United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-08-04

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

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

• For the first time since it was established 22 years ago, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon is able to implement Security Council Resolution 425 (1978) by deploying throughout southern Lebanon.

• This morning, the decision to give a "green light" for the full deployment of the Force was given by Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to the UN Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Seth Kofi Obeng.

• The main redeployment of the UN Force's peacekeepers to several positions near the Lebanese-Israeli border, including points along the withdrawal line, will begin Saturday at 6 a.m. The troops, supported by the Force Mobile Reserve, will move to more than 20 new positions in villages and along the withdrawal line. They will conduct mobile and foot patrols of the line, as well as aerial reconnaissance.

• The expanded deployment will involve about 800 troops, with 35 to 40 peacekeepers occupying each position. Currently, about 150 troops are deployed at six positions along the withdrawal line.

• On Thursday, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations H&eacute;di Annabi informed the Security Council that there had been no violations of the withdrawal line during the previous week.

• On Wednesday and Thursday, UN and Lebanese officials visited a recently-demined point along the withdrawal line at Yaroun, and the Lebanese side expressed satisfaction that, in their view, there were no violations of the line.

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued by the Spokesman, expressed his deep concern over the humanitarian impact of an edict issued by the Taliban authorities that would prohibit Afghan women from working with foreign agencies and non-governmental organizations, with the exception of the health sector.

• The United Nations, as a result, has cautioned all Afghan women directly employed by the United Nations and its programs to stay home until further notice for their own protection.

• The Secretary-General noted that these restrictions come as Afghanistan is facing a severe drought and an unprecedented food deficit, and are expected to affect negatively the aid community's ability to provide humanitarian assistance. Roughly one quarter of the estimated 1.8 million people in Kabul alone depend on aid for their survival.

• The Secretary-General underscored the critical need to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan population and urged the Taliban to reconsider their position in order to avert further unnecessary suffering.

• One day after hearing from Sierra Leone Force Commander Maj. Gen. Vijay Jetley, the Security Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone, which expires next Monday, by another month, until September 8.

• In his report to the Council earlier this week, the Secretary-General said he intends to submit proposals to the Council in the near future on the further strengthening of the Sierra Leone Mission, after a thorough assessment of the political and military situation in the country. He also emphasized that the strength of the Mission will ultimately depend on whether Member States are willing to make available "well-trained and well-equipped" troops to the United Nations.

• The Security Council earlier today held closed consultations on Sierra Leone, in which members discussed the possibility of sending a Security Council mission to that country later in the year.

• There will also be a meeting at 3:30 p.m. today of the Troop Contributing Countries for Sierra Leone, which Jetley will attend.

• Security Council members began their informal consultations today by participating in a demonstration by Canada of the use of technological aids, including high-tech maps, in Council briefings. The briefing was given by Lt. Col. Brad Smith of the National Defense Intelligence Center, which is in Ottawa.

• The Council decided to hold a summit involving the leaders of the 15 Security Council Member States during the time of the three-day Millennium Summit that begins on September 6. The Council Summit is scheduled for September 7 and will discuss, "Ensuring an Effective Role of the Security Council in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, Particularly in Africa."

• In an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, the Secretary-General said that he has appointed Mussagy Jeichande of Mozambique as his Representative and Head of Office in Angola. The Council took note of that appointment in its consultations on Wednesday.

• Jeichande will head an office that maintains liaison with political, military, civilian and police authorities to explore measures to restore peace in Angola and assist in humanitarian and human rights activities, among other tasks.

• Also today, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it is gaining momentum in operations to assist some 300,000 internally displaced persons and returnees in Luanda and northern Angola. Today, a World Food Programme cargo flight will transport 4,000 buckets and nearly 1,000 blankets to Uige, where soap and clothes have also been distributed to internally displaced Angolans in recent days.

• In response to a question concerning an article in "The Washington Post" today, the Spokesman denied rumors of a dispute among Member States over a senior post in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

• He noted that there were several names that have been proposed to the Secretary-General for one vacant position for an Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. However, no decision will be made to fill that post until a report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations, led by Lakhdar Brahimi, is considered by the Security Council and General Assembly.

• The Spokesman added that the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, whose name appeared in the Post article, continues to lead the complex mission there and to enjoy the full confidence of the Secretary-General.

• The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo today expressed its extreme concern over the recent increase in political violence as it approaches the planned elections. Overnight violence on Wednesday claimed the lives of six people: three people from the ethnic Roma minority and three Kosovar Albanians.

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was concerned about continued deportations from Germany of Romas. On Thursday, a Roma family of three told UNHCR upon arrival at Pristina airport they feared for their safety in Kosovo. The three, who said they had lived in Germany since 1992 and had nowhere to go in Kosovo, were temporarily accommodated in a UNHCR transit center for minority returnees in Pristina.

• Asked about a New York court decision involving plans by US developer Donald Trump for a building near the UN headquarters, the Spokesman said the United Nations had taken note of the decision, but was not involved in the case and had no response.

• In a press conference given in Geneva, Alvaro de Soto, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General in Cyprus, noted the interruption today, as previously agreed upon, of the latest round of Cyprus "proximity talks" in Geneva. De Soto said the talks will resume on September 12 in New York, and would continue into October.

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees noted continuing tension in the camps for East Timorese refugees in West Timor, where fighting broke out today among refugees at Tuapakan camp outside Kupang. There were no injuries reported, but aid workers were forced to stop food distribution and pull out. At least 103 incidents against aid workers and refugees have been recorded in West Timor since UNHCR start its assistance programs there last September.

• Today's briefing notes from Geneva contains information on the conclusion of work Thursday by a mission of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to Iran to assess the impact of a regional drought. According to preliminary findings, 37 million people, or 50 percent of the population, has been affected by the drought to some extent, with 18 of Iran's 28 provinces affected. It is also estimated that more than 60 percent of the rural population might be forced to migrate to cities because of the acute water shortage.

&nbsp;

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article