United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-14

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY HUA JIANG

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, October 14, 2002

ANNAN CONDEMNS "BRUTAL AND INHUMAN ATTACK" IN BALI

Secretary-General Kofi Annan was shocked and horrified to hear of the car bomb attack that took place on Saturday night in Bali, Indonesia, which killed at least 188 people and wounded scores of others. In a statement issued Sunday, the Secretary-General reiterated his utter condemnation of all such indiscriminate attacks on civilians. They violate all accepted standards of morality, as well as national and international law, and cannot be justified by any cause or ideology.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing today, the Secretary-General extended his condolences and deepest sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones and extended his most sincere wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured in this brutal and inhuman attack. He expressed his solidarity and sympathy with their anxious grieving family members and friends. The Secretary-General is also writing to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Such tragic events underscore the importance of cooperation by all States in the struggle against terrorism and to defend human rights, freedom and the rule of law. That was the message the Secretary-General underscored when he met today with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing, telling him that the attack underscored the need to cooperate to defeat the scourge of terrorism.

Earlier today, High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello issued a statement calling terrorism an affront to our common humanity and the most base violation of our fundamental human rights.

BALI BLAST: SEVEN UN PEACEKEEPERS AMONG INJURED; TWO MISSING

The UN Mission in East Timor (UNMISET) reported that seven of its personnel were injured in the Bali attack, which took place at a time when up to 155 UNMISET personnel were reported to be in or passing through Bali.

The seven personnel included two military officers and five civilian police. Two civilian police and a military officer suffered serious burns, while injuries were relatively minor in the other four cases. UNMISET has sent out a small assistance team consisting of a chaplain, a stress counselor and logistics personnel to help the Mission staff and to facilitate their quick return to Timor-Leste.

According to reports from the Mission, two military members of UNMISET remain unaccounted for.

ANNAN MEETS CHINESE PRESIDENT, WARNS YOUTH OF AIDS CRISIS

The Secretary-General, who arrived Sunday in Hangzhou, China, where he received today an honorary doctorate at Zhejiang University and delivered an address, rallying Chinese youth to fight the spread of AIDS, both nationally and worldwide.

The truth is, he told the students and faculty, that today China stands on the brink of an explosive AIDS epidemic. He told the young audience, Confronting AIDS is a point of pride, not a source of shame. He pledged that the United Nations family would work with them every step of the way.

At mid-day, he flew from Hangzhou to Beijing, where he met with his special envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail, who accompanied him at his meeting at the Great Hall of the People with President Jiang Zemin. They discussed globalization, terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, tensions between India and Pakistan and the threat of military action against Iraq. On Iraq, the Secretary-General said the situation was a challenge but also an opportunity. Handled correctly, it could strengthen international law and the United Nations.

Finally, the Secretary-General referred to his speech on AIDS earlier in the day. He thanked the President for his leadership on the issue, but added that leadership was needed at all levels. The President responded that China was ready to work actively on the disease and expressed his hope that a way could be found to cure it.

Asked afterward whether he had discussed Iraq with the President, the Secretary-General said, Iraq came up, but we didnt discuss resolutions. He added that he thought the Security Council would discuss Iraq this week, saying, Im sure there will be a resolution.

Asked why the Secretary-General and President had not discussed an Iraq resolution, the Spokeswoman noted that no resolution has yet been circulated in the Security Council.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by Special Envoy Razali, then met for an hour and a half with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, in discussions that started with Iraq, and efforts by the Security Council to agree on a resolution regarding the return of weapon inspectors to that country. They also touched on the Middle East, Afghanistan and India and Pakistan. Razali then briefed the Minister on his efforts to promote reconciliation in Myanmar between the Government and the opposition.

The Secretary-General again raised the issue of AIDS, and the Minister referred to the good discussion the Secretary-General had had with the President. The Secretary-General also mentioned relations on the Korean Peninsula and the New Partnership for Africas Development.

The Minister then hosted a dinner in honor of the Secretary-General and his wife Nane, at which their substantive discussions continued, including on UN reform. The Minister then surprised Nane with a cake for her birthday.

NANE ANNAN VISITS EAST BEIJING SITE OF COMMUNITY ELECTIONS

Earlier in the day, Nane Annan visited a traditional neighborhood in East Beijing where 2,700 residents recently voted in Beijings first democratic, multi-candidate community elections, ahead of similar elections planned citywide. She praised the involvement by men and women alike, as well as migrant residents, in the elections. All nine candidates elected to the new Neighborhood Committee were women, including the new director.

She added that she was pleased that the United Nations was working with the community on the participation of women as well as to stem violence against women. I do believe the two issues are related, she said. To fight violence, women have to be empowered.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO HOLD OPEN DEBATE ON IRAQ ON WEDNESDAY

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today. Late Friday, at the conclusion of an open meeting on small arms, the Council held consultations and decided to hold an open debate on Iraq on Wednesday. The UN Secretariat has begun compiling a list of speakers for that meeting.

At 3:00 p.m. today, there is a meeting of the Security Council sanctions committee regarding the situation in Angola. That committee is chaired by Ambassador Richard Ryan of Ireland. The latest report by the Angola sanctions monitoring group will be introduced.

Available today is a letter from the Security Council President to the Secretary-General, reacting to his letter last month that forwarded 17 nominations to fill the 11 seats for permanent judges on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The existing terms for those judges end on March 24 of next year.

ANNAN WELCOMES RESUMED PEACE TALKS ON SUDAN

Late last Friday, the Secretary-General, in a statement, welcomed the resumption of the peace talks between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Machakos, Kenya, to begin today under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

He urged both sides to resume the negotiations in earnest and build on the progress made in July to reach agreement on a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and reiterated the support of the United Nations to the IGAD effort for Sudan, and its readiness to assist in the implementation of a peace agreement.

UN EXPERT: SITE OF COTE DIVOIRE FIGHTING A GHOST CITY

A member of the UN humanitarian team that made its way to Bouake in Cote DIvoire, to assess the needs of the people following fighting between Government troops and rebels, returned to Abidjan over the weekend and reported that the Bouake was a ghost city with enormous needs.

There is little food on the market, and most people who remained said they wanted to leave.

A more full report from the humanitarian mission is expected soon.

UN CONGO MISSION DEPLORES RENEWED FIGHTING IN EAST

In a statement released today in Kinshasa, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) strongly deplores the renewal of the fighting in the eastern parts of the DRC.

These clashes, which are taking place notably in the towns of Uvira, Bunia and Mambasa, are putting at risk the ongoing peace process at a time when the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country should be leading to the conclusion of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue.

The renewed fighting, which involves elements of the Mai Mai as well various rebel groups, is having incalculable humanitarian consequences, with many civilians fleeing the towns where the fighting is occurring.

UN ENVOY OPTIMISTIC AS JOINT COMMISSION MEETS IN ANGOLA

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Angola, Ibrahim Gambari, chaired a session this morning in Luanda, Angola, of the Joint Commission for the implementation of the pending tasks of the Lusaka Protocol.

At the end of the meeting, Gambari told the media that the UNITA delegation had handed him a list with the names they had appointed as members of the Government, provincial administration and embassy posts.

Gambari said that he was optimistic about the developments of the works.

UN OFFICE URGES SOMALIS TO ADOPT HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators Office for Somalia is urging Somali representatives to adopt a set of humanitarian principles, which will be submitted for consideration at the upcoming peace and reconciliation conference organized by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), scheduled to start on Tuesday in Eldoret, Kenya.

With hundreds of thousands of Somalis in desperate need of food, water, shelter and basic security, respect for humanitarian principles, human rights, and humanitarian access in order to assist vulnerable communities is imperative. It is important that the Somali leaders who gather in Eldoret understand their responsibilities in this key area.

MIDDLE EAST: UN ENVOY MEETS SENIOR LEBANESE OFFICIALS

During a one-day visit to Beirut today, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Terje Roed-Larsen met with Lebanons President Emile Lahoud, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

During these tete-a-tete meetings, Roed-Larsen discussed issues related to the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as the situation in Lebanon, including the water issue in south Lebanon.

Asked about the water issue, the Spokeswoman said the United Nations had received a letter last week from the Lebanese Government on the dispute and was studying the letter.

UN RIGHTS RAPPORTEUR SAYS MYANMAR ON THRESHOLD OF CHANGE

In his latest report, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN Human Rights Commissions Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, says that Myanmar society is at the threshold of great changes and is becoming more sensitive to the moral and practical need to move at a faster pace than before towards a democratic, tolerant and peaceful future.

But he warns that recent positive developments in the political field have not and could not possibly bring about significant improvements to the complex human rights and humanitarian situation; this is only feasible, he says, in the context of a sustainable process of political transition and national reconciliation.

He says tangible progress needs to be made on such issues as the unconditional release of all political prisoners; the lifting of restrictions on the exercise of basic human rights and freedoms and on the operation of political parties; the establishment of a functioning system of the rule of law; and an increased pace in the transition to democracy.

UN SECURITY RESPONDS TO WEEKEND FENCE-JUMPING INCIDENT

Shortly after midnight Saturday, a UN Security officer, who was watching over one of the expanded posts that were set up following the shooting incident that took place here one week earlier, saw two young men jumping the fence outside UN Headquarters, near 47th Street.

Security officers responded quickly to the latest fence-jumping, and apprehended the two men, both aged 22, who said they had intended to take photographs of each other there. They were turned over to local police, and have been charged with criminal trespass.

Security officials said that the creation of expanded posts at the fence following the earlier incident enabled the officers to respond immediately to the latest fence-jumping.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about reports of the pension given to former Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, the Spokeswoman said that the decisions on the pensions and salaries of Secretaries-General are decided by the General Assembly.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has unsealed its amended indictment against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. That indictment, filed in May of 2000, consolidated two previous indictments against Karadzic, leaving only the most serious charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against him.

The Secretary-General, in a report on progress towards the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, urges Member States to develop and implement national strategic plans and asks the international community to assist those countries which do not have sufficient resources. He also suggests that the General Assembly might want to devote at least one day during its 58th session to the discussion of HIV/AIDS.

Morocco today became the 108th Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full, with a payment of almost $500,000.

This morning, Hungary became the 55th country to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and South Africa signed the Protocol on firearms, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.