United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-11-19

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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, November 19, 2003

SECURITY COUNCIL ENDORSES MIDDLE EAST ROAD MAP

[The Security Council today voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that endorses the Road Map for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and calls on the parties to fulfil their obligations under the Road Map and to achieve the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security.]

Prior to that vote, the Security Council had heard a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast on the Middle East. Prendergast said that the period of inertia, excuses and conditionality in the Middle East peace process must end. He noted that while the last month had been one of relative quiet, it had been met not with positive steps but with inaction.

Everyone, he said in an open meeting, has waited for the other to act. But progress cannot be contingent on the actions expected of others. There is much, Prendergast went on to say, that Israelis and Palestinians can and should do to meet their Road Map obligations.

He also told Council members that the International Community would be judged on the effectiveness of its efforts. In acting through the Quartet, he said, the international community must be actively engaged in assisting the parties and monitoring progress.

Prendergast noted the recent reports on the possibility of the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers meeting, as well as the talk of a new cease-fire. These tender shoots need nourishing, he said.

Prendergast told the Council that the two recent civil society peace initiatives were welcome. Not only, he said, do they reveal a strong underlying desire on the part of both peoples for a peaceful settlement, they also revive the hope of each side that in the other there is a partner for peace.

He also updated Council members on the situation along the Blue Line, which he says remains tense.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS EXPLOITATION OF DR CONGO RESOURCES

[The Security Council, in a Presidential Statement adopted early this afternoon, took note of the final report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and condemned the continuing exploitation of that countrys natural resources. It urged all concerned States to take the appropriate steps to end these illegal activities.]

The Special Representative of the Secretary General in the Democratic Republic of Congo, William Swing, traveled to the Rwandan capital of Kigali today to discuss with Rwandan authorities conditions for the repatriation of Rwandan combatants currently in Congo. He will also discuss the role which the UN Mission in the country can play through its program for the disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration of foreign armed groups.

[In an afternoon meeting, the Security Council adopted a presidential statement in connection with its consideration of "The Importance of Mine Action for Peacekeeping Operations."]

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS END OF OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM

The UNs administration of the oil for food program comes to an end this Friday at midnight. Operational responsibility for the seven-year-old program, including all humanitarian projects funded by oil revenues, assets ranging from schools to power stations and all contracts with suppliers will be transferred to the Coalition Provisional Authority.

At 4 p.m. during closed consultations, the Office of the Iraq Programmes Executive Director, Benon Sevan, will update Security Council members on the winding down of the UNs role in the program.

On Tuesday, $1 billion was transferred from the Oil for Food account to the Development Fund for Iraq. To date, $3 billion has been transferred.

ANNAN SEES NEW POLITICAL MOMENTUM IN GREAT LAKES

There is a new political momentum in Africas Great Lakes region as preparations proceed for an international conference on the area, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

He says the establishment of a transitional government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the staging of general elections in Rwanda and the progress of the Burundi peace process means there is a new momentum in the region on which it is important to capitalize.

But there also remain challenges and constraints on organizing a successful conference, he warns in the report.

INDIVIDUAL U.N. AGENCIES APPEAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AID

Following the launch on Tuesday by the Secretary-General of a $3 billion Consolidated Appeal for 2004, individual UN agencies have started to call for contributions to humanitarian assistance activities. This year, the appeal looks at 21 specific crises that are regional and require a complex coordinated response.

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy reminded donors that, as important as the crises affecting Afghanistan and Iraq are, these are not the only places in the world where childrens lives are being devastated by emergency conditions.

The World Health Organization is also calling on donors to invest urgently in health services for 45 million children, women and men caught up in the worlds deadliest crises.

U.N. MINE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED IN AFGHANISTANS GHAZNI PROVINCE

On Monday, the Afghan driver of a vehicle belonging to a partner agency of the UN Mine Action Centre was carjacked in the southeastern Afghan town of Ghazni by four armed men, who beat him before letting him go.

The Mine Action Centre, upon learning about the incident Tuesday, suspended all its operations in Ghazni Province until adequate security measures are put in place.

UNICEF NOTES PROGRESS FOR AFGHAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The UN Childrens Fund says that Afghan women and children have seen unparalleled progress in health, nutrition, water and education in the two years since the fall of the Taliban regime.

There has been a huge increase in the number of children enrolled in Afghan schools, with some four million now enrolled in classes throughout the country more than ever seen in Afghanistans history. A third of those children are girls, with the boy-girl ratio in schools returning to pre-Taliban levels.

AID NEEDS IN COTE D'IVOIRE OUTSTRIP RESPONSE

The humanitarian needs of the population of Cote d'Ivoire outstrip the ability of aid organizations to respond.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also warns that the situation could worsen unless serious problems of protection are not addressed.

In one example, the Office says hundreds of non-native migrant farmers have been driven from their lands in an apparent cocoa dispute. Humanitarian agencies have been prevented access to the area of concern.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN OFFICE IN GUINEA BISSAU: The Security Council has extended the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau until the end of 2004.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK TO APPEAR BEFORE U.N. TRIBUNAL: General Wesley Clark has been ordered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to testify on the fifteenth and sixteenth of December as a witness in the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

ANNAN TO CONFER SASAKAWA PRIZE TONIGHT: The Secretary-General will confer the UN Environment Programmes annual Sasakawa Prize to two environmentalists one from China and one from Brazil in a ceremony this evening at the New York Historical Society.

SYMPOSIUM ON POPULATION AND AIDS TO BE HELD: There will be a Symposium on Population and HIV/AIDS at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium this afternoon between 4:00 and 6:00. The Symposium is organized by the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Land-Locked Countries and Small island Developing States.

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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