United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-10-09

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, October 9, 2006

SECURITY COUNCIL RECOMMENDS BAN KI-MOON

AS NEXT SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

The Security Council recommended to the General Assembly that Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea be appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations for a five-year term starting January 1, 2007.

That recommendation was made in a resolution adopted in a private meeting by acclamation.

The President of the General Assembly has received a letter from the President of the Security Council informing her of the Councils recommendation and will consult the Chairs of the regional groups as soon as possible to determine a date for the appointment.

ANNAN WELCOMES DECISION ON NEXT SECRETARY-GENERAL

Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes the decision of the Security Council to recommend His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, to the General Assembly for appointment as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

He has the highest respect for Mr. Ban, having had the pleasure of working with him both in his present capacity and when he was Chef de Cabinet to the President of the General Assembly.

The Secretary-General hopes that the General Assembly will be able to reach a decision on this important matter in the near future, so that the incoming Secretary-General designate will have time to prepare fully for his assumption of office on 1 January.

For his part, the Secretary-General will do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would ask for all Under-Secretaries-General to resign, the Spokesman said that would be a decision for the next Secretary-General to take. He noted that in the past, some senior UN officials have resigned during transitions. He added that the contracts of most senior officials end this coming January or February.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST

The Security Council today held consultations on the nuclear test announcement by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Security Council President Ambassador Kenzo Oshima told reporters that Council members strongly condemned the DPRK claim and once again urged it to refrain from further testing and return to the so-called six-party talks.

He said an expert-level meeting was scheduled at 3 p.m. today to discuss a draft resolution.

ANNAN: NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST FLOUTS INTERNATIONAL NORMS

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the news that the Government of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has conducted a nuclear test, in spite of repeated worldwide efforts to discourage it from doing so. This action violates international norms of disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the current international moratorium on nuclear testing. It aggravates regional tensions in and around the Korean Peninsula, and jeopardizes security both in the region and beyond.

The Secretary-General calls on all parties to respond to this grave challenge in a constructive manner, and calls for serious negotiations to be renewed urgently in the framework of the six-party talks.

The Secretary-General views this test as yet another reason for the international community to renew its collective effort to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force and to make progress towards multilateral nuclear disarmament.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei

said this reported nuclear test threatens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and creates serious security challenges not only for the East Asian region but also for the international community. He said the breaking of a de facto global moratorium on nuclear explosive testing that has been in place for nearly a decade and the addition of a new State with nuclear weapon capacity is a clear setback to international commitments to move towards nuclear disarmament.

Asked whether the Secretary-General planned to appoint a new special envoy to deal with the DPRK, the Spokesman said he was not aware of any plan to do so. However, he added, the Secretary-General continues to follow the situation closely, with the Department of Political Affairs in the lead. The Secretary-General, Dujarric reiterated, feels strongly that the best way forward is a negotiated settlement through six-party talks.

The Spokesman added that the Secretary-General hopes that the Security Council will act on this issue and come to a decision in a unified manner.

The Spokesman declined to speculate on the timing of the DPRKs actions.

SECURITY COUNCIL REAFFIRMS READINESS

TO SEND MISSION TO AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council also held a private meeting on Afghanistan.

Tom Koenigs, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for that country, and Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the Office on Drugs and Crime, are at that meeting to talk about recent developments.

[Following the meeting, the Council President, Ambassador Oshima, read out a press statement in which Council members expressed their concern by the security situation in Afghanistan, in particular in the south and south east, as the Taliban, Al Qaida and other extremist elements seek to disrupt the work of the Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to underpin the extension of Afghan Government authority throughout the country. They affirmed their willingness to send a Security Council mission to Afghanistan at an appropriate time, possibly in November this year, to review the situation on the ground and to give Afghanistan and its people a message of assurance of the Council's continuing commitment.]

U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR PROBE OF DARFUR MILITIA ATTACKS

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is

urging the Government of Sudan to order an independent investigation into recent militia attacks that may have left hundreds of civilians dead in

South Darfur."

In a report prepared with the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and issued today, OHCHR says that 300 to 1000 armed militia from the Habbania Arab tribe carried out a series of attacks on some 45 villages in the Buram locality of South Darfur in late August.

The death toll is estimated to be as many as several hundred people and the attacks appear to have been carried out with the authorities knowledge and support.

Meanwhile, UNMIS has

received reports that three armed men carjacked an NGO vehicle in Kambud village, north of Kutum in North Darfur, over the weekend.

In South Darfur late last week, UNMIS says the African Union operation received reports of 25 new cases of abduction, rape, harassment, torture and other human rights violations against local residents and internally displaced people.

Also late last week, in West Darfur, UNMIS says it has received various reports of violence, including an attack by armed men at the western outskirts of Masteri during which the men stole cattle and allegedly raped a number of women.

A range of UN bodies and agencies from UNICEF to the U.N. Development Programme and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are calling upon all parties to the conflict to comply with relevant resolutions of the Security Council. They are also reminding the Sudanese government of its obligation to investigate and prosecute all crimes, particularly those committed against women and children.

The UN bodies say that in the past months, attacks on women and girls, both within and outside camps for the displaced, have soared and they are urging the African Union forces to resume regular firewood and area patrols to provide effective protection to the civilian population.

ISRAELI ARMY HANDS MAPS OF SOUTH LEBANON MINEFIELDS TO U.N. FORCE

The Acting Force Commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Brigadier General J.P. Nehra, met today with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to discuss the situation around the town of Gajjar, to ensure a speedy Israeli withdrawal from the area.

Gen. Nehra afterward described the meeting as productive. During the meeting, the IDF provided UNIFIL with the maps of minefields in Southern Lebanon, as of June 2000. UNIFIL handed over these maps to the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center and to the Lebanese for review.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCILS COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

COMPLETES VISIT TO LEBANON

The three members of the Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon thats Joćo Clemente Baena Soares of Brazil, Mohamed Chande Othman of Tanzania, and Professor Stelios Perrakis of Greece have concluded their mission in Lebanon on Saturday and have returned to Geneva.

The Commission has been mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate the systematic targeting and killing of civilians by Israel in Lebanon and other matters.

The Commission met with top officials of the Lebanese Government, as well as with Members of Parliament, NGOs, U.N. agencies and local and international press.

They visited south Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and Byblos, and spent four days in southern Lebanon, gathering information directly from municipalities, communities and citizens.

The Commission will now prepare its report to the Human Rights Council.

TOP U.N. OFFICIAL IN IRAQ CONDEMNS MURDER OF GENERAL

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Iraq, condemned in the strongest terms the assassination this morning of General Amer al-Hashimi. He called on the Iraqi authorities to relentlessly pursue the perpetrators and bring them before the law.

Qazi equally condemns all acts of political and sectarian violence that are tearing at the political and social fabric of Iraq. He warned that the continuation of this violence can only serve Iraqs enemies and obstruct the path to peace and stability.

He also called on all the leaders of Iraq to implement the 2 October agreement to end the bloodshed.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SUDAN AND 39 OTHER COUNTRIES FACE FOOD EMERGENCIES: Forty countries are facing food emergencies and require external assistance, with the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan still the most pressing humanitarian problem, according to a Food and Agriculture Organizations Crop Prospects and Food Situation report released today. Prospects for the 2006 world cereal harvest have deteriorated further since July. In Darfur, the already precarious food supply situation may worsen if deteriorating security disrupts the main harvest due to start in the coming few weeks, according to the report.

ANNAN URGES NEIGHBOURS NOT TO INFLAME SITUATION IN SOMALIA: Asked about reports that Ethiopian troops were engaged in combat in Somalia, the Spokesman noted the Ethiopian Governments denials that its troops are in Somalia. However, he said, the Secretary-General is following the situation with increasing concern, and calls on the Transitional Federal Government and the Union of Islamic Courts to abide by their previous agreements. He also asks neighbouring countries not to take any action that exacerbates the situation in Somalia.

ANNAN CONDEMNS MURDER OF RUSSIAN JOURNALIST: Asked about the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General condemns the murder, adding that he is dismayed by the killing of each and every journalist. The Secretary-General hopes that the perpetrators will be found.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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