United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-07-10

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

Thursday, July 10, 2003

ANNAN EMPHASIZES DEMOCRACY, AIDS AT AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today addressed the summit of Heads of State of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, and said that, one year after the African Union was launched, everyone recognized that a sense of African responsibility must be applied to all the challenges facing the continent.

One of the most pressing such challenges is armed conflict, and the Secretary-General voiced his hope that African leaders will make it their personal mission to convince the continents youth that the lives and safety of Africans are sacrosanct. He also stressed the importance of democratic transformation and good governance, underlining that democracy also means alternating government, adding, If term limits are necessary to make this possible, so be it.

Above all, he emphasized the importance of the fight against AIDS, which he said was vital to the efforts to build a stronger Africa. So far, he said, the amount spent on the fight against AIDS is not enough, and twice as much is needed to be spent combating the pandemic over the foreseeable future. He urged the leaders gathered in Maputo to show the way by example: by breaking the deadly wall of silence that continues to surround the pandemic, and by making the fight against AIDS a priority second to none.

UNAIDS today noted the impact of AIDS on Africa, with 60 million people in Africa either having died from AIDS, living with HIV or having lost parents to AIDS.

ANNAN MEETS WITH AFRICAN LEADERS IN MARGINS OF SUMMIT

Before he addressed the African Union Summit, the Secretary-General met with the Unions Heads of State at a prayer breakfast in which he said that, sadly, so-called men of religion sometimes invoke the name of God to justify violence against their fellow human beings. He said that leaders must have the moral courage to stand against those who encourage violence and hatred, and instead point the way to tolerance and the peaceful resolution of conflict.

This afternoon, he began a series of meetings in the margins of the Summit, starting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia, with whom he discussed regional issues, as well as the importance of support for the Middle East Road Map; they also touched on Iraq.

After that, he met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Don McKinnon, talking with him about Zimbabwe, including the land reform plan which the Secretary-General and the UN Development Programme had proposed.

The Secretary-General then had a tête-à-tête meeting with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone.

After that, he met with the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Antoine Ghonda, who was accompanied by representatives of two former parties to the conflict, as well as by a political counselor to President Joseph Kabila. The Secretary-General congratulated them on the formation of a transitional national government, but emphasized that the fighting in the DRC has to stop. He added that he was disappointed that President Kabila did not come to Maputo, where he had hoped to have a summit on the DRC. The next opportunity for such a summit could be at the General Assembly in September.

After those meetings, the Secretary-General discussed the situation in Zimbabwe with Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

Then, in the evening, he is to attend a banquet hosted by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

ANNAN TO MEET WITH BUSH IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON MONDAY

The Secretary-General plans to travel to Washington on Monday, July 14, to meet with President George W. Bush and his advisers. While in Washington, the Secretary-General also plans to meet with a number of members of Congress and Senators.

Asked about the reason for the meeting, the Spokeswoman said it would be a good time for the Secretary-General and the President to compare notes, since both would have completed trips to Africa, and African subjects including Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo would figure in their talks.

She added that they could be expected to talk about the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other topics of mutual interest, including anti-terrorism, the fight against poverty and AIDS. The meeting, she added, was requested by the Secretary-General.

Asked about other attendees, she noted that Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guéhenno would accompany the Secretary-General.

Asked about whether there were any plans for President Bush and the Secretary-General to meet each other in Africa, she said that they both had busy schedules and their paths would not cross. However, she added, the Secretary-General had repeatedly spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, to discuss issues of concern in Africa, including Liberia.

AID WORKERS STRUGGLE TO MEET LIBERIANS NEEDS

The latest update on Liberia from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes that despite the relative calm stemming from a tenuous ceasefire in Monrovia, aid workers are struggling to meet the needs of Liberians.

Humanitarian agencies in Monrovia are constrained by an uncertain security environment coupled with shortages of both staff and supplies in the face of growing needs.

Monrovias civilians ---including roughly 200,000 internally displaced persons sheltering in more than 80 locations around the city ---are faced with a high rate of crime, shortages of food, clean drinking water, health care, and sanitation.

A breakdown in law and order and the threat of renewed hostilities prevent displaced persons from foraging for food in the bush. People are resorting to increasingly desperate measures to obtain food, such as selling off their remaining possessions.

Hospitals, already overwhelmed by the rise in the number of patients, now lack the necessary water for basic activities, such as bathing and cleaning. Throughout Monrovia, the number of cases of diarrhea, measles and malaria continues to rise.

Together with the Liberian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization plans to carry out a mass chlorination of wells in Monrovia, but lacks transportation necessary to distribute the 650 kilograms of chlorine that are available.

UN ENVOY IN IRAQ VISITS GOVERNORATE OF BABYLON

Earlier today, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, traveled to the city of Hilla, about 100 kilometers south of Baghdad in the governorate of Babylon. This fourth trip to the provinces is part of de Mellos continuing endeavor to meet and listen to representatives of a large spectrum of Iraqi society.

While there, he met with the local governor, Iskander Jawad Witwit. The Special Representative told him that he was keen to hear directly from the Iraqis and learn from them how best they can run their country and how they will receive the soon-to-be-announced Interim Governing Council,as a transitional arrangement until a more representative Iraqi Government will be in place.

De Mello then met with Sayyid Farqad Qazwini, a ranking cleric, at the Religious University of Hilla. Both the clergyman and the governor stressed the need for the UN, as a neutral party, to play a larger role in Iraq. He also had the opportunity to meet with a group of students taking their final exam and visit a hospital in the city.

in Baghdad, the Special Representative met with Brunson McKinley, Director-General of International Organization for Migration (IOM). They reviewed the political process in Iraq and the impending formation of an Interim Governing Council, the importance of proper planning the return of refugees and the role of IOM in assisting in projects-related to demobilization and property restitution.

He also met Yuki Okamoto, a Special Advisor to Japanese Prime Minister, who briefed him on a joint Japanese-Egyptian project to rehabilitate Iraqi hospitals and train Iraqi doctors and nurses.

UNIFEM TO PUSH FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN IRAQ

The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) will start a program aimed at creating an environment in Iraq, which promotes equal participation for women in political and economic governance at local, national, regional and global levels; and increasing recognition and support for their citizenship role at the household and community levels. UNIFEM will be working with international non-governmental organizations, as well as local womens groups.

The World Health Organization said its largest delivery of medical supply to Iraq, under the oil for food program, arrived in Baghdad earlier this week. The forty-truck convoy carried five hundred metric tons of insulin, intravenous fluid, antiseptics and other supplies, which is meant to last until the end of August.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it would start registering some 80,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq by the beginning of next month. The registration exercise is necessary so that UNHCR can provide the Palestinians with documents as a first measure of protection.

This week, 5.5 million Iraqi children successfully completed their year-end exams. Given the prevailing conditions, this can be considered as a major achievement, both for the children and their families, said a UNICEF spokesman.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS REBEL OFFENSIVE IN BURUNDI

The Security Council today held closed consultations today on Burundi, on which it received a briefing by Haile Menkerios, the new Director of the Africa I Division of the Department of Political Affairs.

He informed the Council that, on July 7, a large-scale offensive was launched by one rebel faction on the southern suburbs of the capital, Bujumbura, and, according to preliminary reports received from the UN Office in Burundi, 170 people have been killed, and between 6,000 and 7,000 civilians have already been displaced.

Speaking to the press afterward, Ambassador Inocencio Arias of Spain, the Council President, said that Council members strongly condemned the offensive on Bujumbura and urged an unconditional and immediate end to it. They also affirmed their full support for the Arusha peace agreements and for the work of the African mission present in Burundi.

A UN humanitarian update on Burundi noted the explosions of mortar rounds in densely populated locations within Bujumbura, including the main Market Place. Civilians in Bujumbura report that both the rebels and military have actively encouraged civilians to flee the conflict areas. An estimated 2,000 displaced people, mostly women and children have been temporarily located in the grounds of the Burundi Life Museum (Musée Vivant).They have received high-protein biscuits from UNICEF, water from the International Committee for the Red Cross, a nd medical support from Medecins Sans Frontiers.

The spread of fighting into Bujumbura punctuates a marked deterioration of security in Burundi. Now, 16 of Burundi's 17 provinces are subjected to sporadic fighting, looting and armed banditry. At this time last year, only six of the country's 17 provinces were subject to frequent conflict, while the other 11 were open to and in need of rehabilitation and development. Almost one in six Burundians continues to live away from their homes.

FIRST BANGLADESHI SOLDIERS SET TO ARRIVE IN DR CONGO

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said that a first group of the Bangladeshi contingent is expected next Monday in Bunia. The 175 soldiers will be followed by another 1,110 Bangladeshi troops, to be deployed in Ituri.

They will be part of the 3,800 troops due to take over from the Multinational Force, in line with the statement made in Bunia by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC, William Swing.

The Mission also welcomed the publication of the calendar for the installation of transitional institutions. According to the calendar, the swearing-in of the Congolese vice-presidents will take place on July 17 and the first meeting of the transitional government is scheduled to take place on July 19.

UN AFGHAN ENVOY REGRETS PROTEST AT PAKISTANI EMBASSY IN KABUL

The UN Mission in Afghanistan said in a press briefing that it deeply regrets the events of July 8, when protestors invaded the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi visited the Ambassador of Pakistan at the Embassy immediately after the incident.

The Mission said that it was encouraged by the long conversation that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan over the telephone. It believe that all their differences can be settled through bilateral contact and when necessary with the help of their friends, including the United Nations.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS WESTERN SAHARA: On Friday, the Security Council is expected to hold consultations on the situation in Western Sahara, to be followed by a formal meeting to adopt a resolution which would authorize a 12-month extension of the Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

FAO TO STUDY TRANMISSION OF SARS VIRUS IN CHINA: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will send a senior Australian veterinarian, Dr. Laurie Gleeson, to China on Friday for a three-week visit to help coordinate an international investigation into the roles animals might play in spreading the SARS virus. He will be a focal point in communication between Chinese authorities, the FAO, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international researchers. Todays statistics on SARS indicate a total of 8,437 probable cases, with 812 deaths.

GOODWILL AMBASSADORS APPOINTED: The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will appoint a Croatian pop singer and the president of the Union of Armenians of Russia respectively as their new Goodwill Ambassadors.

UN BUDGET: Algeria today paid nearly $950,000 dollars to become the 93rd Member State to pay its dues in full for 2003.