United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-11-13

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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

Thursday, November 13, 2003

SECURITY REMAINS PRIMARY FACTOR IN RETURN OF UN STAFF TO BAGHDAD

Asked about Secretary-General Kofi Annan's views about the debate going on in Washington, D.C. regarding U.S. policy in Iraq, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General's views of what he felt should be done in Iraq had been given earlier to the member of the Security Council and had not changed. To the extent that the U.S. views are moving in the direction of those expressed by the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General was gratified and feels that such a shift would be better for everyone involved in Iraq, as well as for the Iraqis themselves.

Asked if this meant there could be a more rapid return of UN staff to Iraq, the Spokesman answered that their prospects for return is primarily related to security. Should there be an improvement in security as a result of policy change, the Spokesman added, the Secretary-General would be more willing to send staff back in. The Spokesman said that these were some of the issues under discussion in Cyprus, but a sudden decision should not be expected.

The Spokesman said that the current security situation does not allow the United Nations to implement the mandate given by the Security Council in Iraq aggressively.

Asked what measures are being taken in the UN to protect the decision-making process to return staff to Iraq from political pressure from Member States, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General had the responsibility for the safety of his staff and reaffirms his right to take people in or out based on an assessment of the security situation. He added that there have been some cases which prompted the Secretary-General and his predecessors to retain a small number of staff in conflict areas where the risks were deemed to be permissible.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN MISSION IN COTE DIVOIRE

The Security Council today unanimously approved a resolution 1514 (2003) extending the mandate of the UN Special Political Mission on Cote d'Ivoire until February 4, 2004.

In that resolution, the Council also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Council by January 10 on the Missions efforts to facilitate peace and stability in Cote dIvoire, including how those efforts might be improved and, in particular, the possible reinforcement of the UN presence in that country.

ANNAN SALUTES BOLIVIA'S EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CRISIS PEACEFULLY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is in Bolivia, where today he attended a ceremony with the Mayor of La Paz, following which he met with the heads of the UN agencies and UN staff members. After that he had a meeting with President Carlos Mesa.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General will attend a working lunch with the President and his Cabinet, and he will also address Bolivias National Congress and will go on to meet with some 30 indigenous leaders from all over the country.

In the evening, he will fly to Santa Cruz, the site of the Ibero-American Summit.

On Wednesday evening, the Secretary-General flew to Bolivia, where he was met by the Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles. He landed in the city of El Alto, which was the center of last months protests against the Government, during which at least 70 demonstrators died in clashes with security forces.

In his remarks at the welcoming ceremony, the Secretary-General said that he knew the past weeks had not been easy for Bolivians, but it was heartening to know that they had resolved their differences through constitutional means.

He underlined the need to work for reconciliation and justice and added: To address the very serious social and economic problems confronting your country, it is important to work to strengthen your democratic institutions, while upholding the rule of law

Before arriving in Bolivia, the Secretary-General traveled to Macchu Picchu in Peru, where he spoke of the enormous contributions of indigenous peoples to human civilization and also called attention to the fact that these communities suffer prejudice, poverty, disease, and even the threat of extinction.

In a separate program, Nane Annan this afternoon will visit a project supported by the UN Development Programme in a park in La Paz which provides employment for recovering drug addicts, alcoholics and victims of domestic abuse.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES IMPORTANCE OF MINE ACTION

The Security Council this morning went into an open meeting on The Importance of Mine Action for Peacekeeping Operations.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno briefed on the subject, saying that mine action is a dynamic component of peacekeeping operations that contributes to the way the United Nations plan operations and conducts its work.

He cited some examples of ways mine action has contributed to peace operations, in areas ranging from enabling the safe deployment of peacekeeping operations in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Ethiopia and Eritrea and Lebanon to building confidence between opposing parties in the Sudan.

Guehenno said it was appropriate that the discussion was taking placing under the Council Presidency of Angola, one of the worlds most severely-mined countries.

He also noted that the Security Council had just had a first-hand experience visiting the UN Mine Action Service, which manages in Afghanistan the worlds largest mine action program.

All Council members spoke during the meeting.

COUNCIL UPDATED ON WORK OF AL QAEDA AND TALIBAN COMMITTEE

The Security Council on Wednesday heard a briefing in closed consultations from Ambassador Heraldo Muņoz of Chile, the chair of the Sanctions Committee dealing with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He informed Council members about his recent travels to Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Indonesia and Germany. During those travels, he tried to push for support for implementing and reporting on follow-up to the Al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions.

Speaking to reporters after the consultations, Muņoz noted the continuing challenges in dealing with al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He said that his committees consolidated list of individuals and entities associated with those organizations boasts only 372 names compared to some 4,000 individuals who have been arrested worldwide in recent years for their links with those groups.

Muņoz also urged nations to submit reports on their implementation of the Council resolutions on al-Qaeda and the Taliban. So far, only 84 states have submitted such reports.

AFTER ATTACK UN BUILDING, BRAHIMI SAYS UN IS THERE TO HELP AFGHANS

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, responded to the Tuesday bomb attack that damaged the UN compound in Kandahar by voicing his concern for the Afghan student who was injured in the attack, and by affirming that the UN role in the country is to help the Afghan people.

We did not in the past, and do not now, have any agenda for or against anybody, he said. Our only agenda has been and remains to help the people of Afghanistan establish peace and stability and reconstruction.

He appealed to the Government of Afghanistan to provide more security for the United Nations, so that it can continue to provide the services that we can give to the people of Afghanistan.

In addition to the student who was hospitalized after the blast, one local guard and one local staff member working for the UN Mission in Afghanistan suffered injuries, while the compounds near the blast all suffered extensive physical damage.

The UN Mission confirmed that, as a routine part of the investigation into the attack, three local security guards have been arrested and are being questioned.

Asked about Brahimis travels, the Spokesman said that the Special Representative would be traveling to Japan, the United Kingdom and France, starting this Friday. In Hiroshima, Japan, he will deliver a keynote address at a conference on post-conflict society. In the United Kingdom, he will attend a debate on Afghanistan at St. Anthonys College, Oxford. He will make to stops in France, first in Paris to launch the French version of the Human Security Now report and will then go to Nice to deliver the commencement address at Sophia-Antipolis University. He is expected back in Kabul at the end of November.

Asked what could be done to deal with the threat of additional attacks on UN premises in Afghanistan, the Spokesman that security of UN staff is the responsibility of the host Government. He went to say that there may be other ways to do business which could lower the threat level there.

UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF STRESSES NEED TO PROTECT CIVILIANS IN DRC

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, is continuing his trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Today he traveled to Kindu and Bukavu in eastern part of the country where he met with the governor of the province, whom he urged to continue efforts to end human rights abuses and violations against civilians. The Governor there assured Egeland that he would work to this end.

He was also able to meet with local humanitarian workers as well as the personnel from the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC. They informed him that access around the town of Kindu--which had been cut off for several years--is now becoming easier. However, as they move outside the town of Kindu, they are finding large-scale humanitarian needs.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday afternoon in Kinshasa, Egeland reaffirmed the moral obligation of the international community to assist the vulnerable people of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He also called on the authorities in the country to comply with the agreements already signed, in order to bring about the much needed peace and respect for human rights that Congo has long sought. He added that the authorities must ensure the protection of the civilian population and underscored the need for more access to the vulnerable in conflict areas.

ACTION NEEDED TO AVERT FOOD CRISIS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

UN agencies in the Central African Republic are warning that the country could experience an acute food crisis by February or March if no action is taken now.

According to the local representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the people of the Central African Republic, the majority of whom are farmers, had to eat their seed supplies before fleeing an armed rebellion in the country that lasted from October 2002 until March 2003. A large number of people also remain displaced, both internally and in neighboring Chad.

In April 2003, the UN launched a Flash Appeal to mobilize sufficient resources to meet the enormous needs of the 2.2 million inhabitants of the countrys rural areas. To date, just 20 percent of the $9 million required under the Flash Appeal have been received, and all of those contributions are for food aid.

UN humanitarian agencies fear that a failure to address humanitarian needs in other sectors like health and agriculture will jeopardize the consolidation of peace in the country.

A new consolidated appeal for this country is expected to be launched next week in Geneva.

UN WESTERN SAHARA ENVOY MAKES FIRST VISIT TO RABAT

Alvaro de Soto, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Western Sahara, is in Rabat, to meet with Moroccan officials.

De Soto will meetsubsequently with the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO in Rabouni and with Algerian and Mauritanian officials in Algiers and Nouakchott as part of his first tour of the region.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

UN FORCE COMMANDER MEETS COMBATANTS IN LIBERIA: The Force Commander of the UN Mission in Liberia, Gen. Daniel Opande, and Defence Minister Daniel Chea on Wednesday visited Gapo Town in River Cess County to investigate reports of fighting between former Government militias and forces of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia. Today, the new UN Police Commissioner for Liberia,Mark Kroeker, was introduced and said the purpose of the UN Civilian Police Unit is to not to be the police force, but to develop the police of Liberia.

ACCOUNTABILITY CONFERENCE STARTS IN TIMOR LESTE: The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Kamalesh Sharma, today spoke at the start of a two-day conference on transparency and accountability that is taking place in Dili, and called for sustained attention against corruption as an essential step for the countrys development. The Timorese Government is organizing the conference with support from the UN Mission in the country and from the UN Development Programme.

The guest at the Noon Briefing was Hina Jilani, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Human Rights Defenders. She briefed journalists about her recent report to the General Assembly's Third Committee.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

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

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