United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-10-13

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Friday, October 13, 2006

GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO APPOINT NEXT SECRETARY-GENERAL

The General Assembly has scheduled a plenary meeting at 3 p.m. today to appoint Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will attend and speak at the plenary meeting.

The Secretary-General-designate, Ban Ki-moon, is also scheduled to speak at the meeting.

After the General Assembly meeting ends, the Secretary-General and Ban Ki-moon will go out to the east foyer outside the General Assembly Hall, for a photo opportunity.

The Secretary-General-designate will hold a press conference.

Asked whether Ban Ki-moon would speak in his capacity as Secretary-General-designate, the Spokesman said that was the case, but added that Ban was not expected to take the oath of office as Secretary-General until December.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON NORTH KOREA RESOLUTION SATURDAY

The Security Council then held consultations to consider a revised draft resolution concerning the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Once those consultations ended, the Security Council President, Ambassador Kenzo Oshima of Japan, told reporters at the stakeout that he expects the Council to hold a formal meeting Saturday vote on that draft resolution, sometime in the morning. The Council later scheduled consultations, followed by a meeting, on the DPRK on Saturday, at 9:45 a.m.

ANNAN DELIGHTED WITH SELECTION FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

The Secretary-General is delighted that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 has been awarded to Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, pioneers of the microfinance movement and long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the empowerment of women.

He notes that thanks to Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank, microfinance has proved its value as a way for low-income families to break the vicious circle of poverty, for productive enterprises to grow, and for communities to prosper.

They have provided a powerful weapon to help the world reach the Millennium Development Goals, by helping people change their lives for the better -- especially those who need it most.

U.N. ELECTORAL EXPERTS TO VERIFY POLLING PROCESS IN TIMOR -LESTE

As part of the assistance being provided by the United Nations for the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in

Timor-Leste in 2007, the Secretary-General has appointed a team of high-level electoral experts to verify the satisfactory conduct of each phase of the electoral process.

The members of the team are Ms. Lucinda Almeida of Portugal, Mr. Reginald Austin of Zimbabwe and Mr. Michael Maley of Australia. They will work independently of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, and will submit their findings and recommendations to the Secretary-General and the Timor-Leste authorities.

The Secretary-General sees next years elections as an important step on the path to peace and stability in Timor-Leste, and reaffirms the determination of the United Nations to do its part in supporting a credible and transparent electoral process.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN GEORGIA

After brief consultations on Georgia, the Security Council went into a formal meeting in which it unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia until 15 April 2007.

Among other things, the resolution also calls on the Secretary-General to explore with the sides ways and means to build confidence, in particular by improving the welfare and security of the inhabitants of the districts of Gali and Zugdidi.

The Council then adopted a resolution extending until the end of 2008 the terms of 18 ad litem (or short-term) judges serving on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF STARTS VISIT IN D.R. CONGO

The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived yesterday afternoon in

Kinshasa for a three-day visit.

Gambari, who is in the country to lend UN support to the ongoing democratic transition, commended the Congolese people on their firm determination to see the transition succeed.

Earlier today, Gambari attended a consultative meeting on the elections and later met with representatives of the two candidates in the run-off presidential vote planned for 29 October.

Gambari will also meet with members of the International Committee to Support the Transition as well as officials at the Independent Electoral Commission. And tomorrow, he will travel to the Equator Province for meetings with civil society and local political leaders.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme says that a train carrying some 580 metric tons of food aid is en route to the Katanga Province where the food will distributed among internally displaced persons and refugees arriving from neighboring countries.

Asked whether the United Nations would respond to recent appointments made by the Congolese Government, the Spokesman noted that the

Democratic Republic of the Congo had a sovereign government and was not under UN administration.

Asked about the provision of a helicopter to one of the Presidential candidates, Jean Pierre Bemba, Dujarric said that he understood that the helicopter had been provided in Bembas capacity as Vice-President. He noted that this was also a matter for the Congolese Government to settle, adding that the United Nations was not directly involved in the issue.

ANNAN APPOINTS EXPERTS TO STRENGTHEN ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY

The Secretary-General has appointed a second Group of Legal Experts to study the best ways to strengthen the Zero Tolerance Policy against sexual exploitation and abuse, and to ensure that the Secretary-Generals Bulletin on this issue is binding on contingent members and that UN norms of conduct are applicable to all categories of peacekeeping personnel.

The Group is composed of four experts from Australia, Nigeria, Singapore and the United States, who will be working in close co-operation with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Office of Legal Affairs to develop recommendations to improve conduct and discipline in UN operations.

The appointment of the experts is part of a range of actions recommended by Prince Zeid Raad Zeid Al-Hussein, the Secretary-Generals Adviser on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeeping Personnel, in a report adopted by the General Assembly in June 2005.

LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE RECEIVES GRANTS FROM U.N. DEMOCRACY FUND

The UN Mission in Liberia reports that the Liberian Legislature yesterday received two grants from the UN Democracy Fund to promote youth involvement in the democratic process and to help formulate an anti-corruption strategy.

Speaking at the signing ceremony earlier today in Monrovia, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Alan Doss, said that the grants are important in that they will help meet two key needs: strengthening the legislature and thus the Liberian government and democracy, as well as bringing the youth to play a more active role in the countrys political life.

OPPORTUNITY TO KICK-START MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

HAS NOT MATERIALIZED

The latest report by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly and the Security Council on the question of Palestine was issued today.

In it, the Secretary-General says that, as the current round of Israeli-Palestinian violence enters its seventh year, he regrets that the opportunity for the revitalization of the

Middle East peace process he had hoped for last year has not materialized. He notes the recent rise in violence, including worrying incidents of intra-Palestinian violence.

The Secretary-General deplores the killing of civilians, who too often have fallen victim to this violence because of a lack of adherence by the parties to their obligations under international law, the report says.

Asked about a report that Israeli checkpoints have increased, the Spokesman noted that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had reported the increase in checkpoints and expressed its concern, which is in line with the Secretary-Generals concern about the drastic humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY IS CONCERNED ABOUT DISPLACED IRAQIS

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that it is increasingly concerned over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation facing hundreds of thousands of displaced

Iraqis, both within and outside their country.

UNHCR relayed its fears to donors during a meeting last Wednesday in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Senior staff from Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon told donors that displacement caused by continuing sectarian violence in Iraq has necessitated a reassessment of the agency's work and priorities throughout the region.

UNITED NATIONS STANDS BY STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY CAMPAIGN

This coming Sunday, there will be a global event Stand Up Against Poverty in support of the Millennium Development Goals at multiple locations around the world.

The event will be in New York on Sunday evening in Times Square and also on Monday, this campaign will be on the North Lawn here in the UN Headquarters.

To mark this occasion, the Secretary General says that we are standing up for the Millennium Development Goals; we are standing up to hold leaders to their promises; we are standing up until we meet the Goals.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

LACK OF FUNDING PROMPTS EARLY END TO ANGOLA FOOD AID OPERATION: The World Food Programme (WFP)

says that a lack of funding has prompted it to wind down all its food aid operations in Angola by the end of the year after three decades of direct involvement in the country.

WORK OF RAPPORTEURS IS INDEPENDENT: Asked about a report concerning Spain that was put out by Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak, the Spokesman pointed out that the work of those rapporteurs is independent. and they act on their own authority. The reports, he said, can spur debate, but he declined to comment further on them.

DENIAL OF VISA IS A BILATERAL ISSUE: Asked about the denial of a visa that would have allowed an Abkhaz official to visit the United States, the Spokesman said that the issue at this point seems to be a bilateral one between Russia and the United States. The Host Country Committee, he noted, could take up the issue if asked, and the UN Secretariat could then get involved if its help is sought.

U.N. LEGAL CHIEF TO BRIEF COUNCIL ON LEBANON TRIBUNAL BEFORE END OF MONTH: Asked when Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel would report to the Security Council on a possible international tribunal for Lebanon, the Spokesman said he was expected to report to the Council before the end of this month.