United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-10-19

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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

Friday, October 19, 2001

NEW AFGHAN REFUGEES REPORT HEAVY BOMBARDMENTS IN KANDAHAR

More than 3,500 Afghans have fled to Pakistans Baluschistan province as of midday Friday, bringing the estimated total arrivals in the province over the past week to more than 13,500.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it was awaiting government authorization Friday afternoon to provide water and food to the new arrivals.

Monitors at the border described the situation as chaotic, and that people were arriving with no food or belongings.

The new arrivals reported fleeing heavy bombardments in the Afghan city of Kandahar overnight and Friday morning.

[The High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers told reporters at UN headquarters after the noon briefing that the number of refugees fleeing Afghanistan will grow exponentially higher and urged cooperation from Iran and Pakistan to open their borders.]

The Humanitarian Coordinators Office for Afghanistan reports that up to 70% to 80% of Kandahars population have already left, mainly for rural areas of the region. As a result, rural areas are getting more crowded.

According to the UN Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan, a large number of new explosive devices have been used in different parts of the country, particularly in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat and Kunduz, and that people moving around in the areas that have been heavily bombarded could face additional risk from unexploded ordnance.

In Geneva, the Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain said although significant pledges had been announced by donor countries, agencies had so far received confirmed contributions amounting to $ 67 million. The emergency appeal was for $584 million.

UN SPECIAL ENVOY TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE SATURDAY

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, is in Washington, D.C., today for talks with U.S. officials.

Brahimi is scheduled to speak to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., at 9:00 a.m.

LETTER SENT TO UN NAIROBI OFFICE TESTS NEGATIVE FOR ANTHRAX

The UN office in Nairobi announced this morning that a suspicious letter it had received earlier in the week had tested negative for anthrax.

In answer to a question on whether any packages at headquarters had tested positive, the Spokesman said there had not been although a number suspicious items had been sent to the security services for further examination.

When asked what the contingency plans were if anthrax were to be detected in the building, the Spokesman said that the UN security service is in full control of the situation and remained in constant contact with relevant federal and local law enforcement authorities.

The Security Councils Counter-Terrorism committee has set up a website. As its work progresses information the committees activities, as well as relevant documents will be posted.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS OPEN DEBATE ON SOMALIA

The Security Council this morning began an open debate on Somali by hearing from the Prime Minister of that countrys Transitional National Government, Ali Khalif Galaydh.

He welcomed the Secretary-Generals recent report on Somalia, but urged the Council to send a high-level UN mission to Somalia to re-evaluate the security situation, so that a UN Peace-Building Mission could be set up in Somalia.

Following the Prime Minister, the Secretary-Generals Representative for Somalia, David Stephen, talked to the Council to discuss the Secretary-Generals report. He emphasized that there should not be a proliferation of initiatives dealing with Somalia.

Thursday afternoon, the Council held a private meeting with nations that have contributed troops to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

On Monday, the Council expects to hold consultations on Guinea-Bissau and the DRC, and also intends to hold a public meeting on the question of targeted sanctions.

In response to a question about how the UNs role was being viewed in Somalia in light of the events surrounding Afghanistan, the Spokesman said that Somalia is, in part, being viewed in the context of lessons learned for Afghanistan. He added that the situation in Somalia had not deteriorated to the point of comparison to Afghanistan, although the country was not yet secure for the Secretary-General to recommend the establishment of a peace-building support office in that country.

UN AGENCY HEADS MEET IN NEW YORK

In response to a question on the on-going meetings of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, the Spokesman said that the heads of 25 UN agencies, funds and programmes are meeting today and tomorrow in New York. He also added that the issue of terrorism was discussed at this mornings private session chaired by the Secretary-General.

Asked about the frequency of the ACC meetings, the Spokesman said they were held twice a year with one session at headquarters and the other rotating between the various UN offices around the world.

EAST TIMORESE REFUGEES CONTINUE TO RETURN HOME

More than 500 refugees crossed the border into East Timor this morning, on the second day of mass refugee returns from camps located in Indonesian West Timor.

On Thursday, more than 370 refugees had crossed from West Timor into East Timor.

The refugees, who come from Covalima District and had been living since 1999 in the Betun refugee camps Todays return was arranged by the UN Mission in East Timor, working with independence leader Xanana Gusmão a and pro-autonomy leader Hélio Moniz Caetano, who also returned today from West Timor

. REPORT ASSESSES IMPACT OF SEPT. 11 ATTACKS ON GLOBAL ECONOMY

The Secretary-General, in a report on the racks today about the role of the UN in promoting development, notes recent assessments that suggest a substantial decline in global growth, with industrial production and business and consumer confidence falling in many developed countries.

He says the precise impact of the September 11 attacks could depend on how trade, business and consumer confidence, investment and capital flows will be affected, but adds that certain industries are experiencing a direct impact already, notably in travel and tourism.

In the report, Annan suggests that the key challenge to be faced at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting scheduled for next month in Doha, Qatar and next years Conference on Financing for Development in Mexico is to place development at the center of how globalization is managed.

Development goals, he says, should shape the framework of globalization rather than allowing the blind forces of globalization to define the outcome of development.

CONVENTION AGAINST MERCENARIES ENTERS INTO FORCE

The International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries will enter into force tomorrow, October 20, 2001.

In accordance with Article 19 (1) of the Convention, it will enter into force 30 days after the 22nd ratification and Costa Rica became the 22nd party on September 20.

UN DAY TO BE MARKED WITH CONCERT IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY HALL

United Nations Day, celebrated each year on October 24, will be marked this year by a rock concert and a performance by world famous mime, Marcel Marceau.

This years concert, hosted by the Secretary-General, will also feature performances by the Indian Hindrock band Euphoria and the Pakistani folk-rock band Junoon. The leader of the band Junoon, Salman Ahmad, is the UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan.

The concert will take place in the General Assembly Hall on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. and both the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly are expected to make statements.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roberto Garreton, has announced his resignation. Garreton explained his current mandate was incompatible with the position he had just accepted: advisor to the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the Latin American Economic Community, based in Santiago, Chili. He was appointed as Special Rapporteur in 1994 and, since then, he has carried out nine missions to the country.

The World Food Programme launched today an emergency operation to feed 300,000 people in Sri Lanka as a severe and prolonged drought in the island nation pushes large segments of the population into desperate hardship.

WFP Executive Director Catherine Bertini announced today that former US Senator George McGovern would become the agencys first Global Ambassador on Hunger.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that in Angola, clashes between government and UNITA forces have prompted thousands of people to seek refuge in Zambia over the past few days. There have been at least 3,500 new arrivals in the past five days - well above the average of 1,000 per month.

This morning, Cuba became the 64th country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, October 20

The Secretary-General will speak to the Administrative Committee on Coordination, which is holding its retreat at New Yorks Millennium Hotel.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, will speak to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., at 9:00 a.m.

Sunday, October 21

Monday, October 22

The Security Council will hold consultations on Guinea-Bissau and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Security Council also intends to hold a public meeting to discuss general issues relating to sanctions.

At 11:00 a.m., Michael Zammit Cutajar, Secretary-General of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, will give a press briefing.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima will begin to visit Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan at the request of the Secretary-General.

The Executive Board of the World Food Programme will meet through this week in Rome.

If there is time following that meeting, a press conference on targeted sanctions might take place tentatively scheduled for 12:30 with Hans Dahlgren, the Swedish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Swiss Ambassador Jenö Staehelin and German Ambassador Dieter Kastrup.

Tuesday, October 23

The Security Council will hold consultations on Afghanistan and Liberia. Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, will brief the Council on recent developments.

At 11:00 a.m., Michael Zammit Cutajar, Secretary-General of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, will give a press briefing.

The Secretary-General will attend the annual ball of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA).

Wednesday, October 24

Today is UN Day, which will be observed by a concert in the General Assembly Hall, among other events. Today is also World Development Information Day.

The Security Council will hold a public meeting on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

The guest at the noon briefing will be Dileep Nair, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services.

Thursday, October 25

From 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, there will be a symposium on terrorism and disarmament with opening remarks by Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala.

Friday, October 26

The Security Council intends to hold a public meeting on Liberia sanctions. It also intends to hold a private meeting with the troop contributing countries for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).

The Deputy Secretary-General will receive an honorary degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.