United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-11

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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, October 11, 2002

ANNAN CALLS FOR GLOBAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning addressed the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he had once studied, and he used the occasion to make a strong pitch for global corporate responsibility.

He said, In an age of interdependence, global citizenship is a crucial pillar of progress. One of the most welcome developments at the United Nations in recent years, he added, has been the steadily growing engagement of the business community. He noted the advances of the Global Compact he launched in 1999, a voluntary initiative which, he said, has been a platform for showing how markets can be made to serve societys needs.

He returned back to his office early this afternoon.

ANNAN CONGRATULATES JIMMY CARTER, 2002 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

The Secretary-General this morning telephoned former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to congratulate him on receiving the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.

As he left MIT this morning, he told journalists: Im delighted. He deserves it.

The Secretary-General and the United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2001.

ANNAN TO DEPART ON 12-DAY CENTRAL ASIAN TRIP

The Secretary-General is scheduled to leave Saturday morning for China, arriving Sunday. That will be the first stop in a 12-day Central Asian trip.

He has asked to see the President of the Security Council and a number of ambassadors to take the pulse on where things stand with Security Council action on Iraq before he leaves for China.

On Monday morning, he will receive an honorary doctorate at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

Asked why out of the five Permanent members of the Security Council, the Secretary-General was only meeting with Permanent Representatives of France, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation, the Spokesman answered that the Secretary-General had been in telephone contact with Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States and he was heading to China where he would meet with Chinese officials there.

Asked if the Secretary-General will have a message on Iraq for the President of the Security Council and the Permanent Representatives he will see today, the Spokesman said he was not a aware of a specific message but that the Secretary-General has consistently emphasized the importance of the unity of the Security Council adding that it is in the United Nations' best interest that the Security Council develop a unified position on Iraq.

Asked if the Secretary-General was going to engage Chinese officials on the Iraq question, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General was not going to engage them specifically on Iraq unless the Chinese took the initiative to discuss the issue. The Secretary-General is not an Iraq related mission to China, the Spokesman went on to say, this is a regular annual visit to the country where he expects to discuss a number of issues which are on the Chinese agenda, with Iraq likely being on that agenda.

Asked why the Secretary-General was not more vocal in the on-going debate on possible military action against Iraq, the Spokesman answered that the Secretary-General was not trying to influence any Security Council members' position on Iraq. The Secretary-General, the Spokesman also said, is trying to scrupulously stay out of this debate which he sees as being among governments at the highest level.

Asked if the Secretary-Generals comments Iraq after the MIT speech can be seen as his endorsing the French two-resolution approach and refuting the U.S. position, the Spokesman said those comments were merely an explanation to students as to the current state of play in the Security Councils on-going discussions on weapons inspections in Iraq. The Secretary-General was not endorsing one position or another, the Spokesman added.

Asked why the Secretary-General, who is mandated by the UN charter to prevent war among nations, is ducking the debate and not being more vocal, the Spokesman said talking is not necessarily action and not talking is not necessarily ducking. The Secretary-General had a very conspicuous role, the Spokesman added, in bringing about Iraqs agreement to allow the return of inspectors. Once that was done in writing, the Spokesman said, the Secretary-General turned the matter over to the Security Council and the UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix but he does want to get involved in the Security Councils specific debate on a resolution. The Secretary-General is not disengaged, his head is down but his hand is in, the Spokesman said in answer to the question.

FIGHTING IN COTE DIVOIRE FORCES SUSPENSION OF UN AID PROGRAMS

A UN humanitarian team making its way to Bouake in Cote DIvoire reports that hundreds of people displaced by the fighting between government troops and rebels continued to arrive in Yamassoukro in extremely vulnerable condition. During the past 48 hours, some 1,000 displaced persons are estimated to have arrived.

The UN Childrens Fund also announced that the polio immunization round scheduled for October and November in Cote d'Ivoire had been postponed for a month.

The World Food Programme said it had temporarily suspended all its development activities in the country as well as distribution of food aid in schools.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said UNHCR welcomed the decision announced by the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to temporarily and partially suspend the demolition of shanty towns in Abidjan. This lull should give UNHCR time to organize assistance to overcrowded sites housing some 1,000 newly homeless refugees.

On the political front, the Secretary-General Special Representative for West Africa Ahmedou Ould Abdallah is on the ground and will work closely with a senior delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expected to arrive in Abidjan Saturday to continue mediation efforts.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS OPEN DEBATE ON SMALL ARMS PROLIFERATION

Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala addressed this morning's Security Council open meeting on small arms, saying that it is undeniable that the unrestrained supply of small arms makes conflicts more protracted and deadly.

The latest estimates of casualties from small arms, Dhanapala said, are staggering: at least 300,000 deaths caused every year by armed conflicts in the developing world, and 200,000 deaths linked to homicide and suicide in the industrialized world. Millions more people, meanwhile, suffer non-fatal injuries and crippling disabilities.

Forty speakers were on the list at the start of the open debate.

A draft presidential statement has been circulated but is not expected to be adopted at the end of todays meeting.

Earlier today, the Security Council voted to extend the UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka until December 15 and to extend the deadline for nominations for ad litem judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Later in the afternoon the Security Councils 661 Iraq Sanctions Committee was to meet under the chairmanship of Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway.

The committee monitoring sanctions against Al-Qaida and Taliban operatives has added two names to its list of those subject to the measures the Tunisian Combatant Group and the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

Published as a document today is a letter addressed to the Security Council President from Ambassador Dumisani S. Kumalo of South Africa, who on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, requests an emergency open debate on Iraq. No date has yet been set.

BAKASSI: ANNAN REAFFIRMS UN READINESS TO ASSIST CAMEROON, NIGERIA

Thursday afternoon, a statement was issued saying that the Secretary-General had taken note of the International Court of Justice's judgment earlier that day on the Bakassi border dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon, and he reiterated his call on both parties to respect and implement the decision.

He commended Nigeria and Cameroon for resorting to the Court for a peaceful settlement of their territorial dispute, and for the steps they have recently taken to restore the fraternal and neighborly relations that have traditionally existed between them.

The Secretary-General also re-affirmed the United Nations' readiness to assist the two countries in closing this difficult chapter in their history.

The Courts President, Judge Gilbert Guillaume, Thursday summarized the Courts 150-page judgment by saying the Court had decided that the land boundary between the two countries had been fixed by treaties entered into during the colonial period, and it upheld those treaties validity. Accordingly, it drew a precise boundary between the two countries, and decided that, pursuant to the Anglo-German Agreement of 1913, sovereignty over Bakassi lies with Cameroon.

KOSOVO: ATTACK ON ELDERLY SERBS DISGRACEFUL AND DISGUSTING

Thursday afternoon, in the town of Pec in western Kosovo, a mob (consisting of Kosovo Albanians) attacked a group of Serb pensioners, and also hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at UN police who intervened and dispersed the mob.

Today, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, condemned the attack in Pec, calling it deplorable, disgraceful and disgusting, and saying it went against the general trend of declining violence.

He asked what a mob could hope to accomplish by attacking elderly people who had come to Pec to apply for their pensions. Ill tell you what it achieved, Steiner said in answer to his own question. Serious damage to Kosovos image in the eyes of the world.

RUSSIA MAKES FIRST IN-KIND DONATION TO WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME

The Russian Federation has committed itself to giving 30,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the World Food Programme.

This is the first time Russia has made a donation to the World Food Programme and comes as Executive Director, James Morris completes a visit to Moscow.

The details, including where the wheat will be sent, have yet to be worked out.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for $10 million to assist Sri Lankans displaced by two decades of civil war to return to their homes. UNHCR has been assisting some 800,000 internally displaced Sri Lankans for the last 15 years. There are more than 64,000 Sri Lankan refugees in camps in the south of India.

The Government of Malaysia has announced that it will confiscate four young gorillas illegally imported into the country this year. An investigation, prompted by the Secretariat for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), proved that the gorillas were not born in a zoo in Nigeria as claimed but had been captured in the wild in Nigeria or a neighboring country. Commercial trade in wild gorillas is strictly forbidden by CITES.

The UN Environment Programme announced today that the final global event marking the International Year of Mountains will be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan starting on October 29. The Bishkek Global Mountain Summit will bring together ideas and recommendations generated throughout the Year from all levels and sectors of society.

The UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention has delayed the launch of its annual Opium Poppy Survey. The launch which was to take place today in Rome has been postponed by about a week.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Sunday, October 13 The Secretary-General will begin a visit to seven Asian countries by arriving in China.

Monday, October 14 The guest at the noon briefing will be Emergency Relief Coordinator Kenzo Oshima, who will discuss his recent visit to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan.

In Geneva, the fifth session of the Inter-Governmental Body of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will begin, offering discussions on a new text for the proposed convention.

Tuesday, October 15 The Security Council intends to hold consultations on Burundi.

The Security Council expects to receive a report on Angola sanctions toward the middle of the week.

Wednesday, October 16 The Secretary-General will leave China and begin an official visit to Mongolia.

The Security Council will hold consultations on the Middle East.

Today is World Food Day. At the Food and Agriculture Organizations headquarters in Rome, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela will deliver a keynote address in honor of the occasion.

Thursday, October 17 The Secretary-General will arrive in Kazakhstan.

The Security Council expects to hold consultations on the monitoring mechanism for Angola sanctions.

This is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. To mark the event, there will be a press conference at 11:15, featuring French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte and other speakers, and a ceremony in the UN Garden at 12:15, with Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai.

Friday, October 18 The Secretary-General will leave Kazakhstan and begin an official visit to Uzbekistan. The Security Council will hold a formal meeting on the monitoring mechanism for Angola.

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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