United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-09-26

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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, September 26, 2002

ANNAN DEPLORES ISRAELI ATTACK IN GAZA CITY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement today, deplored the Government of Israel's military action today in Gaza City. This helicopter attack in a heavily populated civilian area, in which two Palestinians were killed and more than 25 civilians including at least a dozen children were wounded, follows the adoption three days ago by the Security Council of resolution 1435. That resolution reiterated the Council's demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction. It also reiterated the need for respect in all circumstances of international humanitarian law.

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the possible consequences of this attack. He called on the Government of Israel to halt such actions and conduct itself in a manner that is fully consistent with international humanitarian law, under which Israel has a clear responsibility to protect the lives of civilians.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Terje Roed Larsen is in Tel Aviv today, where he is continuing talks with the Israelis and the Palestinians to defuse the current crisis. Earlier this week, he visited Ramallah and has talked on the phone with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, whose headquarters have been under siege for the past week.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday evening, Larsen stressed that there is a growing gap between diplomatic developments on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, such as last weeks high-level meeting of the Quartet and the Tuesday morning resolution by the Security Council, and the situation on the ground, embodied by the siege of Arafats headquarters.

He warned that the international communitys attempts to foster a political process leading to a viable Palestinian state were being stymied, and warned that we could be entering a period leading to the death of the two-state solution. At the same time, he reiterated the United Nations unequivocal condemnation of terror.

On Tuesday, Larsen briefly visited Amman, Jordan, where he spoke to a meeting of the directors and deans of diplomatic academies and institutes of international relations about the recent developments in the Middle East.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES ANNUAL REPORT ON ITS WORK

The

Security Council held an open meeting on its annual report on its work to the General Assembly this morning.

Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Tuliameni Kalomoh introduced the report.

Following an open debate, the Council adopted the report.

TRIAL OF MILOSEVIC OVER BOSNIA AND CROATIA CHARGES BEGINS

Today in The Hague, prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) began to try their case against former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for crimes allegedly committed in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The prosecution last week wrapped up its arguments against the former president on charges relating to Kosovo.

Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and another member of the prosecution team, Geoffrey Nice, presented the 61 charges against Milosevic, which include counts of genocide and conspiracy to commit genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

The former president then began to respond in his own defence, and he is expected to continue with his response Friday morning.

UN MISSION WELCOMES WORK OF BOSNIAN POLICE ACADEMIES

In Sarajevo today, the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina provided an update of the work of the two police academies in the country, based in Sarejevo and Banja Luka, and congratulated the academies for their work in promoting cooperation and tolerance since multi-ethnic police training began in 1999.

The Mission said it was particularly impressed with the numbers of young women recruited into the Bosnian police, with the representation of women increasing over the past six months from 3 percent to 3.5 percent in the Bosnian Federation and from 1.4 percent to 2 percent in the Republika Srpska.

TWO MILLION AT RISK IN AFGHANISTAN THIS WINTER, UN WARNS

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) estimated that close to two million people would be at risk this winter due to shortages of food. It said that the main concern at this point was food availability, due to the threat posed by the winter weather to the food pipeline.

For this winters response plan alone, the World Food Programme would need some 84,500 metric tons of food. The main risk this winter is that internally displaced persons or returnees may be forced to move against because of food shortages in their areas of return.

Donors are encouraged to make cash contributions that will be used to purchase food in the region and ensure delivery of food into Afghanistan before winter sets in.

Also on Afghanistan, today in Washington, 58 countries are attending a one-day donors conference on rebuilding Afghanistan. The United Nations is represented by Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UN Development Programme and by Carolyn McAskie from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The purpose of the meeting is to mobilize the international community to support the rebuilding of Afghanistan, and in particular to meet up a shortfall of $160 million in the Afghan Governments budget for this year.

ANNAN SAYS UNITED NATIONS TO MAINTAIN GOOD OFFICES IN COLOMBIA

Asked about Secretary-General Kofi Annans meeting today with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, the Spokesman said they discussed the situation in Colombia and the work of the United Nations in that country.

The Secretary-General noted that he would maintain his good offices, which continue to be at the disposal of the parties to the conflict. He expressed his concern over the humanitarian crisis that has resulted in more than one million internally displaced persons and over the human rights situation, noting that Government measures should be based on the full respect of international human rights laws. He added that the UN System stands ready to assist in these important challenges.

The Secretary-General reiterated his belief that peace in Colombia requires a political, negotiated solution.

UNCTAD URGES BOLDER POLICIES TO HELP AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) today released its report on economic development in Africa, which calls for bolder policies to address economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa.

The report says that 27 recent poverty reduction strategy papers on Africa that it studied show no fundamental departure from previous efforts to deal with the continents problems.

The study says that a careful, frank and independent assessment of the effects on economic growth and income distribution of the economic packages currently on offer is needed if they are to deliver on their promises. Moreover, any fresh policy initiatives must be matched with adequate external resources, debt reduction and better market access if they are to succeed.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

By Friday, the Secretary-General will have met with all five regional groups to discuss his report on UN reform. That report will be formally presented to the General Assembly on October 30.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals meeting with the foreign minister of Ukraine, the Spokesman said the meeting was arranged at the last minute, with the two men conducting a brief exchange this morning before the Secretary-General met the Eastern European regional group on his reform report.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Angola, Ibrahim Gambari, today chaired the first meeting of the Joint Commission dealing with the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. Gambari stressed patience, persistence and a commitment to national reconciliation.

The World Health Organization today warned of the dangers of influenza. Just recently, 671 people died in an outbreak in Madagascar, which infected more than 22,000 people. WHO is urging governments to begin their vaccination campaigns before the flu season and ensure that as many vulnerable people as possible are vaccinated.

The UN Environment Programme announced that an agreement signed yesterday with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of Golden, Colorado will expand the pilot Solar and Wind energy Resource Assessment project. The agreement will facilitate the addition of the Maldives to the original 13 developing countries in the project that aims to develop cleaner forms of energy for developing countries.

Four Member States are signing treaties today. The Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court was signed this morning by Ecuador and Argentina, bringing it to 42 signatories. This afternoon, Malaysia is scheduled to sign the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, bringing the number of signatories to 143. And this morning, the Protocol on firearms, supplementing the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime, was signed by Lebanon and Argentina, and Lebanon also signed the Protocol on the smuggling of migrants.

The UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, which meets here next week, will hold an informal gathering for correspondents this afternoon at 5:30 in the ECOSOC Presidents office, Room B-209. The focus of the discussion will be a new initiative the Task Force will be considering next week, on bridging the digital divide in Africa.