United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-11-15

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE

DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, November 15, 2002

UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS TO HEAD TO BAGHDAD ON MONDAY

Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, who was the guest at todays noon briefing, noted that he would travel to Cyprus this weekend, where he will be joined by a group from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headed by Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. The full team is scheduled to travel to Baghdad on Monday.

He said the first group of UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) inspectors were expected to arrive a week afterward, with the first inspections expected to take place on November 27. From that point onward, UNMOVIC would have 60 days to report back to the Security Council.

In response to a question, Blix said that if the inspections could be done in such a way that war is avoided, wed be very happy. But he cautioned that the question of war and peace lies in the hands of Iraq and the Security Council, not those of the inspectors.

Asked about what constituted significant problems in cooperation by Iraq, Blix noted that some omissions in information provided could be significant, while "denial of access, even for a short time, concerns something essential."

Asked about comments made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday about whether the United States had a lower threshold for Iraqi non-cooperation than other nations, Blix said that Annans comments were excellent and very frank, and added that a cat and mouse game with Iraq would not be tolerated.

PRESIDENTS OF NIGERIA, CAMEROON REACH AGREEMENT IN GENEVA

The Secretary-General today held a series of meetings in Geneva with President Paul Biya of Cameroon and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria to discuss follow-up to the International Court of Justice decision regarding the border dispute between the two countries over the Bakassi peninsula.

This afternoon, agreement was reached in those discussions to move the process forward in an organized and peaceful manner, taking into account the interests of both peoples.

At the end of the meeting, the Secretary-General read out a joint communiqué, reflecting the agreement that had been reached. The communiqué noted that, in the course of the meetings, both parties agreed to identify a number of confidence building measures which would pave the way to resolving many of the issues which are the subject of the ICJ ruling.

In addition, the two Presidents agreed on the need for a meeting between the two sides at the Summit level at the earliest possible opportunity, to discuss defense and security issues of common concern.

The two Presidents further agreed to ask the Secretary-General to establish a mixed commission of the two sides, to be chaired by his Special Representative, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, to consider ways of following up the ICJ ruling and moving the process forward.

Earlier today, the Secretary-General met one-on-one first with President Biya and then with President Obasanjo. The three men then had a private lunch together, after which the three met with their respective delegations.

ANNAN NOTES REDUCED MALNUTRITION IN IRAQ

On Iraq, the latest report of the Secretary-General on the oil-for-food program focuses on the programs achievements in improving the humanitarian situation in Iraq as well its shortcomings and the difficulties it faces.

Among achievements he highlights is the large reduction in malnutrition rates in children under the age of five in central and southern Iraq, although these still remain at relatively high levels. Malnutrition rates in 2002 in the center and south of Iraq are half those of 1996. In the three northern governorates, there has been a 20 percent reduction in acute malnutrition, a 56 percent reduction in chronic malnutrition and a 44 percent reduction in the incidence of underweight children in the same age group.

The Secretary-General also notes the persisting revenue shortfall and its impact on the program. The report also assesses the implementation of the new set of procedures for the processing and review of contracts for humanitarian supplies, introduced under Security Council Resolution 1409 in May of this year, based on the Goods Review List. This is the first such assessment since the adoption of that resolution.

The Executive Director of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, is set to introduce the report to the Security Council on November 19.

ANNAN WELCOMES PROGRESS ON BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued through his Spokesman, welcomed the positive outcome of the resumed session of the Fifth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention, which concluded its work today in Geneva.

The Conference decided to hold annual meetings of the States Parties in the next three years leading to the 2006 Review Conference, to address national measures to implement the Biological Weapons Convention and to control dangerous pathogens, as well as better international response to, and investigation of, the alleged use of biological weapons, and improved surveillance of infectious diseases.

These agreed steps constitute an encouraging development in the process of strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention.

UNHCR SAYS ANGOLAN REFUGEES ARE RETURNING HOME

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports today that the number of spontaneously returned refugees from neighboring countries into Angola is now estimated to have reached more than 70,000 people. The main areas of return are four provinces bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.

In addition, an estimated 860,000 internally displaced persons are believed to have returned home from within the borders of Angola in the same period.

Agreements for the organized repatriation of Angolan refugees from the region between Angola, UNHCR and Zambia and Namibia are scheduled to be signed at the end of this month. The repatriation could become one of the biggest in recent years, with more than 450,000 refugees living in Zambia, the DRC, Namibia, South Africa, and the Republic of Congo. In addition, there are an estimated 50,000 Angolan refugees in countries outside the African continent.

UNDP INVITED TO COORDINATE SUPPORT FOR RWANDA ELECTIONS

In a meeting on Thursday night in Kigali, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda asked UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Mark Malloch Brown for UNDP to coordinate international support for elections that are due to take place next July the first presidential and parliamentary polls for Rwanda since the 1994 genocide.

Malloch Brown responded, The message Im taking home from this meeting is that Rwanda has come a very long way in a very short time and has put a system in place for national reconciliation and elections.

He then traveled for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he is to meet with President Joseph Kabila to discuss the consolidation of peace and security in the Great Lakes region.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled for today.

Today, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the United Nations is assisting on the outskirts of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo some 8,000 persons displaced last month by lawless conditions in the Pool Region. The current displacement occurs in a context of continuing instability in that region, to which humanitarian personnel have had very limited access for the past six months.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it has recently recommended that the U.S. Administration grant Temporary Protected Status to Colombian nationals currently in the United States. That status is a time-limited, complementary form of protection that would allow nationals of a designated country to remain in the United States regardless of visa status and/or asylum proceedings.

Today in the Netherlands, Nane Annan, the wife of the Secretary-General, addressed the UN International Student Conference of Amsterdam, a week-long model United Nations, which has drawn 300 university students from the Netherlands, Europe and worldwide. She told the students, Good quality education fostering strong, confident young people with open minds and understanding for each other is more important in todays world then ever before.

Dato Param Cumaraswamy, the special rapporteur dealing with the independence of judges and lawyers, today issued a statement, available upstairs, on his recent mission to Italy, in which he concluded that mutual suspicion and mistrust, resulting in tension between Italys magistrates and the Government, continues. The root causes, he said, appear to be the cumbersome legal system and its procedures, which can lead to abuses, and the high-profile trials of prominent politicians.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Saturday, November 16 Today is the International Day for Tolerance.

Sunday, November 17 The Secretary-General will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he will speak at a ceremony to dedicate a monument at UN House in Sarajevo.

Monday, November 18 The Secretary-General will meet with members of the Bosnian Presidency before travelling to Kosovo, where he will meet with President Ibrahim Rugova and other officials.

The Division for the Advancement of Women, in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on trafficking in women and girls, which will take place in Glen Cove, New York, through Friday.

Tuesday, November 19 The Secretary-General will visit Mitrovica, in Kosovo, before moving on to Belgrade, where he will meet with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and other senior officials.

In Berne, Switzerland, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will speak at the launching of the Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeals for 2003. In New York, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Carolyn McAskie will be the guest at the noon briefing to discuss the Appeals.

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on the oil-for-food program for Iraq. Wednesday, November 20 The Secretary-General will pay an official visit to Croatia, where he will meet with President Stjepan Mesic and other senior officials.

Today is Africa Industrialization Day and Universal Childrens Day.

Thursday, November 21 The Secretary-General will travel to The Hague, in the Netherlands, where he will speak at Tilburg University, from which he will receive an honorary doctorate.

The Security Council has scheduled an open meeting to consider a resolution on the oil-for-food program for Iraq, and it has also scheduled consultations on Bougainville.

A panel discussion will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium on the upcoming International Day of Disabled Persons (December 3). Also, this is World Television Day.

Friday, November 22 In the Netherlands, the Secretary-General will make remarks at the launch of the Declaration of The Hague and will meet with the judges of the International Court of Justice. The Security Council intends to hold an open meeting on Georgia. 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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