United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-03-27

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, March 27, 2001

ANNAN DISCUSSES ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE AT ARAB SUMMIT

The violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories -- underscored again by two bombings in Jerusalem today -- and the situation in Iraq were the dominant themes in Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statement at the opening this morning of the Arab League summit in Amman, Jordan.

He underscored the devastating effect of closures on every aspect of Palestinian life. "Collective punishment," he said, "has cast a pall of anger and despair over the already tense occupied territories."

The Secretary-General added, "Israelis, too, have seen high hopes turn to fear." The international community had a right to criticize Israel's "excessively harsh response" to the Palestinian uprising, he said, "but these points could be made more effectively if many Israelis did not believe that their existence was under threat."

"Israel has a right, enshrined in numerous United Nations resolutions, to exist in safety within internationally recognized borders," he added.

On Iraq, the Secretary-General regretted that the Iraqi people continued to suffer under sanctions and said that he hoped those sanctions could be lifted sooner rather than later. But, he added, the Iraqi leadership "will achieve more through cooperation with the international community, including its neighbors, than through confrontation."

ANNAN MEETS IRAQI DELEGATION, SAYS NEXT TALKS WILL BE IN MAY

Following his address to the Arab League Summit in Amman, the Secretary-General met with an Iraqi delegation, including Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Izzat Ibrahim, Vice Premier Tariq Aziz, and Foreign Minister Mohamed Said el-Sahaf.

The Secretary-General told the press afterwards that they had reviewed the issue of sanctions against Iraq. He also said he would continue his efforts to break the impasse between Iraq and the Security Council, and that his next round of talks with the Iraqis would likely take place in New York in May.

Just before his speech, the Secretary-General met for about 20 minutes with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with whom he shared his concern about the violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

He also met this morning with the President of Lebanon, Emile Lahoud, with whom he discussed demining efforts in the southern part of that country and pledged to support the reconstruction effort in the south.

Annan was scheduled to meet later in the day with the President of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and with the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.

In response to a question, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General met last night with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. They discussed the situation in Israel and the occupied territories, as well as the Security Council proceedings on the Middle East.

The Secretary-General leaves Jordan Wednesday morning for Switzerland.

SEVEN UN STAFF BELIEVED TO BE ABDUCTED IN SOMALIA

This morning in Somalia, there was an attack on the compound of Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF) in Mogadishu, during which a number of UN and MSF staff members were detained by militia.

Six UN international staff -- three from the United Kingdom, one from the United States, one from France and one from Belgium -- are currently missing and believed to be abducted, along with a Somali national who was working for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The UN staff members were participating in a UNICEF-World Health Organization (WHO) program designed to immunize Somali children against polio. They are believed to have been unharmed in the attack.

The United Nations is continuing to monitor the situation.

Asked whether any UN staff had been killed, the Spokesman said that he believed the only staff members affected were those who were abducted. He said the staff only went in after a "very careful" security assessment.

ANNAN MARKS DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH DETAINED UN STAFF

Today is the International Day of Solidarity with Detained UN Staff Members, which marks the 15th anniversary of the abduction in Beirut of Alec Collett, then a staff member of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The Secretary-General marked the occasion with a statement in which he took note of today's abduction in Somalia and said, "The disappearance of a loved one is devastating to a family who, in addition to the pain of absence, must cope with the pain of uncertainty."

He added, "Today, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Alec Collett and those of all other detained or missing staff." He also repeated his call to Member States to do all they can to ensure a safe environment for UN staff.

Asked about further information on Alec Collett's whereabouts, the Spokesman said there is a strong suspicion that Collett has died. He noted that there had been a film put out by his alleged captors, but he was not conclusively identified in it.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONTINUES CONSULTATIONS ON MIDDLE EAST

The Security Council's consultations on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, went on into the early hours of this morning, and is still continuing today.

On Monday, the Council met periodically in consultations, and Council members also gathered in smaller groups to discuss the draft resolution, in discussions that lasted until after 2 a.m. today.

The Council then briefly resumed consultations this morning on the draft resolution, and met again shortly after 12:30 before adjourning consultations until 3:00 p.m. The Council is still expected to vote on the resolution once its consultations are concluded.

This afternoon at 4 p.m., the Council has scheduled hold consultations on Sierra Leone, with Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi to brief the Council on the Secretary-General's latest report on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone.

In that report, the Secretary-General asked for a six-month extension of the Mission and noted that, with more troops expected to join the Mission in the coming months, the Council might consider raising the troop ceiling from the present level of 13,000 military personnel to 17,500, as an interim step.

Because of today's busy schedule, the Council's open briefing on East Timor, which had been scheduled for today, has been postponed until further notice.

UNHCR DRIVER KILLED IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that a staff member was shot and killed today in a western town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Jose Djamba, a Congolese driver in the UNHCR office in Kimpese, was killed late Tuesday morning. High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers said, "We are shocked by the cold-blooded murder of yet another innocent humanitarian worker."

Also today in the DRC, the first contingent of UN troops arrived in Goma on its way to Kalemie, where a UN Sector Headquarters will be based. UN Force Commander Gen. Mountaga Diallo welcomed the troops, who are from Uruguay and are the first of a number of guard units that is eventually to total some 2,000 troops.

IRAQ OIL EXPORTS REMAIN RELATIVELY HIGH, SAYS UN OFFICE

The Office of the Iraq Programme reports that Iraq's oil exports for the week ending on March 23, although lower than the previous weeks record for this phase, were higher than they were at the beginning of the current phase, which started on December 6, 2000.

For the week ending on March 23, 16 million barrels of oil were lifted through 12 loadings, for an average of 2.28 million barrels a day. Of the total loadings, eight were at Ceyhan and four at Mina al-Bakr terminals. The weeks oil exports raised an estimated 347 million euros in revenue at current prices.

The total value of contracts placed on hold by the Security Council's Sanctions Committee on Iraq continued to increase in real terms, although it remained relatively constant at 17 percent of the value of all contracts circulated to the Committee. The Office also noted that the prices approved by the Committee for the purchase of Iraq oil during the month of April are now in place.

WFP REPEATS APPEAL FOR GREAT LAKES REGION

The World Food Programme (WFP) repeated its appeal for $95 million to continue providing food aid to hundreds of thousands of refugees, displaced and drought-affected people in the Great Lakes region. The agency will soon face a break in food supplies to the region as its operations are under-funded by more than 100,000 tons of food.

In addition, during the next few months, the agency will need to feed nearly twice the number of people it currently feeds, with the numbers jumping to 2.1 million from about 1.2 million, mainly due to the severe drought in Burundi. A break in food supplies could cause widespread hunger, it says.

The current operation ends in July and in anticipation of the continued needs of the region, the WFP has approved an 18-month extension to run from August 2001 to January 2003, which will require 298,000 tons of food at a value of $167 million. So far no donations have been made to this appeal.

ACCORD AGREED IN LINE WITH GLOBAL COMPACT PRINCIPLES

The United Nations noted in a release today the signing of a major oil industry-labour accord based on the guiding principles of the Global Compact initiative launched by the Secretary-General.

The agreement was signed by Statoil, a Norwegian-based multinational company, and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Union. As a result, 16,000 oil workers in 23 countries in the developing and industrialized world are now covered by an agreement that holds their employer to a commitment to promote human rights, environmental and labor standards in their respective communities. It also guarantees respect for workers' labor rights and for their health and safety on the job.

Commenting on the agreement, Assistant Secretary-General John Ruggie said that it was "a very exciting development, which shows how the [Global] Compact brings together multinational businesses and global labour and civil society organizations to seek ways to ameliorate the harsh effects of globalization and to expand its benefits."

In response to a question on the accord, the Spokesman noted that, in the style of the Global Compact, it was to be self-monitoring, in that a web site would be set up detailing Statoil's compliance with key labor standards, and at which complaints could be received.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In Pristina today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, denied a report in this week's Economist that Kosovo-wide elections would only be held in 2002, and not this year. Haekkerup said the report is "simply not true," and added that, although the timing of a vote depends on finalizing a legal framework for Kosovo, he intends to have elections in Kosovo this year.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Mary Robinson will this afternoon address a three-day conference in Geneva on sexual violence against refugees. The conference is the largest recent gathering of experts on sexual violence and violence against refugees, especially women and girls has been a major issue in many parts of the world.

A memorial service will be held for John Mills at the UN Church Centre Chapel this coming Friday, 30 March, between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. For more details on the memorial service, contact Stephani Scheer at the Office of the Iraqi Programme on 963-6550.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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