United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-05-10

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY

FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, May 10, 2002

UN CHILDRENS SUMMIT TO END TODAY

Today is the final day of the UN Special Session on Children and at 4:00 p.m. Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is scheduled to hold a press conference to wrap up the work of the Session.

Jan Fischer, Spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, said that there were 33 speakers in the morning plenary session and more than 50 for the afternoon, and that the meeting would go on late into the night. He added that negotiations were still taking place on the final document slated for adoption at the conclusion of the conference.

ANNAN APPOINTS NEW SECURITY COORDINATOR

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to appoint Tun Myat, of Myanmar, as the new UN Security Coordinator.

The General Assembly recently approved the Secretary-Generals request to establish a full-time position for a UN Security Coordinator, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General. So far, the post had been one of the many responsibilities performed by Benon Sevan, who is also the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme.

Tun Myat has most recently been serving, since April 2000, as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq. Prior to that, he had worked for 22 years at the World Food Programme (WFP).

When asked about Tun Myat, the Spokesman said in his long service in the UN system he had displayed sensitivity about staff security concerns at headquarters and in the field and had a solid track record in the UN system.

ANNAN AND SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS COUNCIL'S RESPONSIBILITIES

The Security Council has no meetings and no consultations scheduled for today. Monday's program was expected to be announced before day's end.

The Secretary-General is scheduled to leave UN headquarters at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon for a retreat with Security Council members at a conference center just outside of New York City. This is the fourth such Security Council retreat. They have been taking place annually since 1999.

The theme this year will be "Responsibilities of the Security Council," and will include "The Responsibility to Protect," which was the subject of a Canadian-funded study this year by a Commission co-chaired by Gareth Evans and Mohammed Sahnoun, who will both be at the retreat.

The Secretary-General will open the session with remarks, and the retreat will continue through Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

On Sunday he will leave for a three-destination tour of Cyprus, Indonesia and East Timor, stopping initially in London.

UN ENVOY DELIVERS FAREWELL ADDRESS IN EAST TIMOR

In East Timor today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, delivered a farewell address to East Timors Legislative Assembly. He listed major achievements by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) in many areas, such as government, economy, health and education.

While recognizing the tremendous progress that the East Timorese have made to date, he said, we are equally aware that the development process has really only begun. He then went on to explain the role of the successor mission, the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET).

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that more than 1,000 refugees have returned to East Timor during the first 10 days of May, bringing the total repatriation figure to well over 205,000 refugees.

East Timors Independence Ceremonies website was launched today on www.easttimoridc.org.

In response to a question on whether there was another example of a strong UN role similar to that played in East Timor, the Spokesman said that the Cambodia and Namibia experiences were similar but not identical.

PLEDGING CONFERENCE FOR SREBRENICA TO BE HELD MONDAY

UN Development Programme Administrator Mark Malloch Brown and the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, will host a pledging conference for donors on Monday to support the Srebrenica Regional Recovery Initiative, a $12.5 million effort to revitalize that region over a three-year period.

The Initiative is designed to deal with four main areas needed for the recovery of the Srebrenica region: improving economic development, with a focus on agribusiness; building housing and infrastructure; enhancing municipal governance; and supporting civil society.

The pledging conference will take place from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Secretariat, with attendees to include Queen Noor and representatives of the Bosnian Government and its entities.

UN ENVOY FOR CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT TO VISIT ANGOLA

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, will visit Angola from May 13 to 17 to evaluate the needs of children after 30 years of conflict.

During his visit, Otunnu will meet with the President Eduardo dos Santos and other senior government officials as well as with the opposition, civil society and religious groups and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Among the topics for discussion will be child soldiers, the lack of humanitarian access to children and the need for adequate protection and physical security for children.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

As part of the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is meeting today in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to discuss ways and means of shoring up their capacity to address the environmental risks they face because of their small size. The meeting is being hosted by the UN Development Programme and the government of Jamaica and includes representatives from Small Island Developing States, donor countries, UN organizations and civil society.

The number of peacekeepers who served with the 15 UN peacekeeping operations at the end of April this year remains steady at 46,799 military and police personnel who come from 86 countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the publication of a new study on violence in healthcare workplaces. The study shows that this is a serious problem in many countries, crossing borders, cultures, work settings and occupational groups. The research aims to provide guidance for the development of international, national and local guidelines to eliminate violence in healthcare workplaces.

Todays briefing notes from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) draws attention to returns to Afghanistan, refugee flows from Senegal to Gambia, flight from fighting inside Liberia, local settlement in Mexico and resettlement from Nauru to New Zealand.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo today became the 73rd Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $44,000.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, May 13

UN Development Programme Administrator Mark Malloch Brown and the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, will host a pledging conference for donors to support the Srebrenica Regional Recovery Initiative, with attendees to include Queen Noor. Malloch Brown and Klein will be the guests at the noon briefing, where they will describe international efforts to assist Srebrenica.

The 55th session of the World Health Assembly of the WHO will begin in Geneva.

Olara Otunnu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, will be visiting Angola through Friday to evaluate the needs of Angolan children following the cease-fire agreement that was signed on April 20.

Tuesday, May 14 The Secretary-General will travel to Cyprus on the start of a week-long trip, which will also take him to Indonesia and East Timor.

The Security Council has scheduled a public meeting to hear from the Council mission, headed by French Ambassador Jean David Levitte, which travelled to the Great Lakes Region.

The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) will provide security as Presidential and Parliamentary elections are held in that country.

"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: Nane Annan will speak on the Secretary-Generals behalf at the American Museum of Natural History about the upcoming World Summit on Social Development.

Wednesday, May 15 In Cyprus, the Secretary-General will meet separately with H.E. Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and H.E. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader. That evening he will host a dinner for them at the residence of the head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus.

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Today is the International Day of Families.

Thursday, May 16 The Secretary-General will depart Cyprus for Indonesia. During his visit to Indonesia, he is to meet with President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda.

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Somalia and Kosovo.

Friday, May 17 The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting to adopt a resolution on East Timor, which is to become independent on May 20. It also intends to hold consultations on the recent Council mission to the Great Lakes.

The Secretary-General will issue a message to mark World Telecommunications Day, which this year is dedicated to the theme of empowering people to cross the digital divide in information technology.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General United Nations, S-378 New York, NY 10017 Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only Fax. 212-963-7055

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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