United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-07-07

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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 SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, July 7, 2003

ANNAN WELCOMES LIBERIAN PRESIDENT'S RESIGNATION OFFER

Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed Liberian President Charles Taylors decision to resign from office and leave Liberia in the interest of peace in his country. The Secretary-General sees this development as a significant turning point as Liberia strives to move from war to peace. He recalled that the Presidents decision is consistent with the undertaking he announced on June 4 in Accra, Ghana, at the opening of the ECOWAS-sponsored peace talks on Liberia.

The Secretary-General called on the Liberian people to build on the momentum generated by President Taylors decision and work together in the national interest and in a spirit of reconciliation and mutual accommodation in order to achieve an early comprehensive peace agreement, which would help restore genuine and lasting democracy to their country. As a first step to that end, the Secretary-General encouraged the Liberian stakeholders to elaborate an inclusive and orderly transitional arrangement as envisaged in the 17 June cease-fire agreement.

As the people of Liberia embark on turning a new page towards a more peaceful future, the Secretary-General strongly believes that concrete and immediate steps should be taken to end the widespread suffering and oppression which warlords, militia forces and other armed groups have for far too long inflicted on Liberian society. The Secretary-General reminded all concerned that they would be held individually and collectively accountable for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and war crimes.

The Secretary-General reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to continue to work with ECOWAS and other international partners, to support the early restoration of sustainable peace and stability to Liberia, including through the deployment of a multinational stabilization force.

Asked about the conversation between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Charles Taylor of Liberia, the Deputy Spokeswoman would only confirm that the Secretary-General had called President Taylor and that they had discussed the situation in Liberia and President Taylors next move. The Deputy Spokeswoman added that the Secretary-General recently had a number of conversations with US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Deputy Spokeswoman refused to comment on reports that the Secretary-General is playing a role in arranging for President Taylors departure from Liberia.

Asked about the status of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, she said that it had been created with UN assistance, but was an independent Court which was the master of its own proceedings.

LIBERIA PEACE TALKS RESUME AS TIMBER SANCTIONS TAKE EFFECT

The Liberian Peace Talks resumed in Accra, Ghana, today after a one-week adjournment. The ECOWAS Special Mediator, Gen. Abdulsalaami Abubakar, held a series of meetings with representatives of the various groups to discuss their views on a comprehensive peace plan for Liberia.

The groups include the Government of Liberia, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, the Movement for Democracy and Elections in Liberia, political parties and civil society.

The Secretary-Generals Representative for Liberia, Abou Moussa, has been in Accra. In addition, the Secretary-General has dispatched his Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.

Also on Liberia, a 10-month ban on the import of all round logs and timber products originating from Liberia went into effect today. The measure was contained in Security Council Resolution 1478, which extended sanctions against Liberia until May 7, 2004.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reports that 300 Sierra Leonean refugees evacuated from war-torn Liberia arrived safely in the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown over the weekend aboard a UNHCR-chartered rescue ship. The ship, the MV Overbeck, arrived in Freetown on Saturday night in the first voyage of an emergency evacuation aimed at bringing home thousands of Sierra Leonean refugees currently stranded in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

ANNAN STRONGLY DEPLORES TERROR ATTACKS IN PAKISTAN, RUSSIA

In a statement released through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General was shocked to learn of the terrorist attacks over the weekend in a Shiite mosque in Quetta and during a concert in Moscow. More than 50 people were killed in Quetta and at least 13 in Moscow.

The Secretary-General strongly deplored the loss of so many innocent lives and reiterated his strongest condemnation of such violent acts of terrorism for which there can be no justification.

The Secretary-General expressed his sympathy to the bereaved families. He is sending letters of condolence to the Governments of Pakistan and the Russian Federation.

UN IRAQ ENVOY CONDEMNS ATTACK ON HUMANITARIAN OFFICE IN MOSUL

On Saturday, in Mosul, northern Iraq, a rocket propelled grenade was fired at a compound used by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A local guard was wounded. Two IOM vehicles along with the wall of the compound were also damaged.

In a statement issued in Baghdad, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, condemned that attack, as he would any attack on international and non-governmental organizations.

COUNCIL BRIEFED HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE DR CONGO

The Security Council held a formal meeting today on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jean-Marie Guehenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, introduced two reports on the situation in the region of Ituri, specifically in the areas of Mambasa and Drodro.

He noted that the total breakdown of law and order under which Ituri currently exists means that no one is held accountable for the atrocities committed in these areas. He underscored that there cannot be any real peace without an end to impunity.

This emphasis was also echoed by Bertrand Ramcharan, the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his briefing to the Council on the DRC.

In the report you have considered today there is incontrovertible evidence pointing to the criminal responsibility of particular individuals. They must know from this Security Council that they will be brought to justice, he said. In the final analysis, human rights are the measure and international security must be achieved through human security.

On the ground, the new head of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC), William Swing, arrived in Bunia on Sunday, where he met the multinational force's commander, General Jean-Paul Thonier. The meeting took place just after he assumed duties as MONUC head. Swing also held talks with the humanitarian community as well as the representatives of the Ituri Interim Administration.

SMALL ARMS KILL 60 PEOPLE AN HOUR, ANNAN SAYS

Today, the United Nations is holding the first biennial meeting of States dealing with the implementation of the Programme of Action to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and the Secretary-General, in a message delivered to that meeting, said that those arms cause mass destruction, killing about 60 people an hour.

Half a million people die each year from small arms, roughly 90 percent of them women and children, he said, making those arms truly a global scourge. This week, he said in his message, is the first opportunity Member States have to exchange information on how far they have come in implementing the Programme of Action, and he urged Member States to expedite that implementation.

WHO: SARS TRANSMISSION BROKEN WORLD -WIDE

Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Taiwan was being removed from the list of areas with recent local transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), with more than 20 days having passed since the last reported SARS case there. Based on country surveillance reports, the chain of SARS virus transmission appears to have been broken everywhere in the world.

WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland said that the global SARS outbreak has been contained. Despite this, WHO warns that continued global vigilance for SARS is crucial for the foreseeable future, with many questions remaining about SARS. The world is not yet SARS-free, the agency said on Saturday.

UN RIGHTS EXPERT DEEPLY CONCERNED WITH US MILITARY TRIALS

In a statement released in Geneva, the UN Human Right Commissions Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Dato Param Cumaraswamy, expressed alarm over the US Governments implementation of the Military Order regarding Detention, Treatment and Trial of Certain Non-citizens in the War against Terrorism, signed by President George W. Bush on November 13, 2001.

There are reports, the Special Rapporteur said, that six detainees may be brought to trial before a military commission under the Order.The detainees have been named as suspected members of al-Qaeda or otherwise involved in terrorism directed against the United States.

In proceeding to apply these drastic measures to counter terrorism, the United States Government is defying UN resolutions, from both the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Special Rapporteur said. These resolutions reiterate and affirm that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism must be in accordance with international law, including international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN TRAVELS TO MOZAMBIQUE TO ATTEND AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT: The Secretary-General is leaving today for Maputo, Mozambique, where he is to address the Summit of the African Union on Thursday. He will arrive in Maputo on Tuesday.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION RETURNS FROM WEST AFRICA: The Security Council mission to West Africa led by British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock returned to New York over the weekend. Ambassador Greenstock is expected to brief the Security Council on the mission on Wednesday.

CRIMINAL CODE PROMULGATED FOR KOSOVO: On Sunday in Kosovo, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative, Michael Steiner, promulgated a criminal code for Kosovo which he said would bring criminal law there into greater conformity with European and international standards. Steiner said of the criminal code, which will be effective starting next April 6, These are the most modern codes in the former Yugoslavia.

CONVENTION AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME TO TAKE EFFECT IN SEPTEMBER: Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, praised the 40th ratification last week of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which allows the Convention to enter into force on September 29. Costa said that with the Conventions entry into force, the international community will have demonstrated the will to counter the worldwide challenge of organized crime by adopting a corresponding global response.

UN BUDGET: Djibouti today became the 91st Member State to pay its regular budget dues in full for 2003, with a payment of more than $24,000.

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