United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-03-15

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

BY MANOEL DE ALMEIDA E SILVA

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, March 15, 2001

IN NEW DELHI, ANNAN URGES INDIA-PAKISTAN DIALOGUE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife, Nane Annan, left Dhaka, Bangladesh, today for New Delhi, India. The Secretary-General spoke to reporters upon his arrival, stressing that, as he did in Pakistan, he will be encouraging the Government to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and urging a return to dialogue on Kashmir.

He said, "It is time to begin healing the wounds, to restore trust and to regain a sense of common good and a common future," and noted that his good offices remain available if the parties wish to engage in a dialogue under UN auspices

Later in the day, the Secretary-General visited the United Services Institute, a training center for peacekeeping directed by Gen. Satish Nambiar, who commanded UN peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he made remarks upon his visit to the Institute.

The final stop of the day was a meeting with business leaders in New Delhi, followed by a dinner. He thanked the private sector leaders who were participating in the Global Compact and working on such efforts as the fight against AIDS and advancements in information technology, and he urged all gathered to support his Global Compact. He noted, "As markets have gone global, so, too, must the concept and practice of corporate social responsibility."

In Dhaka this morning, the Secretary-General met with four leaders of Bangladesh's opposition, and they discussed the upcoming Bangladeshi elections and the possibility of UN electoral assistance.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, laid the foundation stone for the Center of International Mother Language Studies in Dhaka. He noted the importance of preserving the roughly 6,000 languages that are spoken today, and added, "We must accept that languages are not mutually exclusive, but that human beings and humanity are enriched by speaking in more than one language."

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN MISSION IN ETHIOPIA, ERITREA

The Security Council today began its work with consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea, on which it considered a draft resolution to extend the present mandate of the UN Mission to those countries, which was to expire today, by another six months, until September 15.

The Council went into a formal meeting in which it unanimously adopted the six-month extension of the UN Mission.

SECURITY COUNCIL BEGINS OPEN DEBATE ON THE MIDDLE EAST

Following its extension of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Security Council began an open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, with 40 speakers, including all 15 Council members, inscribed for the open debate. The formal meeting will continue into the afternoon.

Today's formal meeting on the Middle East, which followed requests by the Palestinian Observer Mission and the League of Arab States, comes one day after the Security Council held back-to-back private meetings with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and with Palestinian Ambassador Nasser al-Kidwa.

In those meetings, Council members discussed with their guests the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and proposals for a UN observer mission in the Palestinian territories. Both topics are to be discussed in today's open debate, although the current formal meeting is not expected to include any vote on proposals for an observer mission.

UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM URGES U.S. LEAD ON CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS CUTS

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), responded to U.S. President George W. Bush's decision not to seek to regulate US power plants' emissions of carbon dioxide by saying that "without US leadership, effective global action on climate change may not be possible."

In a statement, Toepfer said that the United States has much to gain from leading the way into the new low-emissions economy of the 21st century.

He added that although the United States is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, it is also the "best hope for a solution," because it is the world's most technologically innovative country.

ANNAN CALLS FOR ACCESS TO EXPORTS FROM POOREST NATIONS

The Secretary-General has sent letters in recent days to the Heads of States and Government of industrialized nations that do not belong to the European Union, encouraging them to emulate the European Union's "everything but arms" initiative.

In his letters, he asked the industrialized countries -- the United States, Japan, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand -- to extend duty- and quota-free treatment to all non-weapons exports from the least developed countries. The European Union, on February 26, had agreed to give full duty and quota-free access to their markets for all products from the least developed countries, other than weapons.

He reminded those Governments that, from May 14 through 20 in Brussels, the European Union will be hosting the third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries. The Secretary-General said that the Brussels conference is a major event, and urged them to do more to help improve conditions in the world's poorest nations.

UN ENVOY ASKS TIMORESE FOR HELP IN CONTAINING VIOLENCE

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today went to the district of Viqueque, which has seen considerable violence in recent days, to urge communities to help the United Nations maintain peace in East Timor.

He told Viqueque residents, "The enemies of independence want violence and destabilization. Violence is our common enemy. To attain independence, we must work together."

He was accompanied by Timorese National Council President Xanana Gusmão and other Timorese leaders, who will stay on to meet with local community leaders about this week's violence, which led to the death of one person and the burning of almost 40 houses.

Vieira de Mello also visited Baucau district earlier today, which had also been the site of violent incidents, including attacks on UN staff and a local mosque, last week.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea reported that a Canadian soldier had suffered a ruptured eardrum when his vehicle, which was investigating a mine incident that occurred this week, hit a mine on the road north of Tsorena.

The Commission on Human Rights will hold its 57th session in Geneva from March 19 to April 26. Among the items on the agenda are the question of the violation of human rights, rights of women and children, the situation concerning torture and economic social and cultural rights. A special debate on tolerance and respect will take place on March 26.

On Wednesday afternoon, after seven ballots, the General Assembly elected all 14 judges who are to serve on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), beginning this November. Twelve judges were chosen on the first ballot, one in the fourth, and one more on the seventh.

The Committee on Forestry of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is meeting in Rome this week, and among topics under discussion are plans for a new Global Forest Resources Assessment. The assessment program is seeking ways to make future assessments more accurate. The meeting is being attended by more than 300 ministers, senior officials and experts from the forestry sector around the world.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued an update on Guinea, where hundreds are fleeing the southern town of Nongoa following rebel attacks.

China today became the 79th country to sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and Bulgaria became the 40th country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing on Kosovo on Friday morning, after which the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, will brief reporters.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

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