United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-10-08

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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

Wednesday, October 8, 2003

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES AGREEMENT BY BURUNDI PARTIES

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement, welcomed the Pretoria Protocol on political, defense and security power-sharing, signed today by the Transitional Government of Burundi and the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie/Force pour la Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD/FDD). He commended both President Domitien Ndayizeye and Pierre Nkurunziza for their courage and commitment to peace and reconciliation.

The Secretary-General is grateful to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and other leaders of the region for their sustained efforts that made this agreement possible.

The Secretary-General urged all Burundians to seize this opportunity to bring about peace and reconciliation in Burundi and reiterated the commitment of the United Nations to remain engaged in helping Burundians in pursuit of that goal.

UN ENVOY VISITS BEIRUT, NOTES DETERIORATION IN MIDDLE EAST

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed Larsen, is in Beirut today on the first leg of a regional tour that will also include visits to Syria and Jordan.

Earlier today, he met with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. In speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said that the last few days have seen a sharp deterioration in the situation between Israel and its northern neighbors, Syria and Lebanon.

He added that attacks counter-attacks are leading us down a steep and precarious path toward more violence. I seriously advise the parties not to travel down that road. Instead, all parties should respect Security Council Resolutions and the rules of international law.

Larsen called on the Government of Israel to refrain from the unilateral use of force, address its complaints to the Security Council, and stop violations of Lebanese airspace. The Government of Lebanon must exert control over the use of force from all its territory and prevent all attacks across the Blue Line.

In closing, he said that we must now all shoulder our responsibilities and work for moderation, restraint and just, comprehensive solutions through peaceful means.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The Security Council had an open meeting this morning on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which began with a briefing by the High Representative for that country, Paddy Ashdown.

After Ashdown spoke, Judge Theodor Meron, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, told the Council about the creation of a special war crimes chamber within Bosnias State Court, a joint initiative by the High Representative and the Tribunal.

The war crimes chamber, Meron said, will serve several important functions, helping to allow the Hague Tribunal to focus more tightly on prosecuting the most senior leaders suspected of serious crimes, and establishing a firm foundation for the rule of law in Bosnias national institutions.

At 3:30 this afternoon, the Security Councils Sanctions Committee for Sierra Leone will meet.

UN TROOPS IN DR CONGO TO DEPLOY IN AREAS OUTSIDE BUNIA

This morning in Kinshasa, the head of the Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Swing, announced the deployment next week of UN troops to three or four locales outside of Bunia in the Ituri province in northeastern part of the country. One of the aims of this increased UN military presence in the province is to extend the Bunia without Weapons program to the rest of the provinces population.

The operation is being made possible thanks to the arrival of the latest batch of Pakistani peacekeepers, which brings to 3,500 the total number of soldiers in Ituri. The Ituri brigade is to reach 5,000 soldiers once Nepalese troops arrive.

Swing also told reporters during his weekly briefing that he will travel this weekend to the town of Kashele in Ituri, which was the site of a murder of at least 65 people, mostly women and children.

Kashele, Swing said, is a challenge for all of us: the UN Mission, the transitional Government in Kinshasa and the Committee of Armed Groups in Ituri. We must work together, Swing added, so that such acts do repeat themselves in Kashele or anywhere else.

FIRST BANGLADESHI TROOPS ARRIVE FOR UN MISSION IN LIBERIA

The UN Mission in Sierra Leone began deploying the first 80 of some 800 Bangladeshi peacekeepers to join the UN Mission in Liberia. The deployment continues until October 11.

On Tuesday, UN Force Commander for Liberia Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande visited Tubmanburg for a meeting with the leader of the Liberians United for Democracy (LURD), Sekou Conneh. Conneh reiterated that the LURD is committed to the ceasefire accord, and that he had instructed his commanders to comply with an agreement on Monday to make the Monrovia area weapons-free within 72 hours.

Today, the Force Commander has gone with a reconnaissance and liaison team to areas where skirmishes were reported to have taken place over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative for Liberia, Jacques Klein, hosted a meeting with traditional chiefs from Liberia's 15 counties.

The latest humanitarian update on Liberia says that aid agencies are exercising caution in operating outside of Monrovia, and non-essential missions are on hold for now.

UN ENVOY ADDRESSES KOSOVO PUBLIC ON DIALOGUE

Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, today delivered a televised statement in Kosovo to clear up misperceptions about a direct dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, which, he noted, is one of the eight benchmark standards endorsed by the entire international community.

Holkeri said that only by talking can we make progress on resolving the fate of missing persons, facilitate the return of displaced persons, aid Kosovos economy and move towards the kind of future that Kosovo deserves. Dialogue, he said, is not about politics. It is about making concrete progress on practical issues.

The direct dialogue is scheduled to take place in Vienna on October 14.

UNFPA LAUNCHES REPORT ON ADOLESCENT REPRODUCTIVE NEEDS

This morning in London, UN Population Fund Executive Director Thoraya Obaid launched UNFPAs State of the World Population report for 2003, which underlines the urgent priority of meeting adolescents reproductive health needs.

She said, This report is a wake-up call. It is a wake-up call to listen to young people and acknowledge their needs.

The report says that one person in five, or roughly 1.2 billion people worldwide, is between the ages of 10 and 19. Half of these adolescents are poor, and one in four live in extreme poverty, on less than a dollar a day. They also suffer from AIDS, which, the report argues, has become a disease of the young.

Obaid said that supporting young people in their efforts to delay or avoid pregnancy and to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS can bring enormous health and economic benefits, yet international funding for population and reproductive health programs is just 40 percent of what was agreed upon a decade ago.

ANNAN TO ACCEPT AWARD GIVEN TO SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO

Tonight, the Secretary-General is scheduled to accept the humanitarian award given posthumously to Sergio Vieira de Mello by the UN Association of the USA and the Business Council for the UN, and he will say at the award dinner that the days and weeks ahead in Iraq, and elsewhere, will not be easy.

He will add that, as the United Nations tries to determine what it does best and to strengthen the way it works, he will look to groups like the UN Association to tell the UN story to the American public and Government.

ANNAN NOTES CONTINUING HARDSHIPS FOR BOLIVIA

The 15th Consultative Group meeting on Bolivia is taking place today at the World Banks premises in Paris. The Bolivian Government has convened this meeting to discuss its medium and long-term economic and social strategies with the donor community.

In his message to the Consultative Group, the Secretary-General notes that while Bolivia has undertaken a series of reforms in the past 20 years with the assistance of the United Nations, the majority of Bolivian people continue to endure great hardship. He states that urgent action is needed to ensure that their demands for social justice are answered and that the developing democratic process continues to move forward.

UNICEF TO CELEBRATE GLOBAL GIRLS FOOTBALL DAY

On October 11, a day before the Womens World Cup soccer championship match in Los Angeles, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and soccers international ruling body, FIFA, will celebrate Global Girls Football day.

The two organizations have teamed up again this year to highlight two crucial areas of child development that are often absent or overlooked for girls because of poverty and discrimination: the right to play and the right to education.

For millions of girls, certain basic rights are seen as a privilege or luxury, said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. UNICEF and FIFA believe that girls should have equal opportunities to make a better life for themselves through an education and by playing and participating in sports.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN HAS MORE THAN 40 INTERNATIONAL STAFF IN IRAQ: In response to a question about the number of UN staff in Iraq, the Spokesman said that the number of international staff in the country today was in the mid-40s.

ANNAN ISSUES MESSAGE ON DISASTER REDUCTION: The Secretary-General issued a message to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction today. He said it is necessary to preserve water resources to sustain life, but he also drew attention to the need to reduce the capacity of water to take life away either by its excess, as in floods and hurricanes, or by its lack, as in droughts.

SUPERMARKETS THREATEN FARMERS IN AFRICA: According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) today, the proliferation of supermarkets represents a risk for Africa's millions of small farmers, unless they can participate in the new market.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND STRESS DISCUSSED: Workplace violence and stress are two of todays most serious threats to productivity and decent work, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), which is organizing an eight-day meeting in Geneva today to discuss workplace codes of practice.

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