United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-11-09

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

THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, November 9, 2001

ANNAN TO OUTLINE UN PRIORITIES AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to outline his priorities for the coming years while reviewing fundamental guiding principles for the United Nations in an address to the General Assemblys annual high-level debate when it opens Saturday. He will stress that the United Nations must stand for the rule of law in international and domestic affairs.

According to the prepared text of the speech, released today, the Secretary-General said no words could adequately convey his "revulsion and sorrow" at the September 11 attacks on the United States, adding that the UN was determined to "overcome the forces that inflicted this ordeal upon us."

ANNAN, BRAHIMI TO DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, returned today to UN Headquarters, where he will brief Secretary-General Kofi Annan this afternoon about his two-week visit to the region.

Brahimis deputy, Francesc Vendrell, is winding up a visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he was pursuing contacts with Afghan parties and individuals. Among the Afghan leaders he had been hoping to meet with was Afghan President Berhanuddin Rabbani.

On the ground, the UN Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan is sending word out to Afghan civilians to exercise special care in moving about inside Afghanistan. In particular, it warns civilians about existing minefields and unexploded ordnance. Dan Kelly, Manager of the Programme, said in Islamabad, Pakistan, today that the coalition force is being cooperative and is providing some information on the locations of strikes that may contain unexploded ordnance.

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) said the immunization of a planned 5.4 million children in Afghanistan had proceeded without major disruptions, although health teams did encounter difficulties in gaining access to two districts in the Mazar-i-Sharif area, for reasons still unspecified.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that although borders remained officially closed in the countries surrounding Afghanistan, some progress was being made in efforts to help those who had managed to make it to Pakistan. UNHCR hoped to start re-locating recently arrived Afghan refugees in Pakistan in newly established sites as early as this weekend.

In Iran, UNHCR is readying relief supplies, which are to be part of a humanitarian aid convoy scheduled for early next week for the northwest Afghanistan town of Herat.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said Thursday that it trucked in 3,452 tons of food -- the largest one-day shipment to date. WFP said its monthly target is 52,000 tons. WFP said it was optimistic that it can make the target, thanks to the dedication and courage of their Afghan staff, who are still working under extremely difficult conditions.

Asked about a proposed international conference on aid to Afghanistan, the Spokesman said he expected that the governments involved were to make an announcement on the dates and venue for that event shortly.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON KOSOVO, DR-CONGO

After brief consultations on Kosovo this morning, the Security Council held a formal meeting to adopt a Presidential Statement, which welcomes the progress made in preparing the Kosovo-wide elections on 17 November. Council members also welcomed the helpful role played by the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Governments of the FRY and the Republic of Serbia in recommending Kosovo Serb participation in the elections.

The Security Council then started a public meeting on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which was chaired by Jamaican Prime Minister Percival James Patterson.

In his address to the Council meeting, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that he recently recommended that the UN Mission in the DRC enter its third phase by deploying to the eastern part of the country, but for that objective to succeed, the parties must live up to their responsibilities.

He reiterated some of his major concerns, including the cessation of hostilities in the east and the need to create conditions on the ground that will facilitate the disarmament and repatriation of former combatants.

The Secretary-General said the peace process in the DRC was at a turning point. At stake is the reunification of the country after years of war, he said.

The Chairman of the Lusaka Political Committee, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Joao Bernardo de Miranda, and the President of the Security Council also spoke.

Following that open meeting, the Council will continue its discussion of the DRC in a private meeting. At the end of that session, Council members are expected to hold another formal meeting to adopt a resolution on the DRC.

Asked whether the Secretary-Generals recommendation of a new phase in the UN Missions deployment meant that progress had been achieved in the inter-Congolese dialogue, the Spokesman said that the dialogue had begun well in Gaberone, Botswana, but did not fulfill expectations last month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, due to budgetary and other problems. However, he added, the United Nations believes that all parties remain committed to the inter-Congolese dialogue.

ANNAN NOTES NEED FOR DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS

The Secretary-General this morning addressed the General Assembly on the Dialogue among Civilizations that has been taking place this year, and argued that, if anyone had ever doubted it, 11 September made the need for such a dialogue crystal clear.

He added, We need look no further than the composition of this great Assembly to know as an unmistakable, incontrovertible fact of life that there are many ways of living, many beliefs, many cultures.

He noted the growing interest in such a dialogue over the past year, from academic institutions to all people searching to find common ground, and particularly thanked Iranian President Mohammed Khatami who also spoke this morning for launching the dialogue within the United Nations.

SPOKESMAN: SECURITY PLAN IN FULL OPERATION

The Spokesman, in response to questions on security at the United Nations, said that the United Nations has developed a comprehensive security plan that is now in full operation.

He added that, as always, the United Nations relies heavily on support from the host country, the United States.

He declined to specify what measures are being taken, saying that they are similar to those taken for last years Millennium Summit. He added, Everyone is on higher alert since September 11.

SERBIA TRANSFERS DETENTION CAMP SUSPECTS TO UN TRIBUNAL

On Thursday evening, the authorities in Serbia arrested two brothers, Nenad and Predrag Banovic, in Serbia and transferred them to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where they face indictment for crimes against humanity allegedly committed at Bosnias Karaterm detention camp.

The Banovic brothers arrived at The Hague early this morning, where they were admitted to the Tribunals detention center. They are accused of involvement in beatings, torture, killings, sexual assault and other forms of abuse carried out against mainly Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim inmates at Karaterm.

The Tribunal today also detailed the charges against a former Bosnian Serb Army corps commander, Dragomir Milosevic, charged with crimes against humanity for the sniper attacks that took place against civilians in Sarejevo in 1994 and 1995. The indictment against Milosevic who is not related to the former Yugoslav President was unsealed by the Tribunal last week.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION URGES ACCESS TO MEDICINES FOR POOR

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), told the meeting of the World Trade Organization in Doha, Qatar, that it was up to the members to ensure that the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) did not stand in the way of access to medicines in the poorest countries.

The issue of patent protection for pharmaceutical products is an area where a fine balance needs to be struck between providing incentives for future inventions of new medicines and ensuring affordable access to existing medicines, Brundtland said.

She added that millions of lives would be affected by the Ministerial Declaration on intellectual property and access to medicines.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In response to a question, the Spokesman confirmed that U.S. President George W. Bush had invited the Secretary-General to accompany him on a trip to ground zero, the site of the World Trade Center attack, likely on Sunday.

Asked what the Secretary-General would discuss this afternoon with Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides, the Spokesman said, It will be a friendly chat, and noted that Clerides would talk to reporters afterward.

Next Monday, the International Support Group on de-mining in Lebanon will meet for the first time. The meeting will be chaired by Lebanese Defense Minister Khalil Haraoui and the Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for southern Lebanon, Staffan di Mistura, will attend.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced a gift of decorative glass sculptures from Romania. The President of Romania, Ion Iliescu, will present the sculptures to UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy, at a ceremony in UNICEF House starting at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.

The General Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today decided, for the first time in eight years, to a slight increase in the agencys budget. The budget for 2002-2003 will total $651.8 million, an increase of just $1.8 million over the previous figure. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf had requested an increase of about $38 million, but this was not accepted by the membership.

A live Webcast of the General Debate of the General Assembly will be provided, starting Saturday, on the UN website at www.un.org/webcast/ga/56/

In addition, a live Webcast and archived video of today's General Assembly debate on Dialogue among Civilizations can be accessed at www.un.org/webcast/ga/yeardac/