on the leaders of the Group of 8 nations to give “due priority to the issues of poverty and development, which are of overriding importance for the great majority of the world’s people”.
He said in the letter that he hopes the gathering in Evian would discuss “not whether we address these challenges, but how we resolve them”, and he drew attention to the $100 billion that will be required yearly, at a minimum, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals set three years ago.
The Secretary-General will be travelling to Evian over the weekend, and, in his letter, he says that he looks forward to the informal summit involving the leaders of a number of developing countries on 1 June, which the G-8 leaders have invited him to join.
We have copies upstairs of the letter the Secretary-General sent, in English and French, and today, we are pleased to have with us Mark Malloch Brown, the Administrator of the UN Development Programme, to discuss the G-8 Summit and the Millennium Development Goals.
Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General
The following is a statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
“You will recall that in 2001 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Secretary-General and the United Nations. The amount of the Prize totalled one million US dollars and was awarded in equal shares to the Secretary-General and the United Nations as such.
“The Secretary-General has proposed to use the full amount of the prize money as a start-up for the establishment of a memorial fund, which would provide financial assistance for the education of children of United Nations civilian personnel who have lost their lives in the service of peace. The Fund would be a way of ensuring both a living memorial to staff who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and a practical way of helping families left behind.
“Today, the General Assembly agreed to the Secretary-General's proposal, clearing the way for the Fund to benefit from the full amount of the 2001 Nobel Prize.
“Today is the first observance of the annual International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. We, therefore, take this opportunity to make an announcement about the use of the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to the United Nations peacekeeping forces. The funds of that award will be used for a memorial dedicated to those who gave their lives for peace in the service of the UN in the field. Work has now begun on the construction of the memorial, which will be located in the North Garden of the UN Headquarters and unveiled in September of this year.
“The memorial is designed by Arquitectonica, the prestigious architectural firm, whose services were provided to the UN pro bono.”
**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General
And the following statement is also attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the impact of the renewed hostilities on civilian populations in Aceh, Indonesia. In particular, he is disturbed by reports of extrajudicial killings and widespread burning of schools.
“The Secretary-General urges all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations to protect civilians in armed conflict. He calls on the Government of Indonesia to ensure the necessary security conditions to allow international aid organizations safe and unhindered access to affected populations.
“The United Nations reiterates its commitment to a dialogue with the Indonesian authorities on these and other humanitarian issues related to Aceh.”
**Statement Attributable to Spokesman for Secretary-General
And this is another statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General:
“The Secretary-General notes with interest the declaration of the Rio Group calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict through open and transparent dialogue among the parties in Colombia. He welcomes regional leaders’ support for his continuing good offices, which aim to achieve a negotiated solution to Colombia’s conflict.”
**Democratic Republic of Congo
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is no fighting reported in Bunia although the situation remains unstable. The UN Mission continues its efforts to restart negotiations between the different militia groups that have been fighting in Bunia. No progress has been reported yet.
At the diplomatic level, in Kinshasa, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno is meeting again with President Joseph Kabila today to underline the importance of restraint by all sides in Ituri.
Despite tightened security at internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Bunia, continuing incidents of theft and ongoing human rights violations remain a major concern. It was also reported that a 12-year old girl was raped in front of her family, in one of the camps.
In the meantime, general humanitarian activity continues. Efforts are also continuing to provide humanitarian services to IDPs in the localities surrounding Bunia.
The Uruguayan battalion numbering some 720 troops and acting under a peacekeeping mandate has provided humanitarian help, working closely with humanitarian actors, and is protecting the lives of thousands of IDPs on the United Nations premises.
**Security Council
There are no Security Council meetings or consultations scheduled today.
Tomorrow, the Security Council has scheduled an open meeting focusing on Africa, which will wrap up the Pakistani presidency of the Council for May.
And as you know, the Council is considering two draft resolutions –- one on the authorization of a multinational force to be deployed in Bunia in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and another on the extension of the mandate for the UN Mission in Western Sahara, which expires on Saturday.
**Iraq
On Iraq, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today it is working with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance to finalize the reactivation of the public distribution system, which is slated for 1 June. Thousands of food distribution agents will be able to resume operations when the food warehouses open for business that day. Hopefully, the WFP said, some of these agents will manage to start distributing food to people the same day, but the monthly distribution cycle can take a couple of weeks to end.
The system provides services to 27 million Iraqis. Since early April, the WFP has brought about 400,000 tons of food to Iraq to replenish the food distribution system.
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been focusing its attention on the city’s water supply. A UNICEF-supported assessment of the capital’s water system shows that 50 per cent of the water in the system is lost due to broken or damaged pipes. To address this issue, UNICEF is working with a local contractor to repair these breaks.
The agency is also currently distributing 800,000 litres of fresh water to areas within the city that need it the most.
The briefing notes from the Baghdad briefing are available upstairs.
On a related note, the Security Council’s 661 Iraq Sanctions Committee said that, with adoption of resolution 1483, the existing procedures for filing notification of flights into Iraq with the committee were no longer valid.
**Iraq Mines
Tomorrow in Brindisi, Italy, at the UN Logistics Base, the Italian non-governmental organization Inter SOS will hold a press conference to present its project for the clearing of mines and unexploded ordnance in Iraq.
The project is part of the overall UN Mine Action Service coordinated programme in Iraq and will entail the airlifting of mine-clearance equipment to Iraq.
As you know, unexploded mines and ordnance remain an immediate threat to civilians in Iraq, especially to children.
Anna Cataldi, UN Messenger of Peace since 1998, will attend a ceremony of the UN Mine Action Service there.
**Iraq - Money
A final note related to Iraq. Yesterday, the United Nations Controller transferred $1 billion to the Development Fund for Iraq.
The transfer was made from the United Nations Iraq escrow account, as requested in paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 1483.
**Afghanistan
On Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported today that demining work, along a stretch of the Kabul to Kandahar road in Ghazni Province, has been suspended following a series of new attacks and threats on various demining teams.
In other news, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appealed for $25 million in urgent assistance for long-term agricultural development activities in Afghanistan.
**UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund has said that new research released by the Rift Valley Institute is the first that shows the true extent of abductions by militia groups in the Sudan in the last 20 years. The research shows over 10,000 children and adults have been abducted, and UNICEF is calling on the Government and international donors to use the new data to help in finding those still missing.
**Special Court for Sierra Leone
And this afternoon in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Deputy Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Desmond de Silva, announced the indictment of Brima “Bazzy” Kamara, a former senior commander of both the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the West Side Boys.
Kamara was taken into custody two days ago and has been indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
We have a press release upstairs.
**WHO – Tobacco
The World Health Organization today called on the film and fashion industries to stop glamorizing tobacco, following last week’s unanimously adopted Tobacco Convention, which calls for a halt to tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
And we have more information in a press release available upstairs.
That’s all I have for you. Anything before we move to Richard?
Spokesman for General Assembly President
Good afternoon.
As Hua just mentioned, this morning the General Assembly plenary decided that the United Nations portion of the Nobel Peace Prize award be donated to the UN Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Fund.
In a statement following the vote, President Jan Kavan (Czech Republic) expressed his deep satisfaction at the decision taken by the General Assembly. He noted that when he learned, last October, of the Secretary-General’s proposal that the United Nations portion of the Nobel Peace Prize award be donated to the United Nations Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Fund, he endorsed it, in his personal capacity and later conducted consultations on the matter with members of the General Committee with the aim to bring this matter to the attention of the General Assembly.
He went on to say, “Today’s decision concurs with the firm belief of the Secretary-General that the dedicated staff of the Organization have made the United Nations worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, and that it is completely appropriate to use the entire award for those who have made the greatest sacrifice by giving their lives in the cause of peace.”
“It is my strong belief”, President Kavan went on, “that the establishment of this Fund will provide much-needed financial assistance for the education of children of United Nations civilian personnel who have been killed in the line of duty. Their parents gave their lives in the service of peace. This Fund will help the children of those who made the supreme sacrifice.”
Copies of the statement are available upstairs and on the Web site.
In his message today to celebrate the first International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, President Kavan pays tribute to the men and women who have served and continue to serve in peacekeeping operations under the United Nations flag. Their dedication, courage, and vision are qualities to be recognized and admired. By taking part in peacekeeping operations, they are compromising their security and comfort to make the lives of those who have been shattered by war more secure.
“United Nations peacekeeping belongs to the most outstanding instruments that the Organization has at its disposal for maintaining international peace and security. In recent years, the mandates of peacekeeping operations have become more complex.” Recognizing that, “United Nations peacekeepers have been awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1988, the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is another opportunity, whereby their work can be recognized and appreciated”.
The statement is also available upstairs and on the Web site.
And a note on upcoming meetings, the General Assembly will hold a plenary meeting on Friday, 6 June, at 10 a.m. to elect the President of the 58th session of the General Assembly. This will be followed by consecutive meetings of the six main committees to elect their chairpersons, immediately followed by another plenary meeting of the Assembly to elect the vice-presidents of the General Assembly. This is on Friday, 6 June.
Any questions?
Thank you.
* *** *