United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-09-26

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HIGHLIGHTS

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, September 26, 2001

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES PERES-ARAFAT MEETING

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued through his Spokesman, warmly welcomed the meeting today between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

He is extremely pleased that the parties have agreed to resume full security cooperation and to exert maximum efforts to sustain the ceasefire. He is also encouraged by the reiteration of their full commitment to implement the recommendations of the report of the commission headed by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell and the understandings reached at a meeting brokered by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet.

He also welcomed the prospect of concrete steps to be taken by the parties and hoped that the meeting would result in a sustainable dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians and an end to the current cycle of violence and the resumption of the peace process.

UNHCR SEEKS $252 MILLION TO DEAL WITH CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN

As UN agencies and relief groups work to cope with unfolding humanitarian crisis involving Afghanistan, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today said it needs $252 million to carry out its emergency operations.

In a funding appeal presented to donors, UNHCR said it was preparing for an influx of up to one million refugees into Pakistan, 400,000 into Iran, 50,000 into Tajikistan and 50,000 into Turkmenistan. UNHCR is also making additional contingency plans to supply aid to 500,000 people inside Afghanistan if the need arises.

A larger UN appeal being compiled by the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) is expected to be finalized in time for a meeting in Berlin of the Afghan Support Group on Thursday. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima will attend the Berlin meeting.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan today said that the number of internally displaced persons inside the country could double from the current 1.1 million to 2.2 million persons.

The Coordinators Office also reported that limited radio communication is being permitted in Herat, with communication allowed only in one office, which is being monitored by a Taliban representative.

In New York, the Security Council will have its weekly consultations on Afghanistan Thursday.

ANNAN URGES SENSITIVITY TO NEEDS OF ORDINARY AFGHAN PEOPLE

The Secretary-General this morning was asked by CNN as he entered UN Headquarters about the situation in Afghanistan, and responded by noting that the needs of the average Afghan are not forgotten.

Referring to the September 11 attack on the United States, he said, "It is clear we should go after the perpetrators and those who committed this crime, but we should also be sensitive to the needs of the Afghan people who have lived through several decades of war, lived under a leadership they did not elect freely and cannot remove, and have gone through three years of drought."

At the same time, he said his advice to the Taliban was that they honor the obligations demanded of them by the Security Council and cooperate with the international community in making the culprits accountable.

STEPS TO IMPROVE SECURITY ON CIVIL AVIATION URGED

The Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) began its new session Tuesday in Montreal, and the Organization's President, Assad Koitate, opened the meeting by proposing that a high-level international conference on aviation security take place.

Koitate told the Assembly meeting, "The terrorist attacks of September 11 in the United States represent the greatest threat ever to civil aviation security. For the first time, aircraft have been used as a weapon of destruction."

He proposed new means to deal with this threat, including a resolution to develop an action plan on strengthening airline security. The proposed resolution being considered suggests some interim measures to bolster security in the air, including a recommendation to require that cockpit doors remain locked during flight and that airport security controls be upgraded.

The proposed resolution also urges all of the 187 States that participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization to strengthen their cooperation in apprehending and prosecuting those who misuse civil aviation as weapons of destruction.

The resolution will be considered over the course of the two-week meeting underway in Montreal, which is to end on October 5.

UN STAFF SUPPORT RED CROSS, ASSISTANCE EFFORTS FOR NEW YORK

The UN Tour Guides have been assisting the Red Cross in a project called "Register to let others know you are OK." Kiosks have been set up all over the city where people will be able to register and enable the Red Cross to handle the thousands of calls from all over the country regarding survivors. The Tour Guides skills in languages and in dealing with people have been a valuable addition to the project.

More than 100 UN staff members responded to a call by the Office of Human Resource Management for volunteer interpreters for the Family Assistance Center at New York's Pier 94. These volunteers, many with multiple language skills, can provide interpretation in 38 languages.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES CYPRUS, FYR-MACEDONIA

The Security Council held closed consultations this morning on Cyprus. Before it started, Council President Jean-David Levitte of France welcome U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, who was attending consultations for the first time since he presented his credentials last week. All Council members welcomed him warmly.

Alvaro de Soto, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus, briefed Council members on recent developments dealing with the Secretary-General's mission of good offices on Cyprus.

Following that, the Council held three consecutive formal meetings.

First it adopted a resolution on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Council members endorsed the efforts of Member States to implement the Framework Agreement and to support the establishment of a multinational security presence in FYROM at the request of its Government.

The Council then adopted a Presidential Statement on the Central African Republic, reiterating its call on all parties to support political dialogue, national reconciliation and respect for human rights. It also encouraged the international community to make substantial and urgent contributions to the recovery of the Republic.

Council members also adopted a Presidential Statement on Burundi, strongly supporting the installation, to take place on November 1, of a transitional government in that country. The Council also expressed concern for the increase of violence in Burundi.

OAU TEAM VISITS SIERRA LEONE TO ASSESS INFRASTRUCTURE

The UN Mission in Sierra Leone ( UNAMSIL) reports on a visiting delegation from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to assess the infrastructural needs of the country.

The leader of the delegation, Senator Amadu Ali of Nigeria, said Nigeria, South Africa and Libya had pledged at an earlier OAU Summit to assist Sierra Leone in repairing infrastructure damaged during the war, and were now in the country to identify areas that needed assistance.

FORMER FINANCE MINISTER TURNED OVER TO RWANDA TRIBUNAL

A former Rwandan Finance Minister, Emmanuel Ndindabahizi, was transferred Tuesday from Belgium to the UN detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania, following his arrest by Belgian authorities on July 12 at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ( ICTR).

He has been indicted by the Tribunal on five charges of genocide, incitement, and crimes against humanity for extermination and murder. He is alleged to have led a systematic campaign of violence against Tutsis in the Kibuye prefecture during the country's 1994 genocide.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about a phone conversation held Tuesday between the Secretary-General and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, the Spokesman said, among other topics, that the two had discussed the timing of the General Assembly's general debate. The Secretary-General, Eckhard said, noted that the General Assembly's regional groups were discussing possible dates, in light of a recommendation by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani that the meeting not take place before the end of October.

In response to questions on the actions in the U.S. Congress to release $584 million in U.S. arrears to the United Nations, the Spokesman said that the money could arrive within 30 days, and that Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph Connor intended to use the money to repay Member States that contribute troops to UN operations.

The second report of the Security Council's working group on peacekeeping operations, available today, details the group's examination of the Secretary-General's report, "No Exit without Strategy," concerning the ways that UN peacekeeping operations end. The working group has drafted a note by the President of the Security Council, which, among other things, notes the importance of setting up milestones to support a comprehensive and integrated approach to peace-building and of strengthening the Council's partnership with troop contributing countries.

Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention today attended a signing ceremony at UN Headquarters, at which the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago will also sign the two Protocols to the Convention.

This afternoon, Pakistan will sign the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Today, three more Member States made their full payments of their 2001 regular budget contributions. Angola and Cambodia made payments of more than $20,000 each, and Nigeria made a payment of more than $600,000. The number of fully paid up Member States now stands at 122.

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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