United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-05-28

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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

Friday, May 28, 2004

[Please note: the United Nations Secretariat in New York will be closed on Monday, 31 May, 2004 for Memorial Day. It will re-open on Tuesday]

BRAHIMI WELCOMES AND RESPECTS GOVERNING COUNCILS NOMINATION OF PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATE

Following the Iraqi Governing Council's decision to nominate Iyad Allawi as Prime Minister-designate of Iraq, the Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Lakhdar Brahimi, said in a statement that the Interim Government, its President and Vice Presidents included, a preparatory committee for the National Conference and an Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq are still to be formed.

Brahimi said he would not want to comment further at this time, but he is perfectly comfortable with how the process is proceeding thus far.

Asked if the nomination of Iyad Allawi as the Prime Minister-designate of Iraq by the Governing Council pre-empted the efforts of the Secretary-Generals Special Advisor, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Spokesman said that Brahimi does not see it this way. He added that Brahimi has been helping Iraqis at their request.

Asked if Brahimi endorses the selection, the Spokesman said that Brahimi saw his role as helping the Iraqis identify candidates and Brahimi respects and welcomes the decision to nominate a Prime Minister-designate.

Asked for the Secretary-Generals position, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General also respects and welcomes this choice.

Eckhard went on to say that Brahimi has been consulting a wide range of Iraqis with the aim of identifying areas of agreement and helping Iraqis to come to an agreement among themselves. We must bear in mind that the country is still destabilized and still emerging from a very traumatic period, Eckhard added.

The Spokesman noted that the Governing Council will be dissolving itself very soon and that a Preparatory Committee will be established shortly and will begin work on the National Conference. Brahimi, he added, has been advising the Iraqis on the formation of those entities and he expects to continue to work with them.

Eckhard said that Brahimi will be discussing the results of his wide-ranging consultations with the Prime Minister-designate soon.

Asked if Iyad Allawi should be considered the new Prime Minister of Iraq, the Spokesman said this was the beginning of a process. He added that Brahimi will be briefing the Prime Minister-designate on the full range of candidates for the other posts that he has identified as a result of his consultations. Eckhard stressed that this is an Iraqi choice to make.

The national consensus Brahimi has been trying to forge, Eckhard reminded journalists, was not focused on the office of the Prime Minister but rather on the kind of institutions and government that are being established: namely, the Interim Iraqi Government, the Preparatory Committee for the National Conference, the National Conference itself, as well as the Election Commission.

We hope that, when seen in total, they will reflect the full diversity of views Brahimi has heard around the country, Eckhard said.

Asked if the Prime Minister will be named by the Governing Council, which is about to be dissolved, Eckhard answered that the Iraqis had agreed that it would be the Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority who would name the interim government. Brahimi went there to help them do that, the Spokesman noted, in consultation with the widest segment of Iraqi society.

Asked if the way the announcement was made came as a surprise to the United Nations, the Spokesman said that this was not the way it was expected to happen, but the Iraqis seem to agree on this candidate.

Brahimis intention, Eckhard said, had been to announce the full government once all the positions had been filled. However, he added, now that the Iraqis have chosen this way, Brahimi is willing to work with them and complete the process by the end of month.

[The Spokesman later announced that Brahimi was not in the room when the Governing Council made its decision.]

SECURITY COUNCIL MET ON U.N.S RESPONSE TO COMPLEX CRISES

The Security Council today held an open meeting on Complex Crises and the UN Response.

The Security Council President said at the start of the month that the idea of this thematic discussion was to see how a comprehensive and integrated response to complex crises could be generated by the UN family so that the security, political, economic and humanitarian requirements could be adequately met.

In his briefing to the Council, Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said the discussion was timely as it comes at a time when so many people remain trapped by conflict and caught up in long-term complex crises.

If people are denied the fruits of peace such as shelter, education, health care and employment sustainable peace will be much harder to achieve, Egeland said.

UNICEF CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF NIGHT COMMUTERS IN NORTHERN UGANDA

In a statement issued in Kampala, Uganda, Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, says she has seen many disturbing images during her time with UNICEF. But few of them are as shocking as the sight of the night commuters in northern Uganda whom she saw just two nights ago.

She was referring to the thousands of children who, for fear of abduction by the Lords Resistance Army, seek refuge every night in the towns of the north.

Bellamy said she will be leaving Uganda troubled by her memory of mothers in the north who love their children so much that they send them away from their own homes every night to seek safety and the protection that they are powerless to offer.

5,000 PEOPLE IN URGENT NEED OF HELP IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an update on the humanitarian situation following the flash floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

On the Dominican Republic side, a UN joint relief agency assessment team traveled to the Jimani area, where over 300 people are feared to be dead or missing.

The mission reports that some 5,000 people, are urgently in need of humanitarian assistance, with many families facing health threats due to lack of potable water and food, difficulties of access, and electricity cuts.

Across the border in Haiti, the floods have caused serious damage to crops, livestock and food reserves, and thousands of families depend now on international assistance to get from one day to the next. WFP has begun delivering food to some 8,000 people in Fond Verrettes, a farming town which was almost entirely destroyed.

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN BUKAVU, DR CONGO

According to reports from the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), fighting continues to rock the eastern city of Bukavu for the third consecutive day, with regular troops from the national army fighting soldiers loyal to Colonel Jules Mutebutsi, the deputy commander of the 10th military region, who was suspended from his duties in March.

Initial reports estimate that at least five national army soldiers have been killed and 19 injured, and that two armed followers of Colonel Mutebutsi have been killed. In addition, it is estimated that seven civilians have died and a further six been injured. Numerous stores and homes in Bukavu have been pillaged and the city is without electric power.

MONUC deplores this new cycle of violence and is in close contact with the Transitional Government in Kinshasa and the parties in Bukavu in order to stabilize the situation and work towards a cease-fire. In the meantime, MONUC has stepped up its peacekeeping patrols with units redeployed from Goma and Kindu.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAMING OF SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO

It was exactly a year ago yesterday that the Secretary-General named Sergio Vieira de Mello as his Special Representative in Iraq.

Within days, Sergio and his A team left for Baghdad to advise the Coalition Provisional Authority and to begin their effort get to know Iraqi society and advise them on the way forward.

As you know, Sergio and other members of his team perished in Baghdad on August 19th of last year.

In light of the renewed UN role in Iraq, we wanted to mark this anniversary and say that our thoughts are with the family members and loved ones of those who died, as well as our many colleagues who were injured.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. PROVIDING AID TO STORM VICTIMS IN

MYANMAR: In

Myanmar, United Nations agencies are providing immediate assistance to people affected by the recent storm that hit four towns. The storm was the worst since 1968. With winds of over 160 kilometres per hour, it crossed the southwest coast bordering Bangladesh last week, leaving at least 140 people dead and causing extensive damage to infrastructure.

U.N. OFFICIAL WARNS OF DROUGHT DISASTER FACING

SOMALIA: The UN's top relief official for Somalia, Maxwell Gaylard, is warning of a full-blown disaster that could develop in northern Somalia. Although there are about two weeks left of the rainy season in the areas, all the signs indicate that the communities of large parts of northern Somalia are experiencing yet another season of inadequate rainfall, Gaylard said, who went on to say this situation could develop into full-blown disaster in the next couple of months.

DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL TO LEAVE FOR ATHENS: The Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Frechette, will be leaving New York this evening in order to attend the opening plenary of the Annual General Assembly of the European Foundation Centre, in Athens on Sunday. The overall theme of the meeting is "The Athens Agora- Bridging civilizations and cultures". The Deputy Secretary-General will focus on how European foundations can work more closely with the United Nations to advance development and the Millennium Development Goals.

WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2004 ON MONDAY: Monday is World No Tobacco Day 2004. The World Health Organization is launching this year's campaign for World No Tobacco Day with the slogan: Tobacco and Poverty: a vicious circle. The Organization aims to stress the enormous economic costs of tobacco use and cultivation to families, communities and countries.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

28 May, 2004

Monday, 31 May

The United Nations Secretariat in New York will be closed for Memorial Day.

Today is World No Tobacco Day.

Tuesday, 1 June

Stephen Lewis, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Africa , will be the guest at the noon briefing and will speak about his recent visit to Addis Ababa.

The 92nd International Labour Conference (ILC) will take place from 1-17 June 2004 in the Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland. The ILC is the annual tripartite Conference of the International Labour Organization's 177member States. Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General and othersenior ILO officials will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. (at closing of the opening plenary).

H.E. Julian Robert Hunte, President of the 58th session of the UN General Assembly, will hold a press briefing at the Vienna International Centre on efforts towards the revitalization of the General Assembly and reform of the Security Council.

Wednesday, 2 June

Immediately following the noon press briefing: the UN Development Programme is sponsoring a press conference with Ms. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

At 1:00 p.m., the President of the Council for June, Amb. Lauro Baja of the Philippines, will brief on the Council's work programme.

The 47th session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will be held in Vienna from 2 to 11 June.

Thursday, 3 June

At 11:15 a.m., President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus will hold a press conference in New York.

Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, will brief journalists in Geneva at 1 p.m. after meeting with donor countries to discuss the humanitarian needs in Darfur.

Friday, 4 June

To commemorate the International Day of UN Peacekeepers(29 May), the UN in Vienna is holding a Discussion Forum on Challenges to UN peacekeeping: Growing demand, decreasing resources, with the Commander of the Centre for Operations Preparations, Austrian International Command.

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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