United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-05-18

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

FROM THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MANOEL DE ALMEIDA E SILVA

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, May 18, 2001

(Press "Ctrl

ANNAN DISTURBED BY DISPROPORTIONATE ISRAELI RESPONSE TO NETANYA ATTACK

[Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued upon his return to New York, said he was deeply disturbed by the disproportionate Israeli response to today's appalling terrorist attack in Netanya.

While I have repeatedly made clear my utter condemnation of terrorism from whatever quarter - and do so again today - I can only regard this response as excessive and misdirected, he said Its effect will inevitably be to increase bitterness even further on the Palestinian side.

This is a time for restraint and statesmanship on all sides, he said. Everyone needs to understand that there can be no military solution to this conflict, and that the only way to escape from the present downward spiral lies through ending the violence and resuming negotiations aimed at a comprehensive peaceful settlement based on relevant United Nations resolutions.]

ANNAN TO MEET WITH EAST TIMORESE LEADERS IN NEW YORK

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is returning to New York today from Geneva, where he participated in the World Health Assembly at the tail end of a weeklong trip to Brussels and Moscow.

This afternoon at 4 p.m., he expects to meet at his residence with East Timorese leaders Xanana Gusmão and José Ramos Horta, who are attending a Security Council meeting on East Timor at UN headquarters.

ANNAN TO GIVE FLETCHER SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS SUNDAY

On Sunday, the Secretary-General will deliver the commencement address at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, just outside Boston. He intends to focus his speech on the need to take action to deal with climate change, including the role of the agreement on climate change and the Kyoto Protocol.

During his stay in the Boston area, the Secretary-General also intends to meet with the UN Association of the Greater Boston area and to meet briefly with reporters at the Fletcher School.

He is expected back to return to UN Headquarters on Monday.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS OPEN MEETING ON EAST TIMOR

The Security Council today held an open meeting to discuss the situation in East Timor.

Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi began the meeting with a briefing on the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, in which he noted the Secretary-General's recent report, which assesses the security situation in East Timor as good. He noted the progress made in enabling a ballot for a Constituent Assembly to occur by August 30, as anticipated.

Annabi told the Council that the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, had urged the Indonesian authorities not to place temporal restrictions on the jurisdiction of an ad hoc tribunal that will deal with gross violations of human rights in East Timor. At present, that Tribunal will only deal with acts committed after the popular consultation of August 1999.

Also briefing the Council was the President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, Xanana Gusmão, who reaffirmed East Timor's commitment to a process of reconciliation, but noted continuing concerns about the situation at the borders, where, he said, militia groups continue to reign with impunity. In economic news, he said that East Timor will soon set up a group to work full-time on strategic development planning, which is being supported by the World Bank. He thanked the world for assisting East Timor in maintaining freedom and said, "We will reciprocate with the building of a democratic country."

Also speaking was East Timor's Cabinet minister in charge of foreign affairs, José Ramos Horta.

In addition to the 15 Council members, nine non-Council Member States were inscribed to speak. The session was to continue in the afternoon.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION MEETS WITH KABILA, HEADS TO ANGOLA

The Security Council Mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa began its first day of work in Kinshasa this morning. After briefing of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the 12 ambassadors met with President Joseph Kabila and Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu for close to two hours.

In remarks to reporters at the Presidential Palace, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, who is leading this mission, said that they had an in-depth discussion which allowed them to have an overview of the problems currently facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in particular, and the Great Lakes region in general.

Levitte reiterated the Council's welcome of Kabila's decision to lift the ban on political parties in his country and said that the Council sees this decision in the context of the inter-Congolese dialogue beginning to take shape.

Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom added that what the Council delegation had heard from Kabila was a clear expression of a will to allow the Congolese people to have their voices heard freely, something that the president said has not happened for over 40 years.

The Council mission then traveled to Luanda, Angola, and was scheduled to have a meeting with President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. The Ambassadors are expected to head back to Kinshasa for a dinner tonight with President Kabila, President Sam Nujoma of Namibia and President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

UN ENVOY FOR MIDDLE EAST DEPLORES HIGH LEVEL OF VIOLENCE

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed Larsen, said in an interview with Reuters that he condemned today's suicide bombing in Netanya, as he condemns all killings of civilians, and warned, The situation is on the verge of escalating to uncontrollable levels.

Larsen took the occasion to deplore the high level of violence in Gaza and the West Bank, and he said that the escalation of violence underscores the need for the parties to resume meaningful dialogue.

Earlier this week, Larsen, while on a visit to the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza, had also deplored what he called the senseless and indiscriminate violence there.

TALIBAN BLOCKS AID DELIVERY, HARASSES AID WORKERS IN AFGHANISTAN

The assistance community is facing increasing obstacles from Taliban authorities in carrying out work in Afghanistan.

There have been repeated denials of humanitarian access to those in need of assistance in Afghanistan, in particular in Hazarajat. United Nations staff have been denied permission to go into part of Hazarajat, although fighting has resulted in the displacement of upwards of 60,000 people.

In addition, harassment, arrests, and even physical abuse of humanitarian personnel are on the upswing. Recently, UN and NGO staff have been arrested in both Kabul and Herat. Both national and international staff have been subjected to harassment.

The Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan says it is particularly concerned about the harassment and abuse of Afghan national staff.

The UN Coordinator has repeatedly tried to get in contact with Taliban officials in Kandahar but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says that heat and poor sanitary conditions continue to exact a heavy toll on the Afghans at the Jalozai site in North West Pakistan.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF say a cease-fire is needed in Afghanistan for the duration of the next round of their polio vaccination campaign starting Saturday.

SIERRA LEONE: REBELS, MILITIAS TO BEGIN DISARMING

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sierra Leone Oluyemi Adeniji travelled to the Kambia and Port Loko areas today to witness the start of the disarmament of combatants from the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the pro-government militia Civil Defense Force (CDF).

There are an estimated 1,000 RUF and 300 CDF combatants in the Kambia area and another 700 CDF in Port Loko.

The UN mission in Sierra Leone, meanwhile, has established a permanent patrol presence in the heart of RUF-held territory in Koidu in the Kono district in the eastern part of the country. Some 250 Bangladeshi peacekeepers were deployed there on Wednesday.

NEW REPORT ON HAITI: IMPEDIMENTS TO RESUME AID REMAIN

Out on the racks today is a report by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on developments in Haiti from last November up until the UN International Civilian Support Mission ended its mandate last February 6.

In the report, the Secretary-General says he finds it regrettable that various opportunities to reach a political compromise between the ruling Fanmi Lavalas party and the opposition Democratic Convergence were not seized, and that impediments to the resumption of much-needed international assistance remained in place.

He notes concern about lawlessness, and an ever-present fear of an outbreak of major political violence, but adds that those factors have contributed to the growing readiness by civil society to engage in the political crisis. The international community, he said, should encourage that development.

The Secretary-General received a letter last month from Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, expressing an interest in maintaining the position of a Representative of the Secretary-General in Haiti, with the mandate of facilitating dialogue between the various political actors and promoting peace. The Secretary-General is consulting with relevant parties on how to respond to that request.

He concludes that the United Nations is committed to continuing to accompany Haiti in its transition to democracy, but that commitment can only bear fruit in a climate of reconciliation and compromise.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Director General of the International Labour Office, Juan Somavia, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of China. The programme aims to strengthen national policies for employment, social dialogue and social protection. In a speech at the signing ceremony, Somavia said the Memorandum targets key problems of reform and adjustment faced by China, including the need for labour laws and protection for people during structural adjustment.

The fifth formal round of talks between the Indonesian Government and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor took place in Denpasar, Indonesia this week. Agreement was reached on the resumption of pension payments to former Indonesian state employees resident in East Timor.

A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study has collected the first hard evidence of the extent of damage to the Fertile Crescent, one of the worlds most important wetlands. The study is based on historical and new satellite images of the marshlands at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Southern Iraq and extending into Iran and shows that 90 percent of the marshlands has been lost, mainly due to draining. UNEP is urging Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey to agree to a recovery programme and is carrying out an assessment program to demonstrate how improvements can be made.

More than 3,000 Eritrean refugees have returned from camps in Sudan since the start of a voluntary repatriation on 12 May. You can read more about this in a UNHCR update on this subject.

Today, Palau and St Vincent and the Grenadines both made full payments of more than $10,000 each to the regular budget for this year. There are now 79 fully paid-up Member States this year.

The World Health Organization has reported the first case of polio in over two years in Bulgaria. The case was confirmed in a 13-month old Roma child and investigation shows the strain to have originated in northern India. In response, the Bulgarian Ministry of Health began a vaccination campaign in the community at risk and subsequently expanded it to other Roma communities. Meanwhile, the Polio Technical Consultative Group reported today that the number of polio-endemic countries had been reduced from 50 to 20 since the 52nd World Health Assembly in 1999. The Group stresses it is now urgent for eradication to be achieved to ensure that polio-free areas are not re-infected.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, May 19

The Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region is expected to continue its visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including a trip to a deployment site for the UN Mission to the DRC outside of Kinshasa. Over the course of the week, the Council mission is expected to visit several other countries before returning to New York on May 26.

Sunday, May 20

The Secretary-General will deliver the commencement address at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, just outside Boston. He will discuss environmental issues, including the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

The Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries will conclude in Brussels, Belgium.

Monday, May 21

The Security Council may receive a report from the Secretary-General on conflict prevention this week. Also expected this week is a report by a panel of experts on sanctions on Afghanistan.

The College of Commissioners for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) for Iraq will meet in New York today and Tuesday.

At 2:30 p.m., Amb. Penny Wensley (Australia) and Amb. Ibra Deguene Ka (Senegal), co-facilitators of the preparatory process for the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in All Its Aspects (25-27 June 2001), will be joined by Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, at a press conference to discuss the informal consultations in preparation for the Special Session.

In Marrakesh, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), will attend the African-Arab preparatory committee meetings for the upcoming General Assembly Summit on Children. Bellamy will deliver a message on behalf of the Secretary-General at that meeting.

In Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of the Child will begin its 27th session.

In Vienna, the International Narcotics Control Board will begin its 71st session.

In Rome, the Executive Board of the World Food Programme will meet through Friday.

Tuesday, May 22

The Security Council expects to receive a briefing in closed consultations on Angola by the Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Africa, Ibrahim Gambari. Following that briefing, Gambari will hold a press conference.

The Secretary-General will issue a message to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity.

In Stockholm, Sweden, Governments will meet to adopt the Treaty on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization will begin a new session in Montreal.

Wednesday, May 23

The Security Council intends to hold consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights.

Thursday, May 24

Friday, May 25

This is the beginning of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The first day of that week is also observed as Africa Liberation Day.

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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