United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-08-20

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK Monday, August 20, 2001

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS OPEN MEETING ON MIDDLE EAST

This morning, the Security Council began an open meeting on the Middle East, including the question of Palestine. There are 43 speakers inscribed on the list.

In response to a question on what action the Council might take, the Spokesman said that so far, today's meeting would involve a debate on the Middle East. No resolution or Presidential Statement on that subject has so far been circulated among Council members.

COUNCIL URGES GREATER ROLE FOR WOMEN IN CONGO DIALOGUE

On Friday, Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso of Colombia, current President of the Security Council, sent a letter to former Botswanan President Ketumile Masire, facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, urging the Congolose parties represented in Gabarone to increase the representation of women in the Dialogue.

"Members of the Council stress the importance of the role and contribution of women in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and of ensuring that gender issues are addressed during the dialogue, consistent with Council Resolution 1325," Valdivieso wrote.

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued last Friday, also urged greater representation of women in the dialogue. Asked about UN efforts to increase such representation, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General's statement and the Council President's letter should help press the parties to include more women.

ANNAN MEETS KING, PRIME MINISTER OF NORWAY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has concluded his two-week vacation in Norway and began an official visit to that country today.

He met this morning with Foreign Minister Torbjorn Jagland for a discussion of issues such as peace efforts in the Balkans, the recently held G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy, the socio-economic problems of Africa and the worldwide AIDS crisis. They also discussed the situations in the Middle East and in Colombia, both areas where the Secretary-General is represented by Norwegian nationals.

He and his wife Nane then had an audience with King Harold V and Queen Sonja. Also present were Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and his fiance, Mette-Marit Hoiby, who are to be married next Saturday. Princess Martha Louise was also part of that audience.

At midday, he met with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and the Minister for International Development Anne Kristen Sydnes, after which there was an encounter with the press.

In response to a question on the Middle East, the Secretary-General warned that the current impasse cannot be allowed to persist. "It is dangerous," he said. "It is raising tensions in the region and if we do not take concrete steps to contain it, it may spread to other parts of the region and beyond."

Asked about continued US withholding of dues payments to the UN over US opposition to the International Criminal Court, the Secretary-General replied, "This is an ex post facto reservation that I don't think would please other Member States who had negotiated in good faith, and I hope the US will release the money and continue to pay its dues in full and on time, without condition, as every Member State is expected to do."

He then had a working lunch with the Foreign Minister.

This evening, he is to meet with members of the Ghanaian community in Norway before attending a dinner in his honour hosted by the Prime Minister.

Asked about Annan's comments concerning US dues, the Spokesman recalled that the Secretary-General had spoken to Congressman Henry Hyde about the issue several weeks ago. Late last year, when Member States reviewed the scale of assessments, the discussion was so extensive, he added, that the Secretary-General did no think States would understand if the US Government were to add new conditions to the release of its dues. It was hoped Congress would resolve the issue.

Asked about the size of outstanding US dues, the Spokesman said the total, including regular-budget and peacekeeping dues, was $1.983 billion.

ANNAN URGES DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN NORWAY SPEECH

In Oslo this afternoon, the Secretary-General addressed a conference at the University of Oslo that was organized by the Norwegian Government on the challenges of democratic governance in a globalizing world. The meeting was opened by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and chaired by Foreign Minister Torbjorn Jagland.

The Secretary-General told an enthusiastic audience of some 400 people that regimes that a world composed of States with open and accountable systems of Government would be more peaceful than the one in which we actually live. States that respect the rights of all their citizens, and allow all to participate in decisions that affect their lives, are likely to benefit from their creative energies.

He noted the similar need for States to have more equality in their participation in the United Nations, as well as other groups, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. He said that we would live in a better, fairer and more democratic world if more weight were given in those venues to the views and the interests of the poor.

DR-CONGO ENVOY MEETS OFFICIALS IN NEW YORK

The new Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amos Namanga Ngongi of Cameroon, is at headquarters this week to familiarize himself with his mission.

Today he will be meeting with Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette and on Tuesday with the Group of Friends of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He is expected to arrive in Kinshasa in the beginning of September.

UN POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED IN KOSOVO

UN police in Kosovo have arrested an international police officer, stationed in Mitrovica, on allegations of sexual assault, and he is currently being detained and interviewed. His immunity has been waived for this investigation, which is being conducted by the Mitrovica Regional Investigation Unit. Once the investigation has been completed, an international prosecutor will evaluate the facts and decide whether to proceed to trial before an international judge.

This is a criminal investigation and not an internal one, and will be treated accordingly. The United Nations will not disclose further details while investigators proceed with their inquiry.

The UN Mission today also expressed concern over the closure of the border between Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which has impeded rotations of UN police.

BALLOT PAPERS ARRIVE FOR EAST TIMOR ELECTIONS

The ballot papers for East Timor's first democratic elections, to be held on August 30, have arrived in Dili and are being kept in secure storage locations. The ballots, which arrived last Friday, have been printed in Darwin, Australia, and will be marked individually with special seals in order to deter any attempt to introduce fraudulent ballots.

More than 600,000 ballots have been prepared, well in excess of the final voter roll of 409,019 -- with the extra ballots to provide for the possibility that additional voters, who completed the registration procedures but have not been included on databases for eligible voters, will actually come to the polls on August 30.

UNDP CHIEF PLEDGES UN SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), addressed on Sunday the Tenth Meeting of the Intergovernmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee on Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries, which began in Teheran.

Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, Malloch Brown assured delegates from the Group of 77, which Iran currently chairs, that the integration of developing countries into a globalizing economy is at the very heart of the UN's agenda for the new millennium. He said, "Working to implement your vision of a just and equitable future for all developing countries is the guiding principle of all our work."

UNEP LAUNCHES REPORT ON PROTECTING CLOSED FORESTS

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced the launch of a new report based on a satellite-based survey of closed forests. "An Assessment of the Status of the Worlds Remaining Closed Forests" is the most comprehensive and reliable assessment of global forest cover and has found that 80 percent of remaining closed forests is located in just 15 countries.

It also finds that 88 percent of vital forests is sparsely populated and under low pressure from population growth, giving conservation efforts a chance of success.

The report calls on the Governments of the 15 countries to draft action plans for the conservation of remaining closed forests and to increase the level of protected areas.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today that 227 former child soldiers have arrived at a rehabilitation center outside Kigali, Rwanda. Most of the children, ranging in age from 10 to 18 years, were forcibly recruited and trained in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The children are receiving counseling and non-formal education by UNICEF and its partners, while attempts are made to locate their families. About 85 percent of the children are Rwandan and the rest Congolese.

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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