United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-07-12

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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 ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
MARIE OKABE
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

• On his final day in Lom&eacute;, Togo, Secretary General Kofi Annan had a series of bilateral meetings and high-level talks on Sierra Leone.

• Following talks with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, the Secretary-General attended a meeting organized for him to review the on-going peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone. In attendance were the Chiefs of Staffs of the Guinean and Nigerian armies; the Foreign Minister of Ghana; the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Sierra Leone and the UN Force Commander in Sierra Leone. Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria are the three West African states contributing troops to the UN mission in Sierra Leone.

• Speaking to reporters afterwards, the Secretary-General said, "We discussed some of the operational difficulties on the ground and the need for us to work as a force that is solid and 'solidaire'." He also said "there was unanimity as to what we should do to pull support for Maj. Gen. Vijay Kumar Jetley, and full support for our efforts on the ground. There are certain missing equipment that we need to provide for the contingents on the ground [that] some of the western countries have promised and it will be my responsibility to press them to deliver."

• Regarding the Security Council decision to impose sanctions so that neighboring countries do not facilitate the smuggling of diamonds, particularly by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Annan said: "We hope that in time, the diamond areas will be brought under governmental control and that the riches be exploited for the benefit of the people of Sierra Leone who have suffered and suffered long enough, and hopefully will one day see peace, stability and prosperity."

• Responding to another query, the Secretary-General said that he had discussed the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during bilateral meetings, but a mini-Summit on the sidelines of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) meeting, such as was held on Sierra Leone, was not possible due to the absence in Lom&eacute; of President Laurent-Desire Kabila.

• Wednesday evening, Annan ends the official portion of his marathon trip that began with his visit to the Middle East. He begins a private visit to Sweden. He is expected back in New York early next week.

• There has been no change in the situation of the 222 Indian Peacekeepers and 11 Military observers. Every option continues to be studied in order to bring an end to this situation.

• A significant aid convoy, sponsored by the World Food Programme and the NGO Catholic Relief Services is travelling under UNAMSIL military escort from Freetown to Kenema is designed to bring assistance to the deipalced gathered there.

• The United Nations’ chief humanitarian official for Afghanistan, Erick de Mul, said today in Islamabad upon his return from Kandahar, Afghanistan, that the issue concerning the employment of women by the United Nations in Afghanistan was in the process of being resolved.

• De Mul had traveled to Kandahar to ensure that a new Taliban edict banning Afghan women from working with the United Nations as well as national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) does not go into effect. De Mul is planning to travel to Kabul on Sunday to continue his discussions with the Taliban authorities.

• In response to a question on new regulations concerning working conditions for UN female staff in Afghanistan, the Spokesman said the United Nations, as policy, reserves the right to chose who works for the organization, whether in Afghanistan or anywhere else. She also said if the edict were to be put into effect, it would have a serious detrimental effect on the United Nations' capacity to deliver aid to Afghanistan.

• There are no Security Council consultations today.

• Thursday, the council will hold an opening meeting to discuss Kosovo and the extension of the UN Mission in Prevlaka

• The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a new report detailing the enormous impact of HIV/AIDS among young people, whom UNICEF said "hold the key to breaking the transmission rate and ultimately defeating AIDS."

• The report finds that almost a third of all people with HIV/AIDS are between the ages of 15-24 – a total of some 10 million young people, and every minute, six young people under the age of 25 become infected with HIV.

• UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy spoke today at the 13^th International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa. She told the audience that "the silence that surrounds HIV/AIDS will remain impervious to efforts by individuals, communities, organizations and nations until, and unless, the entire global community joins forces to fight back."

• After a successful four-day visit to Eritrea, the United Nations Reconnaissance team met with representatives of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry as well as members of the diplomatic community based in Addis Ababa.

• Thursday they will begin field visits to the front lines in the northern part of Ethiopia.

• The mission is expected to hold further talks early next week with Ethiopian officials on the implementation of the 18 June cessation of hostilities agreement. They also plan to meet with the Secretary General of the OAU to discuss cooperative agreements with the United Nations relating to this mission.

• The United Nations is in the final stages of coordinating the departure of two teams of military liaison officers to the capitals of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

• Lieutenant General Boonsrang Niumpradit of Thailand, has been appointed by the Secretary-General as the new Force Commander for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor.

• Niumpradit is expected to take up his new position this coming Monday, the 17^th of July. He replaces Lieutenant General Jaime de los Santos of the Philippines who has been the UNTAET Force Commander since February this year.

• Carolyn McAskie, the Acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a statement saying she was "saddened and shocked by the brutal attack on 9 July" on relief workers from the International Medical Corps (IMC) near Uvira, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who were participating in the polio immunization campaign. As a result of the attack, the group decided to suspend its immunization activities in the country.

• McAskie called "on the Government the DRC, and all the parties involved in the current fighting in the eastern part of the country, to adhere to their commitments to enable relief workers to operate safely and to ensure that those responsible for this cowardly act be brought to justice."
• The vaccination campaign was initiated after the warring parties agreed to honor a request made recently by the Secretary-General to stop fighting in most areas of the country ravaged by war so that some 10 million children could be vaccinated.

• In response to a question, the Spokesman said that it was disappointing that President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was not attending OAU Summit because the Congo issue was one of the major issues that need to be tackled.

• The Cyprus proximity talks adjourned today in Geneva as scheduled and are set to resume again on July 24^th.

• At the conclusion of this round, Alvaro de Soto, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Cyprus, told journalists that he did not want to characterize the state of the talks.

• De Soto also stated that the Secretary General had obtained a pledge from both parties to observe a strict news-blackout even during the periods of recess.

• The United Nations High Commission for Refugees today said it needs $23 million to deal with the humanitarian cost of the most recent war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which drove nearly 100,000 Eritreans into Sudan, Djibouti and Yemen, and caused massive displacement within Eritrea.

• UNHCR also announced today that representatives from more than 60 countries and international organizations will meet in Geneva on Thursday and Friday to discuss progress in efforts to resolve mass displacement in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

• Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, met with Prime Minister Lester Bird of Antigua and Barbuda. The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction at the support his country was receiving from UNDCP.

• Tuesday afternoon, Israel became the 21^st State to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Adopted in December of last year, the Convention remains open for signature until 31 December 2001.

• New figures released today on the "Status of Contributions to the Regular, Peacekeeping and International Tribunals' budgets" show that by the end of the month Member States owed approximately $2.86 billion to the UN - around $816 million for the regular budget, around $1.97 billion for the peacekeeping budget and just over $78 million for the two international tribunals.

• The United States made a payment amounting to approximately $135 million which are towards its peacekeeping dues. In response to questions, the Spokesman told reporters that the breakdown was $41 million to the peacekeeping budget, $40 million to the UN mission in Kosovo and $53 million to the UN missions in East Timor. The United States stills owes $1.63 billion to the United Nations.

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