United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-07-28

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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

Monday, July 28, 2003

SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTRAGED BY SHELLING IN LIBERIA

In a statement on Liberia, Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced his outrage at the continued high incidence of civilian casualties in and around Monrovia, as the result of indiscriminate shelling.

He joins others in demanding that all concerned respect the cease-fire agreed to in Accra, Ghana. It is imperative that the siege of Monrovia be lifted, so that desperately-needed humanitarian relief can be brought in, peacekeepers can be quickly deployed and President Charles Taylor can depart.

The Secretary-General reminds those who continue to wage war in Liberia and to use means that cause so much suffering to the civilian population, that they will be held individually accountable for any war crimes they commit. By their reckless and criminal behavior, they are disqualifying themselves from any leadership role in the future of their country.

The Secretary-General this morning also spoke to reporters at the Security Council stakeout, specifically naming one faction, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), as having disqualified itself from a future leadership role, saying, I cannot see how they would expect the people to accept them, after the suffering theyve put them through. So they should think about that.

In a statement issued last Friday, the Secretary-General expressed his pleasure at the US announcement that it would position appropriate military capabilities off the coast of Liberia, in order to support the deployment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) forces to that country. The Secretary-General today said he was happy that US ships were headed towards Liberia and added, I expect the US troops will have an important role to play.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs gave an update of the situation in Liberia over the weekend, noting, People are getting hungrier and hungrier everyday and there is much less for sale on the markets.

SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES MORE TROOPS FOR DR CONGO

This morning, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1493 on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which authorizes the UN to increase the strength of its Mission in the DRC to 10,800 troops. With this resolution the Council also imposes a ban, for an initial period of twelve months, on the supply of weapons to armed groups and militias operating in Ituri as well as North and South Kivu provinces.

In a statement to the Security Council immediately following the vote, the Secretary-General congratulated members for adopting a resolution that gives the UN Mission in the DRC the strong mandate it needs to fulfill its difficult tasks.

The resolution, he said, gave the UN a key role to help the Congolese achieve a sustainable peace leading up to a democratically elected government. However, he added, there will be no substitute for the resolve of the Congolese leaders to implement their commitments toward peace.

The Secretary-General also noted that when the Council recently authorized the deployment of the Interim Emergency Multinational Force in Ituri, it showed that a timely and effective response by the international community can put an end to violence.

The Council then held closed consultations on the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno introduced to the Council the Secretary-Generals latest report on that mission.

UN AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO MEET IN NEW YORK

On Tuesday and Wednesday at UN headquarters, the Secretary-General will host the Fifth High-Level Meeting between the United Nations and Regional Organizations.

The discussions will focus on the need for the United Nations and regional organizations to work together with redoubled vigor to face jointly the new challenges to international peace and security, including international terrorism.

Twenty regional and sub-regional organizations are expected to attend. These include the African Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization of American States and the Association of South East Asian Nations.

ANNAN NOTES DISCUSSIONS ON CHANGES FOR TRIBUNAL PROSECUTOR

The Secretary-General met today with the Prosecutor of the two international tribunals, Carla Del Ponte, and, earlier this morning, he was asked whether her tasks as Prosecutor for the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda would be split.

The Secretary-General said that was a decision for the Security Council, and notes the discussions going on in the Security Council over whether the work of the two tribunals would be more effective if each had a separate prosecutor. There is a sense, he said, that as both tribunals are being asked to come up with a completion strategy for their work, it may be necessary to have two Prosecutors to tackle that essential part of their work.

Asked about whether Del Ponte would accept a splitting up of the Prosecutors tasks, the Spokesman said the proposal would have to come from the Security Council; the question would then be whether she would accept the Councils decision.

In response to further questions about why the Prosecutors tasks might be split, the Spokesman said that the Council and the two Tribunals had been discussing the strategy to complete those two bodies work in the coming years, and, in that context, there was some discussion about having a second Prosecutorial position.

He noted that the idea of two prosecutors had been around since the tribunals began, but was not done at the time for a number of reasons.

UNICEF RUSHES EMERGENCY MEDICINES TO PERU

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) is rushing emergency medicine, blankets and baby bodysuits to children in Puno, Peru, where thousands of young lives are in danger because of freezing temperatures.

UNICEF Country Representative Andres Franco and the Peruvian Minister for Health, Alvaro Vidal, have travelled with the relief effort to Puno to deliver much-needed antibiotics for the treatment of respiratory diseases and pneumonia.

Another region, Cuzco, is also at risk; UNICEF officials will be visiting the area next week.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN ENVOY IN IRAQ MEETS HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIALS: The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, is now back in Baghdad. Today he met with a visiting team from Human Rights Watch. They discussed the current human rights situation in the country and explored ways it could be improved.

WHO TO HOLD PRESS BRIEFING ON POLIO: The World Health Organization will host a virtual press conference on polio eradication tomorrow, at 12 oclock Geneva time, 6:00 a.m. New York time. In his second week as Director-General of WHO, Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, will outline plans to rapidly step up the global effort to eradicate polio. He will also introduce Dr. David Heymann, who successfully managed the SARS outbreak earlier this year, as Representative of the Director-General for Polio Eradication.

style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight: Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

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All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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