United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-07-03

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

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOON BRIEFING
BY THE DEPUTY SPOKESMAN OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
MANOEL DE ALMEIDA E SILVA
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

There will be no noon briefing Tuesday. UN Headquarters is closed for the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning inaugurated the new Headquarters of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany. The Tribunal was set up in October 1996 to adjudicate maritime disputes under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Annan was welcomed by Tribunal President Chandresekhara Rao and local officials. He toured the premises, met the judges and was introduced to the building's architect.

• In an inaugural ceremony, the Secretary-General thanked the people and Government of Germant for endowing the new Headquarters. He said the Tribunal would permit "societies and cultures to coexist, blossom and flourish," and added, "The language of the global community is international law. Let's accept it, embrace it, implement it and firm it up."

• The Secretary-General then flew to Berlin, where he met with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. At a press conference afterward, the two said that they had discussed UN reform, and the Chancellor said he had underestimated the progress that has been made on reform. They discussed the goals of the Secretary-General's Millennium Report, including debt relief and efforts to include developing countries in the global market. Schroeder said Germany would live up to its commitments to UN peacekeeping.

• Asked what the United Nations could do to protect minorities in Kosovo, the Secretary-General said, "I think the United Nations and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops are doing whatever they can to protect all minorities in Kosovo." He added, "Where there is such enmity between two communities, it is not easy to wipe it away overnight."

• He then visited the Bundestag, or Parliament Building, where he met with the Bundestag President, Wolfgang Thierse, and later met with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, with whom he reviewed his recent visit to the Middle East and efforts to clear up the remaining problems on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Annan and Fischer also discussed the Millennium Summit, UN and Security Council reform, peacekeeping efforts in Sierra Leone and the future of peacekeeping.

• The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister then had informal discussion with the Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affairs. After that, they were scheduled to walk through the Brandenburg Gate.

• In the evening, the Secretary-General will receive a courtesy call from former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and is also to be the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by German President Johannes Rau.

• The Secretary-General, in his report to the Security Council on Ethiopia and Eritrea, made available today, welcomed what he described as the "long-awaited" cease-fire agreement signed on June 18 between the two countries and said it was the first but extremely vital step towards the restoration of peace.

• He urged the two parties to cooperate fully with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the envisaged second phase of proximity talks.

• In order to facilitate the earliest implementation of the June 18 agreement, the Secretary-General announced in the report that he would be dispatching a reconnaissance mission to the region to discuss with the OAU and the parties the details of possible UN assistance. On the basis of its findings, the mission will make recommendations concerning a concept of operations for a UN peacekeeping mission.

• The first phase of the mission is led by Maj. Gen. Timothy Ford of Australia, formerly chief of staff of the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), and is comprised of political, military planning, legal and humanitarian officers who are scheduled to leave New York this afternoon.

• The Secretary-General said he would also dispatch liaison officers to each capital to assist in the planning of a peacekeeping mission. Subject to the authorization of the Security Council and concurrence of the parties, the liaison officers would be followed within the next few weeks by the gradual deployment of up to a total of 100 UN military observers.

• The Council is expected to take up the report and the recommendations before the end of the week.

• The situation in Sierra Leone today is reported as calm, but unpredictable.

• Last Friday afternoon, combatants, believed to be from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), attacked a Jordanian escort patrol belonging to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), about 20 kilometers west of Mile 91. In that attack, one Jordanian corporal was killed and four Jordanians were wounded, two of them seriously.

• The ambush was launched in and around a house set back from the road, and the attackers used small arms and at least one rocket-propelled grenade. The Jordanian casualties were all caused when the lead vehicle in the Jordanian patrol took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade.

• The Jordanians returned fire in self-defense and obliterated the house from which the firing was coming, killing at least 10 attackers.

• Force Commander Vijay Jetley expressed condolences and also commended the Jordanian troops for their "robust, professional and vigorous response" to the attack. On Friday evening, the Secretary-General, in a statement, expressed his condolence to the family of the victim and the Jordanian Government and also reiterated the United Nations' commitment to assist the people of Sierra Leone in achieving lasting peace in their country.

• Later on Friday night, in a separate incident, Jordanian troops deployed at Rokel Bridge were fired upon by a small group of unidentified attackers and returned fire, upon which the attackers fled. There were no UN casualties.

• There is no change in the status of the 222 Indian peacekeepers and 11 military observers who are surrounded by the RUF at Kailahun.

• On the human rights front, the UN Mission has been receiving information from civilians fleeing rebel-held areas, indicating that the recent fighting has been accompanied by a rise in human rights violations, including summary executions, rape and sexual abuse, and the recruitment of child soldiers.

• The Security Council is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. today to hold informal consultations on Lebanon, on which it will hear a briefing by Miklos Pinther, Chief of the UN Cartographic Section.

• The new Security Council President for the month of July, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, this morning held bilateral consultations with other Council members on the Council's program of work. No Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, which is a holiday at UN headquarters in New York.

• On Wednesday, the Council is expected to discuss its program of work and also intends to hold consultations on a draft resolution concerning a ban on trade in rough diamonds from Sierra Leone.

• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will begin its substantive session this year on Wednesday, with the opening of its High-Level Segment, which this year will focus on the role of information technology in the global economy.

• Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr&eacute;chette will be among those addressing the opening session on Wednesday, along with the President of ECOSOC, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia. U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers will give the keynote address.

• Also on Wednesday, there will be a high-level policy dialogue with the international financial and trade organizations, as well as a panel with senior representatives from the regional development banks.

• The High-Level Segment is expected to conclude on Friday, with the adoption of a ministerial declaration and ECOSOC’s substantive session will continue until August 1.

• The proceedings will be broadcast live at www.un.org/webcast/ecosoc2000.

• In response to questions on the trial of 13 Jews in Iran, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General has been in close touch with the Government of Iran in this case and stressed his expectation that those being tried would be entitled to a full and transparent judicial process.

• The Secretary-General appreciated the information he has received in confidence from the Iranian Government.

• He noted that the sentences are subject to appeal and expressed his hope that further steps in the legal process would be handled in accordance with the Islamic traditions of compassion and mercy.

• The Secretary-General, in his report on the situation in the Central African Republic, noted the successful transition from the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) to the current UN Peace-Building Support Office (BONUCA).

• Because of the conflicts and tensions in the subregion, the Secretary-General stated that security will remain a matter of concern in the country. Also, given the country’s present economic difficulties, the Secretary-General appealed to the donor community to fulfil the pledges made during the Special Donors Meeting held in New York on May 15-16, so that security and development projects can begin soon.

• In response to a question on a letter by a Taliban official to the Secretary-General, which warned of new fighting, the Spokesman noted that Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast is expected to brief the Security Council in informal consultations on Friday about the latest developments in Afghanistan.

• In response to a question, the Spokesman said that UN Legal Adviser Hans Corell is due to arrive in Cambodia on July 5 and will have discussions with the authorities there on technical aspects of the proposed Khmer Rouge trial.

• The Preparatory Committee for the International Criminal Court concluded its three-week session on Friday, June 30, meeting its deadline to finalize the operational details of the Statute necessary for the eventual functioning of the Court. The Commission adopted the Rules of Procedure and Evidence for the Court, as well as a text on the Elements of Crime listed in the Statute as being under the Court’s jurisdiction. So far, 98 countries have signed the Rome Statute establishing the Court and 13 have ratified it.

• The International Court of Justice on Saturday made an Order on a request by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for provisional measures in its case against Uganda. The Court unanimously ordered both parties to prevent and refrain from any armed action, which might aggravate or extend the dispute. The Court also ordered both Parties to ensure full respect within the zone of conflict for fundamental human rights..

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