United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-28

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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

Monday, October 28, 2002

SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS FROM UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS ON IRAQ

The Security Council held closed-door consultations on Iraq in the presence of Mohammed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Secretary-General Kofi Annan also attended the consultations. He spoke to reporters afterward, saying that the Council was holding a very serious discussion, and adding that he believed it was appropriate that the Council was going about it in a deliberate manner.

Asked whether the Council would agree to a resolution on Iraq, he said, Im still hopeful that the Council will come up with a resolution a resolution that all of them can sign on to, or the vast majority. But it would require some compromises to get compromises.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DEBATE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

The Secretary-General is planning to return to the Security Council this afternoon when he opens a meeting on Women and peace and security.

Drawing attention to his recently released report on this subject, he notes that womens groups and networks at the grassroots level have provided many examples of the imaginative strategies and flexible approaches required for effective conflict prevention. However, with few exceptions, women are not present in formal peace negotiations.

The report calls for the greater representation of women in formal peace negotiations, and for the incorporation of gender perspectives in conflict-prevention activities and in mandates for peace-building and peacekeeping operations, including those set in motion by the Security Council. It also stresses the need to increase the appointments of women at the highest levels of decision-making, including as Special Representatives, Deputy Special Representatives and Special Envoys.

ANNAN DISTURBED BY CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC FIGHTING

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued today expressed his deep concern at the armed confrontation that broke out last Friday in the Central African Republic (CAR) between insurgents loyal to the former Chief of Staff and Government forces. The Secretary-General reiterated his condemnation of any attempt to take power by force of arms and called on the insurgents to lay down their weapons.

The Secretary-General called on the international community to provide urgently the logistical and other assistance needed to deploy the Inter-African Observation Force, agreed to by the leaders of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States at their summit earlier this month in Gabon, to the Republic.

ANNAN MOURNS LOSS OF LIFE IN MOSCOW HOSTAGE INCIDENT

In a statement issued Saturday following the end of the hostage situation in the Melnikov Street Theatre in Moscow, the Secretary-General mourned for those whose lives were lost in this incident, and extended his deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones and his sympathy to those who were injured.

As the Security Council affirmed last week, he said the taking of hostages was a heinous act of terrorism that cannot be justified by any circumstance.

REPORT NOTES CHALLENGES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Despite the recent positive developments in the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there nevertheless continue to be serious challenges, the Secretary-General says in his latest report to the Security Council on the UN Mission in the DRC.

The fragile peace process, the Secretary-General writes, is in danger of being reversed due to the heavy fighting in the eastern part of the country. He urges all parties to put an end to all hostilities.

He also reports that the human rights situation, notably the culture of impunity, is of grave concern to him. He describes the humanitarian situation as deeply disturbing. Civilians, he writes, continue to bear the brunt of the crisis. Seventeen million people, almost a third of the countrys population, are in need of urgent food aid.

UN ENVOY REPORTS PROGRESS IN TALKS ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy, Mustapha Niasse, continued discussions over the weekend in Pretoria, South Africa, with representatives of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo and the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma.

The discussions are being conducted in a constructive atmosphere.

Niasse said that progress is being made and that he remains optimistic, although certain points require further discussion by the various parties.

The Special Envoy continues to meet with the various groups gathered in Pretoria and is also facilitating bilateral contacts between the parties themselves.

UN POLICE HOLD SUSPECT IN KILLING, ONE DAY AFTER KOSOVO VOTE

Kosovos municipal elections took place peacefully on Saturday, and, based on early returns, an estimated 54 percent of all registered voters including nearly 58 percent of people voting inside Kosovo itself cast their ballots. Election Day proceeded without any incidents of election-related violence, and some partial results are scheduled to be released this evening, with final results tentatively scheduled for November 2.

Unfortunately, the calm that took place on voting day was shattered on Sunday, when the president of the Municipal Assembly in Suva Reka and two other people were shot dead in that municipality. UN Police have a suspect in custody and are continuing their investigation into the killings. At this time, it is unclear whether the killings were politically motivated, or whether any other people besides the suspect in custody were involved.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative, Michael Steiner, on Sunday denounced the killings as an appalling act of calculated murder, and expressed his condolences to Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova.

REPORT: MILITARY BUILD-UP SHOWS NO RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR LIBERIA

The Secretary-Generals report on Liberia notes that the Liberian Government has reportedly proposed the allocation of half of its 2002-2003 budget to defense and security requirements, a development he describes as a powerful indication that no immediate relief is in sight for the people of Liberia.

The recent crisis in neighboring Cote dIvoire is likely to complicate the security situation in the sub-region, he says.

The Secretary-General says he regards as encouraging a recent indication by the Government of Liberia that it is prepared to engage in dialogue with dissidents of the movement Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), as long as they agree to stop fighting.

He urges the Security Council to remain engaged with Liberia. No date has been decided for Council consultations on the report.

HUMAN RIGHTS ENVOY URGED RED CROSS ACCESS TO MYANMAR

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, urged the Myanmar Government to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) into the country to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

During a fact-finding trip, which ended today, Pinheiro declined an invitation to travel to Shan State, where the army was allegedly linked to sexual violence against ethnic minorities, because he considered a short visit would have been inappropriate to conduct a comprehensive assessment.

Instead, he proposed to the government to allow the ICRC to have an adequate presence in the country to assess the humanitarian situation on an ongoing basis.

WFP FORECASTS MASSIVE FOOD AID NEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR

The World Food Programme (WFP) is forecasting massive food aid needs in 2003, at just under 5.3 million tons. This figure excludes anticipated emergency requirements in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as WFP emergency operations currently under formulation such as Côte d'Ivoire, where the full magnitude of needs is not yet defined.

Approximately 75 percent of the 2003 emergency food requirements are attributed to the massive humanitarian crisis in Southern Africa and the widespread drought in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The year 2003 is also expected to put considerable strain on WFP's ability to address the food aid requirements of less high profile, yet no less needy, operations.

TALKS BY UN ENVOY ON CYPRUS CONTINUE

In response to a question on visits by UN officials to Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who is in a hospital in New York, the Spokesman noted that Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast made a private and social visit to Denktash in the hospital on Friday.

Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Cyprus, is in the region. He was in Athens last week. He will be seeing Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides in the next day or two. He is in touch by telephone with Denktash's staff in New York.

In the second half of the week, de Soto will go to Turkey for a further round of consultations. He will be back in New York toward the end of the week to report to the Secretary-General. Time is pressing, and stock-taking is required at this time, so that the Secretary-General can take a decision on how he can assist in moving the process forward.

On a reported UN plan, de Soto said a few days ago, There is no UN plan; no plan has been unfurled or unfolded.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about the UN response to a reported agreement reached by Somali factions meeting in Kenya, the Spokesman said the United Nations was encouraged by what appeared to be a step in the right direction.

The Secretary-General, in a message delivered today at the start of the three-day Dubai Strategy Forum in the United Arab Emirates, which focuses on the need to create networks for economic growth, said that, by gathering for their dialogue, the delegates at the Forum have shown an awareness that more and more of the challenges we face from environmental degradation to drug trafficking and the spread of diseases such as AIDS transcends borders.

The Secretary-General today spoke at a memorial service for former General Assembly President and Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations Joseph Garba, calling him a credit to his country, to Africa and to the United Nations.

On Sunday in Riyadh, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, the UN Human Rights Commissions Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, presented his preliminary findings following a week long visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Secretary-General, in a letter to all UN staff last Friday afternoon, announced that the office of the UN Ombudsman who is former Jamaican Ambassador Patricia Durrant is now operational. He said that the office of the Ombudsman is intended to complement the UN internal justice system, and it will be an open, readily available and confidential source of support for staff at all levels, and will assist in resolving problems and overcoming conflicts in the workplace.

The Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has just concluded its ninth session. The Commission has warned that inappropriate granting of intellectual property rights could jeopardize confidence in the new international network of plant collections.

On Tuesday, starting at 10:00 a.m. in the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General will be among the participants at a seminar, sponsored jointly by the Peacekeeping Department and the International Peace Academy, that is one of the events marking the 10th anniversary of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

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

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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