United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-17

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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

Thursday, October 17, 2002

ANNAN WELCOMES WITHDRAWALS BY INDIA, PAKISTAN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the decision by India and Pakistan to carry out a partial withdrawal of troops from their border areas. He hopes that this reduction will result in a significant de-escalation of tensions in Kashmir.

The Secretary-General reiterated his call on both sides to resume their bilateral dialogue with a view to resolving their differences by peaceful means.

IAEA VOICES CONCERN OVER REPORTED NORTH KOREA PROGRAM

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed concern over the alleged enrichment program of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), and it has urgently requested further information, both from the DPRK and from the United States.

The IAEA reiterated the need for full cooperation from the DPRK, which it has not received in the past years, and for compliance with all its obligations.

IAEA Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei will issue a statement later today on that issue.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would comment further on the issue, the Spokeswoman said he would not do so today. In response to a question on whether he would travel to the DPRK following these reports, she said there were no plans for him to do that.

ANNAN ENDS VISIT TO MONGOLIA; TRAVELS TO KAZAKHSTAN

The Secretary-General is in Kazakhstan today, where he met this afternoon for an hour with President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

They discussed Kazakhstans progress over the past decade, regional security and the proposed Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Agreement for Central Asia, conflicting claims to the Caspian Sea, the phenomenon of Islamic militancy in the region and the international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. They also discussed Security Council efforts to come to agreement on the conditions for the return of UN weapons to Iraq.

After the hour-long meeting, the President presented the Secretary-General with the Order of Dostyk, or friendship, the highest award given to non-Kazakh nationals.

Following his meeting with President Nazarbayev, the Secretary-General took a few questions from the press, including one on his reaction to the recent resolution by the U.S. Congress on the use of military force in Iraq.

The Secretary-General noted that discussions are underway in the Security Council to send the UN inspectors back in, possibly with a resolution to strengthen their hands. He added that those discussions were taking place after the Congress decision, which, he said, would lead me to believe that the U.S. would prefer to work with the Council and with the international community.

Before arriving in Kazakhstan, the Secretary-General spent the morning in Mongolia, where he and Nane Annan attended a breakfast hosted by President Natsagiyn Bagabandi and the First Lady of Mongolia. The Foreign Minister, Luvsangiin Erdenechulum, and his wife were also present.

After breakfast, the Secretary-General was joined by Prime Minister Nambar Enkhbayar at the opening ceremony of UN House, a handsome, two-story structure given by the Government to house all UN agencies, funds and programs working in Mongolia. He then met with representatives of about ten UN agencies, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which have programs in Mongolia, and then met with UN staff, talking with family members of UN staff killed in a helicopter accident in Mongolia in January 2001.

SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON IRAQ ENTERS SECOND DAY

The Security Council entered the second day of its open debate on Iraq, called at the request of the Non-Aligned Movement.

There were 40 speakers scheduled for today, bringing the two-day total at this time to 70, with the Security Council members slated to speak following the non-members.

The Counter-Terrorism Committee, chaired by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, is scheduled to meet at 4:00 p.m. for a briefing by the chairman.

UN HUMANITARIAN ENVOY MEETS WITH ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER

Ross Mountain, the Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Mountain has been leading an interagency technical assessment mission that will propose a humanitarian action plan for the coming 12 months, and he discussed with the Foreign Minister the deteriorating humanitarian situation resulting from the closures and curfews imposed in the West Bank and Gaza.

He also expressed his serious concern about the lack of progress in implementing the specific commitments made by Israel to the Secretary-Generals Personal Humanitarian Envoy, Catherine Bertini, during her mission two months ago.

The technical assessment mission is due to leave Jerusalem on Friday.

UN ENVOY WARNS OF RISING OPIUM HARVEST IN AFGHANISTAN

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, warned that this year's opium poppy crop in Afghanistan would be much larger than last year's. In his opening remarks at the Second International Drug Control Coordination Meeting in Kabul, Brahimi said that preliminary assessments have projected this years poppy crop at around 2,500 tons It is inevitable that the harvest will maintain Afghanistans place at the top of the poppy exporting countries.

He added that the government is showing its clear intention to lower opium production here. He said, Controlling drugs is a long-term endeavor. It will take time to build institutions, time for the economy itself to become strong enough to offer alternative livelihoods to poppy farmers.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER APPEALS FOR END TO SUFFERING IN COTE DIVOIRE

High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello has expressed his serious concern about the deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire and launched an urgent appeal to the Government and the armed groups to take all necessary measures to end the suffering of the civilian population and to comply with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

He said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon that violations committed since September 19, including summary executions and arbitrary arrests, could be prosecuted either before the national judiciary or the International Criminal Court, whose statute has been signed by Côte d'Ivoire.

Vieira de Mello called on the Government and the armed groups to cooperate with the negotiations being carried out by UN and West African mediators.

Meanwhile, UNHCR reported that its representatives from West African countries are meeting in Ghana today and tomorrow to make contingency plans as the unstable situation in Côte d'Ivoire threatens to drive more refugees into the region. The two-day meeting, which started Thursday in Accra, Ghana, gathered Côte d'Ivoire's neighbouring countries and various international agencies, including UNHCR, to address concerns that the Ivorian civil conflict may spill into the region.

BOSNIA: UN MISSION FIRES POLICE AFTER ANTI-TRAFFICKING RAIDS

The UN Mission in Bosnia announced today that the provisional authorisation given to 11 Bosnian police officers had been removed after the officers were found to have used sexual services provided by local nightclubs. The UN International Police Task Forces special anti-trafficking operation found several of the officers frequenting nightclubs that it raided in its efforts to fight human trafficking in Bosnia.

The Mission, in a statement, said, It is particularly appalling that these 11 police officers, by frequenting these establishments and using their sexual services, were directly or indirectly condoning the fact that human trafficking was taking place there. It also accused some of the officers of hindering raids on the clubs by giving advance notice to club owners.

KOSOVO INVESTMENT CONFERENCE TO BEGIN IN NEW YORK

A conference to bolster outside investment in Kosovo will start Friday at New Yorks Hilton Hotel, with a particular focus on informing the roughly half a million Kosovo Albanians living abroad about the investment opportunities back home.

Among the speakers at the opening session of the Kosovo Investment Conferences tomorrow will be Francesco Bastagli, the Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative for Kosovo, and Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi.

UNHCR REPORTS INCREASED REFUGEE MOVEMENTS FROM DR CONGO

As fighting continues in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, nearly 9,000 Congolese have arrived in Burundi in a week, with small numbers trickling into Rwanda as well, reports the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

At the same time, more than 5,000 Burundians have fled for neighbouring Tanzania in the last two weeks.

UN ANGOLA ENVOY BRIEFS JOINT COMMISSION

Chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Angola, Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Commission for the implementation of the pending tasks of the Lusaka Protocol held another ordinary meeting on Thursday morning in Luanda.

The participants were briefed by Ibrahim Gambari on his contacts since the last meeting. Gambari said that he is going to extend his contacts to various parties of civil society.

ANNAN, UNDP MARK DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY

Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and, to mark the Day, the UN Development Programmes Equator Initiative has awarded its Equator Prize to 27 communities around the world. The award, worth $30,000, recognizes outstanding achievement in reducing poverty and protecting biodiversity in countries in the equatorial region. The winners were chosen from more than 420 nominees from 77 countries.

In a message, the Secretary-General said that this Day was an opportunity to recommit to the Millennium Goals and reflect on the progress, or lack of it, achieved so far. He added that the world is not on track to meet the Goals by 2015. Poverty is an old enemy with many faces, he said. Defeating it will require many actors to work together.

ANGELINA JOLIE TAKES TIME FROM MOVIE SHOOT TO VISIT REFUGEES IN KENYA

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, who a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, took time off from shooting the sequel to the movie, "Tomb Raider, in Kenya to travel to a refugee camp in the northwestern part of the country.

Jolie was visibly moved as she heard stories from refugee girls from Sudan who had flocked to welcome her on her visit earlier this week to the Kakuma refugee camp, home to some 80,000 people. She shook her head in disbelief as she heard how many of the girls and women in the camp were subjected to various forms of violence from rape to genital mutilation and how many were unable to attend school due to domestic chores.

Jolie made a personal donation of $200,000 to UNHCR's work in Kenya, earmarking $50,000 of her donation to build a new school for girls at the camp.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about the work of the Secretary-Generals Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, the Spokeswoman said he was going to Cyprus to push forward the peace talks, and she noted that he had expressed optimism that progress will be made.

The Food and Agriculture Organization announced today that a benefit concert featuring Luciano Pavarotti has raised more than $220,000 for the battle against hunger. The concert was held in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on October 12, Pavarottis 67th birthday, in front of an audience of more than 1,800 people who sang Happy Birthday to the Maestro.

The Federated States of Micronesia became the 109th fully paid up Member State today, with a payment to the UN regular budget of more than $11,000.

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