United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-01-26

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

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, January 26, 2004

ANNAN CALLS FOR GREATER EFFORTS TO PREVENT GENOCIDE

The world must do more to prevent genocide from ever taking place again, Secretary-General Kofi Annan

said today, including the possibility of having the states that are party to the Genocide Convention set up a Committee to Prevent Genocide. In an address to the Stockholm International Forum in Sweden today, the Secretary-General said that genocide has happened in our time, while States even refused to call it by its name, to avoid fulfilling their obligations.

All of us, he said, failed to prevent genocide in Rwanda and in Srebrenica; with the United Nations, he noted, instead of reinforcing our troops, we withdrew them.

Although the United Nations has since reformed its peacekeeping work, he added, the day has yet to come when we can say with confidence that the world would respond effectively, when confronted with a new Rwanda or Srebrenica.

The Secretary-General also recommended establishing a special rapporteur on the prevention of genocide, who would report directly to the Security Council.

After he gave that speech, the Secretary-General attended a luncheon hosted by the King of Sweden, and, in the afternoon, he had a private meeting with the former UN chief weapons inspector in

Iraq, Hans Blix.

He also met with Vidar Helgesen, Norways State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed Norways efforts to strengthen the peace process in Sri Lanka, and also spoke about peace prospects in Sudan and the Secretary-Generals

high-level panel for change.

Sunday, when he arrived in Stockholm, the Secretary-General

met with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, with whom he discussed Cyprus, UN reform and the UN role in Iraq.

The Secretary-General has arrived in Paris, where Tuesday, he is scheduled to attend a working luncheon, hosted by French President Jacques Chirac, and address a

Global Compact meeting.

ANNAN TO DECIDE ON IRAQ REQUEST

When asked when and how the Secretary-General will respond to last week's request to send an electoral mission to

Iraq, the Spokeswoman confirmed that the Secretary-General told reporters Sunday night that he expected to make a decision between then and Tuesday.

She added that she would try to get something more definitive about how the response will be made by the end of the evening in Paris.

ANNAN HOPES SRI LANKA PEACE TALKS COULD RESUME IN NEAR FUTURE In a statement issued in New York, the Secretary-General expressed his concern over the difficult situation in Sri Lanka. He hopes nevertheless that the peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could resume in the near future. He is most grateful for the positive contribution of Norway to the process and hopes that the Norwegian Government will resume its efforts to bring the parties to the negotiating table.

The Secretary-General is glad that the parties continue to respect the Cease-fire Agreement of February 2002 and appreciates the role played by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). He also appeals to the international community to continue its assistance to areas most affected by the war.

TURKISH LEADER TELLS ANNAN OF STRONG DESIRE TO RESOLVING CYPRUS ISSUE

The Secretary-General

met on Saturday in Davos with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and, in a

statement afterwards the Secretary-General was encouraged by the constructive exchange they had on

Cyprus, in which the Prime Minister indicated his Governments strong desire for the Turkish Cypriots to resume talks with the Greek Cypriots, with a view to resolving outstanding issues by May 1.

The Secretary-General told the Prime Minister he would study his position carefully, and indicated that his good offices were still open if the parties were to demonstrate the will to conclude an agreement, with UN assistance, including the holding of referenda, by May 1.

In other meetings held in Davos, the Secretary-General that day also discussed the Middle East with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and met as well with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, discussing with him Iraq, Cyprus and the Secretary-Generals high-level panel on change.

Before leaving Davos on Sunday, the Secretary-General had a breakfast meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of some of the worlds largest corporations to discuss the

Global Compact. He challenged them to think of ways to make the Compact more effective.

On Friday evening, his meetings included one with the Foreign Minister or Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, with whom he discussed Irans efficient handling of the tragic earthquake in Bam. They also talked about

Afghanistan, the

Middle East and different ways that interim leaders could be chosen in

Iraq.

He also spoke with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, expressing his profound satisfaction at efforts being made by India and Pakistan to overcome their long-standing differences over Kashmir and to normalize their relations. He offered his full support. They also discussed Afghanistan and Iraq.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS DISCUSS POST-CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The Security Council is holding an open meeting today on post-conflict reconciliation and the role of the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear of Chile, speaking in her capacity as Security Council President, also read out a message from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Late Friday afternoon, Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz, in his capacity as Security Council President, read two press statements on late Friday afternoon one on the Central African Republic and the other on Burundi.

RIGHTS OF AFGHAN WOMEN CONTINUE TO BE VIOLATED

The Secretary-General says that, despite some progress made since the fall of the Taliban, women in many parts of Afghanistan continue to face gross violations of their rights, which are seriously hampered by culture, customs and the lack of security.

In a

report to the Economic and Social Council, which is out on the racks today, he notes that many Afghan women suffer from domestic violence and early and forced marriages.

Also today, we have upstairs the press briefing notes from Kabul, which mention the visit to Afghanistan next week of Antonio Maria Costa, head of the

UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

The Acting UN Special Representative in

Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, was present today when President Hamid Karzai signed the Afghan Constitution, formally putting the document, agreed to earlier this month, into effect. It took a few weeks for the Constitution to be signed after its adoption, to reconcile the Dari and Pashto versions of the text.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS INDIA

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette is on an official visit to India from 25 to 30 January. Today, she will be participating in the ceremonies to mark Republic Day.

On Tuesday, she will make the keynote address at the 6th Asian Security Conference organized by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, on the theme United Nations, Multilateralism and International Security.

During her visit, the Deputy Secretary-General will meet with Indian Government officials, as well as the UN country team.

ANNAN MOURNS DEATH OF FORMER E.U. POLICE CHIEF TO BOSNIA

The Secretary-General is saddened to learn that Mr. Sven Frederiksen, the Head of the European Union Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, died earlier today in Sarajevo.

Frederiksen was a distinguished officer from the Danish police service, with the rank of Commander of Police, who made a significant contribution to the efforts of the United Nations to bring peace and stability to the Balkans.

His first assignment with the UN was as sector commander with the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Croatia in 1992. He returned to UNPROFOR as Police Commissioner in 1994 and the following year he assisted in the preparation of the Dayton Peace Accords. In 1999, Frederiksen was appointed Commissioner of Police in the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and in 2002 he became Commissioner of the United Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Secretary-General would like to convey his condolences to Frederiksen's family.

FRENCH GENERAL TO TAKE OVER COMMAND OF UN FORCE IN LEBANON

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Major-General Alain Pellegrini of France as Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to succeed Major-General Lalit Mohan Tewari, who relinquishes his post on 17 February 2004.

GHANA PEACEKEEPING CENTER HONORS KOFI ANNAN

Over the weekend, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre was opened in Accra, Ghana, and the Secretary-General said he was deeply honored and moved that a forum to share the experiences of Ghanaian peacekeepers was named after him.

In a message delivered over the weekend, the Secretary-General noted that

United Nations peacekeeping has undergone a dramatic surge in activity, with six major UN operations underway in Africa alone and several more in the planning stages.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HUMAN RIGHTS: Racism, discrimination, xenophobia, these are some of the topics being addressed at a Human Rights Commission meeting which began in Geneva today. Bertrand Ramcharan the acting High Commissioner for Human Rights

addressed the meeting which will work on developing tangible anti-racism recommendations in the areas of poverty education, and the issues of standards. Also today Ramcharan addressed the Board of Trustees on Contemporary Forms of Slavery in his speech, he suggested that it may be time to produce a World Report on modern day slavery.

SMALL ISLANDS CONFERENCE: A one-week forum of

Small Islands Developing States opened this morning in the Bahamas. Attended by some 300 representatives of small islands, donor countries, NGOs and experts, the forum is preparing the ground for the International Conference for the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action on Small Islands, to be held in Mauritius in August. The conference will address pressing environmental issues for small islands such as the rising sea levels due to global warming and vulnerability to cyclones, as well as matters of good governance, trade, tourism, transport, communications, and the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

HIGH LEVEL PANEL ON CHANGE: In response to a question about the

High Level Panel on Global Security Threats, Challenges and Change, the Spokeswoman referred to an upcoming briefing at UN headquarters featuring the work of the Panel.

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

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