United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-04-22

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY HUA JIANG

DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

ANNAN IN VIENNA SAYS HE EXPECTS IMPORTANT UN ROLE IN IRAQ

This morning in Vienna, Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with the Director-General of the UN Office in Vienna, Antonia Maria Costa, saying afterward that he was encouraged by the reforms and changes taking place in Vienna, as well as the collegial atmosphere there.

He spoke to UN staff at the Vienna International Centre, telling them that he thinks the United Nations has an important role to play in post-conflict Iraq, and that he expects, in the not-too-distant future, that we should be able to come to some understanding as to how collectively we pool our efforts to work with the Iraqi people to establish a peaceful, stable Iraq, run by and for the Iraqis.

Asked about the challenges the United Nations faces because of the Iraq crisis, he told the staff, The UN has been through crises before, and I hope and trust we will come through this one. What is important now, he said, is to heal the differences that emerged as a result of the crisis, which he believes can be done if the post-conflict situation is handled well.

He added that, while discussions take place in the Security Council to clarify the nature of a UN role, the United Nations is continuing to perform its humanitarian work and also needs to work with the Iraqis to re-establish the distribution scheme that existed, to allow the oil-for-food program to be implemented fully.

At noon, the Secretary-General met with Austrian President Thomas Klestil, and said afterward that they discussed the situation in Iraq and the UN role in that country, and they also talked about the need to press ahead with the Quartets road map to resolve the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Asked by a reporter whether June 3 could be a realistic date for lifting sanctions on Iraq, he noted that the June 3 date was intended to review the oil-for-food program and added, I think sanctions have to be lifted some day, and I hope the Council will focus on what needs to be done for it to be lifted.

Asked about the UN role in Iraq, he said that was a matter for the Council to discuss, and added that the United Nations has played important roles in many countries dealing with reconstruction, facilitation of political processes, human rights and other issues.

He then went on, We should also bear in mind that we have other major challenges that require us to work together, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism and the battle to reduce poverty. So I hope we will all realize that we do need each other, he concluded, and that we need to come together and focus on what needs to be done.

This evening, the Secretary-General and his wife, Nane Annan, will attend a dinner in their honor, hosted by Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

While the Secretary-General was meeting with Antonio Maria Costa in the morning, Nane Annan was briefed by experts from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on alternative development programs for farmers involved in the cultivation of illicit crops in Central Asia and the Andean region of Latin America.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES WEAPONS INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ

This morning, the Security Council held the first of two sets of consultations on Iraq, hearing from Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Asked by reporters on his way in to the building this morning what he was going to tell the Council today, Blix said he will talk about the readiness of UNMOVIC to go back to Iraq but also about the need for some signals on, and adjustments of, the basis for its work there by the Security Council.

Blix added he did not think it would be possible for UNMOVIC to do any sort of verification without physically being back in Iraq. We are not an auditing firm, he said.

Also during this mornings consultations, Gustavo Zlauvinen, head of the New York office of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), briefed the Council on the Agencys 15th report to the Security Council assessing nuclear disarmament in Iraq.

The report concludes that, as of March 17, when IAEA inspectors left Iraq before the onset of military action, the IAEA had found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq.

Nevertheless, the agency adds, it had not completed its investigations, and the report says that the IAEA, as the sole legal authority to verify Iraqs nuclear activities, remains ready, subject to Security Council guidance, to resume its verification activities as soon as conditions permit.

Present in the consultations was Rafeeuddin Ahmed, the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser who has been assisting the UN system in thinking about possible UN involvement in a post-war Iraq.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO RECEIVE BRIEFING ON OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAM

This afternoon at 3:30, Benon Sevan, head of the Office of the Iraq Programme, will brief on the oil-for-food program.

The Office of the Iraq Programme reports today that an ongoing review of priority items in the oil-for-food pipeline for Iraq has so far identified $455 million worth of supplies that are shippable within the 45-day timeline adopted last month by the UN Security Council. Most are already in transit to Iraq.

UN AGENCIES SAY SITUATION IN IRAQ IS IMPROVING BUT PRECARIOUS

The humanitarian situation in Iraq is slowly improving, but remains precarious, UN humanitarian agencies say.

In the north, food shipments by the World Food Programme (WFP) continue from Turkey and from Iran, while the UN Childrens Fund UNICEF) has brought in almost $2 million of emergency supplies into northern Iraq from Turkey since March 28.

UNICEF adds that its staff in Baghdad say the situation there has marginally improved, with the condition of health and other vital services no longer deteriorating, although the services have stabilized at a low level that still leaves children at great risk. As the situation in Baghdad improves, more UNICEF local staff are returning for work, and more doctors are reporting for duty at local health clinics.

WFP also sent today its first aid convoy from Damascus to the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which should enter Iraq on Wednesday. The convoy is composed of 20 trucks carrying 1,000 tons of wheat flour.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the health assessments in Baghdad, Tikrit and Mosul show the situation is improving, but still tense. WHO is urgently working to arrange the delivery from Jordan to Baghdad of basic kits to deal with hepatitis C and AIDS, as well as of oxygen cylinders. WHOs Baghdad office is operational, working at a temporary site after its previous office was completely damaged and looted.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, meanwhile, noted the deportation by Syria on Monday of 32 Iraqi refugees from the El Hol camp.

Asked about the return of UN staff to Iraq, the Spokeswoman noted that the United Nations priority is to provide humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people, and that the United Nations is planning to go back into all parts of Iraq as the security condition permits.

Asked further about plans for the return of UN staff, she said that the United Nations was awaiting word from the authorities on the ground that a permissive environment had been secured. That assurance, she added, has been given for some towns in southern Iraq and the three northern governorates, but not for Baghdad so far.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CONCERNED BY EXPULSIONS IN NORTH IRAQ

High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello has echoed the concerns voiced by the Secretary-General regarding the reported expulsion of Arabs in northern Iraq, especially around the area of Kirkuk.

The High Commissioner recalled that on a number of occasions in the lead-up to the conflict, he had raised the possible problem of retribution and the displacement of people who had been brought to this area under the Arabization program of the previous Government. That is taking place now.

The High Commissioner said these were problems that could have been foreseen, and that action should be taken now to protect these populations from intimidation, forced expulsion and other abuses.

WHO TEAM ARRIVES IN SHANGHAI TO INVESTIGATE SARS OUTBREAK

A six-member expert team of the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived Monday in Shanghai to investigate the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, there. The WHO team will conduct a four-day probe in which they will confer with local health authorities, inspect hospitals and examine measures taken to prevent and control the spread of SARS.

WHO says that, in an indication that the Chinese leadership is now taking seriously the need for transparency in SARS reporting, the Health Minister and Beijing mayor were both removed from their Communist Party posts. China also reduced its traditional week-long May Day holiday to a single day, to prevent the massive movement and the possible spread of the disease.

The latest statistics indicate a total of 3,861 reported SARS cases, with 271 deaths, in 26 countries.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN APPEAL FOR HAITI: In Port-au-Prince today, the UN country team for Haiti appealed for $84 million to address the emergency needs of the poorest of Haitis 8.3 million people over the next 18 months. The Integrated Emergency Response Programme will address urgent needs for food security, improved water and sanitation, access to health and education, and mitigation of natural disasters.

ANGOLA MEASLES CAMPAIGN: The UN Children's Fund said that Angola's biggest-ever health campaign had been launched, aiming to inoculate seven million Angolan children against measles.

LETTER FROM UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENTS: The past Presidents of the General Assembly, who have a Council of Presidents to represent them, wrote the Secretary-General recently to give them their full support in the present climate of international tension.

TREATY SIGNINGS: This morning, India formally ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. On Monday afternoon, Spain signed the Agreement of Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article