United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-04-08

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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

Tuesday, April 8, 2003

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight: IRAQ: SMALL NUMBERS TRICKLE INTO JORDAN/SYRIA, TRUCKS DELIVER AID

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported during todays daily humanitarian briefing in Amman that small numbers of Iraqis have started trickle into Jordan and Syria, but there are no reports of large-scale refugee movements. While there is no mass exodus, some Iraqis are starting to leave, braving an uncertain security situation on routes leading west while paying the high price demanded by taxis plying the roads. UNHCR added that no movements have been reported towards any of Iraq's other borders.

The World Food Programme has chartered trucks to travel from Turkey into northern Iraq to deliver some 6,000 tons of wheat. The wheat was purchased in Turkey with funds provided by the Canadian government. The agency says more than 23,000 people of Dohuk governorate (mainly in the area close to the Turkish border) are receiving their first full rations of wheat flour since well before the war began.

The UN Childrens Fund is also mounting trucking operations into North and Southern Iraq. UNICEF convoys will head to Dohuk in northern Iraq and a separate convoy of trucks is on its way to the southern Iraqi towns of Um Qail, South Basra, Safwan and Zubair. Since UNICEF began its humanitarian deliveries from Kuwait, 85 trucks have taken life-saving supplies into Southern Iraq.

UNICEF is concerned at reports from its drivers in southern Iraq of scenes of looting in certain areas they have visited, especially in Zubair where schools are being looted.

In response to a question on how the term "vital" role as used by President Bush would be interpreted, the Spokesman said the United Nations welcomed any indication of an important role in post-conflict Iraq. He said there was no clear sense of what that role might be and it would be determined by the Security Council.

The Spokesman was also asked about the difference between the role of a special advisor and a coordinator for Iraq and he responded that the term used to describe Rafeeudin Ahmeds role was focal point. He added that Ahmed would be based in New York and would not be traveling, neither would he be putting forward ideas to the Security Council for consideration but would remain available to the Council should they ask any questions.

The Spokesman was asked about the plight of journalists inside Iraq and he said the United Nations had no international staff in Iraq at present and could not verify stories that are being reported. He added that the Secretary-Generals concern had always been for the well-being of civilians and that included journalists. When asked if there would be action or a statement on the matter, he answered that the United Nations had no power to help as it had no presence in the country but could offer moral support and urge combatants to respect the rights and lives of civilians.

When asked if the Secretary-General would be disappointed if the United Nations were confined to a humanitarian role in post-conflict Iraq, the Spokesman replied that the United Nations was not seeking any particular role. If the Security Council asked the United Nations to coordinate humanitarian relief, it would do so. For the legitimacy of any new government in Iraq and the stability of the region it would be in everyones best interest if the international community were brought to play in establishing a government or authority, he added.

The Spokesman was asked if there was a role for Lakdhar Brahimi in post-conflict Iraq and he replied that Brahimi had his hands full with Afghanistan at present and it would not be realistic to consider him a role in Iraq.

IRAQ: OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME IDENTIFIES FOUR NEW SITES FOR DELIVERY

The Oil-for-Food Programme has identified four new locations for the delivery and transshipment of emergency food and other items to Iraq once security conditions allow. The new locations are in Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Kuwait. All offer the advantages of bulk handling facilities, warehousing for supplies and good road links with Iraq.

UN agencies and organizations are continuing to review contracts in the Oil-for-Food pipeline for items that will be useful in the current emergency and can be expedited.

The Spokesman was asked of the legality of the plan by the United States to use oil revenues in Iraq to pay for reconstruction, and he replied that the Security Council resolutions on Iraq were either still in force or suspended and that the Oil-for-Food programme still governed the sale of Iraqi oil.

UN COMPENSATION COMMISSION AWARDS $860 MILLION TO CLAIMANTS

The UN Compensation Commission today has made available more than $860 million to governments and to international organizations for distribution to 370 successful claimants.

The present payment brings the overall amount of compensation made available to date by the Compensation Commission to more than $17.5 billion.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES DR CONGO, IRAQ OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME

The Security Council began consultations today with a briefing by Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Council President, Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser of Mexico, in a statement to the press, condemned the offensive launched by the RCD/Goma in the east of the DRC and the massacres perpetrated in the Ituri region. The Council called for the perpetrators to be identified and brought to justice.

Yesterday, in a statement on reported massacres in the Ituri region of the DRC, the Secretary-General demanded that all concerned unconditionally respect the basic human rights of innocent civilians. He said that the reported massacres underscore the need for the local leaders to participate fully in the Ituri Pacification Committee, which has been established to find peaceful solutions in this troubled region.

The second item on todays consultations agenda is the "oil-for-food" program for Iraq during which Benon Sevan, the programs Executive Director, is expected to brief.

After the consultations end, the Security Council held a formal meeting and voted unanimously to adopt a resolution on the re-establishment of a Panel of Experts on Somalia sanctions.

UNICEF WARNS OF RISE IN HIV/AIDS IN ASIA

The United Nations Children's Fund has warned that children and young people in Asia are facing unprecedented risks form HIV\AIDS and other diseases due to the rapid spread of amphetamine-type drug abuse.

Asia has 33 million users of this type of drug and approximately two-thirds live in Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan. Children and young people account for the majority of new users, exposing them to risks of contracting HIV/AIDS and other diseases through the sharing of needles.

ANNAN LAUDS UN DOCTOR WHO IDENTIFIED SARS FROM WHICH HE DIED

The Secretary-General sent a message to the memorial service that was held today in Hanoi for Dr. Carlo Urbani, the first World Health Organization officer to identify Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS, from which he died.

The Secretary-General said if it had not been for his recognition that the outbreak was something out of the ordinary, many more would have fallen victim to SARS. " It was the cruelest of ironies, he said, that he lost his own life to SARS while seeking to safeguard others from the disease.

PROGRESS NOTED IN EFFORTS TO REDUCE ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs opened its 46th session in Vienna today, and, in a report submitted to the Commission, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said that efforts to reduce illicit drug abuse have shown signs of progress in recent years.

Costa noted promising results that have been achieved in reducing the areas under opium poppy and coca bush cultivation, by introducing alternative development strategies that give farmers an alternative to producing drugs.

He said that, in recent years, a large number of governments have incorporated demand reduction into their strategies to deal with drugs, and have also launched information campaigns on drugs. Costa also urged governments to work together in the fight against drugs, warning, Otherwise, problems are only pushed around, from one country to another, in a zero-sum game.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

PAVAROTTI/BONO TO RAISE FUNDS FOR IRAQ CONFLICT VICTIMS: UNHCR announced on Tuesday in Rome that the Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, will join hands with U2 Irish rock band leader Bono in May at a charity concert in Modena, Italy, to raise funds for people displaced by the Iraq conflict.

TOP UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL ALARMED BY REPORTED DEATHS IN DRC: High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello today said he was gravely alarmed by the reports received from the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of he Congo that more than 1,000 people had been killed in Drodro, north of the town of Bunia, in Ituri Province. He urged all the parties fighting in Ituri to find the perpetrators of these odious and criminal acts and bring them to justice.

SIERRA LEONEAN REFUGEES RETURN FROM GUINEA: The pace of repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees from Guinea has quickened over the past few days as the UN refugee agency began using a new shorter return route, raising hopes that the repatriation could be wrapped up by the end of next year.

RESOURCES TO COMBAT HIV/AIDS UNEVEN IN LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN: Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), is in Havana this week attending the Second Forum on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean. Piot said financial resources are uneven across the regions and available resources are often not allocated to the groups that are most at risk of infection. He said that prevention and care interventions must be sustained and strengthened, particularly amongst marginalized populations such as sex workers, injecting drug users and poor migrant workers.

YUGLOSAVIA TRIBUNAL DISMISSES THREE APPEALS: The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today dismissed appeals by three men who had been convicted of killing, torturing, sexually assaulting and otherwise abusing inmates at the Celebici camp in central Bosnia. The appeals chamber confirmed the existing sentences of nine years imprisonment given to Zdravko Mucic, of 18 years for Hazim Delic and of 15 years for Esad Landzo.

WORLDS LARGEST LESSON TO TAKE PLACE IN 100 COUNTRIES AT ONCE: Tomorrow, Nane Annan, wife of the Secretary-General, and world music star Angelique Kidjo will lead the UN Headquarters leg of the attempt to break the record for the worlds largest lesson that will take place simultaneously in 100 countries.

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