United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-02-10

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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

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, February 10, 2003

There will be no noon briefing tomorrow, Tuesday, February 11, 2003, as it is an official UN holiday (Eid Al Adha). The briefing will resume Wednesday, February 12, 2003.

ANNAN URGES COLLECTIVE, MULTILATERAL APPROACH ON IRAQ

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Saturday asserted the unique legitimacy of the United Nations in dealing with the question of Iraq, and urged that United Nations unity on the issue be maintained.

In remarks to a 5,000-strong audience on the occasion of the 310th anniversary of the founding of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, he said, If we succeed in getting Iraq to comply fully and disarm, by effective and credible inspections, then the prize is great.

The Secretary-General also reiterated his belief that all possibilities of a peaceful settlement should be exhausted before resorting to the use of force.

He said, War is always a human catastrophe a course that should only be considered when all other possibilities have been exhausted, and when it's obvious that the alternative is worse.

He went on to say, if Iraq fails to make use of this last chance, and continues its defiance, the Council will have to make another grim choice, and must face up to its responsibilities.

Only a collective, multilateral approach can effectively curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and make the world a safer place.

He also said, Nothing, of course, would undermine that goal more fatally than the actual use of weapons of mass destruction. I must therefore solemnly warn all parties to forswear any use of such weapons, in Iraq or anywhere else. Any person who ordered or took part in their use would incur the gravest responsibility.

He told the audience, When there is strong U.S. leadership, exercised through patient diplomatic persuasion and coalition-building, the United Nations is successful and the United States is successful. The United Nations is most useful to all its members, including the United States, when it is united, and works as a source of collective action rather than discord.

The Secretary-General received an honorary degree from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the college's chancellor.

UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS REPORT SOME PROGRESS AFTER BAGHDAD TALKS

The Executive-Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), Hans Blix, and the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, left Baghdad early this morning after two days of talks with Iraqi officials.

At a press briefing Sunday, ElBaradei said the talks had three main objectives - "full inspection, full Iraqi cooperation, and movement on the remaining disarmament issues" - and that "good progress" was made on all these issues.

Blix noted that while Iraq has been helpful on process, we distinguish between cooperation on process and cooperation on substance. He added that cooperation on substance has been less good.

He said that in the two days of talks he had seen the beginning of [the Iraqis] taking these remaining disarm issues more seriously.

The UNMOVIC chief told reporters that he and ElBaradei had discussed their need for aerial surveillance. He said the Iraqi side had not raised any difficulties concerning the use of German made unmanned drones which are already in Iraq. Concerning the U2 planes, Blix said he expected a response from Iraq by Friday.

Both Blix and ElBaradei are expected to brief the Security Council on Friday.

Meanwhile, the inspectors work continued during the high-level visit. UNMOVIC and IAEA teams inspected a wide variety of sites including a water plant, a grain handling facility and a technical training school.

UNMOVIC sought a private interview with a biological scientist. While he made the appointment alone, he did not agree to the mode of interview, as proposed by UNMOVIC. The interview, therefore, did not proceed.

The IAEA conducted a private interview with a chemical engineer. No Iraqi witness was present during the interview, which lasted approximately two and a half hours. A broad range of technical matters was covered during the interview.

Asked about the format for Fridays briefing, the Spokesman said he did not believe a final decision had been taken by the Security Council but that the current plan was for the briefing was it to be conducted in closed consultations. The Spokesman added that he would inform correspondents when the format of the meeting is finalized.

Asked if UNMOVICs mandate had an end date, the Spokesman later added that UNMOVICs mandate, as created by Security Council resolution 1284 (1999), is open ended.

ANNAN DEEPLY SHOCKED BY TERROR ATTACK IN BOGOTA

According to a statement released through his Spokesman on Saturday, the Secretary-General was deeply shocked by the terrible terrorist attack on a crowded social club in Bogotá last night.

The Secretary-General expressed his profound sympathy for the victims and for their families.

He strongly condemned this cruel bombing and all other terrorist attacks by any actor in the conflict. Their ends do not justify the means. The heartless killing of innocent civilians will only deepen the conflict and further undermine hopes for peace that Colombia seeks and deserves.

UNRWA: OPERATIONS COULD GRIND TO HALT WITHOUT FRESH FUNDS

This morning, Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) issued an appeal to the international community not to let the West Bank and Gaza slide down its list of priorities as the world focuses on a potential conflict in Iraq.

Hansen also issued a stark warning that UNRWAs emergency activities in the West Bank and Gaza will run out of resources and come to an end by late March including the feeding of 1.1 million people unless donations are received immediately from the international community.

We are scraping the bottom of every barrel and stretching every dollar we have, but without immediate donations our emergency operations are going to grind to a halt, Hansen said.

He added: The international community must not allow the occupied territory to slip from its sight. Tensions are too high and the need too great.

In December UNRWA asked the international community for $94 million to support its emergency programmes in the territories for the first six months of 2003. So far no funds have been received and only a small portion of the Agencys needs have been promised.

The lack of donations means that already UNRWA has been forced to cut the size of the ration package it gives to 120,000 refugee families in Gaza while in the West Bank 1,600 emergency staff are to be laid off and payment for refugee hospitalization is being stopped.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ON ANGOLA ON WEDNESDAY

The Security Council has scheduled no meetings or consultations today.

As tomorrow (Tuesday) is a UN holiday, the next scheduled Council meeting is on Wednesday when consultations on Angola are planned. The Secretary-General's Report on the UN Mission in Angola (UNMA), which was issued as a document today after the briefing, will be discussed.

[In the report, the Secretary-General, says that the UN mission has completed its mandated political tasks, as set out in resolution 1433 of 15 August 2002. However, he says, the residual tasks including in the areas of human rights, mine action, reintegration and resettlement of ex-combatants, humanitarian assistance, economic recovery and electoral assistance, require continued attention and support.

The Secretary-General proposes that the UN Resident Coordinator resume the responsibility for UN activities in Angola upon the conclusion of the UNMA mandate on February 15, 2003. "The Office of the Resident Coordinator will be strengthened for this transitional period by adding a unit under his supervision to address the residual tasks, for which additional resources may be required."]

UN ENVOY EXPRESSES HOPE AT INT'L SECURITY FORCE HANDOVER IN KABUL

In Kabul today, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi attended the handover ceremony of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command from Turkey to Germany and the Netherlands.

The handover was presided by President Hamid Karzai. In addition to the outgoing and incoming Force Commanders, the Defense Ministers of Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands were also present.

Brahimi said in his remarks, I think on days like this what one really feels is a sense of hope; the difficulties are enormous, its a huge mountain

He went on to say that On days like this one feels that it is do-able. It is do-able because the people of Afghanistan are tired of war, they are tired of conflict, they are tired of this destruction that has descended on them for so many years.

They would like to enjoy a little bit of peace, a little bit of stability and they are counting on the international community to help them do that, he said.

ANNAN TO MEET WITH G8 REPRESENTATIVES ON ACTION PLAN FOR AFRICA

This afternoon, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with ambassadors from 17 African countries to discuss with them the follow-up to the Group of Eights Action Plan on Africa, agreed to at last years G8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada.

The Secretary-General intends to discuss with the ambassadors how to move forward the Action Plan, which is intended to support African countries as they implement the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD).

FIRST JUDGES FOR INT'L CRIMINAL COURT ELECTED AFTER 33 ROUNDS OF VOTING

The Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court last Friday night completed its work by electing the Courts first 18 judges, who will be sworn in during a ceremony on March 11 at The Hague.

It took 33 rounds of voting by the 85 eligible States over four days before all 18 judges including 11 men and seven women were elected. The Prosecutor for the Court is now expected to be elected at the Assemblys next session, in April.

The winners included the Presidents of both UN Tribunals Judge Navenethem Pillay (South Africa) of the International Tribunal for Rwanda, and Judge Claude Jorda (France) of the one for the former Yugoslavia.

Asked about the overlap in jurisdiction between this court and other international criminal courts, the Spokesman said that up to now cases had only been dealt by ad-hoc courts with specific mandates while this new court would now be able to take on any cases after its creation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

COTE D'IVOIRE: Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-Generals Humanitarian Envoy for Cote dIvoire, continued her mission to the region with a stop in Mali today. This is her last stop in the region as she makes her way back to New York, with an expected stop in Europe.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that it is in the process of delivering 23 tons of Emergency Kits, 33 tons of food and 40 tons of seeds and tools to the population in the town of Yumbi, in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was hit by a tornado that left some 1,700 families without shelter.

CYPRUS: Asked about details of the Secretary-General Special Envoy on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, trip to New York, the Spokesman said de Soto was expected to be at the United Nations on Tuesday and Wednesday. Asked to comment on the possibility that the Secretary-General would submit a second revision to his plan, the Spokesman said we would not comment on such matters.

TREATY: This afternoon, Afghanistan is scheduled to become the 89th country to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

BUDGET: Canada made a payment to the UN Peacekeeping budget of more than $20 million.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

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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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