United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-11-22

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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 22, 2002

ANNAN DISTURBED AS PROJECT MANAGER SLAIN AT UN CAMP IN JENIN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement, expressed his sadness at the death of Iain Hook, the project manager of the Jenin camp rehabilitation project of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), this morning in Jenin.

The full circumstances surrounding the incident have not yet been established, but the Secretary-General is greatly disturbed by the fact that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) refused immediate access for an ambulance which had been summoned by UNRWA to take Hook to hospital; he subsequently died before reaching the hospital.

The Secretary-General has on a number of previous occasions called on the IDF to allow ambulances unimpeded access to the sick and injured. The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim.

The UN Relief and Works Agencys Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, said he could only hope that Iain Hooks family could take some small comfort and pride in the knowledge that he lost his life trying to save those of others.

Hansen also expressed his sadness and anger at this loss, saying, Increasingly in this conflict, UNRWAs staff are facing difficult and dangerous situations just to carry out our humanitarian mandate.

Asked about other UN casualties in the conflict, the Spokesman said that, not counting todays killing, UNRWA has had 10 casualties since 1992. Since the current intifada began two years ago, no international UN staff had died in the occupied territories, although, earlier this year, a Palestinian guard inside an UNRWA ambulance was killed.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ENCOURAGED BY REACTION TO CYPRUS PLAN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met in The Hague with his Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, to take stock of efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

According to a statement issued today, he is encouraged by the generally positive reaction to his plan that is emerging, and wants to press ahead with the parties in accordance with the calendar which is part and parcel of the plan and which is designed to take advantage of the opportunity that is available now.

They discussed steps for engaging the parties intensively in the next week or so. The Secretary-General looks forward to receiving their substantive reactions with a view to moving ahead in earnest.

The Secretary-General will also remain in contact with the Prime Ministers of Greece and Turkey on the matter, and his Special Advisor will return to the region to continue his consultations.

At a press encounter today in The Hague, the Secretary-General was asked about his reaction to news that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash does not accept his proposal on Cyprus, and responded, I think its too early to say. He noted that Denktash was recovering from surgery, and hoped for more definitive remarks from him after he has had time for consultations.

ANNAN RECEIVES DECLARATION ON MIGRANTS IN NETHERLANDS

In The Hague today, the Secretary-General met with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers for one of their periodic visits. Lubbers also accompanied the Secretary-General to the launch of the Declaration of The Hague, a document produced by the Society for International Development of the Netherlands, which contains 21 principles for more humane government policies to deal with migrants.

In accepting the Declaration, the Secretary-General stressed that immigrants and refugees should not and must not be seen as a burden. If the issue of migration is tackled properly, he added, citizens of developed and developing countries alike will come to understand how its benefits far outweigh the problems it may bring.

Politicians have a choice to make, the Secretary-General said. They can embrace the potential that migrants and refugees represent, or instead could use them as political scapegoats.

The Secretary-General went on to meet with the judges of the International Court of Justice, who reviewed with him their caseload. The Secretary-General briefed them on his meeting with the Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria last Friday, following the Courts ruling last month on their border dispute.

After meeting with the leaders of the UN Association of the Netherlands and thanking them for their work, the Secretary-General had a working luncheon with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.

On Sunday, the Secretary-General will leave the Netherlands for France.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS EXTENSION OF UN MISSION IN CYPRUS

This morning, the Security Council held closed consultations on the Secretary-Generals report on the United Nations operation in Cyprus.

The United Kingdom introduced a draft resolution, which recommends extending the mandate of UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus until June 15, 2003.

UNMOVIC CHAIRMAN DISCUSSES IRAQ WITH BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

Today in London, the Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), Hans Blix, met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair for half an hour.

Blix briefed the Prime Minister on his recent visit to Baghdad and his discussions with the Iraqi Foreign Minister and senior Iraqi officials on the status of preparations for the resumption of weapons inspections on November 27.

Blix had earlier conferred in Paris with the Foreign Ministers of France and Mexico on his way to Baghdad.

The stop in London on his return from Baghdad was an opportunity for Blix to brief the British Prime Minister in the context of his continuing consultations with Security Council. He is expected to brief the full Council on Monday afternoon.

The first batch of inspectors who will arrive on November 25 will include 12 inspectors from UNMOVIC and six from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

DRAFT FRAMEWORK ON DR-CONGO BEING PREPARED FOR ADOPTION

In Pretoria, the UN and South Africa mediation team dealing with the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Thursday prepared the draft framework of an all-inclusive Agreement containing all the points of agreement among the eight components and entities of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. This draft agreement covers the principals, the objectives and transitional institutions.

Barring any last minute difficulties the draft framework agreement could be adopted on Saturday by all eight components and entities.

Three Technical Committees that will be charged with preparing annexes will begin working next week. Once the technical questions have been resolved, a final round of Congolese talks is planned for the second week of December in Pretoria.

FOUR KOSOVO ALBANIANS FACE INDICTMENT FOR WAR CRIMES

The UN Mission in Kosovo announced today that four former Kosovo Albanian members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, including Commander Rrustem Mustafa, were indicted earlier this week by an international prosecutor for war crimes committed against other Kosovo Albanian citizens during 1998 and 1999. The charges against them include illegal arrest and detention, inhumane treatment, torture and murder.

The defendants remain in detention pending trial.

Also on Kosovo, the Security Council has agreed to send a mission to Kosovo and to Belgrade, from December 13 through 17, under the leadership of Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway.

UNHCR TO PROVIDE IDENTITY CARDS TO REFUGEES IN TWO CONGOS

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted its massive effort in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the neighboring Republic of Congo to provide identity cards to refugees and asylum seekers, which began today in Kimaza, where some 2,000 refugees from the Republic of Congo will receive identity cards over the next few days.

According to government estimates, there are some 440,000 refugees and asylum seekers in those two countries.

UNHCR today also updated its efforts to interview the residents of the Sangatte reception center in northern France, to hear asylum claims from the roughly 1,900 people with valid badges there.

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE TO TRAVEL TO UZBEKISTAN

The Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture, Theo van Boven, will be undertaking a fact-finding mission to Uzbekistan, from this Sunday to December 6, at the invitation of the Government.

He has asked to meet with Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other senior Uzbek officials. He will also meet with various non-governmental organizations and with private individuals. Van Boven is scheduled to travel to places outside the capital, where he will meet local public officials and representatives of civil society, as well as visit various places of detention.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Juan Miguel Petit, the special rapporteur dealing with the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, will visit France next week, starting on Monday, at the Governments invitation, to examine the trafficking of children into and through France.

The UN Development Programme announced that it had signed a project worth 5.5 million dollars today with the Government of Vietnam, to help develop a democratic, clean, professional, efficient and effective administration system in that country by 2010. The support will focus on assisting the ministries of home affairs, justice and finance, and the office of the Government.

A report released today by the World Health Organization reveals that seven percent of deaths among women aged 15 to 44 years are due to violence. The World Report on Violence and Health says that nearly half of the women victims of homicide are killed by their current or former male partner. The report also highlight a number of promising prevention programmes including social development, reducing alcohol availability and access to firearms and reducing inequalities and strengthening law enforcement and judicial systems.

The UN Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Support Office in Southern Africa has said that humanitarian relief operations in the region face a shortage of 400,000 metric tons. Urgent humanitarian needs are not limited to food aid, with assistance needed in the health, education and fuel sectors.

The two-week meeting of the Committee to Review the Implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification ( UNCCD) ended in Rome today. The meeting discussed ways to improve implementation of the Convention, with the conclusions and findings to be presented to the next Conference of Parties.

Today, the UN peacekeeping budget received another very large contribution when the United Kingdom made a payment of more than $46 million.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Sunday, November 24 The Secretary-General will arrive in Paris, France, where he will pay an official visit.

Monday, November 25 In Paris, the Secretary-General will hold meetings with President Jacques Chirac and other senior French officials. The Security Council is expected to hold an open meeting to consider a resolution on the oil-for-food program for Iraq, the current phase of which expires today. It will also hold consultations on Liberia sanctions in the morning and on Iraq, with a briefing by UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, in the afternoon. Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the guest at the Noon Briefing will be Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). The 14th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer will take place in Rome. For more information see www.unep.org/ozone Tuesday, November 26 The Secretary-General will end his trip to Europe, returning to New York.

The Deputy Secretary-General will speak at an event marking World AIDS Day, which will be formally observed on December 1. Also, at 10:00 a.m., Desmond Johns, Director of the New York Office of the Joint UN Programme against HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), will brief the press on World AIDS Day.

Wednesday, November 27 Thursday, November 28 Today is Thanksgiving Holiday, and UN Headquarters in New York will be closed.

Friday, November 29 Today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Over the weekend, Colombia will replace China in the Presidency of the Security Council. 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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