United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-05-05

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, May 5, 2004

ANNAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO SELFLESS HUMANITARIAN WORKERS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife, Nane, last night received a humanitarian award from Refugees International in an event marking that groups 25th anniversary in McLean, Virginia.

They received the first McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award, which is named after three Refugee International staff members David and Penny McCall and Yvette Pierpaoli who died in Albania in 1999 on a mission for that group.

The Secretary-General told his audience that last nights event paid tribute to the selfless women and men who have taken to heart the appeal to help others. He said, These are people who usually receive no recognition, no medals, no parades.

The Secretary-General returned to New York this morning and is back at UN Headquarters.

AFGHANISTAN: THREE KILLED ON MISSION TO SUPPORT VOTER REGISTRATION

Jean Arnault, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Afghanistan, said he was saddened and shocked by todays killing of two British nationals and their Afghan interpreter, while on a mission to support voter registration.

The two worked for Global Risk Strategies, and were traveling in the district of Nuristan to evaluate the feasibility of setting up voter registration sites there. The precise circumstances of the attack are not yet known.

Arnault condemns the killings in the strongest terms. They are also a reminder of how important security is and will continue to be if the aspiration of the Afghans to participate in the electoral process is to be met.

VOLCKER PANEL WILL CONTROL OIL-FOR-FOOD DOCUMENTS

Asked whether the United Nations is concerned that there are many duelling investigations into the

Oil-for-Food Program, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General said in a television interview this weekend that the documentation on that program is to be handled initially by the independent panel headed by Paul Volcker.

All documents, including internal and external audits and letters, have been sequestered by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), to be handed over to the Volcker panel. It will be up to Volcker, the Spokesman added, to determine whether those documents will be shared with anyone else.

The Spokesman noted that Volcker has expressed his intention to keep control the documents, and he may make a public statement to that effect.

The Spokesman added that the United Nations would have a say if Volcker decides to release any documents. In that regard, he noted that it is universal policy not to make public internal audits, which he characterized as a management tool, and the United Nations would follow standard procedure and keep those audits private. That step, he said, is consistent with procedures followed by virtually every public and private organization.

He added, in response to further questions about whether other documents might not be made available, that the Secretary-General intends to be fully transparent, and has handed over all documentation, including the internal audits, to the Volcker panel.

Asked whether the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council had responded to the Secretary-Generals requests that they share information on the oil for food program with the United Nations, the Spokesman noted that each of those bodies had received two letters from the United Nations asking for such information.

The Coalition Provisional Authority responded to the second letter, he said, with Administrator L. Paul Bremer assuring cooperation. The OIOS said it was satisfied with his response.

To date, he added, there has not been a response from the Governing Council. He added later that two letter had been received from a member of the Governing Council, Ahmed Chalabi.

ARBITRARY DETENTIONS IN IRAQ A CONCERN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

The head of the group within the Commission on Human Rights that deals with arbitrary detention today

expressed serious concern about the uncertain legal status of many detainees currently subjected to interrogation in

Iraq.

Leīla Zerrougui, chairperson of the Commissions working group on arbitrary detention, says the group has received information that the majority of persons detained in Iraq have been arrested during public demonstrations, at checkpoints and in house raids. She said she is seriously disturbed by the fact that these persons have not been granted access to a court to be able to challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

The Working Group calls on the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council to allow for the legal status of all detained persons to be clarified, and for the relevant human rights norms to be applied.

Asked about the UNs reaction to the reports of abuse, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had said he was encouraged that the United States was taking the charges seriously and was conducting an investigation. The Secretary-General said that the charges were very damaging, and it was important that the United States be seen to be dealing with the matter seriously.

HUMANITARIAN AID FOR PALESTINIANS CANNOT WAIT ANOTHER DAY

Asked whether a new Palestinian leadership was a precondition for humanitarian assistance to the

Palestinians, the Spokesman said it was not.

He said the Secretary-General made clear in Tuesdays Quartet meeting that the humanitarian situation for the Palestinians cannot wait another day. The Quartet discussed the need for an empowered Palestinian Prime Minister as a separate issue, he added.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISMAYED BY ERITREA'S LACK OF COOPERATION;

DISAPPOINTED WITH ETHIOPIA'S REJECTION OF BOUNDARY DECISION

Tuesday afternoon, Security Council President, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, read a

press statement reflecting concern by Council members at the deterioration in the cooperation of Eritrea with the

UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

According to the statement, Council members also view with disappointment Ethiopia's continued rejection of significant parts of the decision by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC).

KOSOVO: MARCH ETHNIC RIOTS HAVE DAMAGED RECONCILIATION PROCESS

The

Secretary-Generals latest

report on the

UN Mission in Kosovo is out today. In it, he says the

ethnic riots in March have seriously damaged the process of normalization and reconciliation there.

In turn, this has threatened to destabilize the region, and has called into question the timetable for the successful implementation of the

standards that the international community set for Kosovo.

The Secretary-General adds that forward momentum must be regained, and calls upon Kosovos leaders to address the causes of the violence in March.

THOUSANDS DISPLACED BY FEARS OF FIGHTING IN D.R. OF CONGO

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is

reported that some 25,000 people have been displaced in the South Kivu area by fears of fighting between ex-FAR/Interahamwe militia and Congolese national army.

The

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and its non-governmental partners are working to assist those who have been dispersed to five towns in the region.

Meanwhile the UN Missions Kivu Brigade has broadened its deployment and stepped up its patrols.

LIBERIA: NEARLY 8,000 EX-FIGHTERS DISARMED SINCE LAST MONTH

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has said that the rapid deployment of UN troops and disarmament efforts in Liberia will help ensure enough security for his agency to start facilitating refugee returns in October.

To date, under an operation that started on April 15, nearly 8,000 former combatants have been disarmed in the former rebel strongholds of Gbarnga, Buchanan and Tubmanburg, says the

UN mission in Liberia.

Another 13,000 were disarmed last December in VOA near Monrovia, a location named after a tower formerly used by the Voice of America radio station.

LEBANON BLUE LINE DISRUPTED BY OVERFLIGHTS AND ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE

The Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for

Southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, expressed his great dismay that the relative calm along the Blue Line was disrupted today.

This morning, there were numerous Israeli air violations of the Blue Line and of Lebanese airspace. Shortly afterward, anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese side of the Line was reported and some anti-aircraft shells may have led to damage on the ground in Israel.

Subsequently, Israeli jets attacked two suspected Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon. No casualties have been reported so far on either side.

De Mistura called on Israel to halt its overflights, and on the Lebanese side to halt the ensuing and dangerous anti-aircraft fire. He reminded all parties that one violation cannot justify another.

TOP

HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL BEGINS MISSION TO COLOMBIA

Jan Egeland, the UNs Under-Secretary-General for

Humanitarian Affairs began an

official mission to Colombia today.

Egeland hopes to draw attention to Colombias humanitarian crisis, considered the gravest in the Western Hemisphere, with an estimated 2 million people displaced by the internal conflict.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON COTE DIVOIRE: Asked about criticisms from the Ivorian Ambassador to the United Nations about the leaking of a report of the Commission of Inquiry investigating events that occurred in March in Abidjan,

Cote dIvoire, the Spokesman said that the United Nations would welcome any investigation into how the document might have been leaked. The Spokesman said that an English copy of the report had been shared with the Ivorian Mission to the United Nations two days ago, but the Ivorian Government had asked for French translation. The French version is going to the Government today. The United Nations intended to give the Government a few days to react to the report. It was expected to go to the Security Council next week.

SECURITY COUNCIL: There are no meetings or consultations of the

Security Council scheduled for today.

SANCTIONS AGAINST AL-QAEDA AND TALEBAN: The Chairman of the Security Council's

Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Heraldo Muņoz of Chile, has written to the Security Council President. The letter contains a list of countries which have not submitted an updated report on steps taken to implement the relevant sanctions measures.

DIABETES ACTION PLAN: The

World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation today

launched Diabetes Action Now a joint programme aimed at raising awareness about diabetes and promoting the adoption of effective measures for the management and prevention of the condition in low- and middle-income countries and communities. WHO says that 3.2 million deaths can be attributed to diabetes each year updated estimates suggest that six deaths can be attributed to diabetes or related conditions somewhere in the world every minute, a figure three times higher than previous calculations.

FOOD INSECURITY IN EUROPE: Special attention needs to be paid to the poorest countries in Europe, especially those of southeast Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, to help resolve their problems of food insecurity and rural poverty. That was the

message of Dr.Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of the

Food and Agriculture Organization, in a speech to the agencys

Regional Conference for Europe.

OCEAN CONSERVATION: In a presentation to the Fourth World Fisheries Congress in Vancouver, Canada, the

Food and Agriculture Organization today warned that conservation of the world's oceans can only be achieved if larger problems of poverty, hunger and underdevelopment are adequately addressed. The FAO said that wherever people are heavily dependent on fish and fisheries resources for their livelihoods, lifestyles or both, any perceived threats to their access to those resources such as stronger conservation measures are likely to be met by resistance.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article