United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-05-13

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

THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, May 13, 2004

ANNAN ASKS SUDANESE PRESIDENT TO FOLLOW UP

ON HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has written to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir regarding the situation in Darfur, Sudan.

In the letter, the Secretary-General asks the Sudanese President to follow up on a number of concerns raised by the senior-most UN human rights and humanitarian officials at a Security Council meeting last week upon their return from the region.

These include improved access for humanitarian workers so that the victims of the crisis can be assisted as quickly as possible, the maintenance of the humanitarian cease-fire and the need to control and disarm the militia in the region and facilitate the early deployment of African Union observers throughout Darfur. He also emphasized the importance of negotiating a political settlement to the Darfur crisis.

U.N. ENVOY HOPEFUL THAT SUDAN PEACE AGREEMENT SIGNED SOON

[Mohamed Sahnoun, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa, met with Kalonzo Musyoka, the Foreign Minister of Kenya in Nairobi

today.Sahnoun delivered a message of appreciation from the Secretary-General on the constructive efforts of Kenya on behalf of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on the peace processes in Sudan and Somalia.

In Somalia, the Secretary-General was encouraged by the cohesiveness shown by the IGAD Ministers on Somalia when they met on 6 May, 2004 and looks forward to a cooperation of the Somali leaders at the next meeting on May 20, 2004.

On Sudan, Sahnoun met with the Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and Dr. John Garang, the Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) at

Naivasha, Kenya.He continues to be in close contact with the two delegations and informed them about the delight of the Secretary-General on the progress achieved. Sahnoun is very hopeful that a peace agreement would be signed soon.]

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says that with the peace talks covering the decades-long conflict in southern Sudan languishing somewhere between breakthrough and breakdown, it is pushing ahead cautiously with plans to repatriate people to war-ravaged south Sudan.

ANNAN: MISTREATMENT OF IRAQI PRISONERS HAS CAUSED REAL DAMAGE

The Secretary-General was asked upon entering UN headquarters this morning about the scandal concerning photographs of Iraqi prisoners and said there is no doubt that the mistreatment of the prisoners has caused real and deep damage.

He said that his Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, is in touch with a large group of Iraqis, and he hoped his team would be able to focus on the work ahead in establishing an interim government without being held back by the prison issue.

He also reiterated how horrible the image of the beheading of a U.S. civilian had been. The Secretary-General urged everyone to respect the international norms and to treat prisoners decently, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

Meanwhile, Brahimi continued his consultations

in Baghdad today. In that context he met Najib Taleb, a former Prime Minister who served in one of

Iraqs previous governments. He also met representatives a group of Arab nationalist parties, and held a meeting with members of the network of Iraqi women, representing women active in civil society. Lastly, he met political and religious leaders from Fallujah.

U.N. AGENCY CALLS FOR RESPECT OF ITS AMBULANCE SERVICES

FOLLOWING INCIDENT IN GAZA CITY

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has issued a call to all the parties to the conflict in the occupied Palestinian territory to respect the integrity of its ambulance services and the neutrality and impartiality of its staff.

This follows an incident in Gaza City on May 11 in which armed Palestinian militants threatened the lives of an UNRWA ambulance team, comprised of a driver and a paramedic, and forced them to transport an injured gunman and two of his armed colleagues to a hospital in Gaza City.

UNRWA condemns this action in the strongest possible terms. While its ambulances do not make any distinction between the injured, whether they are injured fighters or non-combatants, at no time and under no circumstances should armed men enter any UNRWA vehicle.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals views concerning the fighting in Gaza, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General expressed on Tuesday his particular concern at the heavy fighting in densely populated neighborhoods, which is exposing more Palestinian civilians to death and injury. He urged both sides to desist from further violence.

MILLIONS OF CHILDREN ARE "FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS"

Representatives from more than 50 countries from across Europe and Central Asia have gathered in Sarajevo today for a conference to nail down commitments to childrens rights.

According to Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, the timing of this conference is auspicious as the European Union expansion has generated a new sense of optimism and opened minds across the region to issues of human rights.

However, she adds, The world has become a scary place for children and, in Europe and Central Asia, millions of children are falling through the cracks to be trafficked and traded, exploited and abused, excluded and alienated in ways that affront the intelligence, shame the conscience and break the heart.

Among the topics to be discussed at the conference are child trafficking, illegal adoptions, and violence in the home, school and the community.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET ON TIMOR LESTE,

COTE DIVOIRE

FRIDAY: The Security Council has scheduled no consultations or meetings for today. As of now, on tomorrows agenda is a formal meeting on Timor Leste and consultations on Cote dIvoire.

U.N. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR KOSOVO HOSPITALIZED: Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, was admitted to hospital in Strasbourg

last night for a check-up. He is suffering from fatigue and on medical advice, and is expected to remain in hospital, under observation, for a few days. Holkeri was in Strasbourg

at the invitation of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe to be the special guest at the fireside chat, an informal meeting where ministers of the member countries regularly meet.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME STRUGGLES TO COPE WITH

UGANDAN

FOOD NEEDS: With daily rebel attacks continuing to leave huge numbers of people in fear for their lives in northern Uganda, the World Food Programme has warned it will soon be unable to cope with the escalating food needs of the displaced population, which now numbers at least 1.6 million.

NUMBER OF AFGHAN VOTER REGISTRATION SITES TRIPLE: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that the number of voter registration sites in that country have tripled since the beginning of the month, with 343 sites now up and running.

SUSPECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO

RWANDA

GENOCIDE CHARGES: A Rwandan who is accused of being a leader of the Interahamwe militia today pleaded not guilty to genocide charges brought against him at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The suspect was arrested earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was transferred to the Tribunals detention facility in

Arusha, Tanzania, on May 7.

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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