United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-04-01

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON

BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, April 1, 2005

SECURITY COUNCIL REFERS SITUATION IN DARFUR TO

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

In a late night meeting that ended just five minutes before the end of the Brazilian presidency, the Security Council

decided to refer the situation prevailing in Darfur, Sudan, to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In the presence of the Secretary-General, the Security Council adopted the resolution by a vote of 11 in favour, none against with four abstentions (Algeria, Brazil, China, United States).

In a statement issued last night, the Secretary-General

commended the Security Council for using its authority under the Rome Statute to provide an appropriate mechanism to lift the veil of impunity that has allowed human rights crimes in Darfur to continue unchecked.

The Secretary-General also calls on the Government of Sudan, all other parties to the conflict in Darfur, and all other States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully with, and provide any necessary assistance to, the Court and the Prosecutor.

He also emphasizes that lasting peace in Darfur can only be based on a negotiated settlement between the parties to this tragic conflict, and calls on them to return to negotiations in Abuja to bring it to a speedy end.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, also

welcomed the resolutions adoption, saying referral to the ICC was the best means to halt ongoing violations and prevent future ones.

And the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has requested the Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to hand over thousands of pages of documents it used to compile its January report.

ATTACKS AND THEFTS THREATEN FOOD AID TO DARFUR

The

World Food Programme (WFP) said that shootings, attacks on drivers and thefts of WFP-contracted trucks carrying critically needed food aid were seriously threatening the ability of WFP to deliver food aid to Darfur.

The attacks, it said, were part of a rapidly deteriorating security situation in Darfur that was contributing to a climate of fear. Many drivers were now refusing to move through sections of the road corridors to the three Darfur states.

WFP said it had protested the attacks in the strongest terms.

CHINA ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF SECURITY COUNCIL

Today is the first day of the

Chinese presidency of the Security Council for the month of April.

Council President, Ambassador Wang Guangya, is holding bilateral meetings today on the months programme.

Ambassador Wang will brief on the programme on Monday following consultations.

SECURITY COUNCIL URGES COMMITMENT TO

PEACEFUL ELECTORAL PROCESS IN GUINEA-BISSAU

In a presidential statement on Guinea Bissau adopted yesterday afternoon, the Security Council

urged all political actors in Guinea-Bissau to show their commitment to a peaceful electoral process.

It also strongly condemned any attempt to incite violence or impede efforts towards peace, stability and development in that country.

COTE DIVOIRE: ANNAN NAMES ARMS EMBARGO EXPERTS PANEL

The Secretary-General, in response to a request by the Security Council,

named a three-member panel of experts to undertake a number of tasks in connection with the reinforcement of an arms embargo on Cote dIvoire.

The names are contained in a letter to the Security Council, which has been issued as a document.

U.N. ENVOY REGRETS NIGERIAN INTERFERENCE IN

CAMEROON-NIGERIA MIXED COMMISSIONS WORK

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, in his capacity as Chairman of the

Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission regrets that the Joint Technical Team of the Mixed Commission was not allowed by Nigerian authorities to carry out its tasks in a border area around the village of Koja, in the Adamawa region.

The Joint Technical Team was undertaking a pilot phase of the field assessment to test the verification of the boundary line on a small portion of the land boundary.

Ould-Abdallah added that this decision could have the effect of holding up the entire demarcation process.

He is in touch with both parties and is confident that the problem will be resolved soon.

ANNAN TO SPEAK TO U.N. STAFF ON REFORM, OIL-FOR-FOOD INVESTIGATION

The Secretary-General has invited all UN staff members to a meeting at 10:00 a.m. next Tuesday, in the General Assembly Hall.

He will make brief opening remarks, then open the floor for questions.

The Secretary-General looks forward to discussing the UN's immediate priorities in light of his recent report In Larger Freedom and the forthcoming September summit -- particularly as they relate to staff -- as well as concerns arising from the latest interim report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food programme.

He particularly wants to discuss internal changes which will make the UN more effective in the future.

The session will be webcast live, for those unable to attend and for offices away from Headquarters.

ANNAN TO ADDRESS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IN GENEVA

The Secretary-General will be traveling, early next week, to Switzerland and Norway.

In Geneva he will address the

Commission on Human Rights, and attend a Chief Executives Board retreat. The Chief Executives Board, or CEB, comprises the heads of the specialized agencies, Bretton Woods Institutions, IAEA, WTO and UN Funds and Programmes. It meets twice a year and is chaired by the Secretary-General.

In Oslo, he will attend a Donors Conference on Sudan.

D.R. CONGO: MILITIAS RUSHING TO DISARM

The

UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo says that it is seeing a rush by militia members in the Ituri district, in the countrys north-east, to take part in the disarmament and community reintegration program there the deadline for which is midnight tonight.

The Missions latest figures indicate that approximately 9,000 militiamen have disarmed out of an estimated total of 15,000 militiamen in Ituri with two-thirds of them being child soldiers.

From tomorrow onwards, Ituri will become after an Arms Free District so that apart from UN peacekeepers and the DRCs national army anyone found with arms there will be considered an outlaw under Congolese law and dealt with accordingly.

The Mission says that while there is no extension to the deadline, child solders are welcome to enter the disarmament programme at any time.

HAITI: U.N. MISSION WORKS TO BRING ORDER TO

TROUBLED NEIGHBORHOOD IN CAPITAL

The

UN Mission in Haiti began yesterday a major operation aimed at bringing law and order to the Cite Soleil neighbourhood where armed groups have been active, in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Around 1,000 men made up of UN peacekeeping troops, UN police and members of the Haitian National Police surrounded the outside perimeter of the neighbourhood and have set up check-points at the entrances and begun patrols.

The operation is the second phase of one started in December last year, and the Mission says its an ongoing one, which means itll maintain its presence there as long as necessary.

The Mission says it regrets any disturbances the operation may cause for local residents, and is asking for their understanding and help.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ADOPTS

TEXT OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM CONVENTION

The General Assemblys ad hoc committee on terrorism this morning

adopted, by consensus, the text of a draft convention on nuclear terrorism.

The treaty, which was first proposed in 1998, will define acts of nuclear terrorism and require those who threaten or commit such crimes to be extradited or prosecuted.

Speaking on the occasion of the conventions adoption, the Secretary-General said that nuclear terrorism was one of the most urgent threats of our time, and that the present treaty would help prevent terrorist groups from gaining access to the most lethal weapons known to man.

Now that the ad hoc committee has adopted the text, the convention will go before the General Assembly. If it is adopted, it will then be opened for signatures in September.

INDONESIA QUAKE: DAMAGE ON ISLAND WORSE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT

Regarding the quake-stricken Indonesian island of Simeulue, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the damage there was more extensive than originally thought.

About 80% of buildings on the island have been damaged and some villages have been completely destroyed. Boats have been arriving with aid, but they have been hampered by bad weather and high sea swells.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme reports that its helicopters have carried out 156 medical evacuations from the hard-hit island of Nias, and are now ready to re-focus on bringing food to Simeulue.

ANNAN CONGRATULATES NEW WORLD BANK PRESIDENT

The Secretary-General yesterday

congratulated Paul Wolfowitz on his election as the next President of the World Bank. At a time when the world has before it far-reaching proposals for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the Secretary-General looks forward to working closely with Mr. Wolfowitz in the fight against global poverty.

And he welcomes him to the Chief Executives Board of the United Nations.

OIL-FOR-FOOD QUESTIONS ADDRESSED

In response to further questions regarding the 1999 documents by Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph Connor, the Spokesman said that the documents in the "chron" files were copies. The Secretary-General was traveling at the time the Connor memo was written, and the originals were eventually found in his travel folder, although not in the registry.

Asked about potential further action on Riza, the Spokesman said the United Nations was looking at the Volcker report as it applies to Riza, but had not made a decision yet on whether there was any breach of staff rules in what the report described.

Asked about Rizas former secretary, Sita Agalawatta, the Spokesman said she was a general service staff member who provided secretarial and administrative support.

Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services Andrew Toh gave you a note on access to the procurement unit.

In response to a question this morning about the number of staff in that procurement unit, the Spokesman said, it's 32 professionals and 38 general service staff for a total of 74.

On when Diana Mills-Aryee joined the UN system, she started as a tour guide in 1976, left two years later to get a Masters Degree at Columbia Universitys School of International Affairs. She worked outside the UN system for a few years before rejoining it in Geneva as a personnel officer. She spent some time in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. She came to New York Headquarters as a procurement officer in 1993. As the Volcker report pointed out, she joined the UN Mission in Iraq as a procurement officer in 1998 through 2000.

Asked who Mills-Aryee reported to, the Spokesman said that a procurement officer in a UN Mission would report directly up the chain of command in the mission, in this case to the chief administrative officer.

In response to another question, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General had told him personally that he had nothing to do with Mills-Aryee coming into New York at the time of her employment.

In response to a question about whom she reported to in Baghdadthe answer is the Chief Administrative Officer of that mission (Bjorn Johansen and then Hani Abdulaziz).

She is described by her current supervisor as a very capable procurement officer.

The Secretary-General had no role in bringing her into the UN system.

Asked about the relationship between the Secretary-General and his son Kojo, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General has asked his son to cooperate. It is Kojo Annans decision whether to cooperate, the Spokesman added, noting that he has no link to the United Nations outside of the matter that was being studied by Volcker.

Regarding Cotecnas earlier bid for a UN contract in February 1992, the Spokesman said, Kofi Annan was Controller until March of that year, but the Controller has nothing to do with contracts and Kofi Annan had nothing to do with the awarding of this contract. (For those who did handle that contract for the UN, see footnote 29 on page 14 of the Volcker report.)

The Spokesman said information was being gathered of the dollar-a-year contract people in the UN system, and on questions on tax, immigration and immunity implications. "We want to give you a comprehensive answer and ask for your continued patience," the Spokesman said.

Asked about a list of dollar-a-year people, the Spokesman noted that some of them, including Bill Clinton, Erskine Bowles, Benon Sevan and Paul Volcker, had been announced earlier. The United Nations is grateful to have the services of senior people for a dollar a year, he added.

Asked how Volcker can be independent if he is paid by the United Nations, the Spokesman said his independence comes from his terms of reference. The committee is paid for out of the 2.2 account, but Volcker waived being paid at the rank of Under-Secretary-General, opting to be paid a dollar a year.

Asked about comments from Independent Inquiry Committee members that the report does not exonerate the Secretary-General, the Spokesman reiterated that the Committee did not find evidence either that the Secretary-General interfered in the process of awarding a contract to Cotecna, or benefited, or sought to benefit, from it. The Secretary-General had been relieved that they had found, as he had always said, that he had not interfered with the contract.

Asked whether the Secretary-General is responding seriously to the report, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General accepts the criticism in the report. He will be looking to correct what can be fixed, but he is also trying to get down to business to push his reform agenda.

He noted, in response to questions of overall responsibility, that the Secretary-General is not the chief executive officer of a corporation, with power in the United Nations lying in the hands of its 191 Member States. He is subject to 191 bosses, Eckhard said.

UNITED NATIONS TO CONTINUE INVESTIGATION INTO

O.I.O.S. HEAD EVEN AFTER HE LEAVES ORGANIZATION

Asked whether the charges against

Dileep Nair, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), in the Volcker report were being regarded as separate from those made by the Staff Council, the Spokesman said that, because of the different ways the matters came to the United Nations, they are being treated separately.

The issue raised by Volcker was how an individual appears not to have done the work he was hired to do. The Staff Council had alleged irregular hiring practices, which, the Spokesman noted, was looked into in a desk audit by the Department of Management, which found that his hiring practices conformed to management rules. The United Nations on Thursday asked a third party to look into the latter charges.

Asked about Nairs status after he leaves the United Nations later this month, the Spokesman said he would no longer be a UN staff member, but the United Nations would continue its investigation in the interest of justice.

A reporter noted that other UN offices also take money out of one account to pay an individual to do tasks not related to that account, and the Spokesman said he assumed that whoever looks into the charges would take that into account.

U.N. ELECTORAL CHIEF SUBMITS RESPONSE TO MANAGEMENT STUDY

On

Electoral Assistance Division Director, Carina Perelli, she handed in her response to an internal management study of her division to the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast yesterday. She did not win a manager of the year award, as one of you claimed yesterday. She was in fact nominated by staff, but she was not selected by the award committee of the Group on Equal Rights for Women in the United Nations, which grants the award, which is a plaque.

Asked about what would happen next in Perellis case, the Spokesman said that Prendergast would look at the findings of the management survey and Perellis defense and decide whether the issues presented could be handled within the department, or whether they need to be passed on to other departments for potential disciplinary action.

He said, in response to further questions, that what is happening at this stage is not an investigation, but an examination by the relevant executive officer.

In other cases, he said, it would be the personnel departments call as to whether the initial evidence is so overwhelming as to warrant suspension. In this case, no one has brought a complaint to personnel.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

BURUNDI: U.N. MISSION LAMENTS DEATH OF CONGOLESE REFUGEE: The

UN Operation in Burundi has issued a

press release expressing its sorrow at the tragic death of a Congolese refugee during a food distribution operation. According to the mission, the incident occurred yesterday afternoon when an angry mob of refugees formed, causing a threat to the physical integrity of an NGO worker responsible for food distribution at the camp site. As the mob grew more violent, UN peacekeepers stationed in the area intervened to protect the aid worker. It was during this operation that one refugee died and two other people were injured.

PEACEKEEPING PHOTO EXHIBIT TO OPEN NEXT WEEK AT HQ: Next week a photo exhibition will open in the Public Lobby, near the entrance to the Conference building. The exhibition is called The surge in U.N. Peacekeeping, and illustrates the fact that U.N. peacekeepers are deployed around the world in near record numbers, and the challenges this poses to the United Nations. The exhibition opens on Monday.

MORE THAN 10,000 LIBERIAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME: More than 10,000 Liberian refugees have

returned home with assistance from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees since UNHCR started its voluntary repatriation program in October 2004. After more than fifteen years of civil war, the twin process of return and reintegration is in full swing, the agency says.

UNICEF CONCERNED BY FEAR IN NEPALS CLASSROOMS: Cecilia Lotse, Regional Director for the

U.N. Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in South Asia, today

urged the parties involved in the conflict in

Nepal to ensure that violence and fear stay out of the classrooms. Let this new school year in Nepal be one where this awful, destructive cycle of violence stops and children can go to school - to learn, to grow, to play - in peace, she said. According to UNICEF, one out of every five Nepalese children aged six to ten is not in school.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, April 4

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on its program of work for April. Afterward, the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, will brief the press on the Councils work over the coming month.

Tuesday, April 5

The Secretary-General will hold a staff meeting at 10:00 a.m., at which he will make an opening statement and take questions, to discuss the UNs immediate priorities, including the In Larger Freedom report and UN reform.

The Secretary-General will depart New York, to begin a week of travel to Geneva and to Oslo, Norway.

Wednesday, April 6

Thursday, April 7

The Secretary-General will address the Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Today is World Health Day, which the Secretary-General will mark with a message. The theme for this year is maternal and child health. The guest at the noon briefing will be Dr. Ian Smith, Advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

The Commission on Population and Development will be meeting in New York.

Friday, April 8

The Secretary-General will open a meeting of the Chief Executives Board, gathering together the heads of the UN system, in Geneva.

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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