United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-05-02

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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

Wednesday, May 2, 2001

UN FORCE IN LEBANON TO PHASE DOWN TO 3,600 PERSONNEL THIS YEAR

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his latest report on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), outlines his plan for a reconfiguration of the Force, which was detailed in his previous report.

The Force will be reduced to 3,600 personnel later this year from a current level of 5,800 though non-replacement or reduction of units during their natural rotations. The Secretary-General recommends that the Force be kept at that level, barring any significant changes in the situation, until January 2002.

The focus of the Mission's work will continue to be on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, and the adjacent area. The bulk of UNIFIL's troops will be deployed close to the Blue Line. It will be present there mostly through mobile patrols of military observers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and armed infantry units from UNIFIL.

In the report, the Secretary-General says although the situation on the ground has remained essentially unchanged since the January resolution which extended the Force's mandate, there have been frequent minor violations of the Blue Line and "almost daily violations of the Line by Israeli aircraft."

The Secretary-General adds that he has been "in touch with the parties concerned and other interested parties to urge respect for the Blue Line and to avert further escalation." He also relates the serious incidents that have occurred in the Shaba farms area.

Asked how a reduced Force could deal with tensions along the Blue Line, the Spokesman said that, in the Secretary-General's view, the proposed size would be sufficient to do the job.

He noted that the Mission has accomplished two of its three tasks, by certifying Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and assisting the Lebanese Government in re-asserting its authority in the south. The last task on its mandate is to help restore regional peace and security.

ANNAN NOTES PROPOSALS FOR NEW U.S. MISSILE POLICY

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Secretary-General, in a statement, noted the proposals announced earlier that day by U.S. President George W. Bush concerning a new defense policy including the establishment of missile defenses. In the statement, the Secretary-General welcomed the readiness of the U.S. Administration to consult with other members of the international community on that policy. He underscored the need to consolidate and build upon existing disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, specifically to prevent a new arms race and to maintain the non-weaponized status of outer space.

He also appealed to all States to engage in negotiations towards legally binding disarmament agreements that are both verifiable and irreversible.

In response to a question, the Spokesman added that the Secretary-General was watching the situation closely. The United Nations, he said, wanted to make sure that the existing regime of non-proliferation would be strengthened, not weakened.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES PROGRAM OF WORK, RED CROSS KILLINGS

The Security Council held consultations this morning to discuss its program of work for this month, under the Council presidency of the United States.

Also today, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi briefed the Council on the killing of six Red Cross staff near Bunia in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo last week.

On Thursday, the Council is expected to discuss in a public meeting the report of the panel on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Among those expected to attend are DRC Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu, Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Amama Mbabazi and Patrick Mazimhaka from the Rwandan Presidents Office, who is the current chair of the Political Committee of the Lusaka accord.

The Council will discuss Friday the sanctions on Liberia, on which the Secretary-General issued a report Tuesday providing information about Liberian compliance with Council demands. The sanctions will go into effect on May 7 unless the Council decides otherwise.

UNS TOP REFUGEE OFFICIAL TAKES TRUCE APPEAL TO AFGHAN PARTIES

UN High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers took his appeal for a truce, to allow agencies to step up aid efforts inside Afghanistan, to President Burhanuddin Rabbani in Faisabad, who said he agreed with the idea on the condition that the Taliban does the same.

UNHCR says Lubbers hopes to hear the same from the Taliban when he takes his appeal to Taliban "Foreign Minister" Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, with whom he is scheduled to meet Thursday in Kabul.

Lubbers, in his meetings with both sides, is also discussing technical aspects of increasing aid delivery to those who need it the most.

UNHCR BEGINS TO MOVE SIERRA LEONE REFUGEES IN GUINEA

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) began the evacuation of thousands of Sierra Leonean refugees from the isolated Parrots Beak region in the southeast of the country. The evacuation operation began in Kolomba, at the furthest tip of the Parrots Beak.

The area has been largely cut off from humanitarian aid since last September because of fighting in the region. UNHCR and Guinean authorities want to move the refugees inland to safer and more accessible camps.

EAST TIMOR MILITIA MEMBERS INDICTED FOR LIQUICA KILLINGS

Today in Dili, East Timor, the Office of the Prosecutor General filed an indictment against pro-autonomy militia members Anastasio Martins and Domingos Gonçalves, on charges of crimes against humanity, the third such indictment filed by the Office.

The crimes were allegedly committed in Liquiça district as part of the orchestrated campaign of violence following the 1999 popular consultation.

Martins is suspected of killing four individuals, while Goncalves is accused of killing three other persons. They are also accused of deporting the civilian population from two villages in East Timor to West Timor.

OTHER ANNOUNCMENTS

Thursday will be World Press Freedom Day, and the United Nations will mark the occasion with an event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at UN headquarters on the role of a free press in fighting racism and promoting diversity. The Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the Chair of the Committee on Information will all speak at the event. The observance of World Press Freedom Day will also include a panel discussion moderated by the Interim Head of the Department of Public Information, Shashi Tharoor, which will feature journalists from media outlets based in South Africa, Argentina, and Qatar.

Asked about whether the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) might allow Slobodan Milosevic to be tried for war crimes in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Spokesman noted that the Tribunal had previously called for Milosevic to be transferred to face trial in The Hague.

A new study calling for urgent reform of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund was discussed at a seminar today in New York. Prepared by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of UN University, with support from the UN's Division for Social Policy and Development and Finland's Foreign Ministry, the study calls for repeal of the Security Council veto and the addition of other countries as permanent members of that body.

Chile today became the 42nd country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

Earlier this morning, Fiji became the 92nd country to sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.