United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-09-22

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 FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN

FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, September 22, 2003

BOMB EXPLODES NEAR U.N. OFFICES IN BAGHDAD; TWO DEAD, 19 INJURED

Shortly after 8:00 a.m. local time in Baghdad, a vehicle was stopped at an Iraqi police checkpoint located at the entrance of the parking lot used by UN national staff, who work in the Canal Hotel compound.

As it was being inspected, the lone occupant of the vehicle detonated explosives. At least two bodies have been found. Two UN national staff members were injured; one is in serious condition but not with life-threatening injuries. Seventeen other people were also injured, a majority of whom were Iraqi police officers.

There was no damage to the Canal Hotel, as the explosion took place about 300 meters from the working areas of the Canal compound.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONDEMNS BOMBING IN IRAQ

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement, condemned in the strongest possible terms todays suicide bombing outside the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. He is deeply saddened by the death of two Iraqi policemen and the wounding of many others, including Iraqi national staff of the United Nations. The Secretary-General pays homage to the courageous policemen, whose actions saved many lives. He conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and hopes that the injured will make a full recovery.

The Secretary-General is dismayed that the United Nations in Iraq has once again been the target of an act of terror. He remains greatly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

Upon entering the building this morning, the Secretary-General said he was shocked and distressed by the latest attack on the UN premises in Baghdad, adding that the United Nations was assessing the situation and taking further measures to protect its installations. He said, We will decide as we move forward what our posture should be.

The Secretary-General underscored that the United Nations needs a secure environment to operate in Iraq. We will go forward, he asserted, but of course, if it continues to deteriorate, then our operations will be handicapped considerably.

Asked about the short-term implications of the bombing for UN staff, the Spokesman said that a regular UN steering group on Iraq, chaired by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette, had met this morning to review the situation, and it will meet again this afternoon and make recommendations to the Secretary-General.

ANNAN CONDEMNS WEEKEND ATTACK ON IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER

The Secretary-General strongly condemned, in a statement issued on Saturday, the assassination attempt that day on Dr. Akila al-Hashimi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. The Secretary-General reiterated that the early establishment of a broad-based and representative government in Iraq, to which sovereignty can be transferred, requires an inclusive political process. Violence such as the murderous attack on Dr. al-Hashimi only retards that process and that goal.

The Secretary-General extended to Dr. al-Hashimi and her family his concern and best wishes for a full and rapid recovery.

AHTISAARI TO HEAD INDEPENDENT PANEL ON U.N. SECURITY IN IRAQ

The Secretary-General has asked Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and veteran of many UN missions, to chair an Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in Iraq, following the devastating attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad on August 19.

The panels task will be to examine all relevant facts about the situation before the attack, the circumstances of the attack itself and the actions taken by different parties in the immediate aftermath. The panels report is expected to give a detailed account of a range of issues including, but not limited to, security relations between the United Nations and the Coalition Provisional Authority, and responsibilities within the United Nations relating to staff security, both at Headquarters and in the field.

The panel will also look forward and identify key lessons for future security management and arrangements, with a view to preventing further such tragedies, or at least limiting their effects.

The panelists, who are independent of the Secretariat, will have full access to all necessary documents, and will be able to interview any staff member in full confidentiality.

Ahtisaari has chosen the following people to join him on the panel: Peter Fitzgerald, Deputy Commissioner of the Irish National Police, Brigadier-General Jaakko Taneli Oksanen of the Finnish Army, and Claude Bruderlein, Director of the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University. These panelists will be able to call on the assistance of other experts as and when they find it necessary.

The panel is expected to complete its work within about six weeks. Its findings and recommendations will be made public.

Asked whether it was within the Secretary-Generals mandate to establish such a panel, the Spokesman said it was, because he is responsible for the security of UN staff.

ANNAN OPENS HIGH-LEVEL ASSEMBLY MEETING ON AIDS

The Secretary-General this morning opened the General Assemblys High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS by saying that the worlds nations have the commitment to defeat AIDS, and the resources for that fight are increasing, but action is still far short of what is needed.

He presented the Assembly with a report showing some signs of progress, including the submission of more than $4.7 billion in pledges to the Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Yet he warns, We are not on track to begin reducing the scale and impact of the epidemic by 2005.

More than a third of heavily affected countries still have no strategies in place to look after AIDS orphans, while two-thirds of all countries fail to provide legal protection against discrimination for the groups that are most vulnerable to HIV.

Even in funding, the Secretary-General noted, although domestic spending on AIDS by Governments in low- and middle-income countries has doubled since 1999, we are still only halfway to the $10 billion a year that is needed to deal with AIDS by 2005.

He warned, We cannot accept that something else came up that forced us to place AIDS on the back burner. Something else will always come up.

UN ENVOY ANGERED BY WESTS RESPONSE TO AIDS IN AFRICA

Even as the discussion on AIDS is going on at the General Assembly, an international conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases is taking place in Nairobi, where on Sunday, Stephen Lewis, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, said that whats happening to the continent makes me extremely angry.

Lewis told the delegates at the Nairobi conference that he is enraged by the behavior of rich countries, which, by their neglect, have worsened the situation in Africa. In dealing with AIDS, Africa, he said, has moved mountains in the last couple of years, while the western world remains mired in the foothills.

UN ENVOY TO PAY 11TH VISIT TO MYANMAR NEXT WEEK

Razali Ismail, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar, will visit Myanmar from September 30 to October 2. It will be his 11th mission.

The Secretary-General, who is closely following the recent developments in Myanmar, expects Razali to discuss with Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt and other Government leaders ways in which to revive the national reconciliation process, which came to a standstill after the incident of May 30.

The Secretary-General remains concerned about the well being of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other National League for Democracy leaders and reiterates his call that they should be released without further delay. He expects his Special Envoy to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, find out her condition and work with Government officials towards her immediate and unconditional release.

Prior to his next mission, Razali will visit New York for consultations from September 23 to 25.

ANNAN SAYS FIGHTING TERRORISM MEANS WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS

The Secretary-General this morning addressed a conference organized by the International Peace Academy on Fighting Terrorism for Humanity, and he said that we delude ourselves if we think that military force alone can defeat terrorism. Terrorists, he said, thrive on despair, and defeating terrorism consequently requires establishing the promise of a better and fairer world, and a concrete plan to get there.

The Secretary-General said that upholding human rights is not at odds with battling terrorism, since a moral vision of human rights is among the most powerful weapons in the fight against terrorists.

To fight terrorism, he argued, we must not only fight terrorists. We have to win hearts and minds. That can be done effectively only by working through multilateral institutions first and foremost among them the United Nations.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF BURUNDI

The Security Council is holding a private meeting this morning on Burundi.

Speaking at the meeting are the President of Burundi, Domitien Ndayizeye, and Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

As of now, the only other scheduled meeting of the Security Council this week is on Wednesday, when on the agenda is a ministerial-level Security Council meeting on Justice and the Rule of Law: the UN Role.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS HEAD OF NORWAY, FRANCE, BRAZIL

Over the weekend, the Secretary-General had two meetings with heads of state.

On Saturday, he had a private luncheon with the Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik and his Foreign Minister, Jan Petersen.

On Sunday, he had dinner with the President of France, Jacques Chirac, who was accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin.

Today, he is having lunch with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

ANNAN FLIES DOVES, KICKS SOCCER BALL, FOR DAY OF PEACE

On Sunday afternoon on the north lawn of UN headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General and Nane Annan joined UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall to symbolically fly doves for the Jane Goodall Institute to mark the International Day of Peace.

The Goodall Institute has created the fabric doves to be flown by groups of young people around the world.

In addition, the Secretary-General kicked a peace ball". The ball was used in the most recent Brazil/England World Cup soccer match and has been signed by players from both sides. The Secretary-Generals kick-off was a symbol of the UN's solidarity with peoples in war-torn countries everywhere.

UNRWA CHIEF SAYS PALESTINE REFUGEE PROBLEM MUST BE SOLVED

At a speech to the American University of Cairo on Sunday, Peter Hansen, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) called for a just solution to the long-running Palestine refugee problem in order that the refugees can fulfill their human potential, since UNRWA can only do so much to realize their aspirations.

The event coincided with the launch of In Hope and Despair, a photographic record of life in the refugee camps by Swedish photographer Mia Grondahl.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNHCR MOVES LIBERIAN REFUGEES TO GUINEA: Over 4,500 Liberian refugees have arrived in southern Guinea in the last week after fleeing fighting between Government and rebel troops. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has already moved some 1,500 to camps further inland, and is working to provide more assistance with help from partner agencies.

WFP LAUNCHES TRAINING PROGRAM FOR AFGHAN WOMEN: In Afghanistan, the World Food Programme (WFP) has launched the first in a series of training programs for women-run non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Women-run NGOs in Afghanistan have increased over the last two years - currently totaling about sixty. WFP supports women NGOs particularly in their early stages.

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

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only

Fax. 212-963-7055

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article