United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-12-13

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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

Friday, December 13, 2002

ANNAN CONCERNED BY NORTH KOREA LIFTING OF FREEZE ON NUCLEAR SITES

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, according to a statement issued through his Spokesman, is concerned about the recent decision by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to lift the freeze on its nuclear facilities maintained pursuant to the 1994 USA-DPRK Agreed Framework and to resume the operation and construction of nuclear facilities to generate electricity.

The Secretary-General urges the DPRK to comply with its safeguards agreement cooperating fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and not to undertake any unilateral act that might complicate the IAEA's ability to carry out its responsibilities under the IAEA-DPRK safeguards agreement.

The Secretary-General calls upon all concerned to cooperate to resolve the complex situation through peaceful means and strongly urges the continuation of international efforts to reach a positive outcome of the situation, consistent with international norms

The Secretary-General spoke to reporters about North Korea as he entered the building today, saying that the United Nations was in touch with the IAEA and the Koreans on the issue. He said, I hope we will not get to the stage where they will kick out the inspectors. I know there are hints about that, but I hope it doesnt happen.

IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei today said at a press conference in Vienna that if the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea were to operate its nuclear facilities, it would have to be under proper safeguards.

Thursday, in a press release, ElBaradei called upon the DPRK to act with restraint.

Noting a letter that he had received yesterday from the DPRK, which requested that the IAEA remove seals and monitoring cameras on its nuclear facilities, ElBaradei said, It is essential that the containment and surveillance measures which are currently in place continue to be maintained. Any unilateral steps to remove or impede the functioning of the seals or cameras, he added, would not be in compliance with the Safeguards Agreement between the DPRK and the Agency.

CYPRUS: OPPORTUNITY MISSED, PARTIES WILLING TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATING

Alvaro de Soto, the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser on Cyprus, has held intensive consultations in Copenhagen on 12 and 13 December 2002.

Unfortunately, it has not proved possible to achieve a comprehensive settlement. However, the parties positions have never been closer and agreement seemed possible up until the last minute.

The Secretary-Generals revised December 10 proposal remains on the table.

Whilst it is regrettable that the current opportunity has been missed, both sides have expressed their willingness to continue negotiations.

It is very important that the unprecedented progress that has been made should be consolidated, and that all concerned re-double their efforts to achieve a settlement in the coming period. An opportunity remains, particularly until February 28, to resolve this problem and achieve a comprehensive settlement, which would allow a reunited Cyprus to accede to the European Union.

The Secretary-Generals Special Adviser is traveling to New York Saturday to report to the Secretary-General.

SENIOR UN AND IRAQI OFFICIALS CALLED TO RESOLVE INSPECTION PROBLEM

A team from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) went to inspect the Communicable Diseases Control Centre in Baghdad today. The Centre is a government facility under the Ministry of Health. This is a new site, which was included in Iraqs declaration of October 1st.

The team arrived at the site at 9:00 a.m. As today is a Muslim holy day, the site had only one guard and a duty officer, who is an assistant technician. The duty officer did not have the keys to the rooms and could not locate the central key holder.

The team then decided to tag seals on several rooms they wanted to inspect later. In the process, question arose on the procedures for tagging. At this point, the decision was made to involve the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate known as NMD.

The Director of the UNs Ongoing Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Centre in Baghdad, Miroslav Gregoric, and Gen. Hossam Amin of the NMD arrived at the site, and the matter was resolved quickly. Seals were tagged on several rooms and the team left the site at around 1:00 p.m., local time.

An UNMOVIC team inspected the Al Kadhimiya plant and the Shumouk stores adjacent to the plant. The site is involved with the Al Samood missile programme.

Another UNMOVIC team inspected the Al Mussaib Pesticide Store, which sells ready-to-use pesticides. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) undertook hydrological sampling at three Major Iraq Surface Water Drainage Basins, of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers just south of the 33rd parallel. Several samples were taken at each site including water, sediment and vegetation.

A separate IAEA team conducted a wide-area gamma survey of the Bahgdad area, which included the Karama Sumood missile facility.

COTE D'IVOIRE: HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS WORSEN; REGION IMPACTED

Kenzo Oshima, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, today issued a statement in which he expresses his grave concern over increasing violence against civilians in Cote d' Ivoire and the impact of worsening humanitarian conditions on the people of both Cote dIvoire and neighboring countries.

Since the beginning of the crisis on September 19, escalating clashes between Government and rebel forces have caused some 100,000 people to flee the country and have slowed economic trade throughout the region, already among the world's poorest.

Reports from UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, especially the disturbing news of mass graves near Vavoua and Bouake, indicate that flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law have occurred.

Fighting along the western border has made it nearly impossible for humanitarian aid to be delivered to thousands of Liberian refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who have fled fighting in the area.

Humanitarian efforts have been further hindered by the destruction of a UNHCR ferry used to transport refugees between Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia, and the confiscation of some 20 UNICEF vehicles.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligations to ensure that civilians are protected during armed conflict.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Kamel Morjane today arrived in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on the first leg of a six-day trip to West Africa that will focus on the Côte d'Ivoire crisis. He will visit Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana and Togo. In Côte d'Ivoire UNHCR sent a team on Wednesday to Guiglo, in the west of the country, to re-establish contact with thousands of refugees stranded by fighting.

AFGHAN SECURITY SECTOR IN NEED OF FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL SUPPORT

Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operation Hedi Annabi briefed the Security Council on Afghanistan this morning in an open meeting.

He looked at the current security situation in the country, and underscored the importance of establishing the Afghan National Army. He appealed the international community to provide both political and financial support to the reform of the security sector, which is absolutely vital to the peace process, he said.

Annabi also reviewed the progress of institutions of Bonn Agreement, in particular the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

He said: The main pattern of reported human rights continue to be: intimidation and violence by regional and local commanders against civilians, intimidation and violence against women, and persecution of minority groups.

Though progress has been made one year after the Bonn agreement, we have not reached a point where the international community can afford to lapse into a state of complacency, he concluded.

Following the open briefing, the Security Council held consultations on Afghanistan, a presidential statement on Liberia and the elections of judges to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Formal meetings on Liberia, the Tribunal and a resolution on the recent attack in Mombasa, Kenya, are expected to be held at 3 p.m. Also this afternoon, the Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for a briefing by Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION LEAVES FOR KOSOVO AND BELGRADE

This evening, a Security Council mission that will travel to Kosovo and Belgrade will leave New York, to start a four-day visit.

Saturday, the Council mission, which is led by Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby, will arrive in Kosovo, where it will meet over the weekend with senior officials of the UN Mission in Kosovo and with Kosovar political and civil society leaders.

Then, on Monday, the Council mission is scheduled to leave Pristina after a press conference and travel to Belgrade, where it will meet with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic and other senior officials. It will return to New York the following day, and brief the Council on its trip next Thursday.

AL QAEDA REPORT, CHILD SOLDIERS REPORT TO BE PRESENTED ON MONDAY

The latest report of the group monitoring sanctions against Al Qaeda is expected to be presented on Monday afternoon to the Security Council sanctions committee dealing with the issue.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, will introduce his latest report, which lists parties that continue to recruit and use child soldiers. He will do so Monday as a guest at the noon briefing.

UN POLICE ARRESTS SUSPECTS IN TIMOR-LESTE VIOLENCE

In Timor-Leste, UN Police has arrested seven suspects in the burning of the house of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and 10 people for looting. A quantity of stolen property, including vehicles, television sets and refrigerators has been recovered. The police are in the process of identifying the owner of the goods.

The Special Representative to the Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced that the investigation of the December 4 violence continues.

He said that some discipline problems were evident within the Timor-Leste Police Service on that day, and immediate steps have been taken to deal with it. They include the suspension, pending investigation of conduct, of six officers.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The United Nations is marking the occasion of the terrorist bomb attacks in Bali, Indonesia, two months ago by opening a book of condolences, which all UN staff who want to pay their respects can sign at the main lobby of the Secretariat building; it is open for signing through today, after which it will be presented to the Indonesian Mission. Last night at the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Nitin Desai presented Indonesia with a plaque that is to be incorporated in a memorial on the site of the Bali attacks.

The Real Madrid football club and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are teaming up to raise a "Red card" to the child labour in its worst forms. About 246 million children worldwide are involved in child labour and nearly three quarters of them, about 180 million, are exposed to exploitative, often dangerous work. That equals one out of every eight children around the world. The Red Card to Child Labour campaign was launched on 18th January 2002 in Bamako, Mali.

Trinidad and Tobago ratified the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which now has 152 parties, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which now has 42 parties.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Saturday, December 14 The Security Council mission to Kosovo and Belgrade will arrive in Pristina and meet with senior officials of the UN Mission in Kosovo.

Sunday, December 15 The Security Council mission to Kosovo will visit Mitrovica and the Gnjilane region.

Monday, December 16 The Secretary-Generals report on children and armed conflict will be presented to the Security Council. Olara Otunnu, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, will be the guest at the noon briefing to discuss that report.

The Security Council will hold an open meeting and consultations on the Middle East, with UN Special Coordinator Terje Roed-Larsen briefing them. In the afternoon, it intends to hold consultations on Angola, with Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari briefing.

The latest report of the group monitoring sanctions against Al Qaeda is expected to be presented on Monday afternoon to the Security Council sanctions committee dealing with the issue.

The Security Council mission will leave Kosovo and arrive in Belgrade, where it will meet with Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and other senior officials.

Tuesday, December 17 The Secretary-General will speak at a ceremony in honor of John Whitehead of the School of Seton Hall Universitys Diplomacy and International Relations.

The Security Council will hold consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights. The mission to Kosovo and Belgrade, led by Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, will return to New York.

Wednesday, December 18 The Secretary-General will mark International Migrants Day with a message.

The Security Council will have an open briefing on the work by several Security Council sanctions committees.

The guest at the noon briefing will be the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis.

Thursday, December 19 The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Iraq and Kuwait. In the afternoon, it has also scheduled an open meeting on the work of its mission to Kosovo and Belgrade.

Friday, December 20 The Secretary-General is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., to attend a high-level meeting of the Quartet dealing with the Middle East, which brings together the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union.

If its work for the month is completed, the Security Council intends to hold an open meeting to wrap up its work during December. 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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