United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-07-30

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

On Wednesday, at 1:00 p.m., the Secretary-General gave his mid-year press conference. There will be no noon briefing, although the Highlights will be posted as usual.

The following are the Secretary-General's opening remarks at his press conference held today in New York:

Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.

We have just finished a meeting between the United Nations and some of the worlds leading regional organisations. We have these meetings every now and then and this one has been particularly interesting and valuable.

Many of us sense that we are living through a crisis of the international system, or as some put it of the architecture of international peace and security.

The war in Iraq, as well as crises such as those in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, force us to ask ourselves whether the institutions and methods we are accustomed to are really adequate to deal with all the stresses of the last couple of years or whether, perhaps, they are in need of a radical reform.

But the threats we face are not confined to peace and security in the conventional sense. Indeed, one of the points most strongly made at our meeting emphasized that our success in countering the more conventional threats may depend in large part on the progress we make in overcoming poverty and deprivation. These cannot be thought of as lesser priorities.

That is why I attach great importance to the current trade negotiations.This is a great opportunity that we should not miss. We shall reach a crunch point with the ministerial meeting at Cancun in September, which I intend to attend myself. Decisions taken there will tell us whether this is to be a real development round in other words, whether poor countries will or will not, at last, be given a real chance to trade their way out of poverty.

There are two crucial issues in the talks. One is relatively narrow: the issue of intellectual property as it affects public health in developing countries. We must reach an agreement allowing those developing countries that cannot produce cheap generic drugs themselves to import them from other countries that can.

The other issue is very broad, and potentially decisive for the economic prospects of many developing countries. It is, of course, the issue of trade in agricultural products.

We must reach an agreement that allows farmers in poor countries a fair chance to compete, both in world markets and at home. They should no longer face exclusion from rich countries markets by protective tariffs and quotas. Nor should they have to face unfair competition from heavily subsidised producers in those same rich countries.

Another non-conventional threat that we cannot afford to ignore is HIV/AIDS.Even though Africa is the hardest hit, the disease is spreading very fast in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. It is truly a global crisis. The General Assembly will hold a one day session on the AIDS epidemic on September 22, the day before the General Debate, and I have just written to all heads of state and government, urging them to do their utmost to arrive here in time for that meeting.

Among other things, I hope this will result in increased support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Fund has made a good start. Money is being spent on the ground and is saving lives. But many more could be saved if the Fund receives enough money to fund the many excellent proposals it has received. It needs to spend three billion dollars next year, and current pledges are well short of that.

Of course, not all funding for the fight against AIDS goes through the Global Fund. The total amount needed for this worldwide struggle is much greater.

But I believe all these crises can be solved, if the peoples and states of the world are really determined to work on them together, making good use of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions such as those whose leaders are here this week. But we must not underestimate the gravity or the urgency of the task. We have a real opportunity to make the world safer and fairer for all its inhabitants and I am sure history will not forgive us if we neglect them.

Let me take your questions.

[A summary of the Question and Answer will follow shortly]

OTHER MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UN SYSTEM:

LIBERIA: The Secretary-General yesterday sent a letter to the Security Council, outlining his vision for a robust peacekeeping mission in Liberia. He says that as the situation is deteriorating dramatically on the ground in Liberia, it is absolutely essential to accelerate the deployment of the vanguard force to Monrovia from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as the first phase of an interlocking three-phase deployment. The deployment of the full multinational force would constitute Phase 2, followed by a UN peacekeeping operation, which would be Phase 3. He underscores that it would be essential for the Security Council to authorize a robust mandate for the envisaged United Nations peacekeeping force, in order to ensure that it has a credible deterrence capability. He goes on to say that as the security situation in Liberia stabilizes, and following the installation of an interim government, the UN presence and role in Liberia would be expended, as necessary. He informs the Council of his intention to proceed immediately with the necessary preparations for the envisaged UN operation.

LIBERIA-HUMANITARIAN: On the humanitarian front, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as the number of internally displaced persons is reported to be growing, both within and outside Monrovia, stocks of food and fuel appear to be diminishing, making the situation critical. There are also reports of looting of commercial food stocks. The whereabouts of 9,000 metric tons of food in a World Food Programme warehouse remains unknown. Fuel shortages also severely affect the ability of humanitarian agencies to truck water supplies to those in need. The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) also reports that the rainy season is just starting which will allow people to collect rain water for drinking.

SIERRA LEONE: The long time Sierra Leonian rebel leader Foday Sankoh died last night at theChoithram Hospital in Freetown, where he had been receiving medical treatment since March, according to an announcement made by the Registrar of the Sierra Leone Special Court. Sankoh, who was 66 years old, had been experiencing major health problems following his stroke in August 2002. He was taken into the custody of the Special Court on 10 March 2003 and subsequently transferred from the detention facility to the Hospital on 29 March. A post mortem will be held to establish the precise cause of death and a further announcement made in due course.

NEPAL: In a statement released through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General says he has been following with keen interest the peace process in Nepal, in which His Majesty's Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have for the last several months been engaged in negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict that has caused the loss of thousands of lives and considerable suffering to civilians since 1996. While a ceasefire that came into effect in January of this year has been holding and the sides have engaged in a series of formal and informal discussions, the process has faced serious obstacles in recent weeks and has reached a critical stage. The Secretary-General welcomes the continued expression by the Government and the Maoist group of their commitment to a peaceful solution, appreciates the intense efforts that are ongoing at present to overcome the hurdles and urges the parties to persist with these efforts to bring the process back on track. The Secretary-General remains at the disposal of Nepal to assist the achievement of a negotiated peaceful solution.

IRAQ: The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, met today with visiting World Bank president, James Wolfensohn. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Wolfensohn said he and Vieira de Mello had discussed the fourteen needs assessment missions which are designed to get a first-hand idea on the post-conflict needs and the programme for reconstruction during the coming years. He added that the end result of this process would reflect choices made not by the international community but by the Iraqi people themselves.

IRAQ-REFUGEES: More than 240 Iraqi refugees returned home to Basra today to scenes of great jubilation after an historic journey marking the start of voluntary returns to Iraq in the post-Saddam Hussein era. They had spent twelve years in exile in Saudi Arabias Rafha camp. The return was organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, with assistance from the governments of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, along with the Coalition Provisional Authority. More than 3,600 Iraqis at Rafha camp have registered for repatriation. They will be transported home in convoys leaving every 10 days.

REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: The fifth High-Level Meeting of the United Nations and Regional Organisations was held on 29 and 30 July 2003 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The participating organisations discussed the main challenges to international peace and security facing the world today, including international terrorism, poverty, as well as intra and inter-state conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organised crime and violations of human rights. Some participants noted that, while these threats were often described as new, they were in fact longstanding, though they were converging in novel ways and at an increasing speed. The participants felt that, by working together, regional and international organisations could have a major impact upon their broader constituencies. To address the issues of human rights in the fight against terrorism as well as the promotion of the dialogue among civilizations, the participants agreed on the need for further consultations at the working level. The participants also agreed on a framework for further cooperation in confronting challenges to international peace and security including international terrorism.

SECURITY COUNCIL: The Security Council met this morning in a closed meeting on Georgia. Heidi Tagliavini, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Georgia, introduced the Secretary-Generals latest report to the Council. In that report, he recommends a further extension of the mandate of the UN Mission in Georgia for six months, until 31 January 2004. Tagliavini also briefed the Council on the second meeting of Friends of Georgia, which was held in Geneva on 21 and 22 July. Council members then unanimously adopted resolution 1494, endorsing the Secretary-Generals recommendation and calling on the parties to spare no effort to overcome their ongoing mutual mistrust. Afterwards, Council members moved into closed consultations on the UN mission in Western Sahara.

GLOBAL YOUTH LEADERS: Following the meeting with Regional Organizations, the Secretary-General dropped by a meeting, held in an adjoining room, of Global Young Leaders. "You all applaud me," he said, "but it is I who should applaud you. The leaders of tomorrow's world." He was happy to see them, he told the group, and encouraged them in their endeavors.

TIMOR LESTE: General Assembly President Jan Kavan of the General Assembly this afternoon ended his four-day visit to Timor-Leste where he met with the Timorese leadership to discuss the United Nations presence there and the extent to which a post-UNMISET UN involvement in the country may still be needed. Mr. Kavan also said that he would recommend to the Secretary-General and to the Security Council that a Security Council delegation should visit Timor-Leste perhaps in December.

CHILD TRAFFICKING: The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today released in the United Kingdom a report on child trafficking as part of its End Child Exploitation Campaign. According to UNICEF, thousands of children may be trafficked to the United Kingdom every year, mainly from West Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, but the scale of the problem is hidden by the nature of the crime and by a lack of police statistics. Police have been unable to monitor the situation because trafficking has not been a criminal offense in the United Kingdom, except in the situation of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

UNESCO: Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today opened a two-day international conference called Globalization with a Human Face Benefiting All in Tokyo, Japan. The Conference was organized by UNESCO and the United Nations University in Tokyo and it will explore the effects and potential of globalization in culture, education, environmental policy and communication. Among the keynote speakers are Fidel Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Moeen Qureshi, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Andries van Agt, former Prime Minister of The Netherlands.

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