United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-09-19

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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

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, September 19, 2002

IRAQ: CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL

The Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq (UNMOVIC), Hans Blix, will brief members of the Security Council in a closed meeting this afternoon beginning at 4:00.

Blix joined Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Wednesday afternoon, at which the Secretary-General stressed the need for Iraq to provide full and unconditional cooperation to the UN inspectors and reaffirmed his confidence in Blix's professionalism and impartiality.

Blix told the Foreign Minister that he wished to get off to a "flying start" and looked forward to finalizing the practical arrangements for inspections when they next meet in Vienna starting the week of September 30.

Asked why the weapons inspectors could not go to Iraq immediately, the Spokesman said that Blixs believed that, unless a basic understanding on practical arrangements was agreed to before he got there, its inviting trouble.

As such, there would be discussions on practical arrangements, on the understanding that there would be no conditions placed on the inspectors return, with the discussions designed to avoid any practical obstacles to a smooth inspection process.

The Spokesman added that, with the Vienna talks, the UNMOVIC team would try to finalize arrangements as quickly as possible. Then it would need to send people to Iraq to re-open the Commissions office to prepare for the inspectors return, which, he said, could be done fairly quickly.

As for the Security Councils guidance to Blix, Eckhard said, well have to see what additional marching orders, if any, the Council gives him.

The Spokesman, in response to another question, declined to comment on U.S. President George W. Bushs recent remarks criticizing the United Nations, which, he said, were addressed to the Security Council, on a matter being discussed by the Council at the highest level.

ANNAN APPALLED AS MIDDLE EAST VIOLENCE BREAKS CALM PERIOD

The Secretary-General is appalled by the recent acts of violence in the Middle East that have pierced a period of relative calm, according to a statement issued through his Spokesman. He strongly reiterated the statement of the "Quartet" on the Middle East calling for an end to violence and terror and deploring and condemning such acts as morally repugnant. He hoped that, in the period after the two suicide attacks on Israelis and the bomb planted at a Palestinian school over the past three days, the parties will act with restraint.

The Secretary-General believes that only a comprehensive solution developed through a process that addresses political, security, humanitarian and economic issues in parallel can ensure real security for the parties. The commitment of the parties to the roadmap agreed at the recent meeting of the Quartet, coupled with an effective Quartet monitoring mechanism, remains the best path to that solution.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON CHALLENGES FACING AFGHANISTAN

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, briefed the Security Council on Afghanistan in an open meeting this morning before Council members went into consultations on the same topic.

Brahimi highlighted the two most pressing challenges that the Afghan people were facing: security and recovery. He warned that, if we fail to address these challenges, "fragmentation will become more entrenched, extremism will rise, and then foreign countries, groups or individuals may be drawn once again into the fray."

He appealed to the international community to provide "committed, sustained and generous support." He then outlined areas where international funding was mostly needed, including employment generation, the introduction of a new currency and the development of the governments capacity.

On security, Brahimi reminded the members of the proliferation of local conflicts and violence, adding, "In the past few days there have been positive developments in these troublesome areas." He underscored that time was of the essence, and he appealed to the international community to "turn its undoubted commitment to Afghanistan into more forceful action."

At 3:30 p.m. the Security Council has scheduled a meeting with troop-contributing countries on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to be followed by the consultations on Iraq.

Also today at 3:00 p.m., there is a meeting of the Security Council Committee overseeing sanctions against Usama bin Laden, the Al-Qaida organization, the Taliban and their associates to discuss further the report by the expert group monitoring the implementation of those sanctions.

ANNAN TELLS G-77 HE WILL SUBMIT UN REFORM REPORT

The Secretary-General this morning addressed the ministers of the Group of 77, the 133-nation coalition of developing countries, and said the last year has been a challenging one for them, with the world economy recovering very slowly following its setback last year. He said that any return by the developing countries to the growth rates they had achieved prior to the Asian crisis would likely not take place until 2005.

Yet he also underscored the achievement of the main economic meetings of the past year, from the World Trade Organization meeting in Doha, Qatar, last November to the International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Mexico, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development that just took place in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He warned that his recent report on progress achieved towards implementing the goals of the Millennium Declaration presents a mixed picture, with progress so far toward reducing child and maternal mortality being inadequate.

He told the Group of 77 that, next week, he will submit to the Member States an agenda of measures to strengthen the United Nations further. The Secretary-General emphasized, We must focus our energies, not on activities that are of marginal utility or programs that are no longer serving their intended purposes, but on the major challenges of our era and the things that really matter to the peoples of the world.

Next Monday at 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General has scheduled a press conference to present his report on UN reform. Prior to that on Friday, immediately after the noon briefing, two UN officials who worked on the reform report will provide an off-the-record briefing to the press.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS EXAMINE BURUNDI MASSACRE REPORTS

Local representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have been sent to the Gitega Province in Burundi to examine reports of a massacre of close to 200 civilians.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported earlier this week that more than 1,000 Burundian refugees have fled for Tanzania over the last two weeks, sparking fears that the intensifying conflict between Burundian military and rebel forces could drive out larger numbers.

UN CONGO MISSION INFORMED OF MORE RWANDAN WITHDRAWALS

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received a letter this morning from Rwandan military officials informing the Mission of their withdrawal from Kabalo, Kongolo, Nyunzu and Kalemie in the North Katanga region of the DRC.

The operation is scheduled to start this Saturday. Withdrawal orders were sent accordingly to operational commanders on the ground. Further details are not available concerning the number of troops and the next withdrawal plan.

So far, 1,380 soldiers have pulled out of Kindu and Kalima and have arrived in Kigali.

UN KOSOVO MISSION DENIES MASS GRAVES REPORTS

The UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said today that, following a thorough investigation by a UN team including three forensic experts, it has concluded that media reports that a cemetery in Orahovac may contain a mass grave for Kosovo Serbs are completely unfounded.

A Serbian pathologist also visited the site earlier this week and confirmed the findings of the UN Mission that the cemetery contained no fresh graves.

ANNAN TO RING PEACE BELL TO MARK INTERNATIONAL DAY

As the International Day of Peace falls on this Saturday, it will be observed Friday at UN Headquarters with the ringing of the Peace Bell.

The Secretary-General will ring the Peace Bell following a brief ceremony which begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Japanese Garden in front of the UN Secretariat building, and he will also deliver a message to mark the day.

A Peace Vigil will also take place in the Meditation Room in the General Assembly Public Lobby from Friday at 7:15 am through midnight on Saturday. The Secretary-General and Nane Annan, his wife, will participate in the Vigil at 2:45 Friday afternoon.

DISABILITY AWARD GIVEN TO ECUADORS PRESIDENT

This morning, the Secretary-Generals Chief of Staff, Iqbal Riza, delivered a message on behalf of the Secretary-General to the ceremony at which the President of Ecuador, Gustavo Noboa Bejarano, was presented with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award.

The Secretary-General said the Ecuador was one of the first countries in the world to include the rights of people with disabilities in its Constitution and to provide legal instruments to uphold those rights. Ecuador has been at the forefront of the movement for equal opportunities for disabled people, and for their full participation in society, he said.

Since 1995, the award has been presented to the country that makes noteworthy progress toward the goal of the UN World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons.

Today, the Secretary-Generals wife, Nane, spoke at a luncheon honoring the recipients of the award. She paid tribute some of the people with disabilities she has met who have inspired her, saying, In Mozambique just recently, I met a man who had suffered from polio, and he was the one the community had selected as leader of their efforts to bring safe water and sanitation to the community.

She added, I have also met survivors of landmines. In Angola I visited children whose young lives had been torn apart by these devilishly small devices. I met a boy; perhaps he was 12. He would have to live his life without a leg because he went out to play. I met mothers on crutches or in wheelchairs, caring for their children.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The independent expert on human rights in Haiti, Louis Joinet, will visit that country, starting this Saturday, at the Governments invitation. During his visit, which is to last through September 29, he will meet with Government officials, as well as those from the UN system and the Organization of American States. Joinet is to report to the Commission on Human Rights about the situation in Haiti next April.

The Department of Public Information has announced that for the first time, the United Nations Yearbook has been published in CD-ROM format. Users will now be able to access the more than 59,000 pages of text and indices in the popular PDF or Portable Document Format. The United Nations Yearbook Collection, a two CD-ROM set, includes all 53 volumes published to date, covering 1946 to 1999. The set will be updated annually.

This morning, Malawi became the 81st country to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. And this afternoon, Senegal will become the second country to ratify the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

The statistical report of the Chief Executives Board on the budgetary and financial situation of the organizations of the United Nations system was made available today. The report includes tables reflecting the approved budgets and assessed contributions of the United Nations and the specialized agencies from 1994 to 2003.

The World Health Organization and its partners will meet in Burkina Faso next week to try to reach agreement on a strategy to combat meningitis in Africa.