United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-04-24

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

FROM THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, April 24, 2001

ANNAN CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO COMBAT AIDS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan met this morning with the Foreign Minister of Ghana, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, and then met with Ghana's new President, John A. Kufuor. He arrived in Ghana Monday night for a private visit, but was met at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and reporters. He told reporters that it was his first visit to Ghana since the elections last December, and he praised the smooth democratic transition that had taken place.

In response to a question about the spread of AIDS worldwide, the Secretary-General said that the "conspiracy of silence is broken, and we need to have a comprehensive approach to the disease which combines prevention and treatment."

[At a press briefing immediately following the noon briefing, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette told reporters at UN headquarters that the Secretary-General will make a major push to accelerate the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa in his address to the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Infectious Diseaseson on Thursday in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Secretary-General will follow his Abuja speech with a second address on the AIDS epidemic to be delivered on April 30 to the Council of Foundations in Philadelphia, United States.

At the Abuja summit and in Philadelphia, the Secretary-General has the aim of "raising the political profile of this issue, injecting some clarity on the strategy of what is it that we need to do, and sort of shift this whole international campaign, which is really starting to take shape, into high gear, the Deputy Secretary-General told reporters.]

UN MISSIONS IN SIERRA LEONE, EAST TIMOR ANNOUNCE AIDS INITIATIVES

The UN Mission in Sierra Leone ( UNAMSIL), in line with an understanding between UNAIDS and the Department for Peacekeeping Operations, announced today in Freetown the creation of a HIV/AIDS unit. The aim of the unit is to raise awareness and sensitivity among the peacekeepers and civilian staff, as well as the communities around where they are deployed.

The UN Mission in East Timor reports that an all-Timorese working group dealing with sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS is being set up by the Transitional Administration. The group will comprise 12 members of non-governmental organizations, the Church, women's groups and medical associations, and will advise the Transitional Administration and the future government on prevention and care of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. The group's members will be formally nominated Wednesday in Dili.

UN ENVOY MEETS SYRIAN, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, arrived in Damascus today where he will meet with Syrias Foreign Minister, Farouk al-Shara.

On Monday night in Amman, he met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdulilah al-Khatib. The two discussed the joint Jordanian-Egyptian peace initiative and possible ways to move forward on that track.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES PREVLAKA, GEORGIA

This morning the Security Council began with closed on consultations to hear a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General Hédi Annabi on the Secretary-General's latest report on the UN Observer Mission in Prevlaka. That report came out last week.

The Council then moved into a private meeting to receive a briefing from the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Georgia, Dieter Boden. The Council is also hearing from Georgia's Minister for Special Affairs, Malkhaz Kakabadze.

After the private meeting, the Council adopted a Presidential Statement on Georgia.

ANNAN SEEKS TWO-MONTH EXTENSION OF WESTERN SAHARA MISSION

The Secretary-General's latest report on Western Sahara went today to the Security Council, and includes no sign of progress over the past two months in overcoming obstacles to the implementation of the Settlement Plan.

However, the Secretary-General believes that substantial progress has been made toward determining whether Morocco is prepared to offer or support some devolution of authority for Western Sahara that is genuine, substantial and in keeping with international norms.

Because of the progress that has been made, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, James Baker, has recommended that the mandate of the UN Mission in Western Sahara be extended by two months, until June 30, to provide time for him to consult further with the parties. The Secretary-General shares Baker's views on the two-month extension.

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on Western Sahara on Thursday.

In response to questions, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy have been exploring with the parties whether there is any mutually acceptable resolution to their dispute. That effort does not imply any retreat from the Settlement Plan.

UN MISSION CONDEMNS MURDER OF KOSOVO MUNICIPAL LEADER

The President of the Municipality of Klina, in central Kosovo, was shot dead today. The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup said he was shocked to learn of the murder of Ismet Raci, a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) political party.

Haekerrup said it was outrageous that there were continued killings in Kosovo, which was not good for the overall security situation.

He is awaiting a full investigation into the incident, as to whether the murder was politically motivated or perpetrated for some other reason.

UN OFFICE: IRAQ EXPORTED NEARLY 15 MILLION BARRELS LAST WEEK

The weekly update from the Office of the Iraq Programme shows that, at just over 2.1 million barrels per day, the Iraqi oil exports totaled 14.9 million barrels in the week of April 14-20.

The exports generated an estimated 370 million euros in revenue at current prices. There were a total of nine loadings at the two authorized terminals of Mina al-Bakr and Ceyhan.

The total value of contracts placed on hold by the Security Councils Sanctions Committee on Iraq rose yet again, standing at $3.59 billion, covering 1,703 contracts for both humanitarian supplies and oil industry spare parts and equipment.

CHINA JOINS REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENT AT BANGKOK MEETING

Today in Bangkok, Thailand, China deposited its instrument of ratification for the Bangkok Agreement, one of Asia's oldest regional trading agreements. Under the terms of the agreement, the other member countries -- the Republic of Korea, India, Laos, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- will be able to export 634 products to China at reduced tariffs.

China's accession to the Bangkok Agreement occurred at the 57th session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (or ESCAP), which is meeting from Monday through Wednesday.

GLOBAL ECONOMY COULD FACE HARD LANDING, SAYS UNCTAD

The UN Trade and Development Report for 2001, which was launched this morning, says that, although the performance of the world economy last year was the best in more than a decade, the U.S. economy began to slow sharply during the last quarter of 2000. The landing, the report says, could well be harder than optimists had expected.

The report, which is produced annually by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), says that the downturn in the United States, sluggish growth in Japan and undue emphasis that monetary policy continues to place on inflation in Europe may slow the pace of economic activity in the major industrial countries. Consequently, instability in the world economy could be more pronounced than under normal conditions, and cooperation among all major players in the world economy becomes more necessary.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about a UN response to the Summit of the Americas held in Québec, the Spokesman reiterated that the United Nations welcomed the American leaders' commitment to the Millennium Summit goal of reducing by half, by the year 2015, the number of people living in absolute poverty in the world.

The World Meteorological Organization issued its seasonal ozone update today in Geneva. In the press release the WMO said that the northern middle and high altitude ozone values in the arctic appeared to be higher than in recent years, according to the latest measurements. These higher ozone values are attributed to natural variations.

Today Nane Annan, wife of the Secretary-General, visited two youth projects in Izmit, Turkey, supported by the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF). In the morning, she visited the Kocaeli guidance and research center to learn about psychological intervention activities for children affected by the 1999 earthquake. In the afternoon, she visited the Uzunciftlik Youth Center, one of 10 set up in the quake area.

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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