United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-04-13

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, April 13, 2000

SECRETARY-GENERAL HOLDS BILATERAL MEETINGS IN CUBA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife, Nane, visited the Jos&eacute; Marti primary school in Havana this morning. Their guide was a 10-year-old boy, who showed them around the school complex before taking them to a classroom, where the Secretary-General and his wife sat with the students during a lesson given by one of the teachers. The students also danced and sang for their visitors.

The Secretary-General then resumed his bilateral meetings with visiting dignitaries. First off was a meeting with the President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, followed immediately by the Minister of Economic Development and Cooperation of Ethiopia, Girna Birru.

At 11.30 a.m., the Secretary-General met with Foreign Minister Farouk Al-Sharaa of Syria. He was then scheduled to meet Hassan Habibi, First Vice-President of Iran, followed by Abdul Ilah El-Khatib, the Foreign Minister of Jordan.

After a lunch hosted by President Fidel Castro, the Secretary-General will call on President Alpha Konar&eacute; of Mali, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, Vice-President Reyes Lopez of Guatemala, and President Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia.

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Secretary General met Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia for half an hour. During this meeting the two leaders continued their efforts to narrow their differences over the proposed Khmer Rouge trial and to seek a compromise formula. They agreed that the two working groups, one from the United Nations and the other from Cambodia, will meet once again in the very near future.

The Secretary-General also met Wednesday with U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts on this same issue. Senator Kerry is the ranking Democratic member of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES ARMS INSPECTION BODY DEALING WITH IRAQ

The Security Council this morning began a discussion of the organizational plan for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission (UNMOVIC) dealing with Iraq. Hans Blix, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, presented the plan, which was issued as a document earlier this week, and is expected to answer any questions Council members might have.

[Blix told reporters after the briefing that the Council had accepted his organizational plan.]

At 3 p.m., the Council will also discuss the Secretary-General's report on the UN Office in Angola, which recommends a six-month extension for the Office. Council members expect to receive a briefing by Under-Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary-General's Adviser for Special Assignments, and they will also consider a draft resolution on the extension of the UN Office in Angola, which they may vote on in a formal meeting following the consultations.

On Friday, the Council expects to hold an open briefing on Rwanda, focussing on the report prepared late last year on the UN's actions in Rwanda by an independent three-member panel led by former Swedish Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson. The meeting will be chaired by Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy.

UN REPRESENTATIVE APPEALS FOR ORDERLY RETURNS IN KOSOVO

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, issued an open letter containing his thoughts and proposals on refugee repatriation from several countries, which began over the past few weeks. Countries, including Germany and Switzerland, which had accepted refugees until spring, have begun to return the Kosovars under an agreement between the United Nations and these countries.

While acknowledging the generosity of many countries, Kouchner asks for a phased, orderly and humane return. Unless the question of returns is addressed, "tens of thousands of returnees expected this year will swamp the capacity to absorb them," he said, and appealed to the international community to share the burden of helping to achieve an orderly re-absorption of the returnees.

UN INTERNATIONAL STAFF RETURN TO AFGHAN CITY

UN international staff have returned to Kandahar, Afghanistan -- the first time that the staff has been in that southern city since a series of armed incursions by the Taliban prompted the withdrawal of all international staff from Kandahar on 28 March.

The return Wednesday followed several meeting between UN and Taliban officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, and in the Afghan capital, Kabul, as well as Kandahar. In the course of those meetings, Taliban officials reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in maintaining UN security and respect UN immunities.

The return of the staff means that several UN programs to provide humanitarian assistance to drought-stricken southern Afghanistan -- including a World Food Programme plan to provide emergency food assistance to 200,000 people -- can be resumed.

CRIME CONGRESS CONCLUDES LAW REVIEW

Today in Vienna, the 10th Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders concluded the review of the state of law and criminal justice worldwide. Delegates are now finalizing the draft "Single Declaration on Crime and Justice," which will be the most important document coming out of the Congress.

The Declaration sets specific targets and deadlines for common action by Member States to deal with organized crime and punishment of criminals. The Declaration is set to be adopted at the two-day high-level segment of the Congress, which starts Friday.

Seventy Ministers of Justice and Attorneys-General are expected to attend that meeting, which will be chaired by the Vice-President of Colombia and also attended by the President of Tajikistan and the Prime Minister of Slovakia.

The Declaration is a step towards the adoption of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, expected to occur during the Millennium Summit this September.

UN MISSION IN BOSNIA FOCUSES ON MINE AWARENESS

Following the recent tragedy in Sarajevo in which three children were killed after straying into a minefield, the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) announced today that it would take measures in cooperation with the local officials to increase public awareness on the dangers of mines.

In addition, the UN International Police Task Force will organize a training program with the Mine Action Centre for Sarajevo police officers. This training will provide the police officers with the skills necessary to conduct mine-awareness courses at local schools as part of their community policing program.

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article