United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-10-27

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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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, October 27, 2005

[The following substitutes for the daily noon briefing today. In light of the issuance of the report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme, the daily briefing is scheduled at 2 p.m.]

ANNAN, REACTING TO FINAL VOLCKER REPORT,

URGES NATIONAL AUTHORITIES TO TAKE ACTION

The Secretary-General takes note of the findings contained in the fifth and final report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme.

He notes that a vast network of kickbacks and surcharges has been exposed, involving companies registered in a wide range of member states, and certified by them as competent to conduct business under the Programme. He hopes that national authorities will take steps to prevent the recurrence of such practices in the future, and that they will take action, where appropriate, against companies falling within their jurisdiction.

He recalls that, in his speech to the Security Council responding to the Committees previous report, he already accepted responsibility for management failures in the Secretariat. He also notes that the latest report confirms the Committees earlier finding that the respective roles and responsibilities of the Secretariat, the Security Council and the 661 Committee which approved all of the contracts, including the prices were never clearly enough defined.

Most importantly, the Secretary-General believes that thorough reform of the management structures and practices of the United Nations, especially those that relate to oversight, transparency and accountability, is vital. He has already instituted extensive reforms including broader and more rigorous financial disclosure requirements, a stronger policy to protect whistleblowers, and a review of all oversight and audit arrangements. He intends to pursue these and other reforms with even greater vigour in the weeks and months ahead, and looks to member states for their support.

Finally, he wishes to thank the members of the Committee Mr. Paul Volcker, Justice Richard Goldstone and Professor Mark Pieth and their whole team for the extremely thorough investigation they have conducted. Such an investigation is exactly what the Secretary-General hoped for when he set up the Inquiry 18 months ago. He notes, as Mr. Volcker himself has done, that few other organizations would voluntarily expose themselves and their activities to such detailed scrutiny.

ANNAN DISMAYED BY REMARKS ABOUT ISRAEL BY IRANIAN PRESIDENT

Secretary-General

Kofi Annan

has read with dismay the remarks about Israel attributed to H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He reminds all Member States that Israel is a long-standing member of the United Nations with the same rights and obligations as every other member. He recalls in particular that, under the United Nations Charter, all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

The Secretary-General had already decided to visit Iran during the next few weeks, to discuss other issues. He now intends to place the Middle East peace process, and the right of all states in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force, at the top of his agenda for that visit.

UNITED NATIONS ENDORSES PRINCIPLES OF INT'L ELECTION OBSERVATION

On behlaf of the United Nations, the Secretary-General today endorsed the "Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation."

The Declaration, and an accompanying code of conduct, provide guidelines for aimed at strengthening the role of the international community in supporting democratic elections throughout the world.

In his remarks at the endorsement ceremony, the Secretary-General said the Declaration helps ensure that election observers are always making a positive contribution and he called on the international community to make full use of the guidelines.

Representatives of more than two dozen organizations attended the ceremony, and among them were former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

ANNAN URGES IVORIAN PARTIES TO FACILITATE PRIME MINISTER APPOINTMENT

The Secretary-General is following closely developments in Côte dIvoire, especially in view of the approaching date of 30 October, when the governance arrangements set out in the African Union decision of 6 October and endorsed by the Security Council should come into effect. These arrangements provide a clear framework for moving forward decisively in the Ivorian peace process.

The Secretary-General calls on all Ivorian parties to commit themselves to implementing fully and effectively the African Union decision and resolution 1633 (2005). In this connection, the Secretary-General urges them to cooperate with international stakeholders to facilitate the appointment of a new Prime Minister as soon as possible and the preparation of a roadmap leading to open, free and fair elections in 2006.

The Secretary-General also urges all the parties and their followers to desist from any action, including refraining from organizing disruptive political gatherings that may create tensions. The United Nations is determined to work closely with all Ivorian parties, the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other international partners in helping the people of Côte d'Ivoire achieve a peaceful and durable settlement.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette opened the Security Council's open debate on Women, Peace and Security, taking place on the fifth anniversary of its Resolution 1325 which addressed the role of women in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction and called for increasing womens contribution to sustainable peace.

She noted that awareness and recognition of that issue have grown considerably in recent years, both in conflict-affected societies and in the international community.

Yet five years after the resolution was adopted, in most parts of the world, women are still not adequately represented at the negotiating table, the cabinet table or the conference table. "Clearly, Governments must redouble their efforts," she said.

"So must we in the United Nations itself," she said, adding that the needs to maintain the utmost vigilance in preventing further instances of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel and peacekeepers.

RECORD HUNGER DESTABILIZES AFRICA

Addressing an event in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on the theme of Food crises in Africa, James Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP),

said that, as the world focused on a series of massive natural disasters and the spread of avian influenza, hunger in Africa had quietly climbed to an all-time high, threatening to destabilize much of the continent.

He added that poverty, conflict, HIV/AIDS, drought and a weakened capacity for government had caused record levels of hunger across Africa and that WFP was struggling to feed 43 million people this year in sub-Saharan Africa -- double the number in 1995.

DONORS PLEDGE $580 MILLION MORE FOR PAKISTAN QUAKE AID

More than 400 participants from 92 Member States and other members of the international humanitarian community

came together in Geneva yesterday for the ministerial-level donor conference on assistance to earthquake survivors in South Asia.

After the meeting, Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who convened the meeting in cooperation with the Government of Pakistan, announced that nearly $580 million in new pledges had been made.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), thirty-two countries made $329 million in new pledges, while the Islamic Development Bank promised some $250 million, bringing the total of new pledges for assistance to Pakistan to nearly $580 million.

Sixty countries have now pledged nearly $1.3 billion in assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the devastating earthquake, which struck South Asia on 8 October 2005. Among the new pledges, the United Nations had recorded $15.9 million as being specifically directed toward its

flash appeal for emergency relief.

BILL CLINTON CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF MARGINALIZED

COMMUNITIES IN TSUNAMI-HIT COUNTRIES

Former United States President Bill Clinton, the UNs Special Envoy for

Tsunami Recovery, today met with senior UN, World Bank, non-governmental organization and private sector officials in an effort to tackle the immediate challenges facing the tsunami-affected countries.

Clinton held in-depth discussions about the protection of marginalized communities as well as the restoration of livelihoods throughout the region.

He met with the UNs Special Representative on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Walter Kalin, and was briefed on the living conditions of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in temporary shelters in Aceh by the UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia, Bo Asplund.

HUMANITARIAN OFFICE PREPARING FOR NEW TROPICAL STORM

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)s regional office in Panama is

monitoring the situation regarding Tropical Storm Beta, which formed today in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

OCHA has contacted the UN Resident Coordinators in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala. In addition, the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system has been alerted and the regional office will decide tomorrow if an UNDAC team should be pre-positioned in Nicaragua to support the UN and national emergency organizations.

Beta is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane and drench Central America with potentially flooding rain.

UNICEF TO FOCUS ON AIDS IMPACT ON CHILDREN

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today launched a 50- nation outdoor advertising campaign to highlight the impact HIV/AIDS has on the worlds children.

The $5 million campaign is aimed at focusing attention on three facts: Fewer than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to treatment they need; less than 10 percent of children who have lost parents to AIDS get public support or care, and only 10 percent of pregnant women have access to services that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The outdoor advertising space was donated by the Clear Channel Outdoor company.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES WORK OF INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The General Assembly is meeting in plenary today to discuss the report of the International Court of Justice.

In the Third Committee, this morning statements are being made by the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Sudan and the Independent Expert on human rights in Burundi, as well as the Special Rapporteur on the right to food. This afternoon, statements will be made by the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, as well as the Chairperson of the Working Group on the Right to Development.

This morning, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson spoke as part of a special event in the Economic and Social Council on Food crises in Africa. He said it is shameful that we are still not good enough in providing emergency assistance when it is needed, and pointed out three areas in which world leaders, at the September Summit, committed the Organization to do more, including by strengthening the Central Emergency Revolving Fund.

UNITED NATIONS URGES CAUTION ON POULTRY BANS

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today expressed concern about poultry import bans that do not distinguish between countries infected and non-infected by avian flu. Such bans are contrary to the spirit of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and other international standards, it said, and could lead to price shocks.

The agency cautioned countries that "trade restrictions to safeguard human and animal health should be imposed only in proportion to the risk involved and that they should be removed promptly when no longer needed."

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

STUDENTS TO TAKE PART IN FORUM ON MEDIA AND UNITED NATIONS: Australian and American students will interview Shashi Tharoor, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information on the role of the United Nations and how it is portrayed in the media during a televised forum this evening before audiences in New York and Canberra, Australia. In a live video link between the United Nations and the National Museum of Australia, senior students will interview Tharoor about how the United Nations responds to press coverage and public criticism during world crises. Topics will include the oil-for-food controversy, the war in Iraq and the situation in Darfur.

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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