HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON
BRIEFING
BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, July 14, 2005
ANNAN
ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF “ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS”
Secretary-General Kofi Annan is
to announce the launch of an initiative for an “Alliance of
Civilizations”. The initiative is intended to respond to the need for a
committed effort by the international community -- both at the institutional
and civil society levels -- to bridge divides and overcome prejudice,
misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten
world peace.
The Alliance will aim to
address emerging threats emanating from hostile perceptions that foment
violence, and to bring about cooperation among various efforts to heal such
divisions.
Events of recent years have
heightened the sense of a widening gap and lack of mutual understanding
between Islamic and Western societies -- an environment that has been
exploited and exacerbated by extremists in all societies. The Alliance of
Civilizations is intended as a coalition against such forces, as a movement to
advance mutual respect for religious beliefs and traditions, and as a
reaffirmation of humankind's increasing interdependence in all areas -- from
the environment to health, from economic and social development to peace and
security.
The call for an alliance was
initiated by Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, and
co-sponsored by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Both
Governments will continue, as co-sponsors, to provide support. Several other
Governments and organizations have expressed interest in joining them, and the
Secretary-General hopes that more will do so. The co-sponsors have already
pledged substantial initial contributions to a Trust Fund set up to finance
the initiative, and the Secretary-General will be inviting other Governments
and entities to contribute.
The Secretary-General is also
bringing together a high-level group of eminent persons to guide the
initiative. The group is expected to present a report with recommendations and
a practical plan of action in late 2006.
Asked whether this initiative
was distinct from the Dialogue among Civilizations that had come before the
General Assembly previously, the Spokesman said the two initiatives were
different ones, but participants in them were working closely together.
He said, in response to a
question, that today’s announcement was not linked to the terror attacks last
week in London, noting that Prime Ministers Zapatero and Erdogan had been
working on this for some time. But, he added, any initiative that can build
understanding between the Western and Islamic worlds is a welcome one.
CLINTON URGES SUSTAINED MOMENTUM IN
TSUNAMI RECOVERY EFFORT
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the UN’s Special
Envoy for
Recovery, was in the Economic and Social Council Chamber today,
where he was working to sustain the momentum of the tsunami recovery effort.
Regarding the way ahead, he told the Council that UN
agencies, non-governmental organizations, donor and affected governments, and
the corporate sector all needed to agree on who was going to do what, when and
where.
President Clinton also highlighted the need for disaster
risk awareness education and urged governments to keep their people informed
about what was going on, when they could expect results, and how they could
meaningfully participate in their own recovery.
In related news, the United Nations and its humanitarian
partners are continuing their relief and recovery work in the Indian Ocean
region.
As of the tsunami’s six-month anniversary, almost one
month ago: more than 1.1 million displaced survivors had been sheltered; more
than 1.7 million had received food aid; more than 1 million had been given
daily drinking water; and more than 1.2 million children had been vaccinated
against measles.
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON SOMALIA,
CONGRATULATES SUDAN ON NEW GOVERNMENT
The
held consultations today on Somalia. Council members were
briefed by Francois Lonseny Fall, the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia. They also heard from the Chairman of the Sanctions
Committee on Somalia, Ambassador Lauro Baja of the Philippines.
The Council then went into a formal meeting to adopt a
.
In a
following the meeting, the Council welcomed the
inauguration of the new Government of National Unity in Sudan on 9 July. It
also congratulated the people of Sudan on the historic event.
MASSACRES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
CONGO CONDEMNED
The Security Council heard a briefing yesterday afternoon
on the
from the head of the UN Mission in that
country, William Swing.
In a
afterward, the Council condemned “with the utmost
firmness” the massacre of some 50 people, most of them women and children, on
9 July in Ntulu-Mamba. The Council requested that Swing establish the facts
and report to the Council as quickly as possible, and called on the Congolese
authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
Under “other matters”, the Council also heard a briefing
on the Great Lakes region yesterday from the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative, Ibrahima Fall.
"DEMOCRACY DEFICIT" MUST BE CORRECTED,
ANNAN SAYS
The Secretary-General
to reporters yesterday following his luncheon with the members of
the Security Council. He said, in response to questions about the debate on
Security Council reform, that we should not jump to conclusions, with
discussions still at a very early stage.
He added that the Security Council can be more democratic
and more representative, asserting, “There is a democracy deficit in the UN
governance that has to be corrected.” If we lecture to the world about
democracy, he said, we should apply that lesson to ourselves.
During that press encounter, the Secretary-General was
also asked about Zimbabwe, and he said that he expects a report from Anna
Tibaijuka, whom he sent there as an envoy, sometime next week. He added he
would give the report to the Government of Zimbabwe for comments before he
releases it. He added, “Depending on the contents of the report, we will take
appropriate action and we will have a lot to say.”
AFRICAN UNION PRESENTS RESOLUTION ON
SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
The African Union has presented a draft
General Assembly resolution on Security Council reform.
No date has yet been set for debate on that
draft resolution, or for further debate on the draft resolution by the Group
of Four (G4), namely Brazil, Germany, India and Japan.
Intensive informal consultations are
continuing among member states on the subject.
General Assembly President, Jean Ping, will
meet with the G4 Foreign Ministers late Sunday afternoon.
Asked whether the
Secretary-General would still want a vote on Security Council reform, the
Spokesman said that the Secretary-General was watching developments extremely
closely, and cautioned that these are early days yet. He reiterated the
Secretary-General’s view that the September World Summit is an opportunity not
to be missed to address a wide range of UN reforms.
Asked about a schedule for the
UN reform discussions, the Spokesman said that arrangements for discussions
were being led by General Assembly President Jean Ping.
ANNAN
COMMENDS BENIN & NIGER FOR WORKING TO SOLVE BORDER DISPUTE
A
was issued yesterday afternoon concerning the judgment of the
International Court of Justice, delivered on Tuesday, concerning the border
dispute between the Republic of Benin and the Republic of Niger.
The Secretary-General commends the two countries for
resorting to the International Court of Justice for a peaceful settlement of
their border dispute. He notes with satisfaction their reaffirmation that they
will respect and implement the judgment of the Court.
NEW INDEPENDENT REPORT PROPOSES GLOBAL
FORUM
TO TACKLE INTERNET GOVERNANCE PROBLEMS
The
, an independent working group, today
released a report on Internet governance, the conclusions of which will be
considered during the second phase of the
(WSIS), to be held in November in
Tunis.
The report proposes the
creation of a global forum for dialogue among all stakeholders such as
governments, the private sector and civil society, to address problems linked
to Internet governance, including spam and cyber crime. It also calls for the
further internationalization of Internet governance.
The Secretary-General will today transmit the report to
the President of the Preparatory Committee of the World Summit, Ambassador
Janis Karklinš of Latvia, as well as to the Secretary-General of the WSIS,
Yoshio Utsumi.
The report, which has a strong focus on development,
advocates a meaningful participation of developing countries in Internet
governance and recommends ways to reinforce their capacities to use the
Internet more efficiently.
Asked how it would affect talks
on internet governance if the United States did not relinquish control over
internet domains, the Spokesman noted that the report offers a range of
options that member states, including the United States, can discuss and
consider. He said that the point of the internet discussions was not a
question of ownership, but that everyone has a say in the use of the internet.
SEVENTY COUNTRIES NOW PARTICIPATING IN
DEATH PENALTY SURVEY
Available today is an
from the Secretary-General on capital punishment and implementation
of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the
death penalty. The update contains information received from 18 states since
the issuance of his earlier report on 9 March this year, bringing to 70 the
total number of states participating in the survey.
While there has been some progress in restricting the
scope of capital punishment, and in restricting further the imposition of the
death penalty on those under the age of 18, the report concludes that many of
the countries which retain the death penalty did not provide accurate or
comprehensive statistics on death sentences imposed, appeals allowed, or
executions carried out by age, gender or type of offence.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
CORRECTION ON ANNAN’S INJURY: It was announced two
days ago that the Secretary-General was getting an operation on his right
shoulder. That information was incorrect. The operation will be on his left
shoulder.
MORE OUTRAGE ON ATTACK AGAINST IRAQI CHILDREN: The
UN Mission in
and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have
their outrage at the recent horrific events in Iraq that have led
to so many deaths among children. The loss of innocent children’s lives is
appalling and unacceptable, they say.
TOP U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL IN SIERRA LEONE:
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, is now in Sierra Leone
after completing a four day visit to Liberia. Her visit to West Africa is aimed
at looking into the human rights situation in those two countries and Cote
’IǾ.
U.N. PEACEKEEPERS IN COTE D’IVOIRE ASSIST REFUGEE RETURNS:
Troops from the
provided security during the repatriation of
some 200 refugees from the western border town of Bin Houyé to Liberia. The UN
troops accompanied officials for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees to the border town of Gankazou to assess the situation there in
preparation for the repatriation of some 423 refugees, which includes many
children.
WORLD TEA PRODUCTION REACHES NEW HIGHS IN 2004:
World tea production has continued its upward trend in 2004, with output growth
at a steady 2 percent and overall production reaching an estimated 3.2 million
tonnes, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
today. According to an FAO report prepared for the Intergovernmental
Group on Tea meeting in Bali from 20 – 22 July, the largest expansions in
production took place in Turkey, China, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
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