United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-06-28

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, June 28, 2004

ANNAN WELCOMES IRAQ BACK INTO FAMILY OF NATIONS

AND URGES ALL IRAQIS TO COME TOGETHER;

SECURITY COUNCIL HAILS HANDOVER, END OF OCCUPATION

Today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan

welcomes the State of

Iraq back into the family of independent and sovereign nations.

He calls upon all Iraqis to come together in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation, through a process of open dialogue and consensus-building, to lay down secure foundations for the new Iraq. Their first duty is to assist their interim government to establish security for the population so that the difficult process of return toward normalcy can commence.

The Secretary-General commits the United Nations to do everything possible, as circumstances permit, to help the Iraqi people in this challenging yet vital process.

The Security Council, in a statement read by Council President Ambassador Lauro Baja of the Philippines, said it welcomed the handover of full responsibility and authority for governing Iraq to the fully sovereign and independent Interim Government of Iraq, thus ending the occupation of the country. Council members also reaffirmed the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq.

Asked about what the United Nations will do, now that the transfer has taken place, the Spokesman said that the United Nations will continue to work closely with the Iraqi interim government as it tries to organize free, fair and early elections, and would also provide help on humanitarian, development and reconstruction issues. As circumstances permit, he added, the United Nations would send international staff into the country. For now, he said, the United Nations is continuing to work with the government on elections issues, including a recent training exercise for Iraqi electoral workers that took place in Mexico. National staff are working in Iraq, he said, while adding that he could not provide any target date for the return of international staff.

Asked about a Special Representative for Iraq, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had said last Friday that he would name someone for that post within a week.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ARRIVES IN DUBAI AS TRIP BEGINS

The Secretary-General landed in Dubai today, on the first leg on a trip which will take him to Doha, the Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Thailand and Austria.

He is expected give a press conference at 4 p.m. local time Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.

DARFUR: RESTRICTIONS ON HUMANITARIAN ACCESS NEED TO BE LIFTED

Donor countries and key humanitarian agencies have increased deliberations with the Government of

Sudan to lift current restrictions on access to the

Darfur region, as new agencies enter the country to fill in colossal gaps in humanitarian assistance, and as the already operational agencies gear up to avert a deterioration of the crisis during the rainy season.

However, although substantial improvements have occurred, particularly regarding travel to the Darfur region, clearance of goods and registration of new non-governmental organizations, procedures remain bureaucratic and inconsistent and some delays continue to be reported.

The international response to the Darfur crisis has dramatically increased in the past few weeks, according to the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Currently, around 20 international NGOs are operational in Darfur and an additional 10 agencies are in the process of starting operations.

Protection remains an overriding issue in all the three Darfur states. Despite an official request from the government to all governmental organizations to curb armed militias including the Janjaweed, no major changes have been reported.

U.N. MISSION OUTRAGED BY ATTACK ON AFGHAN ELECTORAL WORKERS

Jean Arnault, head of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, voiced his outrage at the deadly attack on Saturday against female

Afghan electoral workers just outside the city of Jalalabad. Two women were killed, while three others, as well as a boy, were in critical condition, following the bombing of a mini-bus.

Arnault sent his deepest condolence to the families, friends and colleagues of those who were killed. The UN Mission sent a team of doctors and nurses from Kabul to support the Jalalabad Hospital staff who are taking care of the wounded.

As a temporary precaution while security conditions are being assessed, the electoral authorities are restricting the movement of the Afghan electoral bodys female staff. The registration of women voters will continue wherever possible.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS EXTENSION FOR BOUGAINVILLE MISSION

Security Council members discussed in today's consultations the UN Observer Mission in Bougainville, whose mandate expires at the end of this month. The Mission has won praise for its work in support of Bougainville's peace agreement, under which more than 80 percent of the weapons in the area had been destroyed by the end of April.

Geir Pedersen, Director of the Asia and Pacific Division of the Department of Political Affairs, was the briefer. A six-month mandate extension was discussed.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION TRAVELING TO GUINEA

The Security Council delegation led by Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom is scheduled to travel today from Guinea Bissau to Guinea, the last stop of its seven-nation mission to

West Africa.

Council members noted dramatic progress in Guinea-Bissau, where the mission teamed up with the ECOSOC delegation led by South African Ambassador Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo. The new government of Guinea Bissau, following the successful holding of legislative elections in March, had made notable steps in public finance and governance. But it requires urgent support, especially in the area of restructuring the armed forces and developing its economic and institutional capacity.

SOME $1.5 MILLION IN SUPPLIES LOST IN DR CONGO LOOTING

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) reports that 20 aid agencies lost an estimated $1.5 million in humanitarian supplies, equipment and vehicles, due to recent looting by military and civilian demonstrations. OCHA, which also had three of its offices destroyed, says funding to compensate for these losses is urgently needed.

Almost 200 staff from more than 30 UN agencies and aid organizations have been relocated to safer areas, and it is estimated that approximately 2.6 million people have been affected by the reduction of humanitarian activities.

Asked what the United Nations is doing to contend with the problems facing the Mission, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General has been in touch with a number of the regional players.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL REMINDED

OF IMPORTANCE OF MILLENNIUM GOALS

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today addressed the opening of the High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, She said that for the people in the worlds least developed countries, no UN issue is as important as achieving real progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

Fréchette noted that, based on current trends, very few of those countries are likely to achieve the poverty reduction goals contained in the Brussels Programme of Action and the Millennium Declaration. Among other things, she called for the quantity and quality of overseas development assistance to be stepped up, and for more attention to be paid to the crippling debt burden of many poor countries.

UN ENVOY: SIX-PARTY TALKS ON NORTH KOREA A STEP FORWARD

The Secretary-Generals Special Adviser, Maurice Strong, has said, following his recent trip to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), that the six-party talks in Beijing on the DPRK had been an important step forward. Strong said he was moderately pleased that, following those talks, there was now the prospect of a freeze in the DPRKs nuclear program.

Talking to reporters Friday afternoon while visiting New York, Strong said that it was becoming apparent that there could be no settlement of nuclear issues without a significant economic package. The United Nations is working together with the DPRK and other interested parties on economic measures that would need to be taken as part of a settlement.

ANNAN NOTES IMPORTANCE OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIME CONVENTION

The full implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is an important part of international efforts to meet global threats today, especially as countries in post-conflict situations are especially vulnerable to the threats posed by such crime.

That was part of the Secretary-Generals message to the first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which began today in Vienna and ends on July 9. The meeting is looking at ways to implement the Convention, which entered into force last year.

By ratifying the treaty, countries commit to adopting a series of crime-control measures, including the criminalization of participation in an organized criminal group, money laundering and corruption.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS CONVENES SESSION: The Codex Alimentarius Commission an international food standards-setting body established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization has convened its 27th session in Geneva today, one year ahead of schedule. In its program of work, it is expected to formally approve work to revise the 23-year-old Recommended International Code of Practice for Foods for Infants and Children, with particular attention paid to issues related to contamination of infant formula.

PROTECTION OF COLD WATER CORALS IS KEY ISSUE: Representatives from Governments, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and the worlds leading coral reef experts are meeting in Okinawa, Japan, for a week of discussions and activities on protecting the worlds precious coral reefs. A key issue will be the protection of cold-water corals, little known in comparison to their tropical cousins. The UN Environment Programme says these reefs in colder and usually deeper waters play an equally important role in sustaining the delicate balance of our marine ecosystems, and they must be kept alive.

ANNAN RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS ABOUT INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES CHIEF: The Spokesman responded to questions following the Secretary-Generals

press conference on Friday and the New York Sun article today by reading a statement, which said that, as Head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, Dileep Nair has been carrying out his tasks with energy and dedication. As regards the issues raised in a recent resolution of the Staff Council concerning personnel matters in OIOS, the Secretary-General has instructed the Department of Management and the Office of Human Resources Management to clear them up as quickly as possible. He trusts they would prove to be without foundation.