United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-04-26

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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

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

ANNAN OPENS WORLD EDUCATION FORUM IN SENEGAL

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning opened the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, calling on governments and civic groups to focus on educating girls as part of a renewed effort to provide education opportunities to all youngsters worldwide. The objective, he said, is that by 2015 all children should be able to complete their primary education, a goal he first announced in his Millennium Report.

"The first step," Annan said in his statement, "is for societies to recognize that educating girls is not an option; it is a necessity." After giving his address, the Secretary-General stepped outside the conference complex where students were demonstrating in support of the conference's goals. They carried signs saying, "Education is freedom;" one girl held a placard that read, "Teach us too." The Secretary-General and his wife spent about a quarter of an hour mingling and chatting with the students.

At midday, the Secretary-General met with Senegal's new President, Abdoulaye Wade, who was accompanied by his Prime Minister, Moustapha Niasse, his Foreign Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, and other members of the new Government.

The Secretary-General said that Senegal's peaceful and democratic change of Government was an inspiration for all of Africa. The President discussed national issues, such as the separatist movement in Casamance, which he said he was confident could be resolved peacefully, and regional ones such as peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for which the Prime Minister had previously served as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy.

Annan and the President then had a private exchange before a luncheon hosted by the President.

In the afternoon, he gave a press conference at the World Education Forum, and then attended two receptions, one hosted by Prime Minister Niasse, and the other by Education Minister Kansoumbally Nbiaye. Click here for the schedule of the Secretary-General's visits to Senegal, the Gambia, Gabon, Central African Republic and Cameroon.

UN SPECIAL ENVOY TO BEGIN MIDDLE EAST TRIP THURSDAY

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued through his Spokesman, said that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Terje Roed Larsen, will begin a mission to the Middle East on Thursday. From April 27 until May 9, Roed Larsen will visit Israel and Lebanon, as well as a number of other countries in the region, including Syria, Jordan and Egypt. He is scheduled to return to New York on May 10.

Larsen will be accompanied by a team of political, military and legal advisers, Okabe said.

"The Secretary-General wishes to take this opportunity to reiterate his commitment to the attainment of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the entire Middle East region, based on the implementation of all relevant resolutions, including 242 and 338," she added.

UN HOSTS CONFERENCE ON PALESTINE REFUGEES IN PARIS

Today at the Headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Paris, delegates from around the world -- including Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestine Authority -- met to begin a two-day International Conference on Palestine Refugees.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General, urging the Israelis and Palestinians to move the peace process forward and to address, among other issues, the plight of the more than three million Palestine refugees.

The Secretary-General said in his message: "The parties have traveled a long way, but much remains to be achieved. We cannot allow despair and frustration to set in and upset all that has been accomplished thus far."

The Paris meeting was organized by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States.

IRAQ COORDINATOR BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL ON MISSING PERSONS

This morning, the Security Council, in its closed consultations, heard a briefing from Yuli Vorontsov, the Secretary-General's High-level Coordinator for Iraq, on missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals. Vorontsov briefed the Council on the Secretary-General's report issued last week on that topic.

Vorontsov was appointed High-level Coordinator on February 14, and in the two months since then, he has engaged in talks in New York, as well as a visit to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, to pursue outstanding issues on missing persons and detainees.

He encouraged Iraq to cooperate with the Tripartite Commission that has dealt with that issue, and which has helped to repatriate some 6,000 Kuwaiti prisoners of war over the past decade with Iraq's participation.

Tonight, an eight-member delegation of the Security Council, led by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury of Bangladesh, will depart New York on a mission to Kosovo, which is to last until this Sunday, April 30.

Then, two days later, on May 2, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States will lead a seven-member Council delegation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as to Lusaka, Zambia, to meet with regional leaders and determine the state of the region's peace process. A list of the DRC delegation members and a note on that mission's mandate were issued today; the delegation is scheduled to return to New York on May 8.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Council held a private meeting to hear a briefing by the Neutral Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, former President Ketumile Masire of Botswana.

He told the Council that the parties are at the end of a preliminary phase of consultations, and that preparations should begin for the next phase -- a dialogue among all the Congolese parties. He said he is drawing up a work plan for that phase, and welcomed the Council team's planned trip to the region.

UNITED NATIONS REPORTS HUMANITARIAN NEEDS FOR ANGOLA

Today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs presented the findings of a rapid needs assessment undertaken in 31 locations throughout Angola in close collaboration with the Government, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. The assessment followed a recent UN inter-agency mission to Angola, led by acting Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie from March 18-23.

McAskie said that "it is important for the international community and the Government of Angola to react promptly if we are to avert the current crisis from becoming a major humanitarian tragedy."

IRAQ EXPORTED $351 MILLION OF OIL LAST WEEK, OFFICE SAYS

The Office of the Iraq Programme, in its regular weekly update, said that Iraq last week exported 16.4 million barrels of oil worth some $351 million. Total revenue for Phase VII is now around $5.47 billion.

Also, the Executive Director of the Office, Benon Sevan, advised the Security Council's Sanctions Committee for Iraq on Tuesday that his Office has 151 observation posts in Iraq, but that 46 of those posts are currently vacant. The Government of Iraq is responsible for the distribution of supplies in the center and south of the country, with the United Nations and its agencies observing that implementation to assess its equity, effectiveness and adequacy.

UN COMMISSION VOTES ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Several resolutions were voted on this morning at the Commission on Human Right in Geneva, including one on human rights defenders in which the Commission expresses its concern that in many countries, persons and organizations engaged in promoting and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms are often subjected to threats, harassment and insecurity.

The Commission requested the Secretary-General to appoint for a period of three years a special representative to report on the situation of human rights defenders in all parts of the world and on possible means too enhance their protections.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Seven million people in Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation are still suffering the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that exploded 14 years today, according to a press release issued today by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs which is seeking some $9.5 million programs for the victims. These projects are minimum the international community should do, the Secretary-General said in a new publication "Chernobyl: A Continuing Catastrophe."

Some 50 Ministers of Environment and Agriculture are participating today and Thursday in the high-level segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development. This morning, they will hold talks on sustainable agriculture policies, and this afternoon on arrangements for the "Earth Summit Plus 10" conference scheduled for 2002.

The UN Population Fund and the International Organization for Migration, along with the Kosovo Office of Statistics, have put out a fact sheet today on the results of a demographic survey taken this winter of Kosovo's population. The survey finds that half of Kosovo's population is less than 25 years old; half of the active population is unemployed; and Kosovo has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in Europe (25 deaths per 1,000 live births).

In the weekly humanitarian update for Afghanistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) notes the outbreak of a possible louse-borne disease in the province of Badakhshan, which has led to fevers, rashes and even deaths. WHO is trying to organize insecticide for the affected area. The update also provides details of the eradication earlier this month of one hundred hectares of opium poppies in Nangahar.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia announced that Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Dragan Nikolic, who was transferred to the Tribunal's custody on Saturday, will appear before Judge David Hunt on Friday at 10 a.m. in The Hague. He is to enter his plea at that time.

Thursday is "Take Our Daughters to Work Day," in which girls are encouraged to come to work with their parents. Ceremonies will start in the Trusteeship Council Chamber at 9:30 a.m., and keynote speakers will include Ambassador Penny Wensley of Australia, feminist author Gloria Steinem and Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to command the Space Shuttle.

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