United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-03-10

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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 10, 2004

ANNAN CALLS FOR LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO HAITI

At a press conference Tuesday following his meeting in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, the Secretary-General was asked about international involvement in Haiti, and he said that the commitment to Haiti would take a lot of time, and could be needed for 10 years or more.

Asked about President Jean-Bertrand Aristides ouster, he said the Security Council had acted on the basis of a letter of resignation and the transfer of power to the Chief Justice, and had determined that a multinational force was needed in the country because of the volatile environment.

Asked further about the Security Councils actions on Haiti, the Spokesman said the Council was responding to the threat of chaos, and all sides were trying to find a formula to calm the situation and restore the rule of law. He added that the United Nations was aware that not having a Parliament in session and able to act on the transfer of power is not in strict conformity with Constitutional legality.

Asked whether the Secretary-General had spoken to Aristide, the Spokesman said that Aristide had called the Secretary-General twice, prior to his departure from Haiti, but he could not provide any details of those conversations. The Secretary-General, he added in response to another question, has not been involved in any discussions of Aristides place of exile.

Asked whether the United Nations would investigate the circumstances behind Aristides departure, the Spokesman said it would do so if the Caribbean Community formally requested it.

FIRST WAVE OF U.N. ASSESSMENT TEAM ARRIVES IN HAITI

The first wave of a UN multidisciplinary assessment team went to Haiti today. Subsequent waves will be coming in the next few days.

Humanitarian assessment missions to Haiti's provinces are scheduled to resume today. A team comprising representatives from the World Food Programme and the UN Development Program is scheduled to assess needs in Gonaives and Hinche today, if security conditions allow.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization warns that farmers face the risk of being unable to sell their harvest and therefore get the resources they need to buy essential foodstuffs such as oils, meats and beans. FAO estimates that three million people are facing serious difficulties. On Tuesday, the United Nations launched a

Flash Appeal for $35 million to meet Haitis emergency needs.

UNESCO CONDEMNS SHOOTING OF SPANISH JOURNALIST IN HAITI

Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, the UN cultural organization, has called for authorities to punish those responsible for the death of a Spanish journalist in Haiti. Ricardo Ortega, of Antena 3 television, was one of at least six people apparently killed while covering a demonstration outside the Presidential Palace on Sunday.

Matsuura said it is essential that journalists be able to carry out their work in conditions of reasonable safety, even in cases of conflict.

NO U.N. PLAN ON ISRAEL-SYRIA PEACE, ANNAN SAYS

Asked in Ottawa about reports of a UN plan to broker peace between Israel and Syria, the Secretary-General said there is no such plan at the moment, although there have been discussions and working papers on what to do on the Syrian track when the time comes.

Asked about whether the United Nations was previewing a Syria-Israel peace plan, the Spokesman said that it was not. Rather, what the media had said was a plan was nothing more than some ideas, put to paper by UN Special Coordinator Terje Roed Larsen, last October.

Those ideas, he said, didnt indicate that a fresh initiative is imminent, but it was a topic that the United Nations was looking at on a planning basis. Eckhard added that he was unaware whether Larsen had discussed it recently.

The Spokesman underscored that the political conditions would have to be right for such an initiative, which was not the case at present.

U.N. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY MEETS WITH U.S. SECURITY ADVISER, QUARTET

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed Larsen, is in Washington, D.C., today, where he met with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. They discussed the situation in the Middle East, including issues related to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharons proposals concerning an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

They discussed ways in which the international community could assist the parties in this regard. They also discussed the other tracks of the peace process, including the Syrian and the Lebanese tracks.

This afternoon, Larsen will be representing the United Nations at a working-level meeting of the Quartet, which also includes the United States, Russia and the European Union. The meeting is intended to push forward the Middle East peace process and will be used to discuss recent developments, including the withdrawal proposals on Gaza.

On the Secretary-Generals instructions, Larsen will travel Thursday to London to have discussions on these issues with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

SECRETARY-GENERAL RETURNS TO NEW YORK FROM CANADA

The Secretary-General is back in his office in New York today, after returning Tuesday night from Ottawa, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and other senior officials. That meeting was followed by a working lunch with the Prime Minister, which included discussions on Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea, among other issues.

He then met with more than a dozen leading members of Canadian civil society, and they discussed in depth the role of non-governmental organizations and of Canada in implementing the Millennium Development Goals.

Before departing from Ottawa, the Secretary-General received honorary degrees from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and he noted, at that occasion, the truth behind Marshall McLuhans words, that we live in a global village.

Nane Annan, the Secretary-Generals wife, on Tuesday told a gathering of civil society representatives in Ottawa that the inequalities that exist between men and women had come to a head in the face of the global AIDS epidemic. We know about inequalities such as the feminization of poverty, she said, but now with the growing AIDS crisis, equality can be a question of life and death for women. The event was organized by the UN Association in Canada.

ANNAN: UNITED NATIONS NOT BLOCKING INVESTIGATION ON RWANDA

The Secretary-General was asked by a reporter this morning about the media reports that the United Nations was in possession of a black box of the plane that had crashed in 1994 which carried the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi. He responded that he was surprised to see the report, and has asked his people to look into it. He affirmed that the United Nations has not obstructed any investigation, and that it is UN policy to cooperate with criminal investigations.

Asked about court testimony by someone who had investigated the crash, who said that he was met by a UN envoy who asked him to stop his work, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General categorically denied that he sent someone to speak to that person.

He added, in response to another question, that, although that person, a former UN employee, had testified that he had sent a black box to the United Nations, he could not confirm to date receiving the black box to which that former employee referred.

Asked whether the United Nations had investigated the crash, the Spokesman said the United Nations was looking into the matter. He noted that the UN force commander in Rwanda in 1994, General Romeo Dallaire, had tried to send troops to the crash site, but they were blocked from it by the Rwandan Army.

The Spokesman added that there is a separate international mechanism for investigating air crashes.

SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE OPENS IN NEW VENUE

The Special Court of Sierra Leone today announced that a new era of justice officially began in Freetown as members of the national and international community gathered for the official opening of its new Courthouse building.

The Secretary-General, in a message delivered by Hans Corell, on his last mission as the UN Legal Counsel, described the Court as a vital part of the healing process following a tragic and devastating period of conflict.

Officials from the Court, and from the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court, the Courts Management Committee, traditional leaders and government officials from Sierra Leone and abroad, representatives from the United Nations, judges, members of civil society and school children observed the opening ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the nearly completed courthouse that will provide the venue for trials involving those alleged to bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during Sierra Leones civil war.

U.N. ENVOY DEPLORES ISRAELI FLIGHTS OVER LEBANON

The Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, strongly deplored several Israeli overflights today in Lebanons airspace. Those flights were followed by anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese side, across the Blue Line.

De Mistura called again on the Israeli authorities to stop these air violations, and on Hezbollah to cease its ensuing, and dangerous, anti-aircraft fire.

LIBYA SIGNS ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL

ON INT'L ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY INSPECTIONS

The International Atomic Energy Agency today confirmed that Libya has signed the additional protocol to the Non Proliferation Treaty, allowing the Agency to conduct unannounced inspections in that country.

The Agencys Board of Governors in Vienna today adopted a resolution, welcoming Libyas cooperation with the IAEA.

NEARLY $6 MILLION NEEDED FOR WOMEN, CHILDREN IN NAMIBIA

The World Food Programme and UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, today launched emergency appeals totalling $5.8 million to help more than 600,000 orphans, vulnerable children and women in Namibia a third of the countrys population.

Erratic weather and the worsening HIV/AIDS epidemic have compounded the food shortage there, and it is hoped that a swift response to contain the crisis will give the Government time to build up its capacity.

WFP is aiming for $5.2 million to fund its emergency operation for the next six months. It plans to provide 8,000 tons of food to 111,000 rural children and their families in the six northern districts.

UNICEF is seeking $616,000 to fund its emergency operation for the coming half year, to help around 500,000 people in areas such as expanded immunization campaigns and improved nutrition.

TOP U.N. DEVELOPMENT OFFICIAL PRESENTS AIDS INITIATIVE

TO SOUTHERN AFRICAN STATES

UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown is in Lusaka, Zambia today, the second stop on a three-country mission to Southern Africa, which focuses on the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis. He will discuss the Southern Africa Capacity Initiative, a regional project developed by UNDP to help nine African countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates to deal with the effects the epidemic has had in reducing national capacity in education, health and other key sectors.

Today, Malloch Brown met Zambias President, Levy Mwanawasa, and visited an AIDS clinic supported by former President Kenneth Kaunda.He will be in Botswana on Thursday and Friday, where, among other things, he will visit a Gaborone school where UNDP is supporting an interactive television program aimed at informing teachers and students about AIDS.

Malloch Brown kicked off his mission with a visit to Malawi this week.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS WITH UNMEE TROOP CONTRIBUTORS: The Security Council today met with the troop-contributing countries to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

UNITED NATIONS HAS NOT RECEIVED IRAQI REQUEST ON ASSISTANCE: Asked whether the United Nations has received a request from Iraqs Governing Council for electoral assistance, the Spokesman said it had not, and would not send in an electoral team without one. In response to another question, he said that Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi was ending a vacation and intended to return to New York over the weekend.

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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