United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-03-03

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

BY

FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, March 3, 2004

ANNAN RECEIVES ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT ON SECURITY ISSUES

RELATED TO AUGUST ATTACK ON UN HEADQUARTERS IN IRAQ

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today will receive the report of the Security in Iraq Accountability Panel from its chairman, Gerald Walzer.

Following the recommendations of the Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel headed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, which looked at the security issues related to the August 19th attack in Baghdad, this panel was tasked by the Secretary-General to carry out a comprehensive study to examine the role of all individuals and UN entities involved in UN security in Iraq.

Once the report is in the hands of the Secretary-General, it will be up to him to take administrative or disciplinary action, as he deems appropriate.

The report is based on the study of relevant internal documents and interviews with more than 140 people, some of whom were interviewed more than once.

Asked whether the report would lead to disciplinary action, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had not yet received the report. Because it contained the results of interviews with so many people and observations on the activities and decision taken by various UN staff members and entities, the report had to be kept confidential.

Regarding due process, there could be disciplinary action taken, which could, in turn be appealed. It was safe to assume, the Spokesman added, that given the volume of the report it would take the Secretary-General a few days to digest it and to take decisions.

Asked whether the report would be made public in any shape or form, the Spokesman replied that the Ahtisaari report, which provided initial findings on responsibilities regarding the August bombing in Baghdad, had been made public. There had been many bombings since in Iraq, and to his knowledge, this was the only one which had been investigated, with the initial report made available to the press.

In response to a question about whether the report was in the public interest, the Spokesman said it was in the United Nations interest, and in the interest of fairness, to protect individuals who may be named in it.Neither would it be given to Member States. The report was an administrative matter for the Secretary-General, and the Spokesman assumed that the report would be seen by a limited number of people on the Secretary-generals own staff.

Asked whether the Report encompassed UN staff or looked beyond, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General was looking at his staff and his procedures, and what role they played, if any, in the horrific events of August 19.

ANNAN HOPES TERROR ATTACKS WON'T DELAY

RESUMPTION OF ASSISTANCE TO IRAQI PEOPLE

The Secretary-General was asked by a reporter this morning whether yesterdays terror attacks in Iraq would delay the arrival of UN teams, and he said the United Nations was still hoping to go back to assist the Iraqis.

He added that what happened yesterday was tragic, and he felt sorry for all those who had lost loved ones, but he affirmed that it will not impede the United Nations from its determination to help the Iraqi people.

Asked whether the United Nations had received any request from the Iraqi Governing Council or the Coalition Provisional Authority regarding recommendations for the elections, the Spokesman said that as of Tuesday afternoon, the United Nations had not formally heard from the Iraqis on the technical side regarding elections or on the political side regarding Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi.

HUMANITARIAN AID, REGULAR ACTIVITY RESUME IN HAITI

According to the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, people in Haiti are starting to resume their normal activities in Port-au-Prince today, though there are still pockets of insecurity around the city.

UNICEF reports that its airlift of emergency supplies arrived in Port au Prince at 10 a.m. this morning. The cargo includes medical supplies along with water, nutritional, sanitation and educational materials to meet the most basic needs of 30,000 vulnerable children for three months.

The World Food Programme, whose in-country stocks were largely looted, has a ship carrying 1,200 tons of food waiting offshore until it can safely deliver its cargo.

In addition, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) yesterday began the distribution of fuel supplies to restore service at 10 Haitian hospitals. PAHO officials report that only one of its warehouses, a small building in the port area, was looted during the disturbances of the past days.

As part of its efforts to coordinate the international response to the emergency in Haiti, the United Nations has named its top official in that country, Adama Guindo, as its Humanitarian Coordinator there. His responsibilities will now include overseeing production of the Humanitarian Appeal.

Asked why the United Nations had not announced the appointment of the UNDP Resident Coordinator in Haiti as the representative of the international community on the Tripartite Council, the Spokesman confirmed that Guindo was participating in this Tripartite mechanism which was a part of the CARICOM plan. He was doing so with the authorization of the Secretary-General. In the chaos of the moment, the Secretariat may have neglected to mention it.

Asked what the next steps for the United Nations were in Haiti, the Spokesman said the United Nations was working on the detailed planning for the follow-up force approved by the Security Council on Sunday. To that end an interdisciplinary team would be going to Haiti, most likely in the early part of next week.

In the meantime, the Special Envoy, Reginald Dumas, was continuing his consultations at Headquarters.

In response to a question on the multinational force, he said that the Security Council had authorized the formation of this force and gave it terms of reference, but the force would decide how it went about its work.

Asked whether the Secretary-General had made any effort to contact former President Aristide, the Spokesman said he hadnt done so since Aristide had left Haiti. Asked whether the Secretary-General had had a relationship with Aristide, he said the two had spoken on and off over the years and a couple of time over the last week.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS WITH BOSNIA HIGH REPRESENTATIVE

The Security Council held a formal meeting on Bosnia and Herzegovina this morning, in which it received a periodic briefing from Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative for Bosnia, on recent developments there.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guéhenno spoke briefly to the Council, to discuss challenges that have been made against the police certification system by police officers who had been deemed unsuitable to serve in the police force.

Although the United Nations no longer has a mandate for police reform in Bosnia, Guéhenno said, it has sought to provide Ashdown with assistance in dealing with those challenges, but so far, the question remains unresolved.

He suggested that the Security Council could consider calling on the Bosnian authorities to abide by their international legal obligations.

ANNAN WELCOMES PROGRESS IN NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR TALKS

The Secretary-General has welcomed the progress at the six-party talks held last week in Beijing concerning the Korean peninsula, in a statement we issued yesterday afternoon. This round of talks has produced a noticeable step forward towards a nuclear-weapons-free Korean peninsula.

The Secretary-General will continue supporting this multilateral collective effort to resolve through negotiations the issues threatening the security and stability of the peninsula.

U.N. ENVOY MEETS WITH PARTIES IN SUDAN PEACE TALKS

The Secretary-Generals Special Adviser on Africa Mohamed Sahnoun is in Naivasha, Kenya to follow-up the Sudanese peace negotiations.

Sahnoun has met with the two sides and travel to countries in the region in support of the Sudan peace process. He will also visit Khartoum.

The United Nations, meanwhile, is continuing with planning for post peace requirements and rehabilitation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NARCOTICS BOARD REPORTS ONDRUG ABUSE AND VIOLENCE: The 2003 annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board was released today. The report focuses on the impact of drug abuse on crime and violence at the community level. Among its findings, the report stresses that its difficult and misleading to suggest a direct causal link between violence and taking illicit drugs. It also draws attention to a continued increase in Internet-based trafficking of pharmaceutical products which contain internationally controlled substances.

LINKS BETWEEN AIDS AND PRISONS TO BE DISCUSSED: Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, will be presenting evidence of the link between HIV/AIDS and drug addiction, human trafficking, and overcrowded prisons at a meeting of UNAIDS co-sponsoring organizations in Zambia tomorrow. The meeting brings together nine UN system organizations whose goal it is to prevent new HIV infections, care for those already infected, and mitigate the impact of the epidemic.

BIRD FLU OUTBREAKS TO CONTINUE: The World Health Organization is cautioning against assumptions that the outbreaks of avian influenza, or bird flu, can be controlled in the immediate future. It warns that prospects for rapid control are inconsistent with decades of worldwide experience with previous outbreaks, which have all been much smaller in scope and inherently less challenging. Over the past two months, the virus has left 22 people dead, and more than 100 million birds have either died of the disease or been culled in Asia.

HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORS DOCUMENTING SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN LIBERIA: Twenty-two human rights monitors are documenting the extent and consequences of sexual violence committed during Liberias 14 years of civil war, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced. During the three-month project, financed by UNDP and World Vision, the monitors will interview a random sampling of approximately 4,000 people. The results will be turned over to the soon-to-be constituted Truth and Reconciliation Commission.