United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-30

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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

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES IRAQ, WILL TAKE UP AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council resumed consultations this morning on a draft resolution on Iraq.

[Security Council President, Ambassador Martin Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon, told reporters following the consultations that the Security Council remains determined to achieve the disarmament of Iraq. And for that, he said, the Council wishes the prompt return of the inspectors. The Council wishes to give a "clear and precise" mandate to the inspectors, he said, adding that the Council also wishes send a "strong and unanimous" message to Iraq. The Council President went on to say that the inspectors will report back to the Council, and it is only the Security Council that will decide on a follow-up to their reports.]

This afternoon at 3:00 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled an open meeting on Afghanistan.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, will brief the Council on security and the reform of the security sector in Afghanistan. He is also expected to update Council members on the implementation of the Bonn Agreement and the work of various commissions called for by that agreement, including early work for the preparation of the Constitution and elections.

The Council is scheduled to hold closed consultations on Afghanistan following the open briefing.

ANNAN PRESENTS UN REFORM REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning presented his report on further UN reform to the General Assembly, telling the Assembly that one of his chief aims since becoming Secretary-General was to make the United Nations more useful by making it more efficient and effective, adjusting to new conditions and needs.

He emphasized his proposal to review the UN program of work, to make sure it concentrates on what matters to the worlds people, as well as proposals to improve UN performance in its human rights and public information work.

The Secretary-General told the Assembly that he is establishing a high-level panel to take stock of the relationship between the United Nations and civil society, and to suggest ways to enhance that relationship.

Now, he said, he hoped that his report would be debated, and that the General Assembly would adopt a single resolution providing clear guidance on the way forward.

SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS FROM YUGOSLAVIA, RWANDA TRIBUNALS

On Tuesday afternoon, the Security Council held a closed formal meeting on the work of the two International Criminal Tribunals, for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, in which it heard from the Tribunal Presidents respectively, Judges Claude Jorda and Navanethem Pillay and from Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte.

All three officials drew attention to the cooperation they will need from Member States in providing suspects, witnesses and evidence, so that they can complete their caseloads in a timely manner.

Judge Pillay and Prosecutor Del Ponte noted difficulties the Rwanda Tribunal has faced this year in obtaining the appearance at the Arusha, Tanzania, court of witnesses based in Rwanda, which they said has set back the Tribunals work.

Judge Jorda and the Prosecutor drew attention to problems in securing cooperation as well, with both of them citing the failure by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to provide needed evidence or transfer accused suspects to the Hague Tribunal.

In a closed meeting held earlier that afternoon, the Security Council also heard from Judge Gilbert Guillaume, President of the International Court of Justice, on that bodys work over the past year.

IRAQ SANCTIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES HUMANITARIAN ITEMS LIST

The Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP) reports that on Monday, the Security Councils 661 Iraq sanctions committee approved a list of just under 6,000 humanitarian supply items. In the future contracts for such items can be fast-tracked by OIP, without prior review either by UNMOVIC and the IAEA or the Sanctions Committee.

The fast-track list includes all food items that are procured by the Government of Iraq for distribution in the monthly food basket for the entire population of Iraq, basic medicines, supplies and consumables, as well as raw materials for the local production of basic medicines, furniture, printing paper, teaching and educational supplies, clothes, agricultural seeds and fertilizers and basic construction materials, among others.

LIBERIA SANCTIONS PANEL REPORT UNCOVERS NEW ARMS VIOLATIONS

The report of the panel of experts on Liberia sanctions, which was transmitted by Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani of Singapore, in his capacity as Chairman of the Security Council Sanctions Committee on Liberia, uncovered new violations of those sanctions, including the delivery of 200 tons of weapons and ammunition supplies to Liberia from June to August of this year.

The weapons were mainly from old Yugoslav stocks and were supplied by a Belgrade-based arms dealer. A non-existent Nigerian company and a number of go-between companies and brokers were involved with these illicit arms deals, the panel says.

The four-member panel also says that arms continue to reach the rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), through Sierra Leone, Cote dIvoire or Guinea. The panel recommends that the arms embargo be continued and extended to all armed non-state actors in the region, including the LURD.

The panel members also make a number of observations and recommendations in such areas as sources of Government funds, the travel and diamond bans, and the humanitarian impact of sanctions.

UN REPORT SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CONTINUE IN DR-CONGO

Massive human rights violations are continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in territories under the de facto control of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma and the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, according to the report of the UN Human Rights Commissions Special Rapporteur for the DRC, Iulia Motoc.

In areas under the control of the DRC Government, Motoc says human rights violations are continuing, above all in the administration of justice. However, she notes that there has been some progress in the protection of human rights by the Government, notably relating to the release of child soldiers from detention and the lifting of restrictions on political activity.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has received reports that a number of residents of the Central African Republic capital Bangui, which has been the scene of fighting in recent days, have been prevented from crossing the Ubangi River to seek refuge in the DRC. Some who have managed to cross say Central African Republic Government soldiers are trying to extract money as people make their way across the river. UNHCR is ferrying supplies and has opened registration centers in the DRC border town of Zongo to process the new arrivals from the Central African Republic.

IN BELGRADE, UN ENVOY FOR KOSOVO NOTES LOW SERB VOTER TURNOUT

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, today met in Belgrade with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and other senior officials, briefing them on the current situation in Kosovo.

In comments to reporters afterward, Steiner said he believed that Kosovos Serbs had shot themselves in the foot with their low turnout in last weeks municipal elections. The low Serb turnout, he said, has diminished their capacity to take part in decision-making in Kosovo.

He noted that, following that outcome, it made no sense to go forward with a meeting he had proposed for Kosovos political parties to discuss decentralization this Friday; however, he added, this does not mean that the philosophy of decentralization is off the table.

ANNAN ISSUES MESSAGE AS CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS BEGIN

The High Level Segment of the 8th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change began today in New Delhi, India. The Secretary-Generals message to the Conference, delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai, said that agreements reached at the Johannesburg Summit had implications for efforts to address the effects of climate change.

We must pursue their goals, he said, as well as the Millennium Development Goals and the quest for sustainable development, with vigor and commitment if we are to make a long overdue investment in the survival and security of future generations.

The Secretary-General also had a message delivered on his behalf to the regional meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce taking place in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Later today, he will speak at a memorial service for former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, and will also make comments at the UNDP Poverty Eradication Awards.

WHO REPORT URGES EFFORT TO TACKLE MAJOR HEALTH RISKS

The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched its 2002 World Health Report, Preventing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. The report says life expectancy can be increased by five to ten years if governments and individuals tackle major health risks. "Healthy life" expectancy worldwide ranges from a low of 25 years in Sierra Leone to a high of 73 years in Japan.

The report shows that 47 percent of global mortality is attributable to the leading twenty risk factors. The top preventable causes of death include low childhood and maternal weight, unsafe sex, high blood pressure, tobacco and alcohol use, unsafe water and sanitation, excessive weight and iron deficiency.

The report provides a road map of how to tackle a wide range of preventable conditions that kill millions of people prematurely. Recommendations have been tailored to suit high-, middle- and low-income countries.

UNICEF SEEKS DEMOBILIZATION OF 70,000 ASIAN CHILD SOLDIERS

In a new study launched today, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) called for the demobilization and reintegration of 70,000 child soldiers currently serving in the East Asia and Pacific Region.

The study, entitled Adult Wars, Child Soldiers: Voices of Children Involved in Armed Conflict in the East Asia and Pacific Region, is based on interviews with 69 current and former child combatants from six Asian countries. The average recruitment age of those interviewed was 13 years, while the youngest was forcibly recruited at the age of seven.

Those interviewed reported numerous abuses, including brutal training regimens, hard labor and severe punishments while serving in armed groups. Some said they had been forced to witness or commit atrocities, including rape and murder, while others spoke of seeing friends and family killed.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy, in releasing the study, urged countries quickly to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol to Convention on the Rights of the Child, which outlaws the involvement of any child under the age of 18 in hostilities.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked whether the Secretary-General would see Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, the Spokesman said that it was his intention to pay a private visit to Denktash, to wish him well on his medical recovery, at a mutually convenient time.

Asked whether the Secretary-General may visit other Security Council members this year, the Spokesman said that he had nothing official to announce, but noted plans for a major trip in mid-November, which would include an official visit to one of the five permanent Council members. Before that trip, he added, there were plans for a short visit to the capital of another permanent member.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today approved a new relief operation for Central America. The Programme is seeking $66 million to assist an additional 690,000 people hard-hit by recent droughts, which have adversely affected the coffee crops. WFP is currently assisting more than one and a half million people in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

WFP also warned today that victims of the fighting in Northern Uganda would soon face severe food shortages unless donors come forward with urgent contributions. WFP needs 18,000 tons of food to feed the more than half a million people in that area until the end of the year.

On Thursday, there will be a Halloween party for the children of UN delegates and staff, starting at 5:00 p.m., at the Visitors Plaza, where Spider-Man will appear to present UNICEF with a donation, encouraging attendees to Be a Hero: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.

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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