United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-07-01

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY HUA JIANG

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, July 1, 2003

ANNAN RENEWS CALL FOR LIBERIA FORCE, SAYS SITUATION IS URGENT

Speaking to the press in Bern, Switzerland, Secretary-General Kofi Annan renewed his appeal for a prompt and quick decision on the deployment of a multi-national force to Liberia, saying the situation is urgent.

In response to a question from a reporter about the Security Councils reaction to his appeal made in a letter to the Security Council, he said, I would have preferred an urgent reaction but apparently they are talking amongst themselves, and from what I hear, Washington is also considering the request... my appeal that a force be sent to Liberia urgently is being discussed amongst senior officials in Washington."

Monday afternoon, the Security Council held closed-door consultations to discuss the Secretary-General's letter and afterwards, the Council President for June, Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, said members all shared the concern of the Secretary-General and shared the analysis of the secretariat of the situation in Liberia given during the briefing. He said the Security Council would continue discussing the request after the return of a Council mission next Saturday from West Africa where it is "at this moment discussing the issue on the ground.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that it is making preparations to carry out an evacuation by sea of Sierra Leonean refugees trapped in Monrovia. More than 1,000 Sierra Leonean refugees and displaced Liberians are encamped in UN and embassy premises throughout the city.

Relief assistance to displaced refugees and Liberians has been sporadic. Delivery of aid to the needy populations has been severely hampered by the massive looting and insecurity that have swept Monrovia since the rebel offensive began. UNHCR says for examples, its warehouses in Monrovia are empty after looters carted away supplies of blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheeting provided to refugees to cover their shelters, kitchen sets and other material.

On a related matter, the Security Councils sanctions committee on Liberia has issued a revised list of members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) put out by the Security Council sanctions committee on Liberia.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TO MEET LIBERIAN PARTIES TOMORROW

The Security Council mission to West Africa headed by British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock is wrapping up a day and a half of meetings in Cote DIvoire where they just met with President Laurent Gbagbo.

During their stay in Abidjan, the mission reviewed the status of implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis peace agreement by all the parties and pledged support of the international community in the implementation of the accord.

Tomorrow, the Security Council Mission will return to Ghana for talks with the parties involved in the Liberian peace talks, as well as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the ECOWAS mediator, Gen. Abdelsalami Abubakar, and the Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Abou Moussa.

While in Accra, Ghana, yesterday, the Ghanian Foreign Minister Akufo Addo said ECOWAS was prepared to increase the number of troops in Cote dIvoire and to commit a force to Liberia, but was seeking funding to do so from those countries in a position to provide it. Ghanas President John Agyekum Kufuor currently holds the rotating chairmanship of ECOWAS.

The Council mission expressed pleasure that President Kumba Yala of Guinea-Bissau, following the Missions visit, had, as agreed, announced the date for legislative elections, to take place on 12

Asked if the members of the Security Council were planning to travel to Liberia, the Deputy Spokesman said that the trip to Monrovia had been cancelled because of the volatile security situation there.

SPAIN ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF SECURITY COUNCIL FOR JULY

Today is the first day of the Spanish Presidency of the Security Council.

Ambassador Inocencio F. Arias of Spain, who succeeds Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov as President of the Security Council, is holding bilateral meetings with Council members on the program of work for the month ahead.

He is scheduled to brief reporters here in Room 226 at approximately 12:45 p.m. tomorrow on the July program

ANNAN: NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT MUST WORK TO BRING OUT PEACE IN DRC

The Secretary-General, in a statement released through his Spokesman, welcomes the announcement made last night by DRC President Joseph Kabila, naming the Ministers of the new Government of National Unity.

The Secretary-General looks forward to the inauguration of this transitional government as soon as possible.

He calls on the Government of National Unity to seize this opportunity to work together to bring about peace and stability in the country.

Meanwhile in Kinshasa, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) also welcomed the formation of the Transitional Government. Kabila named the government yesterday which comprise 36 ministers and 25 deputy ministers divided among the main rebel movements, the Government and the political oppositions.

In a press release, the UN Mission expressed the hope that the ceasefire would also be implemented in other parts of the country, in particular the eastern and the north eastern part and the State would be extended to the whole of the DRC.

Asked if the Secretary-General would be attending the inauguration, the Deputy Spokeswoman said she was not aware of any invitation extended to the Secretary-General.

ANNAN IN BERN, SWITZERLAND, FOR AN OFFICIAL VISIT

The Secretary-General paid a one day official visit to Bern, Switzerland today. He first met with Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss Foreign Minister. Their meeting was followed by a ceremony at which the Secretary-General was awarded the first Ole Prize of the Childrens Parliament of the City of Bern.

With this prize, he said to the six children-parliamentarians, you are not only honouring me but the whole United Nations, and its work for a more peaceful, healthier, and fairer world.

The Secretary-General then held a working session with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Couchepin. They discussed the situation in Iraq, and in particular, the role of the UN in the region; Afghanistan, and the Middle East and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

In responding to a question regarding the Middle East, the Secretary-General said that he was encouraged by the developments in the last 72 hours. We see it as a beginning, but we have quite a long way to go, he said, adding the decision of the Palestinian groups to agree to a ceasefire is important. I want to see a situation where all these movements and groups are transformed into political parties to play a role in democratic Palestine.

The Secretary-General will now take a break before he travels to Maputo, Mozambique on July 7 to attend the African Union Summit.

UN ENVOY CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT HUMAN RIGHTS BODY IN IRAQ

From Baghdad, the Secretary-General Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, today closed the workshop on transitional justice which we mentioned yesterday.

In his closing statement, de Mello referred to the suggestion proposed during the Workshop regarding the establishment of a national independent human rights commission to monitor current violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Everyone, he said, meaning the executive arm of the Iraqi Interim Administration, interim ministers to be designated, the CPA, the UN all political actors need to know that its behaviour is being monitored by an independent Iraqi body and that none will be above scrutiny of the law and international norms.

Participants in the workshop were encouraged to take the discussions of the past two days back to the people, to argue, refine and further elaborate the process. The United Nations will now facilitate nationwide discussions aimed at identifying further action required to address past violations.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy for Iraq, Dennis McNamara, was to arrive in Baghdad today. UNHCR is making efforts to arrange for the early and organized returns of some small groups of Iraqi refugees from Iran. In parallel, the return of Iranian refugees from Iraq will be resumed. The Iranian government agreed on this approach. Concrete progress on organized returns is necessary in order to avoid potential spontaneous and unorganized movement of returnees across the border. McNamara hopes that the mutual repatriation operation will begin within weeks.

MIDEAST: UN ENVOY BRIEFS SAUDI MINISTER ON QUARTET MEETING

Terje Roed-Larsen, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, is Saudi Arabia today where he met with Prince Saud Al Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister.

Larsen briefed the Saudi Minister on the Quartet meeting in Jordan. Both sides are of the opinion that now there are positive developments regarding the implementation of the road map peace plan and it is essential that the international key players stay in close contact in order to coordinate efforts to reach a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, Larsen said.

Larsen praised Saudi Arabias constructive role in shaping and moving forward the road map consistent with Crown Prince Abdullahs initiative that was adopted by the Arab summit in Beirut. The Saudi Foreign Minister and the United Nations Special Envoy agreed to stay in close contact.

He will be traveling next to Egypt and Jordan as part of his regional tour following the recent Quartet meeting.

IAEA CHIEF TO VISIT IRAN TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR SAFEGUARDS

Mohamed El Baradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will travel to Iran next week for further talks on the implementation of the Agencys safeguards agreements in Iran.

The talks will mainly focus on outstanding issues identified in the Director Generals report, which stated that Iran had failed to report material,and activities associated with its nuclear programme.

On June 19, the Agencys Board called on Iran to allow environmental sampling of alleged enrichment activities and agree to enhanced inspections of its nuclear programmes.

El Baredei is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on 9 July.

SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE ON KOSOVO SELF-GOVERNMENT; MUCH REMAINS

Published today is the Secretary-Generals latest report on the UN mission in Kosovo UNMIK.

In it, he says that four years into the missions mandate, Kosovo has made significant progress in achieving substantial autonomy and self-government, as required under resolution 1244. However, major challenges remain.

The guiding principle for the mission remains working towards the benchmarks set out by his Special Representative, Michael Steiner, within the standards before status policy.

He notes that continuing unilateral calls, from Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo Albanians and Belgrade, for mutually exclusive approaches to Kosovos future have continued. These calls, he says, not only do not contribute to reconciliation and inter ethnic dialogue but they can have a detrimental effect on Kosovos progress. The Secretary-General, therefore, welcomes the recent indications that Prisitina and Belgrade are prepared to enter into a dialogue on practical issues.

Concerning the return of minorities to Kosovo, the Secretary-General writes of the importance of involving municipal authorities in this area. Funding of activities relating to the return of minorities should come from Kosovos consolidated budget.

Steiner is expected to present the report to the Security Council on Thursday, and then give a press conference. This will be his last press conference in his current capacity at UN headquarters as he is leaving his post July 8th.

WITH NO NEW SARS CASES REPORTED, WHO WINDS DOWN EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that no new probable cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome have been reported globally since 15 June. Following the situation, WHO is moving from an emergency response to a research-based agenda, aimed at protecting the world against any future resurgence of SARS.

According to WHO, further progress in the scientific understanding of SARS will depend on continued international collaboration.

The latest statistics indicate a total of 8447 probable SARS cases, including 811 deaths worldwide.

WHO is also concerned about the increasing worldwide problem of the failure of patients, and the lack of medical support for them, to take prescribed medicine for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS and depression. The poor adherence to long-term treatment is particularly observed in all situations where the self-administration of treatment is required.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER BACKS FORUM BARCELONA 2004

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed its support for Forum Barcelona 2004, an event being organized by UNESCO and Spain that intends to serve as a dialogue on cultural and social challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.

OHCHR will take part in the Forums dialogues and work with the organizers on the preparatory stages for the event will run from May to September of next year.

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