United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-09-27

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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, September 27, 2002

TIMOR-LESTE ADMITTED AS 191ST UN MEMBER STATE

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was admitted this morning as the 191st member state of the United Nations.

At the flag-raising ceremony that took place at noon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the newest Member State. He said, This milestone embodies the realization of its peoples hope to take their place among the community of independent nations.

He also paid tribute to the people and leaders of Timor-Leste, saying, None of us can forget the sacrifices made by the people or the courage of its leadership. Even before this day, Timor-Leste showed that greatness among nations is not a matter of size or resources, but rather one of global citizenship and adherence to the highest principles of our Charter.

In his speech to the General Assembly, the President of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmão, expressed gratitude for the commitment of the international community. He said that his country is often mentioned as a UN success story and added that the commitment of the United Nations and its bodies was unquestioned.

At the core of this success, were, above all, our people, he added. Our people proved to the world to be worthy of the respect that we all owe and know, he said.

ANNAN DEPLORES ISRAELI ATTACK ON GAZA CITY

In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General deplored the Government of Israel's military action that took place earlier that day in Gaza City.

The 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, followed the adoption three days earlier 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.

WHO CHIEF NOTES DECLINE IN PALESTINIAN HEALTH STANDARDS

In a statement delivered today in Geneva, World Health Organization Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland reported to the World Health Assembly that the health situation of Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory is deteriorating as a result of the escalation of the conflict.

In particular, Brundtland said, restrictions on population movements have hindered the delivery of health care services, while the damage to the commercial and social infrastructure have caused problems in the water supply and waste disposal systems in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Brundtland noted that two recent surveys, including one conducted by CARE and the US Agency for International Development and another supported by the UN Childrens Fund, suggest that nearly half of young children and women of child-bearing age are anaemic. Both surveys also reveal the existence of childhood malnutrition, with the overall nutritional status for Palestinian children having deteriorated since the start of the current crisis.

She added that there has been a decrease in the accessibility of medical services in the Palestinian areas, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting that, because of closures and curfews, its facilities operate at about 30 percent of capacity.

The World Health Assembly had requested Brundtland last May to visit the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible, but, because she has not been given the opportunity to pay a visit, she compiled todays report on the basis of data supplied by WHO and other UN agencies and health groups.

She emphasized, It is particularly important that I am enabled to undertake the planned visit as soon as possible, so as to assess further the findings from this desk analysis and facilitate an appropriate response.

UNITED NATIONS PRESSES SUDAN TO END FLIGHT BAN TO SOUTH

Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) the UNs humanitarian umbrella group providing aid to that country -- today suspended flights into southern Sudan. The United Nations is extremely concerned about the situation and is holding discussions with the Sudanese Government to reverse its decision to impose a flight ban on the area for security reasons.

This is the first time in the history of the operation that all flights into southern Sudan have been stopped, OLS spokesman Martin Dawes said today. This is extremely serious for us.''

The flight ban, which applies to all flights over the Eastern and Western Equatorial regions, means that no UN flights can get into any part of southern Sudan.

UN ENVOY TO ATTEND EMERGENCY TALKS ON COTE D'IVOIRE

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa Ahmedou Ould Abdallah is expected to attend an emergency meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Cote d'Ivoire crisis. The meeting is expected to take place in Accra, Ghana on Sunday.

A UN humanitarian assessment mission that had visited 10 sites in the capital, Abidjan, identified as immediate needs housing, food, water, clothes, mattresses, and covers.

The situation in Bouake and Korhogo remained tense, and the mission was not able to go there because of the security situation but reports from Bouake indicated that movement of civilians was limited to essential shopping and prices had increased. Hospitals there were starting to run short of medication.

Humanitarian officials fear that an escalation of violence in Cote d'Ivoire could lead to the movement of the refugees to Liberia, to Guinea, or to other areas of Cote d'Ivoire.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that the borders with Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea remain closed and that no movements are reported along those borders. UNHCR offices in neighboring countries are monitoring the situation closely.

UNHCR also said it was concerned about the increasing hostility toward foreigners, particularly refugees, in Côte d'Ivoire resulting from last week's coup attempt. There are estimates that more than 5,000 people in Abidjan alone have been affected by the recent burning of the shantytowns.

FIVE MEMBERS OF SECURITY COUNCIL FOR 2003-4 ELECTED IN ASSEMBLY

The five new members of the Council for 2003-4 were being elected by the General Assembly today. They are: Chile, replacing Colombia; Angola and Pakistan, replacing Mauritius and Singapore; and Germany and Spain, replacing Ireland and Norway.

At 3:00 p.m. today, the Security Council is scheduled to hold closed-door consultations on the latest report by the Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The UN Mission in that country reported the start of the Rwandan troop withdrawal this morning from the Kivu regions in the eastern part of that country. More than 650 Rwandan troops were involved in the pull out.

At 10:30 a.m. today, there was a meeting of the Security Council Committee overseeing sanctions against Usama Bin Laden, the Al-Qaida organization, the Taliban and associates. The Council is scheduled to take up the Committees work in consultations as a whole on Monday.

ANNAN TO ATTEND RETREAT WITH SENIOR MANAGERS

The Secretary-General will take his Senior Management Group, or cabinet, on its annual retreat this weekend, leaving this afternoon and returning late Saturday.

The over-arching theme of the discussions will be how to achieve one of the principal millennium goals--the eradication of poverty.

Also participating will be Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, Hernando de Soto, the President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy in Peru, and Gordon Conway, the President of the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Secretary-General will brief the press on the Millennium Development Goals on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. He will be joined by Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

WORLD BANK, IMF TO HOLD ANNUAL MEETINGS THIS WEEKEND

This weekend, in Washington, D.C., the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold their annual meeting, and World Bank President James Wolfensohn told reporters Thursday that he hopes that this years meetings can bring both organizations into a new phase where they can work together with governments on the effective implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The meeting, he said, is a chance now for us to really get on with it, because if we dont there is no way that we will achieve the Millennium Goals.

Wolfensohn noted the conferences earlier this year in Monterrey, Mexico, on financing for development, and in Johannesburg, South Africa, on sustainable development, and said, My hope is that the question of the partnership between the developed and the developing countries is now put to rest.

IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler also addressed the press Thursday, noting the recently-issued IMF World Economic Outlook, and saying that since this past spring, prospects for the global economy have clearly weakened.

However, he added, it would not be productive, in our view, to dwell on undue pessimism or even doom and gloom. The global economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of multiple shocks over the past two years, and there are still good reasons to expect the recovery to continue in the period ahead.

ANNAN TO OPEN MEETING OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TASK FORCE

At 9:30 a.m. next Monday in the Economic and Social Council Chamber (ECOSOC), the Secretary-General will give a statement to open the third meeting of the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, placing special attention on the use of such technologies for development in Africa.

In addition to the Secretary-General, Ivan Simonovic, the President of ECOSOC, and the Secretary-Generals Special Representative and head of the Task Force, José María Figueres Olsen, will speak, and Figueres will also hold a press briefing that day, at 11:15.

A major topic of the Task Force meeting, which will continue on Tuesday, will be the Digital Diaspora Network for Africa, which can allow African expatriates working in North America and Europe to push for information and communication technology initiatives on their home continent. Participants will also review the Task Forces progress during its first year of work.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The World Food Programme today released a survey conducted in four Central American countries that reveals that 8.6 million people live in the drought corridor. The survey, conducted in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in March of this year, found that many households in the corridor are extremely poor and face severe food insecurity during the planting seasons. Children in the area are particularly hard hit, as repeated exposure to malnutrition leads to stunted physical and intellectual growth. The WFP is currently feeding 1.5 million people in the region.

Experts from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Samarkand from Wednesday through today and successfully concluded negotiations on the text of the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, the result of five years of intensive, UN-supported work. They agreed that the signing of the Treaty should take place as soon as possible.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Saturday, September 28

The Secretary-General is scheduled to attend a retreat with the members of his Senior Management Group.

Sunday, September 29 Monday, September 30 In Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei and UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission Executive Chairman Hans Blix are scheduled to hold talks with Iraqi officials on practical arrangements for the return of UN weapons inspectors.

The Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the Security Council Committee overseeing sanctions against Usama Bin Laden, the Al-Qaida organization, the Taliban and associates. The Secretary-General will address the opening of a two-day meeting by the Task Force on Information and Communication Technologies. At 11:15 a.m., José Maria Figueres is scheduled to brief reporters on the work of the Secretary-Generals Task Force, which he heads.

Tuesday, October 1 At 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General is scheduled to brief reporters on the Millennium Development Goals.

The presidency of the Security Council will rotate from Bulgaria to Cameroon. Ambassador Martin Belinga Eboutou of Cameroon is expected to discuss the Councils program of work for October with other Council members.

Starting at 12:30 in Conference Room 4, there will be a panel discussion on disarmament in conflict prevention.

Today is the International Day of Older Persons.

Wednesday, October 2 The Secretary-General is expected to visit Yale University on a one-day trip, where he will speak at the Centre for Studies in Globalization.

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on its program of work for October.

Thursday, October 3 The Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with the Cypriot leaders Thursday and Friday in New York.

Friday, October 4 World Space Week will begin.

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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