United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-02-29

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, February 29, 2000

IRAQ HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR TO BRIEF COUNCIL MEMBERS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, after consulting with members of the Security Council, has arranged for the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Hans von Sponeck, to give an informal briefing to Council members this afternoon. The briefing will take place at 5:00 p.m. in the Secretary-General's Conference Room.

Von Sponeck was expected to give a press conference sometime after the meeting with the Council members, the Spokesman said in response to questions.

Asked why von Sponeck was not briefing the Council in an official meeting, the Spokesman noted the discussions among Council members, at which there was no agreement on the format of the meeting. In view of the deadlock, he said, the Secretary-General offered the arrangements for today's meetings, which they accepted.

UN STAFF MEMBER INJURED IN SERBIA AMBUSH

There has been an incident involving an ambush of a UN staff member earlier today in Serbia.

According to preliminary information, Marcel Grogan of Ireland, a Serbia-based staff member of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was wounded while on a humanitarian assessment mission. He had been travelling in a UN-marked vehicle near the town of Bujanovac, on the Serb side of the border near Gnjilane in Kosovo, at around 12:15 p.m. local time when the vehicle was stopped by several men. One of the men discharged his weapon and Grogan suffered a leg wound. He is presently being treated at a US Army Hospital in Kosovo.

KOFI ANNAN INFORMS SECURITY COUNCIL OF ASIA TRIP

The Secretary-General gave a briefing to the Security Council on his recent Asian tour.

He highlighted the need to support East Timor's reconstruction, noting that at present, the UN Trust Fund there has received only $22 million.

The Secretary-General added that, although the Council could choose to form a tribunal to judge violations of human rights in East Timor, "Indonesia should be given the chance to demonstrate its capacity to do a credible and transparent job of holding people accountable for their crimes."

He also said that the United Nations would continue to discuss with the Cambodian Government its concerns about a tribunal to try the Khmer Rouge. Any trial, he said, must meet international standards by guaranteeing the arrest and surrender of all indictees; by excluding any amnesty for genocide or crimes against humanity; and by including an appropriate international element among prosecutors and judges.

Before the Secretary-General's appearance, the Council held consultations to discuss his proposals on arrangements for Iraqi Muslims to make the annual "hajj" pilgrimage to Mecca, using some funds from the UN escrow account. A meeting of experts will discuss that topic further at 2:30 this afternoon.

The Council also unanimously approved in a formal meeting a resolution on the three-month extension of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. The Council also expressed support for the effort of the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, James Baker, to consult with the parties in that dispute.

SPECIAL UN ADVISER TO VISIT CYPRUS

In a statement, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, is on his way to the island.

The main purpose of his visit is familiarization with Cyprus and the work of the UN Mission there. "It is not to further the process of the proximity talks," the Spokesman said, although he added that de Soto would meet Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash towards the end of his stay.

Proximity talks are scheduled to resume, subject to confirmation, on May 23 in New York.

De Soto has just concluded a two-day visit to Brussels to meet with officials of the European Union. After departing Cyprus on March 8, he will go to Ankara, Turkey, and Athens, Greece, to meet respectively with Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, among other officials.

UN FOOD AGENCY WARNS OF RISING RISKS AFTER MOZAMBIQUE FLOODS

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that the situation for hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans stranded by recent floods and cyclones is worsening and that people will increasingly run the risk of illness and starvation if humanitarian assistance is not immediately expanded.

WFP is using a fleet of seven helicopters to run search and rescue missions to pluck survivors from waters and deposit them on higher ground.

The agency says it is afraid that the rooftops may collapse from the strain of overcrowding by those seeking refuge.

UN Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain is leaving today for Mozambique to oversee and support the UN team on the ground as the Secretary-General's Special Humanitarian Envoy. Mountain had previously coordinated the humanitarian effort in East Timor.

UN, INDONESIAN PRESIDENT SIGN EAST TIMOR BORDER AGREEMENT

President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia paid a visit to East Timor today, saying that both Indonesia and East Timor had been victims of past regimes.

He signed a communiqu&eacute; with UN Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello, which established a border regime for the passage of people and goods between East Timor and Indonesia, cooperation on legal matters and continued support for East Timorese students wanting to study in Indonesian universities.

FIRST UNHCR CONVOY TO CHECHNYA ARRIVES IN GROZNY

The first convoy by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees carrying humanitarian aid to Chechnya arrived in the center of Grozny at 1215 this afternoon and is currently offloading in a warehouse operated by UNHCR's Russian partner, Emercom.

The supplies will be stored overnight, then distributed in the center of the city tomorrow. UNHCR local staff will monitor the distribution. No security incidents were reported.

The 10-truck convoy is carrying 45 tons of food and other supplies. This convoy is viewed by UNHCR as a pilot project to provide an idea of the security and logistics involved in getting aid into Chechnya, according the agency's briefing notes.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

China and Tunisia have become the 59th and 60th Member States to pay their dues in full for this year's regular budget. China made a payment close to $10.5 million and Tunisia made a payment of just under $300,000. (To access the full list of "Payments to the UN Regular Budget" click here.)

Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said today in a keynote address to the World Bank's annual Conference on Human Development that a global movement is needed is needed to uphold children's rights and reduce child poverty. She said that childhood poverty is "a disabling condition that often leaves permanent scars."

The weekly humanitarian update on Afghanistan notes efforts to provide food and other assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced people currently living in Kabul. Among other UN agencies, the World Food Programme is providing regular food aid to some 3,000 vulnerable families living in the former Soviet Embassy in Kabul.

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