United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-05-29

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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, May 29, 2001

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, IRAQ

The Security Council met in closed consultations this morning to hear an oral presentation by Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France of the just-completed Council mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa. The mission returned early Saturday morning from the 10-day trip. The mission report is being finalized.

Benon Sevan, the Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, then briefed Council members on the last 180-day report of the Oil-for- Food Programme. The Programme is currently on Phase IX, which ends on June 4. The Council is expected to resume discussions on the Iraq program this afternoon at 3 p.m.

This afternoon at 4 p.m., the Council is scheduled to meet in a closed session under the so-called Arria formula to hear from André Heitz, General-Secretary of the Federation of International Civil Servants Associations. Heitz will speak to the Council on the issue of staff security.

In response to a question about a briefing on the DRC mission, the Spokesman said that an open briefing on the Great Lakes mission was scheduled for Wednesday.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CAPITAL REPORTED CALM AFTER COUP ATTEMPT

Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, is reported to be calm but remains volatile with some reports of gunfire, after Mondays failed coup attempt.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued on Monday, condemned any attempt to overthrow an elected government by force and called on all Central Africans, especially political and other leaders to respect the democratic institutions of the country and to favor dialogue.

ANNAN URGES MORE SUPPORT FOR UN HUMANITARIAN WORK IN WEST AFRICA

A report by the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the issue of refugees and internally displaced persons in and around Sierra Leone is out on the racks today.

The Secretary-General says that for the time being conditions for the immediate return of all refugees to Sierra Leone do not exist. A large part of Sierra Leone remains under the control of the rebel Revolutionary United Front and largely beyond the reach of humanitarian aid and government services.

While recent events in Sierra Leone, he says, may give rise to cautious optimism, the fighting in northern Liberia is intensifying and could lead to a serious political and humanitarian crisis which has already led to new and increased flows of refugees and displaced persons.

Citing contributions amounting to only 8 percent, the Secretary-General appealed to the international community to make necessary resources available to support the efforts of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, other UN agencies and programs, and non-governmental organizations to assist in the protection, relocation and return of refugees and displaced persons.

Meanwhile, UNHCR announced today that it had completed on Sunday the evacuation of refugees from the insecure Parrot's Beak region of southwestern Guinea. A total of 54,000 refugees have been transferred to safety since February.

The UN mission in Sierra Leone reports that more than 3,300 combatants have been disarmed in a 10-day operation in two districts. and the RUF had handed over nearly 600 child combatants in Makeni.

UN WARNS NUMBERS OF DISPLACED COULD DOUBLE IN AFGHANISTAN

The Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan, in a statement issued today in Islamabad, Pakistan, says it deplores the interference the aid community in Afghanistan has increasingly faced in recent weeks while staff work to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people.

The UN statement says that the number of Afghans who will have to leave their homes to survive may double in the course of 2001-2002. At present, about 800,000 Afghans have left their homes.

The statement was issued as the UN humanitarian coordinator Erick de Mul concluded three days of meetings with Taliban representatives in the Afghan capital of Kabul. De Mul was expected to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. in Islamabad about his just-concluded mission.

The World Food Program has warned that it would shut down its bakery program on June 15 if the Taliban doesnt allow the agency to send Afghan women to conduct a survey to determine the neediest people.

EXPLOSIONS REPORTEDLY KILL AT LEAST THREE IN WEST TIMOR

At least three people were reportedly killed in West Timor, near the border with East Timor, as refugees in the West met with family members from the East.

Three victims of the blast turned up at the UN military hospital in the East Timor border town of Balibo, and reported that an estimated 25 people were injured in the incident.

The UN peacekeepers have no access to West Timor, and no further information was available.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAYS THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN NORTHERN FYROM

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) is increasingly concerned about the plight of civilians caught in fighting between armed forces of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and ethnic Albanian rebels.

UNHCR says between 5,000 and 10,000 people are believed to be trapped in villages engulfed by fighting in northern FYROM.

An estimated 18,000 people have sought refuge in southern Serbia and Kosovo.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In response to a question about when the Secretary-Generals next report on Cyprus will be issued, the Spokesman later announced that it was expected on Friday or Monday.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced the winners of its annual Global 500 Award. Eighteen individuals and organizations will be honored at this years World Environment Day observances on 5th June.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) that Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, will receive the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize for the year 2000. Robinson receives the prize in recognition of the great contribution she has made for the defense of human rights.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today began a series of training sessions for its contracted truck drivers to raise their awareness of HIV/AIDS. In its first large-scale initiative to fight the epidemic, WFP will train 2,300 truck drivers who move relief food from the Port of Djibouti to warehouses and distribution sites within Ethiopia.

Palau became the 97th country sign the Cartagena Protocol on BiodSafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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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