United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-03-14

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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, March 14, 2003

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: MIDDLE EAST: ANNAN WELCOMES IMMINENT RELEASE OF "ROAD MAP"

In a statement issued through his spokesman, Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the statement by President Bush this morning that the Road Map of the Quartet will be presented to the Israelis and Palestinians once the Palestinian Prime Minister has been confirmed in office. Since December 2002, the Secretary-General has been pressing for the Road Map to be adopted and presented to the parties as soon as possible.

The Secretary-General urged that, once the Road Map has been presented, its implementation by the parties will be pursued with persistence and determination.

MIDDLE EAST: ANNAN CONCERNED AT GROWING NUMBER OF CASUALTIES

In another statement issued through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General expressed his concern at the rising and alarming toll of casualties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the last 24 hours alone, eleven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids in the northern West Bank. In addition, three Israelis have been seriously wounded, two in Jerusalem and one near Hebron.

The Secretary-General urged the parties immediately to cease all forms of violence, to seize the opportunity to pursue the path to peace through political negotiations, and to act in strict compliance with their obligations towards civilians under international humanitarian law.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON COTE DIVOIRE

The Security Council met this morning in closed consultations on Cote d'Ivoire. Members were briefed for the first time by the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cote DIvoire Albert Tevoedjre, who reported on the situation in Côte dIvoire and the activities of the Committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement. Assistant- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi also briefed on the findings of the assessment mission he had conducted in Côte dIvoire.

[In a press statement read by Council President, Ambassador Mamady Traoré of Guinea, Council members welcomed the first meeting of the Government of National Reconciliation. They called upon all the parties to participate in subsequent meetings.They thanked ECOWAS, which, under the chairmanship of Ghana, had played an important role in that regard. They called again on all parties to implement fully and without delay the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement. They called on the new Government to draw up a timetable for the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement. Council members also condemned the renewal of fighting in the West of the country and the events that had transpired, in particular in Bangolo. They expressed concern at the fact that the fighting had essentially opposed Liberian combatants. They called on the parties to desist from the use of children in the conflict.]

The Security Council held a formal meeting and unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until September 15, 2003.

There are no closed consultations of the Security Council on Iraq scheduled for today. Informal discussions on Iraq among Council members are ongoing.

UNITED NATIONS DISCUSSES KHMER ROUGE TRIALS WITH CAMBODIA

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, today, the UN team led by Legal Counsel Hans Corell held intensive discussions with the Cambodian side. At an initial meeting, they worked through the text of a draft agreement between the Government and the United Nations concerning the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders.

The two delegations then broke for consultations before resuming in the evening. They covered all the articles of the draft Agreement and reached understanding on quite a few of them.

MORE MISSILES AND WARHEADS DESTROYED IN IRAQ

Teams from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) continued to supervise the destruction of Al Samoud 2 missiles and its components. Four more Al Samouds were destroyed, along with 7 warheads and some propellant tank cylinder parts, at the Taji Technical Battalion. Todays action brings the total number of Al Samoud 2 missiles destroyed to 65 along with 42 warheads.

Other teams from UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continued their activities, both in Mosul and the Baghdad region.

FOUR INDICTEES TO FACE SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT ON SATURDAY

The Special Court for Sierra Leone announced in Freetown today that former rebel leader Foday Sankoh and three others indicted by the Special Court for their role in the 10-year civil war will make their first appearance on Saturday.

Five out of seven, indicted by the Special Court, are in the custody of the Court. Indicted with outstanding warrants for their arrests are Johny Paul Koroma, former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and a former associate, Sam Bokarie, who is in Liberia.

The other three who will appear before the Special Court on Saturday are Issa Hassan Sessay, former Interim Head of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Alex Tamba Brima and Mr. Morris Kallon, former leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

David M. Crane, the Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, who announced the indictments on 10 March 2003 declared that "the international criminal case continues. Further indictments will follow."

In response to a question on the UN's role in the Court, the Spokesman said the United Nations cooperates with the Court and provides technical and logistical support.

[In a press statement, the Security Council welcomed the indictments as the start of a judicial process aimed at bringing to justice those individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for the suffering inflicted on the people of Sierra Leone.]

DRC PANEL SET TO BEGIN NEW SIX-MONTH MANDATE

The Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has gathered at the UN Headquarters, in preparation for formally beginning its work under its new six-month mandate.

The Panel is expected to arrive in Nairobi on March 24, to begin holding a series of meetings with those identified in the Expert's most recent report as participating in illicit or criminal exploitation of raw materials in the DRC.

Ambassador Mahmoud Kassem, Chairman of the Expert Panel called the new mandate a challenging one: In carrying it out, the Panel hopes to contribute concretely to advancing the peace process in the DRC, he said.

The Expert Panel will present a briefing to the Security Council after three months of fieldwork and submit a report at the end of its mission to the Secretary-General.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN UZBEKISTAN: UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Deputy UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan visited Uzbekistan from 11 to 13 March 2003.

In meetings with Government officials, he called for the tangible implementation in practice of the commitment to human rights. He noted that many problems prevailed and urged corrective measures.

The Deputy High Commissioner noted that, in several instances, interim measures of protection ordered by human rights treaty bodies had not been respected and that persons had even been executed notwithstanding such orders. He urged respect for such interim measures.

Ramcharan is now in Turkmenistan, on the last leg of his five-country tour of Central Asia. He visited Azerbaijan briefly on 13 March, where he discussed, among other issues, the publication in the Azeri language of the United Nations manual on the independence of judges and lawyers.

AFGHANISTAN DEMINING PROGRAMME SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH USAID

Under the coordination of the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan, a contract signing ceremony took place today in Kabul, between USAID and demining agencies of the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA).

MAPA will contribute US$ 7.5 million for the clearance of a portion of the road between Kabul and Kandahar and up to 1000 reconstruction projects throughout Afghanistan in 2003.

In 2002, roughly 25 square kilometers of mined area and over 75 square kilometers of former battlefield area have been cleared of mines and explosive remnants of war. In addition, close to 3 million civilians were given mine risk education training.

COLOMBIAN COCA CROP REPORT TO BE RELEASED ON MONDAY

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Colombian Government will issue Colombia's 2002 Survey of Coca Crop next Monday.

The report, which will be launched in simultaneous press conferences in Brussels and Bogota, will contain information about the extent of the cultivation and the volume of cocaine production, with detailed data covering underlying trends and causes of shifts.

Colombia produces nearly 80 percent of the world's cocaine.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

REPORTS OF REFUGEES HARASSED IN CHAD: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that the number of Central African refugees and Chadian returnees arriving in southern Chad over the past week totaled more than 4,000, bringing to some 30,000 the overall number of arrivals since mid-February. UNHCR expressed concern very worrying reports of harassment of refugees, particularly of refugee women, by Chadian soldiers. They are alleged to have repeatedly tried to abduct refugee women from a refugee transit center in the town of Gore.

HIV INFECTIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ATTRIBUTED TO UNSAFE SEXUAL PRACTICES: An expert group has reaffirmed to the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, that the vast majority of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to unsafe sexual practices. The group says that the promotion of safe sex practices must remain the primary feature of prevention programmes in the region. The group also said that recent suggestions that unsafe medical practices, particularly unsafe injections, were responsible for the majority of new infections, was not supported by the evidence available.

UN BUDGET: The Republic of Korea today made a payment of more than $9 million to the peacekeeping budget.

WEEKEND MEETING ON IRAQ: The Spokesman was asked if the Secretary-General would be attending Sunday's meeting in the Azores between the leaders of the United States, United Kingdom and Spain. He replied that he Secretary-General had not been invited to the meeting and therefore would not be participating. Responding to another question on whether the Secretary-General thought the meeting would undermine the Security Council, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General welcomed any efforts to find a peaceful solution to the situation.

UNITING FOR PEACE: In response to a question on whether it would be possible for the NGO Greenpeace to bring a motion forward to the General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace resolution on the situation in Iraq, the Spokesman replied that Greenpeace could not bring a motion to the Assembly. He added that the Non-Aligned movement was currently talking about a Uniting for Peace resolution.

FUTURE OF OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAM IN IRAQ: The Spokesman was asked what the future of the Oil for Food Programme would be following military action on Iraq and he replied that the programme was one of a few Security Council mandated programmes and the Council would have to make a judgement on the programmes. In the contingency planning, the possibility of continuing the aid provided by the Programme was being considered but the Council would have to make the final decision. UN funds and programmes have a mandate to assist in the case of a catastrophe and they would have their own plans in case of a war. A peaceful solution is still being pursued but the agencies are preparing to act if they are called on to do so.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

March 14, 2003

Sunday, March 16

The World Water Forum will begin in Kyoto, continuing through March 23.

Monday, March 17

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: The Secretary-General will address a meeting of task force coordinators for the Millennium Development Goals.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: The Human Rights Commission will begin its annual session in Geneva.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: Tuesday, March 18

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: The Security Council has scheduled an open debate on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and the use of mercenaries, as threats to peace in West Africa.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: Wednesday, March 19

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing and consultations on the Middle East, including the question of Palestine.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: During the week, the Security Council expects to receive reports on the UN Missions in Sierra Leone, Western Sahara and Afghanistan.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: Friday, March 21

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme will deliver a message on behalf of the Secretary-General to the Ministerial Segment of the World Water Forum.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

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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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