United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-05-31

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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 31, 2002

UN-IRAQ TALKS SET FOR JULY 4-5 IN VIENNA

The next round of talks between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and representatives of the Government of Iraq on compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions will take place on July 4th and 5th at the UN offices in Vienna, Austria.

The Iraqi delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Naji Sabri.

When asked who would be representing the United Nations at the talks, the Spokesman said the final decision on the delegation had not been made, but that Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and Mohammed El Baradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were both expected to attend.

ANNAN WELCOMES EU RATIFICATIONS OF GLOBAL WARMING PROTOCOL

The Secretary-General welcomed this mornings ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the 15 members of the European Union.

In remarks, he said the unanimous ratification was good news for the entire world and hoped that other countries would follow suit. He described the Protocol as a sound and innovative response to a truly global threat affecting rich and poor countries alike.

The 15 member states individually, as well as the European Union as a body, handed over instruments of ratification to the UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell.

ANNAN SADDENED BY DEATH OF SWEDISH DIPLOMAT GUNNAR JARRING

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued through his Spokesman, said he is saddened to learn of the death of Gunnar Jarring, the Swedish diplomat and veteran of UN affairs.

Jarrings career on the international stage spanned almost half a century. He served as Sweden's ambassador to the United Nations during the 1950s, and as special envoy of the UN Secretary General on the Middle East from 1967 to 1990. Jarring was known for his unflinching honesty, integrity, and discretion, as well as his exceptional powers of analysis and persuasion.

The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to Jarrings family as well as to the Government of Sweden, and adds that Jarrings legacy will live on as a shining example of the best and most selfless kind of international service.

HEAD OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR IRAQ NAMED

Shashi Tharoor of India has been confirmed as Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Tharoor has been serving as Interim Head of the Department since January 2001, and has worked in the UN system since May 1978.

The Secretary-General also appointed Ramiro Armando de Oliveira Lopes da Silva of Portugal as the new Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, replacing Tun Myat, who was recently appointed UN Security Coordinator.

In response to a question on why the Secretary-General took so long to appoint Tharoor, the Spokesman said that Tharoor was unusually young to have achieved the level of Under-Secretary-General. He added that when Tharoor took over as Interim Head of the Department, the Secretary-General gave him a free hand to make changes or improvements and that last week he had presented the Secretary-General with a draft plan to overhaul and restructure the department. When asked how old Tharoor was, the Spokesman replied that according to his biography, he was born in 1956.

SECURITY COUNCIL WRAPS UP WORK FOR MAY

On the last day of the Singapore Presidency of the Security Council, a private meeting was held to wrap-up the month's work. Non-members of the Security Council have been encouraged to take part. Speakers are being strictly limited to five-minute interventions. The Council heard more than 30 speakers from the Council and non-members in the morning session.

Among the topics of the wrap-up discussion are Afghanistan, East Timor, Liberia, the Middle East, Sierra Leone, and the Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Council President Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani of Singapore will sum up the debate and make it public.

Starting June 1, Syria assumes the Council presidency.

When asked what the Security Council was doing to ease the tensions between India and Pakistan, the Spokesman said that the matter had not been brought to the attention of the Council but that members had discussed it informally at their last working monthly luncheon . He said that in the long history of the conflict, India did not want to internationalize peace efforts but Pakistan had repeatedly invited international participation. The agreement of both parties was needed for action by the international community. He added that the Secretary-General supported the bilateral initiatives by a number of countries including the United States.

REFUGEE STATISTICS SHOW SHARP DROP IN ASYLUM-SEEKERS IN EUROPE

In the midst of what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees describes as a somewhat frenzied political debate in a number of European countries over immigration and asylum seekers, UNHCR today released figures showing a sharp drop in the number of people seeking asylum on the continent.

The total number of asylum-seekers arriving in the European Union last year was a little over half of what it had been in 1992, according to UNHCR.

At the same time, in many countries the numbers were not very high particularly if you compare them with developing countries that have hundreds of thousands, or even in the case of Iran and Pakistan millions of refugees, UNHCR says.

Flagging a refugee issue in Africa, UNHCR reported today that 10 Somali refugees including eight children have died of disease and malnutrition over the past six days in Kenya's volatile border region, as aid agencies have been prevented by the Kenyan authorities from moving the group to a safer location inside Kenya.

MORE THAN $7 MILLION PLEDGED TO RESTORE KABUL MUSEUM

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has announced in Kabul that several governments and NGOs would finance the safeguarding of Afghanistans cultural heritage. In all, more than $7 million has been promised for the restoration work on the Museum of Kabul, and numerous archaeological sites will also receive emergency assistance.

At the International Seminar on the Rehabilitation of the Afghan Cultural Heritage organised by UNESCO, it was decided not to give priority to the reconstruction of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan, blown-up by the Taliban in March, 2001. However in some 600 caves in the cliffs of Bamiyan, mural paintings will be protected and restored.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Afghan government have signed an agreement for the rebuilding of Kabul airport. Under the agreement, ICAO will execute the project, including the hiring and training of personnel, as well as the purchase of airport and air traffic control equipment and facilities.

EAST TIMOR: UN HANDOVER OF POLICE COLLEGE, MEDIA TO GOVERNMENT

Special Representative of the Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma for East Timor today attended a ceremony in Dili marking the handover of the East Timor Police Training College and UN Police control in several districts to the East Timor Police Service.

"This is the beginning of the exciting and challenging process, he said. The existence of an independent, democratic police service to maintain and enforce law and order is one of the fundamental pillars of any state.

The UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) today also handed over control of East Timors public radio and television to the newly independent nations government. About $500,000 in assets including TV and radio transmitters, TV cameras and studio equipment and management of broadcasting staff will officially come under East Timor government control at midnight.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In response to a question on when the new president of Colombia would be meeting with the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that the request for the meeting was received Thursday and that the date had not been finalized, but was expected to be in mid-June.

The Spokesman was asked whether the United Nations was concerned about the wide-range monitoring of political activity by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and he replied that he could not comment on any specific internal situation in the United States. He added that High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, had said that the fight against terrorism should not compromise basic human rights.

At the end of the first week of the final Preparatory Committee meeting for the World Summit on Social Development, delegates were briefed on the status of negotiations. The Chairmen of the working groups dealing with the final document reported to the plenary that most of the text had been agreed on. The Chairman of the Preparatory Committee urged delegates to focus discussion on the areas where agreement had not been reached so that negotiations could be finished by the end of today.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo Michael Steiner today brought the Goddess on the throne statue back to Kosovo. The Goddess, believed to be 6,000 years old, is a terracotta figurine dating from the Neolithic age, and was discovered at a site near Prishtina in 1956.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) today said the informal economy has expanded with unexpected rapidity throughout the world, triggering structural adjustment programmes, economic reform and demographic growth in developing countries. In addition, the lack of legal and social protection, representation and rights at work which characterize informal economy are prevalent in many countries. The findings will be discussed during the International Labour Conference scheduled to open in Geneva next week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said a study conducted by a major international clinic has revealed that Magnesium sulfate can reduce by half the risk of life-threatening convulsions and the risk of death in pregnant women with problems of high blood pressure. The three-year study, dubbed Magpie,was carried out in 33 countries and involved nearly 10,000 pregnant woman.

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) launched its web site today.

The Republic of Korea today became the 80th Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $20 million. At this time last year 84 countries were fully paid-up.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Saturday, June 1

The Secretary-General leaves New York for an 11-day trip to Ukraine, Russian Federation, Switzerland and Italy. Syria assumes the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of June. Monday, June 3

The Secretary-General will meet with the President of the Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma and other government officials as well as with heads of United Nations agencies and staff. The preparatory session for the World Summit on Sustainable Development continues in Bali, Indonesia, until Friday. The Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund begins its annual session today in New York and concludes on Friday. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, begins its 27th session today in New York. The session will last for three weeks. The reports of Belgium, Congo, Denmark, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Tunisia, Ukraine and Zambia will be considered. The Committee on Contributions begins a three-week session today in New York. In Vienna, the Center for International Crime Prevention will hold a two-day Symposium on Combating International Terrorism: the contribution of the United Nations. Tuesday, June 4 The Secretary-General leaves Ukraine for Moscow. The 90th session of the International Labour Conference of the ILO begins today in Geneva and continues until the 20th. Wednesday, June 5 The Secretary-General will attend the opening of the Forum of Cities and meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, President Valdimir Putin, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Speaker of the Duma, Gennady Slelznev. The 45th session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, COPOUS, begins in Vienna and will end on the 14th. Among the items for discussion will be the implementation of the recommendations of the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III). Thursday, June 6 The Secretary-General departs Russian Federation for Geneva where he will attend the first Saugstad Global Awards Ceremony. Friday, June 7 The Secretary-General will receive an honourary doctorate from the University of Geneva and address the Conference on Globalization and International Relations in the 21st Century.

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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