United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-11-07

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

STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, November 7, 2003

ANNAN DISCUSSES GLOBAL THREATS AT CHILE ROUNDTABLE

On the last day of his official visit to Chile, this morning Secretary-General Kofi Annan took part in a roundtable on the Renewal of the United Nations and the Global Situation. With him were Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, who is also on an official trip to Chile. The roundtable was held on the premises of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

During the roundtable discussion, the Secretary-General remarked that this is an age of common threats and dangers: terrorism, poverty, weapons of mass destruction, disease, intolerance and injustice. These threaten us all and we must act collectively to meet them. He noted that, if we fail to do so, many will feel that multilateralism is a code word for inaction and the promise of the UN Charter will remain elusive.

The Secretary-General added that the UN must reshape its international architecture so as to maximize effective collective action against the threats we all face. The Panel of eminent persons he appointed this week would review ways to strengthen the Organization to meet this challenge.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General will end his visit to Chile and travel to Guayaquil, the main port and largest city in Ecuador.

The Secretary-General was the guest of honor Thursday night at a dinner hosted by President Lagos. In his toast, the Secretary-General noted that the Latin American region embodied almost all the potential and all the challenges that we find globally and added that he is keen to ensure that its problems receive the attention they deserve.

ANNAN PRAISES CANADAS RATIFICATION OF LAW OF THE SEA

The Secretary-General was delighted to learn that Canada has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea -- a momentous occasion in the history of the Convention. As a major coastal state, Canada has considerable special interests in maritime trade, fisheries and protection of the marine environment. It has one of the longest coastlines in the world, bordering on three oceans, and one of the largest expanses of ocean space off its coast. Canada has also been highly prominent in the development of the law of the sea, both at the Third UN Conference and as a key promoter of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement.

The Secretary-General, in a statement, congratulated Canada on this important step, and welcomed it into the family of parties to the Law of the Sea.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS AFGHAN MISSION NEXT WEEK

There are no Security Council consultations scheduled for today, with the Councils next scheduled meeting expected to take place on Tuesday morning, when it will hold an open meeting to be briefed on the Security Council mission to Afghanistan, headed by German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger. That mission is on its way back to New York.

This afternoon at 3:00, Council members will have a meeting with the troop contributors for the UN Mission in Cote dIvoire.

In a letter, the Secretary-General told the Security Council that, because of recent developments in Liberia, he will have to defer until early next year the submission of a report to the Council on whether Liberia has ceased its support for Sierra Leones Revolutionary United Front and other armed rebel groups in the region.

PANEL: SOMALIA ARMS FLOW LINKED TO EXTREMISTS ACTIVITIES

Available today is a report by the Panel of Experts examining violations of the arms sanctions on Somalia, which says that the constant flow of weapons and ammunition through that country represents hundreds of tons of arms over a six-month period. The Panel has found evidence linking violations of the arms embargo with arms flows to neighboring countries and the activities of armed groups and extremists beyond Somalias borders.

The report says that weapons destined for Somalia tend to come from or pass through Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and adds that dhows sailing from Yemen to Somalias northeast coast carry much of the weapons traffic.

The Panel says that the violations of the arms embargo have allowed transnational terrorists to obtain not only small arms but also portable air defence systems, light anti-tank weapons and explosives. The bombing of the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, last year, involved missiles brought from Yemen via Somalia.

The Panel, among other measures, recommends a more systematic monitoring mechanism to examine the arms embargo on Somalia, which would list specific violations and name violators, and suggests that such violators should be banned from receiving UN contracts.

UN ENVOY LAUNCHES ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN LIBERIA

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Liberia, Jacques Klein, on Thursday launched a $220,000 road improvement project for Monrovia. Klein said the people of Liberia have lived for too long on promises and it is now time to deliver.

Also on Liberia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said recent fighting in the central part of the country has forced some 6,000 people to flee to Saclepea, one of the larger towns in Nimba County. The agency is attempting to get supplies to them.

UNHCR also reports that High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers is in Burundi as part of a visit to refugee centers in eastern and central Africa. He will also talk to refugees and workers in Tanzania, Sudan and Eritrea.

UN WARNS OF HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN WESTERN SUDAN

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that the humanitarian situation in the Greater Darfur Region of western Sudan may emerge as that countrys worst humanitarian crisis since 1988. Insecurity there continues, with humanitarian access in some cases non-existent.

Since the escalation of the armed conflict this past February, an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 newly displaced people live in the Darfur region, and so far, humanitarian assistance to them, particularly for water, sanitation and non-food assistance, has been insufficient.

ANNAN URGES STEPS TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICT

The Secretary-Generals latest report to the Security Council and the General Assembly on children and armed conflict says that the central challenge now is to ensure the application on the ground of international standards on the protection of children.

The report notes atrocities against children in recent wars, from widespread massacres of children in Guatemala and El Salvador to a systematic campaign of torture carried out by Sierra Leones Revolutionary United Front and the abduction of children in such countries as Angola, Nepal, Sudan and Uganda.

Among other steps, the Secretary-General recommends that child protection should be systematically included in the mandates of all UN peace operations, and childrens issues should be incorporated into all peace negotiations and peace accords.

UN WELCOMES PRISONER RELEASE IN WESTERN SAHARA

The UN Mission in Western Sahara says that the Polisario Front has announced the immediate release of 300 Moroccan prisoners being held in Tindouf, whose repatriation will be handled by the Red Cross.

The UN Mission issued a statement welcoming the announcement and expressing its hope for the early release of all remaining prisoners of war, in full compliance with international humanitarian law.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN RIGHTS CHIEF SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS ESSENTIAL TO ANTI-TERRORISM: The Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, told an International Peace Academy meeting today that a societys commitment to human rights offers a vision against which the twisted stratagems of terrorists can only fail. The Acting High Commissioner said this is why human rights are so essential to the struggle against terrorism.

UN BUDGET: Morocco today paid more than $555,000 to become the 122nd Member State to pay its UN regular budget dues in full for this year. By comparison, last year, only 117 Member States had paid their dues in full by the end of the year, so the pace has improved.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, November 8

The Secretary-General will visit Galapagos Island.

Sunday, November 9

The Secretary-General is expected in Quito, Ecuador.

Monday, November 10

The Secretary-General will meet wit President Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa of Ecuador, and will also address the countrys National Congress before departing for Peru.

At 4:45 p.m., Hina Jilani, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, will brief the press.

Tuesday, November 11

The Secretary-General will meet with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo in Lima, and will address the Peruvian Congress, among other appointments.

The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing from German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger, head of the Security Council mission to Afghanistan, and it has also scheduled consultations on Cote dIvoire.

At 12:45 p.m., Morocco is sponsoring a press briefing on the International Tracoma Initiative.

Wednesday, November 12

The Secretary-General will meet with indigenous communities in Cuzco, Peru, before traveling to Bolivia.

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Georgia and on the work of its sanctions committee dealing with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Deputy Secretary-General will address Refugees International, who are to confer an award posthumously to Sergio Vieira de Mello.

At 12:45 p.m., Jean Zigler, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, will give a press briefing. Then, at 3:00 p.m., Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, will brief the press.

Thursday, November 13

In La Paz, the Secretary-General will meet with Bolivian President Carlos Mesa Gisbert and will address the Bolivian Congress and meet with indigenous and social leaders.

The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting to consider a draft resolution on the UN Mission in Cote dIvoire, and it also expects to hold an open briefing on mine action.

Friday, November 14

In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the Secretary-General will make the inaugural address at the Ibero-American Summit. He is scheduled to return to New York over the weekend.

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