United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-15

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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

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

ANNAN, IN CHINA, PRESSES FOR FULL MOBILIZATION AGAINST HIV/AIDS

In Beijing, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao, Vice Premier Qian Qichen and other senior officials, and continued to press with them the case for the full mobilization of Chinese society to fight an alarming growth in AIDS infections.

In his meeting with Vice President Hu, the Secretary-General discussed the UN Millennium Development Goals, saying that international cooperation, in areas ranging from terrorism to economic development, was more important than ever after September 11.

He said, We cant afford another failed state like Afghanistan, referring to the period when world inattention towards Afghanistan allowed it to become a bastion for organized terror.

He also pledged to work with China on human rights issues, and repeated his message, delivered at Zhejiang University on Tuesday, that all levels of society must be involved in the fight against AIDS. He added, on AIDS, We must remove the stigma.

Vice President Hu said that AIDS is a public health menace for all mankind and that China is paying close attention to its prevention and control, with all society needing to be engaged in the fight. The Secretary-General said he was heartened by that attitude.

The Secretary-General met with the most active leaders in the fight against AIDS, including Health Minister Dr. Zhang Wenkang and Professor Zeng Yi, President of the China Foundation for AIDS Prevention and Control. He told them, We need all hands on deck.

In the late afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Vice Premier Qian, who also said that AIDS deserves the attention of all governments, adding that China takes it very seriously and has mobilized its medical sector to join in the search for a cure. The Secretary-General described the meeting he had just had on AIDS and his efforts to prod the major drug firms to lower their prices for AIDS medications in poor countries.

The Secretary-General and Qian also discussed Iraq and the Security Councils efforts to agree on a formula for the return of weapons inspectors.

The Vice Premier then hosted a dinner in the Secretary-Generals honor, during which their substantive talks continued.

During part of the day, Nane Annan, the Secretary-Generals wife, had a separate programme which took her to a Beijing primary school today where she met with some 200 students as well as officials from Chinas main childrens books publisher. Students of the Jing Shan Primary School presented their main concerns to Nane Annan, including an end to war, the protection of the environment, and education for all girls and boys. They also appealed for more attention to the growing global problem of AIDS orphans. In return, she showed the students slides of the UNs development work and praised the students for their deep compassion and commitment.

The Secretary-Generals and Mrs. Annans official program in China has concluded, and, after remaining in Beijing overnight, they are scheduled to leave Wednesday morning for Mongolia

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION CONDEMNING BALI ATTACK

Last night, the Security Council held a formal meeting on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts prompted by the

weekend car bomb attack in Bali.

Council members, in a resolution adopted unanimously, condemned the attack as well as other recent terrorist attacks in various countries. It urged all States and international institutions to work with the Indonesian authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, in accordance with their obligations under resolution 1373 (2001).

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS CONSULTATIONS ON BURUNDI, DR CONGO AND IRAQ

On Burundi, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Kieran Prendergast, updated members of the Security Council on the latest political, security and humanitarian developments in the country.

Following that, the Council was briefed on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi. He brought to the Council's attention the latest surge in fighting in the eastern part of the country, notably in Uvira which was recently seized by the Mai-Mai fighters from the rebel movement Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma.

At the end of todays consultations, the Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, Dr. Hans Blix, also briefed the members of the Security Council on his latest correspondence with the Iraqi authorities.

Wednesday, the Council is scheduled to begin an open debate on Iraq, which is expected to continue into Thursday. As of 3 p.m., there were 67 speakers on the list. In addition, the Deputy Secretary-General is expected to speak on behalf of the Secretary-General.

Two meetings of Security Council sanctions committees are scheduled for today. This morning, the committee monitoring sanctions against Usama bin Laden and his associates in the Al-Qaida organization met. This afternoon the counter-terrorism committee is also scheduled to meet.

ANNAN WELCOMES SOMALI RECONCILIATION CONFERENCE

In a statement released through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General welcomes the opening of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference in Eldoret, Kenya on 15 October under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). He calls on all Somali parties and leaders to cooperate in this regional endeavour aimed at ending a decade of conflict in the country and immense suffering to its people.

The Secretary-General commends the Government of Kenya for undertaking the lead role on behalf of the IGAD countries and for its perseverance in efforts to bring the Somali parties to the negotiating table. He expresses his appreciation also for the efforts made by the IGAD countries to bring about a coherent regional approach towards national reconciliation in Somalia.

The Secretary-General would like to underline that no amount of goodwill, support and assistance on the part of IGAD or the international community can bring about peace in Somalia. Only Somalias leaders can decide to end the suffering of their people and only they can decide to negotiate an end to the conflict. They need to rise above their differences and put the interests of the people of Somalia first and foremost.

The United Nations and its agencies and programmes are prepared to provide increased humanitarian and development assistance if Somali parties and leaders cooperate in ensuring access to those in need and safety to humanitarian workers in the country. The United Nations will do all it can to help the people of Somalia heal the wounds of conflict, including through the deployment of a post-conflict peace-building mission when security conditions permit.

The Secretary-General has asked his Special Adviser, Mohamed Sahnoun, to represent him at the Eldoret Conference together with his Representative for Somalia, Winston Tubman.

The Security Council also welcomed the launching of the talks in a press statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

THOUSANDS ARE FLEEING FIGHTING IN COTE DIVOIRE

In Cote dIvoire, a UN humanitarian team that visited Bouake, the scene of fighting between government and rebel forces, over the weekend witnessed more than 32,000 people fleeing the town. This brings to about 200,000 the number of people estimated to have left the city. The displaced persons needed as a priority water, food and medication.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, which took part in the mission, said it remained extremely concerned about the continuing displacement of both Ivorians and foreigners throughout the country and in Abidjan.

The World Food Programme said that it was continuing to fly in emergency food aid, especially high energy biscuits, for persons displaced by the fighting. It was also stockpiling food aid in Burkina Faso and Ghana in preparation for a possible influx of Ivorians to those two neighbouring countries.

IRAQI OIL EXPORTS CONTINUE TO DROP

According to figures released by the Office of the Iraq Programme in their weekly update, Iraqi oil exports under the programme registered an average low of about 600,000 barrels per day in the week ending 11 October. The weeks exports generated an estimated $105 million in revenue.

It should be noted that a number of vessels that began loading during the period in review, completed the process only over the weekend of 12 -13 October and these will be reflected in next weeks export figures.

Iraq would need to export about $7 billion worth of oil during the current phase, which ends on 25 November in order to meet its humanitarian programme budget of over $5 billion. So far in this phase, Iraqi oil exports have netted about $3.3 billion in revenue.

A similar revenue shortfall from earlier phases of the programme has left more than $2.7 billion worth of approved humanitarian supply contracts without funds.

REFUGEES FROM DR CONGO FLEE FIGHTING INTO BURUNDI

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 5,000 refugees crossed the border into Burundi Tuesday from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in attempt to flee the fighting in the eastern part of the DRC.

A joint UN/NGO team travelled to the area this morning to assess the situation.

Over the weekend, nearly 2,000 refugees arrived in Burundi after the south Kivu town of Uvira in the DRC, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, fell to the Mai-Mai militia.

FAO SAYS PROGRESS ON FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER HAS COME TO A HALT

The Food and Agriculture Organization today released its annual hunger report The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002.

The report says that progress on reducing world hunger has virtually come to a halt and as a result millions are dying, including six million children under five years of age. Latest estimates show 840 million people are undernourished 799 million in developing countries, 30 million in countries in economic transition and 11 million in industrialized countries.

UNHCR ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR COLOMBIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS

In response to a deteriorating situation in Colombia, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has just issued a set of guidelines on the eligibility of Colombian asylum seekers and refugees. The guidelines will help governments and refugee advocates dealing with asylum claims.

In recent months, the number of Colombian asylum seekers has risen sharply. So far this year, the total of newly displaced is estimated at between 170,000 and 200,000. In all, as many as 2 million people are believed to have been forced from their homes in Colombia since 1995.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN Environment Programme announced that a team of 17 experts arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday to conduct research on the possible environmental effects of Depleted Uranium (DU) ordinance used during the 1994-1995 Bosnian conflict. The team will take soil, water, air and vegetation samples at six sites that have been identified by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as having been struck by DU weapons. This programme is being conducted at the request of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, will visit that country at the invitation of the Government from 17 to 28 October 2002. This will be his fourth visit to the country. He will travel to Yangon and other locations outside the capital, and he will hold meetings with Government and judicial officials, representatives of political parties, NGOs, and representatives of the UN system in the country.

The World Health Organization today launched a new Tobacco Atlas highlighting the global struggle to control tobacco. The Atlas provides a statistical profile of the tobacco epidemic using maps and graphics. It is estimated that tobacco consumption will kill 8.4 million people a year by 2020 if drastic control measures are not put into effect. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is meeting this week in Geneva and WHO has once again reiterated its call for governments to raise the price of tobacco products 5 percent over the rate of inflation.

The President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has been named the winner of the first Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development, the UN Development Programme announced today. The Secretary-General offered his congratulations, saying, President Cardosos long-standing dedication to human progress, and his democratic leadership of Brazil, have raised the standard by which governance can be judged throughout Latin America.

This morning, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library received a set of more than 100 taped interviews and transcripts to add to its Oral History Collection. The tapes, which were presented by the Deputy Director of the UN Oral History Project at Yale University, Jean Krasno, cover major political issues such as UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) and the peace process in El Salvador. The collection now has over 700 tapes and transcripts and has proven to be a valuable resource for researchers.

The UN Children's Fund announced today that the measles vaccination in Afghanistan has received a boost today with a donation of $750,000 from Americas Fund for Afghan Children.

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