United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-11-06

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY

STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, November 6, 2003

SECRETARY-GENERAL BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO CHILE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan started his day in Santiago de Chile by laying a wreath at the Monument of General Bernardo OHiggins, national hero of the Chilean independence. He then spoke briefly with Francisco Vidal, the Acting Defence Minister, and with eight former Chilean Army officers who have served as UN peacekeepers.

He then had a tête-a-tête meeting with President Ricardo Lagos Escobar, during which they reviewed regional developments and discussed poverty and social policies. They also talked about the recently held meeting in Cancun and the APEC meeting in Bangkok.

The Secretary-General and President Lagos then had a joint press encounter. The Secretary-General said at that encounter that Latin America had done well on many fronts, but some countries were going through difficulties, which the United Nations, the international community and the region should work together to help overcome.

Following a meeting with the President of the Chilean Senate, Andres Zaldivar Larrain and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Isabel Allende Bussi, the Secretary-General delivered an address to parliamentarians as well as to the diplomatic community.

He noted that Chile makes important contributions to the UN and has actively supported multilateralism, and has sought to place human security at the forefront of its agenda. The Secretary-General also said that Chile went through a peaceful process of transition from dictatorship to democracy and that, notwithstanding financial difficulties in the region, Chile achieved notable social and economic success.

The Secretary-General also noted that while Chile already met the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty, he was sure that Chile would not rest until poverty is eradicated.

Meanwhile, Nane Annan, in a separate program, visited a center providing food, shelter and counseling for women and children victims of domestic violence in Valparaiso, a port city west of Santiago. She thanked the center for its work and said, The children have given me a paper bird. I think all children and women should be free to fly, using their own wings.

Early this afternoon, the Secretary-General will participate in a luncheon hosted by the President of the Senate and the President of the Chamber of Deputies. Later in the afternoon the Secretary-General will meet with the Directors of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and, following that, he will meet with all staff of the UN family in Chile. This evening, the Secretary-General will be the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the President of Chile.

ANNAN WELCOMES PROPOSAL FOR MEETING ON COTE DIVOIRE

The Secretary-General, in a statement, welcomed the proposal by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to convene a meeting of the Ivoirian parties in Accra, Ghana, on November 10 to discuss ways of resolving the current impasse in the peace process in Côte dIvoire, to be followed by an ECOWAS Summit, on November 11.

The Secretary-General encourages all Ivoirian parties and their leaders to cooperate with ECOWAS on this important initiative and to ensure a successful outcome of the meetings in Accra. The Secretary-General hopes that the meetings will focus on reaching agreement on a calendar for the implementation of the key provisions of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, in particular on the early disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of the armed groups and the restoration of State authority throughout the country.

ALL UN INTERNATIONAL STAFF HAVE LEFT IRAQI CAPITAL

In response to questions about the UN staffing level in Baghdad, the Spokesman confirmed that, as of today, all UN international staff have left Baghdad.

As the United Nations announced last week, the international staff that had been in Baghdad have been temporarily relocated, and will hold talks in Cyprus, so that the United Nations can thoroughly reconsider its operations in Iraq and the security arrangements that it will need to work there.

Asked whether, as with Afghanistan, political and economic progress can be made even despite problems with security, the Spokesman said that progress in Iraq is clearly tied to the security situation.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES KOSOVO, LIBERIA

The Security Council this morning began its work with a briefing from Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean Marie Guéhenno on the international benchmarks for Kosovo, under other matters.

After that, the Council took up Liberia, on which it received a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédo Annabi on the work of the UN Mission in Liberia.

The UN Mission is still not in a position to deploy troops throughout Liberia, with the Missions troop strength currently at 4,500, including re-hatted West African troops and a Bangladeshi battalion.

At the same time, the Mission reports that the overall security situation in Monrovia is stable and improving, while the situation in other parts of the country, particularly in the areas still controlled by the two major rebel groups, remains volatile.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Liberia, Jacques Klein, today noted with great concern and dismay reports of skirmishes between various warring factions, and of serious atrocities against civilians, in Nimba Country. He said such actions must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Following several UN patrols to the area, it is clear that the fighting is between former Liberian Government militias and fighters from the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL).

Klein said that atrocities being committed against civilians constitute war crimes, for which all perpetrators will be held accountable, and added that continuing violations of the cease-fire will not be tolerated. The UN Mission, he added, is keeping a record of all those who committed atrocities against civilians for possible future prosecution.

In addition to Annabis briefing on the UN Mission in Liberia, the Security Council discussed the sanctions on Liberia, with a briefing by the chairman of the Sanctions Committee dealing with that country, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan.

COUNCIL MISSION FINISHES TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council completed its mission to Afghanistan today and the delegation headed back to New York, where German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger is scheduled next Tuesday to report in an open briefing on the results of the mission, which he led.

Before leaving the country, the 15 members held a joint press conference with the Special Representative for the Secretary-General, Lakhdar Brahimi.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the German Ambassador said that the Council had completed a very interesting and successful visit. The main conclusion, he said, is that a lot of success has been achieved, a lot of progress has been made in the country in all aspects -- in the political, in the economic and in the social fields.

On the other hand, Pleuger added, a difficult way lies ahead for the country, with security as the key question.

The Council delegation started the day with a visit to a center in Kabul which trains dogs to detect mines. There, the Council members learned that about 1,000 square kilometers of Afghanistan is contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance, which leave between 100 and 200 people killed or injured each month.

The delegation then held a series of back-to-back meetings, including one with Sima Samar, chairwoman of Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission, and took part in a roundtable discussion with civil society representatives.

UN COMPOUND IN BUNIA, DR CONGO, FACES INTENSE SMALL ARMS FIRE

The UN Mission in the DRC reports that there was heavy firing in Bunia around the UN Headquarters on Wednesday night. Intense small arms fire started around 8:00 p.m. local time and continued uninterrupted for 30 minutes. There is as yet no determination of the number of casualties among the perpetrators.

The UN Mission is reporting one casualty, an officer of the Bangladeshi battalion, who was injured and has been evacuated to Kinshasa.

The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the DRC, Iulia Motoc, underscored her concern of the fate of the civilian population in the South Kivu province following renewed fighting there between the Mai Mai and FDLR militias.

She is especially worried by the fact that women and children are increasingly becoming the target of violence by both militias.

ANNAN NOTES DANGERS THAT CONFLICT POSES TO ENVIRONMENT

The Secretary-General today said that with the increasingly devastating potential of modern warfare, it has become apparent that existing environmental laws do not fully address the danger that conflict poses to the environment.

In a statement issued to mark the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, he urged the international community to look for ways to encourage environmental protection in wartime.

Also marking the day is a statement from Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Toepfer says that, after a war, people will struggle even harder to recover their dignity and health if their very life support systems have been damaged.

ANNAN URGES NATIONS TO ACHIEVE MILLENNIUM GOALS

The Secretary-General today urged a world economic conference in China to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. He said those goals are different from the broken promises of the previous fifty years, because they have political support and they are achievable.

He said there is no autopilot, no magic of the marketplace, and no rising tide in the global economy that will lift all boats, and added that democratic governance and sound development strategies are paramount.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN ENVOY SCOLDS HOUSING DEMOLITION IN PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: The UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Miloon Kothari, issued a statement condemning the continuing practice by the Israeli forces of housing demolitions in the Occupied Territories. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that these acts have left thousands of residents homeless and harmed the livelihood of thousands more, particularly in and around Gaza.

UN JOINS PUSH FOR PARTNERSHIP AGAINST AIDS IN CHINA: On Wednesday in Beijing, Harvard University, the World Economic Forum and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) hosted the first meeting of Government, business and civil society representatives in China to discuss potential partnerships to fight AIDS in China. At that meeting, Harvard Professor John Ruggie warned that unless China acts decisively, it will find itself on an African trajectory, just 15 years behind, adding that there is still time in China to avert the worst-case scenario on AIDS.

UNESCO SAYS GIRLS STILL FACE DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLING: Despite progress achieved in the 1990s, girls continue to face sharp discrimination in access to schooling in a majority of developing countries, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says in a report released today. UNESCO says education inequality is a major infringement of fundamental human rights, and it represents an important obstacle to social and economic development.

ANNAN ASKS FOR EXTENSION OF GREAT LAKES ENVOY: A letter from the Secretary-General to the Security Council asks for an extension of the mandate of his Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Ibrahima Fall, by one year, until the end of December 2004.

UN BUDGET: Tuvalu today paid more than $13,500 to the UN regular budget, becoming the 121st Member State to pay its regular budget dues in full for this year.

CONDOLENCES: The Secretary-General has written letters of condolence to the families of two distinguished former UN staff members who recently passed away: C.V. Narasimhan, a former Chief of Staff to three Secretaries-General; and Gen. Prem Chand, a true legend among UN peacekeepers, whose service, the Secretary-General wrote, set a standard for several generations of peacekeepers.

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