United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-06-13

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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

Thursday, June 13, 2002

ANNAN CONGRATULATES KARZAI'S ELECTION AS AFGHAN HEAD OF STATE

[Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement issued through his Spokesman Thursday afternoon, congratulated Hamid Karzai on his election by the Loya Jirga as the head of the Afghan Transitional Authority.

The Secretary-General has been following closely the proceedings of the Loya Jirga, the statement said. He welcomes the enthusiastic embrace of this democratic process by the Afghan people and their leaders. Today's election constitutes an important step towards peace and stability in Afghanistan, following the path set out in the Bonn Agreement.

The Secretary-General urges delegates to continue to use the peaceful forum of the Loya Jirga to pursue national reconciliation and to create a representative Government, the statement went on to say. He looks forward to the successful completion of the Loya Jirga's work and the inauguration of the new Transitional Authority.

The Loya Jirga today elected Hamid Karzai, Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration, as the country's head of state to lead the Transitional Government for the next two years, the UN mission in Afghanistan reported after the noon briefing.]

On the third day of its meeting in Kabul, the Loya Jirga had registered three candidates for the position of head of state: Karzai, Masooda Jalal, a pediatrician with the World Food Programme; then Mir Mahfooz Nedai, member of the Loya Jirga Commission. [Karzai obtained 1,295 votes, Jalal 171 and Nedai 89.]

In his statement after his nomination, Karzai said while reconstruction has started in Afghanistan government projects needed to be transparent, properly coordinated and effective.

In her statement, Jalal, the first woman candidate for the president in Afghans history, said standards should be created in Afghanistan so that a new democratic order could be established based on dignity and respect.

As the start of the session today, the Loya Jirga announced the results of the elections for the officers of its bureau, or Secretariat of the planned six-day gathering. Muhammad Qasimyar, Chairman of the Special Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga was elected Chair with 889 votes. Minister for Womens Affairs, Sima Samar, and Azam Dadfar were both elected as vice chairs with 411 and 257 votes respectively.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS DAY-LONG MEETING ON THE MIDDLE EAST

The Security Council is holding an open meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, convened at the request of the Arab Group. At the start of the meeting, 35 speakers were listed to take the floor.

At 3 p.m., following a break for lunch, the Security Council was to meet in closed consultations to discuss the draft resolution introduced Wednesday on the renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Then at 3:30 p.m., a meeting of the Security Council with troop contributing countries to the UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to take place.

The open meeting on the Middle East is expected to resume immediately after the meeting with troop contributors.

The members of the Security Council began their day with a meeting in closed consultations on Sierra Leone during which they were briefed by Alan Doss, the Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative for Governance and Stabilization in that country. He spoke of the challenges ahead in the countrys peace-building process.

Immediately afterwards, Council members gathered in a formal meeting and voted unanimously on a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus by six months.

INTERNATIONAL COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS FROM DR CONGO AND RWANDA

This morning at The Hague, representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and of Rwanda, argued their case in front of the International Court of Justice.

Last month the DRC filed proceedings against Rwanda for "massive, serious and flagrant violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law" resulting from acts of armed aggression perpetrated by Rwanda on the DRCs territory.

The DRC is also claiming that it is entitled to compensation from Rwanda for for all acts of looting, destruction, slaughter, removal of property or persons and other acts of wrongdoing.

While written rulings from the court can take many years, lawyers for the DRC have also asked the Court to issue a provisional ruling to stop armed Rwandan aggression in their country. A decision on a request for a provisional ruling is usually made within four weeks.

The Court will continue hear arguments again from both sides Friday morning. A verbatim transcript of the proceedings should be available on the Courts website Friday.

ANNAN SALUTES BUSINESS COMMUNITY EFFORTS IN FIGHTS AGAINST HIV/AIDS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan last night presented the award for Business Excellence in the Workplace at an event organized by the Global Business Council on HIV/AIDS and the International AIDS Trust. He said that businesses are recognizing that fighting AIDS is in their interest and that the starting point for that fight was in the workplace.

The Secretary-General congratulated DaimlerChrysler of South Africa, the recipient of the award, for their programme for prevention, care and treatment, saying it was the best kind of public-private partnership approach in fighting HIV/AIDS.

You have shown what can be achieved by facing this insidious enemy head-on and working together to defeat it, he said, It is only through such partnerships that we can hope to succeed in the fight against AIDS.

SENIOR UN OFFICIAL ADDRESSES RELIGIOUS LEADERS ON CONFLICT PREVENTION

In Bangkok, Thailand, Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific addressed the inaugural World Council of Religious Leaders, an outcome from the Millennium World Peace Summit in 2000 at the United Nations.

He reiterated the Secretary-Generals view that religions may manifest themselves in widely different practices and belief systems, he said, but at heart we are dealing in universal values: To be kind, to be merciful, to be tolerant, to love our neighbors.

Over 100 religious leaders from virtually all religions around the world, including Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim attended the conference.

The aim of the World Council of Religious Leaders is to assist the United Nations and its agencies in the prevention and resolutions of conflict, and in addressing global social and environmental problems.

FAO CHIEF SAYS FOOD SUMMIT IMPORTANT STEP IN ERADICATION OF HUNGER

The World Food Summit: Five Years Later ended today in Rome.

In his closing address, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf said that the last four days had been an important step towards achieving the common goal to eradicate hunger in a world where it ought to have been eradicated long ago.

In closing he added that we all know that the elimination of hunger is not only a moral imperative but can only benefit a more interdependent world.

On the sidelines of the Summit, a total of 43 countries signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The treaty covers access to genetic material of all food crops and establishes a multilateral system for access to the genetic material of 64 crops essential to food security. The Treaty now has a total of 56 signatories.

U.S. LAWMAKERS URGED TO ACT TO END SOUTHERN AFRICA FOOD CRISIS

The Executive Director of the World Food Programme, James T. Morris, today urged members of the U.S. House of Representatives to act quickly to avert a humanitarian disaster in southern Africa, where 12.8 million people are threatened with starvation over the year ahead.

Addressing the International Relations Committee, Morris said the crisis was caused by a combination of erratic rainfall, economic decline and government mismanagement. Morris noted that this crisis is the first in history in which HIV/AIDS plays a major role, as the countries most affected by the drought are also at the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Morris made a similar appeal to the international community to increase its assistance for southern Africa during this weeks World Food Summit in Rome.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Concerned that continued fighting will hinder vaccination campaigns aiming to reach over 3 million Burundian children, UN officials in Burundi called Wednesday on all parties to the conflict to observe 'Days of Tranquility'. The UN humanitarian workers appealed to the warring parties to ensure safe passage of health workers during the next two rounds of National Immunization Days, scheduled for June 17-28 and July 23-26, 2002.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers called on European leaders to invest more in the refugee agency, which has helped hundreds of thousands of refugees, including those from Afghanistan, to return home and stay there. If the UNHCR does not get the support it needs, desperate people will continue to take desperate measures. This includes resorting to human smugglers, fuelling crime, Lubbers said.

Today, Lesotho became the 82nd country to pay its regular budget contribution for this year in full with a payment of more than $11,000.

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