MICHELE MONTAS is the Spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly.

TV: UN WEBCAST TV VIDEO - 56 minutes

UN: UNITED NATIONS BRIEFING AND TV - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: WEDNESDAY, 30/04/2008 (MaximsNews Network)

UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 30 April 2008 -- Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General and UN Webcast TV Video.

**Questions and Answers

Question: What is your reaction to reports that Peter van Walsum (Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara) might resign from his position and that the Secretary-General may appoint someone else?

Deputy Spokesperson: This is the first time I hear of it. I have nothing on that.

Question: Marie, following up on yesterday’s Security Council meeting and where the MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] were, and following Mr. Ban Ki-moon’s visit with Morgan Tsvangiri in Africa, there’s been allegations coming out of the continent that somehow the Secretary-General’s biased when it comes to the situation in Zimbabwe, that he’s met the senior leadership of the MDC but hasn’t really engaged with the Government of Zimbabwe. Can I have your reaction? And is there any progress on appointing an envoy on Zimbabwe?

Deputy Spokesperson: Nathan, I’d like to refer you to the remarks made at the stake-out by his top political official yesterday, Mr. Lynn Pascoe, who addressed these questions at the stake-out. And he outlined for you his briefing to the Security Council, the Secretary-General’s position on the issues that you just named and in addition, the Secretary-General also addressed his concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe, both politically and in terms of the humanitarian situation when he took some questions yesterday following the Geneva lecture and I’d like to refer you to that as well.

Question: But following the Security Council meeting with the senior official, Mr. Pascoe, I’m asking you to respond to allegations from the continent that the Secretary-General’s office is biased towards the MDC.

Deputy Spokesperson: I think if you read his remarks as I am pointing out, to the remarks of Mr. Pascoe as well as the Secretary-General, it’ll be clear that that is not the case. And as you know, Mr. Pascoe yesterday morning, prior to briefing the Council, met with both the [Zimbabwean] Ambassador as well as with the MDC representative.

Question: A quick follow up on the envoy. Lots of discussion up on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting about a possible UN envoy. Have you got a name in mind? How far along are we on this process?

Deputy Spokesperson: Again, I refer you to what Mr. Pascoe said at the stakeout. He was clear about the Secretary-General’s position and even, I think, read a line to you from his briefing, when he said that the Secretary-General strongly supports the efforts of SADC and the African Union to help resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe. [and that the Secretary-General was ready to use good offices in conjunction with those two organizations.]

Question: Anna Tibaijuka (Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme) of UN Habitat has some experience with Zimbabwe. Do you think she’s the kind of person, if an envoy were appointed, who’d be good?

Deputy Spokesperson: There was only a recommendation made in the Security Council, as you know. There was no outcome on that recommendation in the Council. Mr. Pascoe addressed that issue. He also said he’d have to have further discussions on the subject, that he had nothing on the subject for the time being, and the Secretary-General’s message has been very clear about the need for the early release of the presidential election results. Nothing further than that.

Question: On the food crisis, do you have any idea when the task force will be established and also, what procedure will be followed in the establishment of the task force?

Deputy Spokesperson: Are you talking about the task force on the global food crisis? Again, this is something that it has been announced, that the task force will be established with the Secretary-General leading it, with John Holmes as the Coordinator, with David Navarro as the Deputy Coordinator, and that it will be represented by the major representatives of the UN system. The exact line up, I’m sure will come out shortly because we announced to you yesterday that they will be meeting the first week of May.

Question: UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Adviser, briefed the European Union yesterday on the work of the task force to the Algiers bombing. Can we get a readout of what he said? And when will we get a briefing from him no the work of the task force?

Deputy Spokesperson: We’ll ask Manoel de Almeida e Silva, who is the Spokesperson travelling with Mr. Brahimi.

Question: Also, has the UN relocated its personnel in Afghanistan following the bombing of the military parade?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing on the security measures to report to you publicly.

Question: I want to know how long the Nigerian Government will have to wait for the Secretary-General to respond to the request on the [Ibrahim] Gambari-led Niger Delta Committee.

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing further on that. Let me get back to you if I have something further.

Question: There are claims from the Nigerian Government that it has been more than two weeks after the letter was faxed to the Secretary-General.

Deputy Spokesperson: Let me follow up for you.

Question: There are some reports from Myanmar that in some advance voting on this constitutional referendum, that people are being forced to vote “yes”. These are media reports. I’m wondering if the UN is aware of it and what Mr. Gambari or anyone else in the UN system has to say about this?

Deputy Spokesperson: No, I don’t have anything. We don’t have any first hand information on these reports. And again, our position is that, what is important for the United Nations is that the Government honour its stated commitment to a free and fair process.

Question: Now that you’ve confirmed the nomination of Miroslav Jenca to head the Central Asian Regional Diplomacy Centre, he’s quoted on Uzbekistan’s governmental website as having said that criminal elements participated in Andijou and there were no demonstrations and he hoped that investigations would reveal organizers and felons who’d be punished. I’m not sure he actually said that but that is on the governmental website. Is there some way to get, now that he’s been given his post, his view of this important issue in Central Asia, did he say that or not?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know if he said that after his appointment or before his appointment but we can certainly look into that for you.

Question: Another thing. You mentioned the Global Compact and this Board meeting tomorrow. It turns out when you use the computers here at the UN, there’s a site called Global Compact Critics.net, which criticizes the Global Compact and sort of gets blocked, it can’t actually be viewed inside the UN system. So I wonder. I know previously you’d said that the blocking of websites is something the UN out-sources to some company, which I don’t have the name of the company, but can you comment on the appropriateness of the UN blocking access to a website that I guess is critical of its work but doesn’t contain pornography, gambling or any of your other (no-no’s)?

Deputy Spokesperson: I’m not aware of this issue so we’d have to look into it for you.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later said that the website had not been blocked.]

Question: I’d like to know the background for what happened. Did the Secretary-General misspeak when he gave the statement where it was construed that he was supporting Austria against Iceland?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think that statement speaks for itself and in conjunction with the question that was asked yesterday at the briefing. I have nothing beyond that.

Question: Yesterday at the press conference, President Bush said that tremendous progress was being made in Afghanistan. Does the United Nations agree with this assessment of this update on the situation in Afghanistan?

Deputy Spokesperson: You saw the Secretary-General’s latest statement that he had over the weekend after the assassination attempt and his assessment of the situation in Afghanistan was clearly articulated in his latest report and by the briefing to the Security Council.

Question: Is it possible to know what the background was to the Secretary-General’s meeting with Morgan Tsvangirai in Ghana? When was the invitation made? Was it a chance encounter? Was it something Mr. Tsvangirai asked and was told, “Yes you can meet with Mr. Ban, fly to Ghana.” How did it come about?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t have the background on that for you now but he was at a meeting where there were representatives from throughout Africa attending a very important UN conference, and frequently the Secretary-General meets on the sidelines of conferences with various actors attending or observing these kinds of meetings.

Question: I don’t know if there is, but if there’s some way to know, how much in advance of their meeting was the indication given that Mr. Ban would meet with Mr. Tsvangirai? Not that he should have or shouldn’t have, but how long in advance?

Deputy Spokesperson: If that kind of information is available to you, we’ll certainly get it to you, but the fact that the Secretary-General, wherever he visits or whether he’s here or when he’s on mission, he meets with Governments, he meets with the opposition. That’s part of his job.

Question: Is the Secretary-General satisfied with the attitude of African leaders regarding the Zimbabwe issue or is he of the same mind of the United Kingdom and the United States, that African leaders, like [South African President Thabo] Mbeki and Nigeria, are too silent on this issue?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think the Secretary-General, again, I will repeat what he said, that he strongly supports the efforts of SADC and the African Union to help resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Question: A follow up question on Afghanistan, was the United Nations taken into confidence about this big offensive by the United States-led coalition forces, especially the Marines, in southern Afghanistan?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know specifically the answer to that question but there is a great deal of coordination, as you know, that is going on between the UN mission and the security forces in Afghanistan, and that is precisely why the new Special Representative has been emphasizing the need for coordination in that country.

Question: This is the first time the Marines have been sent in with heavy equipment, tanks and helicopters.

Deputy Spokesperson: As I said, coordination between the various arms working in Afghanistan is definitely in the purview of the Special Representative.

Question: Marie, regarding the health plan of the UN staff, there are indications that we might see an increase in co-payments. What is the position of the Staff Union at this stage?

Deputy Spokesperson: You’d have to ask the Staff Union what their position is. I don’t have the position of the Staff Union.

Question: Would you have the Secretariat’s position? Is it true that in a meeting today, the Secretariat is proposing to raise co-payments and minimums for the staff health insurance?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know. I’ll look into it for you. If there are no more questions for me, those of you who are interested in speaking with Ms. Coomaraswamy, please stick around. Otherwise, have a good afternoon.

Labels: United Nations,  U.N., Secretary-General

 

Advertisement

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MaximsNews® LLC   NEWS NETWORK FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network that is read worldwide, in 195 countries and territories. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries. 

Established in 1999, MaximsNews now publishes in the six UN working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.  

SEE:  About MaximsNews

The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews® LLC.

REACH THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE  

SEE: Advertise with MaximsNews | MaximsNews MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS      

MaximsNews.com U.N. ® LLC  www.MaximsNews.com | MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com | Please contact us about Republishing: Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2008, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights reserved.