United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-03

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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, October 3, 2002

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON IRAQ

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning met with chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and with Mohammed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who then briefed the Security Council in closed consultations on the talks they had with an Iraqi delegation in Vienna this Monday and Tuesday.

Before going into his meeting with Blix and ElBaradei, the Secretary-General took a few questions from you this morning, and said that, from the discussions Blix had in Vienna, there is a basis to go forward.

However, the Secretary-General added, the Security Council is discussing whether or not the inspections regime should be tightened and strengthened, to ensure that we dont repeat some of the weaknesses of the past. The Secretary-General said he thought it was legitimate that the Council should discuss these issues, adding, The focus is on disarmament.

At the same time, he noted, Blix would continue his preparations, based on the resolutions approved by the Security Council, in the knowledge that if the Council provides further guidelines, he will have to factor that in before he continues his work.

Following the discussions on arms inspections in the Council, Security Council President Martin Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon said that Council members thanked Blix and ElBaradei for their information and took note of their conclusions.

Prior to the discussions on Iraq, the Security Council took up the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission known as UNIKOM, with a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi. The Secretary-General, in a recent report to the Security Council, has recommended maintaining that mission, which monitors a demilitarized zone between the two countries, deters violations of the boundary, and observes and reports any hostile action. Belinga-Eboutou said that the Council had decided to extend UNIKOM's mandate by six months.

SHOTS FIRED OUTSIDE UN HEADQUARTERS BUILDING; NO ONE HURT

[Shortly after 1 p.m., a number of shots were fired by a male who jumped the fence from First Avenue to the Secretariat Circle of the UN headquarters complex .

The gunman was apprehended and was first place in the custody of the UN Security and Safety Service, and, at 2:45 p.m., he was transferred into the custody of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The 18th and 20th floors were hit. No one was injured. Security personnel are conducting a floor-to-floor search.

Security Chief Michael McCann later told the press that the man had been carrying papers, which he characterized as "rambling," about human rights in North Korea.]

ANNAN BEGINS CONSULTATIONS WITH CYPRIOT LEADERS

Today, the Secretary-General, in furtherance of his mission of good offices, is beginning two days of consultations with the two Cypriot leaders.

The Secretary-General met separately with H.E. Mr. Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, at 12:00 pm, and H.E. Mr. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader, at 12:30 pm, after which he was to host them together for a working lunch. The lunch is to be followed by a further meeting in the afternoon, at 3:00.

When entering the building this morning, the Secretary-General was asked whether the talks would continue if Cyprus joined the European Union, he said that the target would be to try and do as much as we can to come to an understanding and bring the talks to closure, at least to come to agreement on the core issues by the end of the year. He added: If we miss that, obviously, we will have to find ways of bringing it to closure beyond that date.

ANNAN SPEAKS AT COLOMBIA AND YALE UNIVERSITIES

The Secretary-General attended the inauguration of Lee Bollinger as the new President of Columbia University.

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony, he noted the close relationship between Columbia University and the United Nations, and his hopes to build even more on the partnership between the two institutions. There is so much we have in common, he said, from the multicultural, interdisciplinary nature of our work to the many nationalities represented in our institutions.

Wednesday afternoon, the Secretary-General visited Yale University where he delivered a lecture at Yale Centre for the Study of Globalization.

He talked about the potential of globalization as a truly integrating and inclusive force and the real dangers if it failed to live up to that potential. He said: Just as we worry about the gap between haves and have-nots, we need to be equally concerned about the gulf between insiders and outsiders in a globalized world where no border is impermeable, and where the privileges economic as well as political and social -- of the few are painfully apparent to those multitudes who still yearn for liberty and opportunity.

He said that globalization had posed a real challenge not only to political leaders, but to civil society and citizens of every nation. We need to rethink what belonging means, he said, and what community means, in order to be able to embrace the fate of distant peoples, and realize that globalizations glass house must be open to all if it is to remain secure.

The Secretary-General then took some questions from students on Iraq, Kashmir, the International Criminal Court and the Millennium Development Goals.

ONE PERSON KILLED IN ACT OF HOMICIDE EVERY MINUTE

The World Health Organization today released the first comprehensive report on violence as a public health problem. The World Report on Violence and Health focuses on the scale of the problem and looks at the causes of violence and methods for preventing it and reducing its adverse health and social consequences.

Violence is the leading cause of death in the 15-44 year age group. It accounts for 14% of deaths among men and 7% among women. Worldwide, about one person is killed in an act of homicide every minute- that is 1,424 a day. Armed conflict accounts for 35 deaths every hour. The statistics are chilling but experts say the situation is far from hopeless. Violence can be prevented by a combination of measures aimed at individual, families and communities.

The report recommends a number of primary prevention responses such as programmes for children and adolescents, parent training and support programmes and measures to reduce injuries from firearms and increase their safety.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

A prolonged drought has seriously affected agricultural and livestock production in Eritrea this year - threatening the lives of more than a million people, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a joint report issued this week.

Friday, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will hold a meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the General Peace Agreement that ended Mozambiques 16-year civil war. ECOSOC President Ivan Simonovic will open the meeting and speakers will include Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, General Assembly President Jan Kavan, Security Council President Martin Belinga-Eboutou, Administrator of the UN Development Programme Mark Malloch Brown and Mozambiques Minister of Foreign Affairs Leonardo Santos Simão.

The UN Environment Programme announced today the release of a new report dealing with the global threat to coastal populations and the environment from untreated sewage discharges. The report, prepared in response to the target on sanitation set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, notes that Asia, the North-West Pacific and West African sea regions are the most threatened regions.

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

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