United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-05-12

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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 12, 2004

BRAHIMI MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS AND CIVIC LEADERS FROM FALLUJAH

The Secretary-Generals Special Advisor Lakhdar Brahimi continued to meet a wide spectrum of Iraqi civil society.

He met members of the Iraqi Democratic Current headed by Saad Saleh Jaber. That was followed by a discussion with a new political party called Iraq for the Iraqis, which brings together

university

professors, farmers, tribal leaders, journalists, student, judges and lawyers.

He also had meetings with Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani and Dawa Party chief Ibrahim Al-Jafri.

Finally, he met Sunni clerics and prominent religious and civic leaders from Fallujah. They welcomed Brahimis role and looked forward to cooperating with him with a view to finding solutions for the challenges facing Iraq

today.

At the end of Tuesdayafternoon, Brahimi met the British Ambassador to Iraq, David Richmond. He was then invited to a dinner hosted by

Iraq's newly-designated Minister of Human Rights, Bakhtiar Amin. The Minister invited nearly 100 other guests, including members of the Iraqi Governing Council and many other prominent Iraqi politicians.

U.N. ELECTORAL ASSISTANCE TEAM ARRIVES IN BAGHDAD;

U.N. ENVOY ADDRESSES IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS

AUN electoral assistance team headed by Carina Perelli, Director of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs,arrived today in Baghdad.[For background on mission, click here.]

Meanwhile, the Secretary-Generals acting Special Representative, Ross Mountain, told a group of Speakers of Parliaments of the countries neighboring Iraq that, after its experience of war and occupation, Iraq is in urgent need of international support in all aspects of its development, not least the re-establishment of political stability and internal security.

He told the parliamentarians that Iraqs neighbors need to keep in touch with each other and the United Nations to seek ways of helping the country during this most difficult period of transition. The speech was delivered in Amman at a meeting organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

ANNAN EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF MURDERED CIVILIAN IN

IRAQ

Asked about the Secretary-Generals reaction to the murder of a civilian hostage yesterday, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General was particularly disturbed by use of this killing as a public spectacle. He extends his deepest condolences to the family of the victim and can only imagine how they must be feeling.

The Secretary-General condemns all killings of innocent civilians in Iraq as he condemns all abuse of prisoners and other violations of international humanitarian law.

Now more than ever, the Secretary-General once again appeals to all parties to adhere strictly to the fundamental precepts of human rights and principles of international humanitarian law.

MIDDLE EAST ENVOY DISCUSSED PEACE PROCESS WITH

SYRIAS PRESIDENT

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Terje Roed Larsen, met on Tuesday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. He told reporters afterward that they had had a good conversation about the difficult situation in the region, particularly the stalemate in the Middle East peace process.

Larsen added that he had conveyed to the President the Secretary-Generals opinion that lasting peace cannot be achieved without a comprehensive agreement.

UP TO 100,000 PEOPLE DISPLACED IN SOUTHERN SUDAN

In the Shilluk Kingdom area of southern Sudan, up to 100,000 people have been displaced since fighting between the Sudan People's Liberation Army and Government-backed militias intensified in early March, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press conference in Geneva earlier today.

There have been reports of rapes and looting by armed groups. Villages have been burnt down, with schools and clinics destroyed in the process.

The OCHA office in Sudan estimates there are about 50,000 internally displaced persons in the city of Malakal alone, but most of the displaced are in areas inaccessible to the United Nations.

An assessment mission to the area will be organised once security conditions allow.

CENTRAL AFRICAN MINISTERS IN

WASHINGTON D.C. WELCOMED

The trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, scheduled to be held in

Washington D.C. tomorrow, is a welcome development, according to the UN Special Representative for the DR Congo, William Swing.

Swing hopes that this meeting will accelerate the normalization of relations between the three neighbouring countries and strengthen the peace processes in the Great Lakes region.

U.S.

CONGRESS HEARS HOW AIDS CRISIS EXACERBATES GLOBAL HUNGER PROBLEM

James Morris, the Executive Director of the World Food Program, told the U.S. Congress that the growing hunger problem around the world is exacerbated by the AIDS crisis.

Morris highlighted the to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday the critical role that food aid plays in helping people living with HIV/AIDS to fight the disease.

Morris also appealed to Congress yesterday to put a greater priority on funds for people suffering from chronic hunger, rather than just on the victims of high-profile disasters and emergencies. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases, and malnutrition is still the number one public health threat around the world.

U.S. SIGNING OF GLOBAL TOBACCO CONVENTION

WELCOMED;

U.N. HEALTH AGENCY URGES RATIFICATION OF CONVENTION

The World Health Organization has welcomed the decision of the U.S. Government to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which it signed on Monday.

The Convention is the first legal instrument designed to reduce tobacco-related deaths and disease around the world. It has provisions which outline international minimum standards on tobacco-related issues such as advertising and labelling.

WHO says the signing shows the U.S. governments commitment to maintaining standards of public health. It adds that the signing is the first step in the process, and hopes that the next step will be the ratification of the Convention.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

FIRST TRIAL OF SIERRA LEONE SPECIAL COURT TO START

ON

JUNE 3: The first trial of the Special Court for Sierra Leone will begin on June 5, with a joint trial of three alleged leaders of the former Civil Defence Forces. The three accused, Sam Hinga Norman, Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, face eight counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law. A second trial, of three alleged leaders of the Revolutionary United Front, is scheduled to begin on 5 July.

CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES TOLD THAT COOPERATION IS A NECESSITY: For the first time in Afghanistans history, the basis for expanding political and social freedoms is being laid, UN Development Programme Administrator Mark Malloch Brown said today. Speaking to a regional trade conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Malloch Brown said that it is clear that the destinies of the regions countries are tied, for good or ill. Few parts of the world, he said, are as interdependent as the Central Asian region, adding, Regional cooperation is a necessity and not an option.

GOVERNMENTS PROPOSE NEW TRADE LAWS FOR WILDLIFE: Governments who are members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have started to submit proposalsto adjust the rules governing the international trade in various wildlife species. The proposals would improve the conservation and sustainable use of the African elephant, the great white shark, various tropical birds, and many other species. Governments will accept, reject or adjust these proposals at a conference in Bangkok

from 2 to 14 October.

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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