United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-09-16

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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

Monday, September 16, 2002

[There will be no Noon Briefing tomorrow; Highlights of the "Quartet" press conference and other developments in the UN system will be posted on this website.]

ANNAN MEETS IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER, OTHER LEADERS

On Saturday morning, Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked to address the Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States, who were meeting in the building, on the subject of the Middle East and Iraq.

"We meet at a critical time," he told the Ministers, "as governments are discussing war and peace."

He said that he wanted to enlist their support for the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq as a means of strengthening efforts to restore peace and stability to the region.

"Every effort must be made," he said, "to avoid another major conflict."

That afternoon he had a scheduled meeting with Amre Moussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, who informed him that the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Naji Sabri, would join that meeting. Together they discussed the matter of the inspectors.

Asked about a scheduled meeting with Sabri this afternoon, the Spokesman said that, given the meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers over the weekend, were waiting to see if there might be some movement on the Iraqi position. The return of the weapons inspectors, he added, was on the Secretary-Generals agenda for those talks. [The Spokesman subsequently announced that the scheduled meeting between the Secretary-General and Sabri had been cancelled because they had held discussions over the weekend and felt that further talks were not necessary at this time.]

Asked about the Saturday meetings, the Spokesman said it was fair to say that the Secretary-General was enlisting the help of anyone that he could to avoid another major conflict. In recent days, he said, the building has been buzzing on this issue, with Annan also talking to some individual members of the Security Council.

Asked about a possible Security Council resolution on the issue, Eckhard said that it was still very early in the process of arriving at a resolution.

"QUARTET" ON MIDDLE EAST TO MEET TUESDAY

The Quartet dealing with the Middle East is scheduled to meet on Tuesday at UN headquarters, with the United Nations represented by the Secretary-General; the Russian Federation by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov; and the United States by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The European Union (EU) will be represented by Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller of Denmark, which holds the rotating EU presidency, and by Javier Solana the EUs High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Chris Patten, the European Commissions External Relations Commissioner.

At 9:00 a.m., the principals will meet for about an hour. This will be followed by meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, as well as the Israelis and Palestinians.

A press conference by the Quartet principles is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Because of the press conference, there will not be a noon briefing Tuesday.

The UN report on the Palestinian economy in the first half of 2002 is expected to be available later this week.

ANNAN WELCOMES START OF SRI LANKA PEACE TALKS

The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the opening of direct talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today in Thailand. He is pleased that the two sides have successfully implemented the provisions of their ceasefire signed last February and are now entering substantive peace negotiations.

The Secretary-General hopes that these talks will lead to a political settlement of the internal conflict in Sri Lanka, which will preserve the countrys unity and integrity as well as take into account the needs and interests of all its communities.

The Secretary-General pays tribute to the facilitation role played by the Government of Norway. At the same time, he looks forward to enhancing the United Nations role in support of the peace process, especially regarding peace-building activities.

ANNAN KICKS OFF DISCUSSION ON AFRICAS DEVELOPMENT

The Secretary-General this morning opened the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

In his speech, he highlighted the need to combat HIV-AIDS and promote girls education. He said the two separate but related priorities are particularly central to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which NEPAD adopted as the centerpiece of Africas development goals.

What now remains is for the principles of NEPAD to be converted into action, so that NEPAD makes a real difference for ordinary people in Africa, he said.

He added, Africas future will be determined by Africans. To build this future, to end the conflicts, cure the diseases and alleviate the multiple hardships that have held it back, Africa will need all the wisdom, political will and creativity it can muster.

Africa will also need the support of the developed world, he affirmed. In this age of globalization, even the richest and most powerful countries ignore the challenges and crises of other parts of the world at their own peril, he said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, who is attending todays NEPAD meeting, urged African leaders to incorporate refugees and returnees in their plans for Africas recovery.

At 6:45 this afternoon at the UN Visitors Lobby, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette is scheduled to deliver remarks at the opening of an exhibition sponsored by the World Health Organization and the Department of Public Information, which is intended to illustrate the link between poverty and health and to show how disease has been undermining development efforts in Africa.

IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL SAYS INSPECTIONS NEEDED IN IRAQ

In his opening address to the 46th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which opened in Geneva today, Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said that the IAEA has been unable to draw any conclusion or provide any assurance regarding Iraqs compliance with its obligations under the Security Council resolutions since their last inspection in December 1998.

Resumption of inspections is therefore a crucial step towards providing assurance to the international community that Iraqs nuclear weapons program has been neutralized and is not being revived, he added.

ElBaradei also noted that major challenges still exist in ensuring security around the world against the threat of nuclear terrorism, and he discussed North Koreas nuclear program, global nuclear safety, and the IAEAs worldwide activities on using nuclear technology in developing countries.

In a message to the meeting, the Secretary-General underscored that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation remain unfinished tasks and added that effective measures are also needed to reduce the risk of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists.

He urged the IAEA to continue its initiatives to safeguard nuclear material against non-peaceful uses, and to do its utmost to address the real concerns about safety and waste.

ANNAN PLEDGES UN SUPPORT AT OPENING OF MEETING ON MINE BAN

The Fourth Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines opened today in Geneva, and, in his message to the meeting, the Secretary-General noted that the Convention now has 122 States Parties, while three more countries have submitted their ratification instruments.

However, many countries have not joined, he pointed out, and others that have joined will face serious difficulties in meeting their four-year deadline for stockpile destruction or their mine-clearance commitments. He pledged that the United Nations would continue doing its part to turn the Convention into a truly universal prohibition on anti-personnel landmines.

Last Friday, Afghanistan became the latest country to complete accession to the Convention. Between 150 and 300 Afghans are injured or killed every month by mines.

Afghanistan has now committed itself to destroy its stockpile of mines within four years, and destroying mines in the ground within 10 years. The UN Mine Action Programme has allocated $50 million for Afghanistan in the year 2002, in an effort employing more than 6,000 Afghan nationals.

REPORT STUDIES IMPACT OF DR-CONGO PEACE AGREEMENTS

The signing of the recent agreements between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda, while an important step towards peace, is only the beginning of the process which will depend, first, on the commitment of the parties, and, second, on the decisive support that the international community will be willing to provide. That is the conclusion of the Secretary-Generals special report to the Security Council on the implications of those two accords.

The report examines some of the challenges the UN Mission in the DRC will face in implementation of the agreements, in areas that include disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and resettlement and reintegration of foreign combatants; withdrawal of foreign troops and the restoration of security in the northeast of the DRC.

In order to fulfill its obligations, the Missions concept of operations for Phase III of its deployment was adjusted. An outline of this new concept is included in this report and it includes the creation of a forward Mission headquarters in Kisangani to enable the mission to shift its center of gravity towards the east of the country.

The Secretary-General also recommends the creation of two robust military task forces to be stationed in Kindu and Kisangani, comprising 1,700 soldiers each. Other support units, such as a reserve battalion, aviation and riverine troops, would also be needed. This would require raising the total authorized troop level to 8,700, up from the current authorization of 5,537.

The Pretoria agreement called for a third party defined as the Secretary-General and South Africa to verify actions taken by both the DRC and Rwanda, as called for in the Pretoria agreement. Earlier in August it was decided to create a secretariat for this third party, which would be based in Kinshasa, that would include, on the UN side, the deputy head of the Mission and the Deputy Force Commander of UN troops in that country.

The full report, which came out Friday, is scheduled to be taken up by the Security Council next Monday.

UN ENVOY WRAPS UP TWO-WEEK MISSION TO SOUTHERN AFRICA

Wrapping up a two-week mission to southern Africa, the Secretary Generals Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs, James T. Morris, today announced that an additional 1.6 million people in the region are in urgent need of food aid and other humanitarian assistance over the next seven months.

Morris said the number of people who will suffer food shortages ahead of next years harvest has now risen from 12.8 million, in May, to 14.4 million.

In every country visited, the Special Envoys team was confronted by a devastating mix of extreme hunger and severe shortcomings in agriculture, health, sanitation and institutional capacity.

In mid-July, the United Nations requested $611 million in food and non-food support for southern Africa. To date, WFP has confirmed 36 percent of the $507 million for food aid. On the non-food side, however, only $12 million has been pledged.

UN ENVOY ARRIVES IN ANGOLA, SEEKING BETTER COORDINATION

Ibrahim Gambari, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, arrived in Luanda over the weekend.

Upon arrival, Gambari said that in the pursuit of the consolidation of peace in Angola, the United Nations intends to improve the coordination and integration of its activities, especially concerning the provision of humanitarian assistance; the promotion of national reconstruction; national reconciliation; human rights; economic recovery; social re-insertion of demobilized ex-combatants into the wider society; mine action and technical support for future elections.

UNDP: JUSTICE SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH SKEWED AGAINST POOR

Poor people in Bangladesh are put at a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with police and the judicial system, with most Bangladeshis simply being priced out of the justice system, a new report issued today by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) says.

The UNDP report, entitled Human Security in Bangladesh: In Search of Justice and Dignity, says that, with nearly 72 percent of Bangladeshis earning less than $2 a day, many people prefer to go to informal courts rather than face the frequent delays and lack of access to legal aid presented in the formal judicial system. An estimated 60 to 70 percent of local disputes are settled through traditional courts.

The report also finds violence against women including the throwing of acid, murder, rape and trafficking to be a serious problem requiring urgent attention.

It also finds that 90 percent of preventive detention cases by police took place without lawful authority, and that police are most responsive to influential members of the community.

UNEP, SECRETARY-GENERAL MARK INTERNATIONAL OZONE DAY

Today is the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

The UN Environment Programme announced today that the summary of a new report on the ozone layer was now available. The report suggests that the concentration of ozone depleting substances in the ozone layer is now at or near its peak. Despite good signs of recovery, the report says, the ozone layer will remain vulnerable for the next decade or so, even if countries comply with international agreements to protect it.

The Secretary-General in his message, urged all countries to meet their commitments under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. He said failure to comply with the Protocol would delay or even prevent the recovery of the ozone layer.

The summary of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion is available on the UNEP website.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Secretary-General today sent a message to the UN Institute for Training and Research Conference on the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor, which is being held in Tokyo.

There are no meetings of the Security Council scheduled for today. On Tuesday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Burundi.

Out as a Security Council document is a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin dated September 11 on issues related to combating terrorism. It was circulated at the request of the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.

The UN special rapporteur dealing with the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit, today began a visit to South Africa, where he is to investigate in particular rape and sexual violence against children, and any connection between such abuses and HIV/AIDS. He will present a report on his visit to the Commission on Human Rights next March.

The World Food Programme condemned today the ambush of a convoy of trucks transporting food aid to Kitgum, Northern Uganda, where more than 120,000 people are in desperate need of food assistance. One person was killed in the ambush.

The Food and Agriculture Organization announced today that Luciano Pavarotti will be among the opera stars taking place in a concert as part of this years TeleFood campaign. The concert, called Pavarotti canta Verdi will take place in Monaco on October 12..

Today, Barbados became the 101st Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full, with a payment of more than $99,000.

This morning, Costa Rica became the 18th country to sign the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court and this afternoon Botswana will become the 166th country to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

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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