United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-01-27

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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

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

ANNAN: UNITED NATIONS TO SEND ELECTORAL TEAM TO

IRAQ,

ONCE SATISFIED WITH SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS

In a statement issued today in Paris, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that, at the meeting on 19 January, both the Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority asked him to send a technical mission to Iraq to establish whether elections for a transitional national assembly can be held before the transfer of sovereignty on 30 June, and if not, what alternative arrangement would be acceptable.

Since then, he said, the United Nations has been analyzing the situation and studying the relevant documents. The Secretary-General has concluded that the United Nations can play a constructive role in helping to break the current impasse.

Therefore, once he is satisfied that the Coalition Provisional Authority will provide adequate security arrangements, he will send a mission to

Iraq

in response to the requests that he received.

The mission will ascertain the views of a broad spectrum of Iraqi society in the search for alternatives that might be developed to move forward to the formation of a provisional government. The mission will report to the Secretary-General on its return to New York.

The Secretary-General added that he has already made clear that in his view there is no single right way. He strongly holds to the idea that the most sustainable way forward would be one that came from the Iraqis themselves. Consensus amongst all Iraqi constituencies would be the best guarantee of a legitimate and credible transitional governance arrangement for Iraq.

At a press encounter in Paris

later today, the Secretary-General said he hoped that the mission he has decided to send to Iraq will have the chance to talk to a large number of Iraqis. He added his hope that their presence and efforts will help the Iraqis come to a consensus, reiterating his firm belief that if the Iraqis can agree on the way forward, then we can have a legitimate, acceptable process. Otherwise, he warned, we run the risk that the conflict will continue.

In response to numerous questions on the details of the electoral team, the Spokeswoman said that she could not provide further operational details on the mission from a security point of view. "We don't want to put out staff at any further risk," she said.

When asked about sending asecond UN security assessment team to Iraq, ahead of the electoral team, the Spokeswoman said that the additional security team had arrived in Iraq earlier today. The Spokeswoman declined further comment on the matter, noting the importance of the teams safety.

Responding to questions about when the electoral team might be going into Iraq, the Spokeswoman said that the security team on the ground would have to complete its work, and then report to the Secretary-General, who would have to review its findings before he can give a green light to send in the electoral team.

In response to questions about the two security teams on the ground, she explained that the first team, a security liaison team, had arrived last Friday in Iraq with the primary purpose of liaising with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the coalition forces, as well as providing a focal point for UN national staff remaining in Iraq. Also, it is to start liaison work for the possible return of UN international staff in the future. The planning of the first security teams activities in Iraq was conducted before the 19 January talks.

UN ENVOY BRAHIMI IN WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR TALKS WITH U.S. OFFICIALS

In response to questions about the activities of the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Spokeswoman said Brahimi is in Washington, D.C., where he has a number of appointments, including a luncheon at the National Press Club.

He was also scheduled to meet senior U.S. officials to discuss mostly Afghanistan. These officials include the Under-Secretary for Global Affairs, Paula J. Dobriansky, with whom he discussed gender issues in Afghanistan.

He is also set to meet the Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, and the Assistant Secretary of State, William Burns. Brahimi was also scheduled to meet U.S. National Security advisor, Condoleezza Rice and her deputy Robert Blackwell. These meetings are being held at the invitation of the U.S.

government.

ANNAN WELCOMES FRENCH CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL COMPACT

The Secretary-Generals statement on Iraq came out while he was in Paris, where today he met during a working luncheon with French President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

In addition to talking about Iraq, they also discussed Cote dIvoire, Sudan, Ethiopia/Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other African issues. They also touched on Afghanistan, UN reform, the slavery of women, Haiti and AIDS.

After lunch the Secretary-General met with Jacques Dermagne, the President of the Economic and Social Council of France. They discussed the Councils work in the fight against poverty.

Later in the day, he attended a meeting hosted by President Chirac, bringing together business executives to discuss the Global Compact.

The Secretary-General told the group that he warmly welcomed the creation of a French network in support of the Compact, which will join more than 50 other such networks in the world. He said we must recognize that the fight against corruption is essential to give meaning to the principles we wish to uphold. We have copies of his remarks upstairs.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General had also met with the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Eduard Balladur, who presented him with a report on globalization.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON EXTENSION OF WESTERN SAHARA

MANDATE

The Security Council held consultations this morning on UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Hedi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed on the latest report on Western Sahara in which the Secretary-General recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of MINURSO until 30 April 2004, to allow time for his Special Envoy James Baker to consult further with Morocco on its final response to the peace plan submitted to the parties in January of last year.

Following the consultations, the Security Council President, Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz said that there was consensus to extend the mission by three months, and vote was scheduled on Friday.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ON GEORGIA, LEBANON

This afternoon starting at 3 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled a private meeting on the UN Observer Mission in Georgia to be followed by consultations on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

Monday evening, at the end of a day-long open meeting on post-conflict reconciliation and the role of the United Nations., the Council adopted a statement, read out by Maria Soledad Alvear Valenzuela, Foreign Minister of Chile. She said Member States would examine further how to harness the UN's expertise on the issue so that the world learns from lessons from the past.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR

STRENGTHENING OF COLLECTIVE SECURITY

On the second day of her visit to India, the Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today delivered the keynote address on The United Nations, Multilateralism and International Security at the 6th Asian Security Conference.

In her speech, she outlined the changing security agenda, determined by heightened concerns about terrorism and other threats to peace, as well as the dangers posed by poverty, hunger, disease, crime, and environmental degradation.

The Deputy Secretary-General spoke of unilateral acts of force as a fundamental challenge to the existing principles of world peace and stability and called for a strengthening of collective security.

Regarding UN peacekeeping, she noted that developing countries are providing the greatest contribution to peacekeeping operations but even this support is insufficient to meet rising demands.

UNITED NATIONS IS READY TO INCREASE HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES IN

CHECHNYA

Jan Egeland, the UNs chief humanitarian official, is in the Chechen capital of Grozny today where he met government officials to discuss the coordination of humanitarian issues.

While in Grozny, Egeland also toured a number of sites including a temporary accommodation center for returnees, a childcare center that provides psychological assistance to disabled children and mine victims, as well as a maternity hospital.

Egeland noted that substantial numbers of people are now returning from neighboring Ingushetiya to Chechnya and that the United Nations stood ready to increase its work in Chechnya.

COLLABORATION NEEDED IN FIGHTAGAINST SPREAD OF BIRD FLU

The Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the World Health Organization are calling for broad international collaboration in the fight against the spread of avian influenza virus, also known as bird flu.

The three agencies have appealed for funds and technical assistance to countries plagued by bird flu. They add that although it hasnt happened yet, bird flu could evolve into an efficient and dangerous virus for humans.

So far, Viet Nam

has reported seven cases of bird flu infection in humans, six of them fatal. Thailand

has reported three cases, two of them fatal.

NIGERIAN POLIO OUTBREAK SPREADS TO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The Central African Republic

has become the

seventh polio-free country to have a polio outbreak caused by the virus importation from

Nigeria.

The World Health Organization says the outbreak is linked to viruses circulating in northern Nigeria

last year, where polio immunization campaigns have been suspended since August 2003.

Until now, the Central African Republic

had not reported polio cases since July 2000. WHO says it is critical that Nigeria

immediately resume its polio immunization campaigns in the north to stop the outbreak and the continuing risk it poses to children in countries across west and central Africa.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN ENVOY COMMENDS EGYPTIAN MIDDLE EAST PEACE EFFORTS: In Israel today, the

UN Middle East Envoy Terje Roed Larsen, met Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher and the head of Egypts Intelligence service, Omar Sulieman. During the meeting, Larsen thanked the government of Egypt

for its efforts in reaching a ceasefire between Palestinian groups and Israel

as well for its push to revive the peace process. Larsen called the Egyptian efforts commendable.

COLOMBIAS LEADERS URGED TO RESTORE BASIC RIGHTS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE: Kamel Morjane, the Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, plans to urge Colombias leaders to do all they can to restore the basic rights of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people in that country. Morjane is on a week-long mission to Colombia and Ecuador. He has been visiting areas which have been affected by internal displacement and blockades by armed groups. He will meet Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as well as other government officials today. More than 1 million displaced people were registered by the Colombian government between 2000 and 2003.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY BEGINS REGISTERING SUDANESE REFUGEES: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says teams have begun registering thousands of newly arrived refugees along the Chad-Sudan border so aid agencies can start distributing urgently needed assistance. The refugees left Sudan following attacks on their villages on January 16 and the following days. The teams have spent several days checking border areas in search of refugees, often driving hours in the bush before finding scattered groups.

UN CONDEMNS MURDER OF CAMBODIAN TRADE UNION LEADER: Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, has condemned the murder last week of Cambodian trade union leader, Chea Vichea, and appealed to the Cambodian authorities to do their utmost to bring the killers and their masters to justice.

UNDP ISSUES REPORT ON

GENDER ISSUES IN

UKRAINE: A report on Gender issues in the Ukraine, just issued by the UN Development Programme, analyses the difficult path towards gender equality in a country where traditional family and patriarchal values have been paramount. The report looks at trends in family responsibilities, education, the workplace and the political and civil arena and concludes that women face clear disparities in most spheres.

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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