United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-07-07

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, July 7, 2004

SECURITY COUNCIL NOTES NEED FOR PRESSURE TO PROMOTE SOLUTION

FOLLOWING BRIEFING BY ANNAN ON SUDAN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan briefed the Security Council this morning via satellite link from Nairobi, in closed consultations, on what he saw and discussions he held regarding Sudan on his trip to Africa.

Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who was with the Secretary-General on his visit to Sudan and Chad, also briefed Council members on the 90-day humanitarian action plan and the constraints and challenges for relief operations in Darfur.

Egeland spoke to the press following the Council consultations, and said that aid workers faced a logistical nightmare in Darfur, but had been granted access to do their work. He added that security is insufficient there, and noted reports of abuse against the civilian population. He also highlighted funding problems, with only 40 percent of what has been sought having been received so far.

[Speaking to reporters, Security Council President, Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc of

Romania, said there had to be sustained pressure on the Sudanese Government to promote progress and a solution to the humanitarian situation. On behalf of the Council, he welcomed the joint communiqué [which lays out specific actions to be taken by the Government as well as by the United Nations to relieve the suffering in Darfur and find a political solution to the crisis there] and the commitments contained therein, as well as the African Union mediation efforts.]

Asked about details of the Secretary-Generals briefing, the Spokeswoman said the Secretary-General's briefed on the condition of the people in Sudan and the Sudanese refugees in Chad and his talks with Sudanese officials that resulted in a joint communiqué, but could not go into details because the remarks were made in closed consultations.

INSECURITY FOR WOMEN ON RISE AROUND DISPLACED PERSONS' CAMP

HEALTH SITUATION REPORTED STABILIZED AT CAMP

Humanitarian agencies, meanwhile, report that in North Darfur, there have been outbreaks of fighting between the Sudanese Government and militia groups. In addition, some agencies report that travelling members of their staff have been searched and looted by military officials on several occasions.

Agencies also point out that the depletion of firewood around camps is increasing the risk of insecurity among women, who are forced to move further away from concentration areas to collect wood for cooking.

Also in North Darfur, agencies have started to provide the necessary assistance to the displaced people who were relocated from El Meshtel camp to Abu Shouk camp by the Sudanese Government prior to the visit of the Secretary General. Agencies report that in the Abu Shouk camp, the health situation has stabilized.

ANNAN ARRIVES IN KENYA, MEETS WITH U.N. STAFF

The Secretary-General departed Ethiopia today for Kenya, from where he spoke to the Security Council by videoconference. Upon arriving in Kenya, he told reporters that he looks forward to having discussions with his own team in Nairobi and with President Mwai Kabaki and the Kenyan Government. He said, I am sure we will have time to discuss issues of common interest and some of the crises affecting our continent.

[He met with the UN staff in Nairobi, and described to them a difficult year for the United Nations during which the organizations effectiveness was questioned over the war in Iraq and colleagues were killed in Baghdad last August.

He referred to the staff responses to the integrity survey as well, but said that, despite all, he remained optimistic, adding, And so should you. On AIDS, in response to a statement by a staff member, he declared, AIDS is the real weapon of mass destruction.

Before leaving the UN complex, the Secretary-General stopped at the newly-named Sergio Vieira de Mello Library and was shown a plaque commemorating the life and work of the Brazilian Special Representative in Iraq killed in the bombing incident of last August.]

LEADERS AGREE ON JULY 29 ACCRA SUMMIT ON COTE DIVOIRE

On Tuesday night in Addis Ababa, the Secretary-General convened a mini-summit on Cote dIvoire that brought together the heads of government of nine states in the region, who voiced their concern at the stalemate in that country.

The participants at last nights meeting agreed in a communiqué to convene a high-level meeting of all Ivorian parties, including the President and Prime Minister, in Accra, Ghana, on July 29.

Speaking to reporters afterward, the Secretary-General said that until that date, preparations would be made so that the Accra meeting will be concrete, constructive and we should be able to leave Accra with sure and real achievements.

UNITED NATIONS CONFIRMS MEMO

CONCERNING RUUD LUBBERS INVESTIGATION

Asked to confirm a report in The New York Times today, which claims that the Secretary-General sent at an internal memo, in the wake of letters allegedly sent out by UNHCR head Rudd Lubbers, the Spokeswoman confirmed the internal memo's existence.

"This internal memo from the Secretary-General's office to the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was issued the day after, it was in response to Mr. Lubbers note to the staff, and it simply states a matter of guidance for how the OIOS inspectors should go about their work," the Spokeswoman said.

The Spokeswoman said the memo would not be released, as it is an internal memo.

Regarding the OIOS investigation into one woman's allegations concerning Lubbers, the Spokeswoman said she had no further updates, noting that this would remain the case until the investigation process is complete.

Asked if the Secretary-General had asked Lubbers to resign during a meeting between the two, the Spokeswoman confirmed the two had met on Tuesday evening in Addis Ababa. The Spokeswoman said she was unable to describe the contents of the meeting, which she said was a one-on-one session.

U.N. ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY INFORMED OF

U.S. TRANSFER OF ENRICHED URANIUM FROM IRAQ

The Secretary-General has transmitted to the Security Council a letter from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which reports on the transfer of roughly 1.8 tons of low enriched uranium from Iraq to the United States.

In the letter,

IAEA Executive Director Mohamed ElBaradei says that the U.S. Government had informed his agency of its intention to transfer some nuclear material out of Iraq, because of security concerns. The United States last week informed the agency that it had performed the transfer on June 23.

DIPLOMATIC QUARTET MEETS WITH PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER

Representatives of the Middle East diplomatic quartet U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, UN Special Coordinator Terje Roed-Larsen, European Union Special Representative Marc Otte and Ambassador Alexander Kalugin of Russia met in Ramallah today with Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei and other senior Palestinian Authority officials.

In a statement released after the meeting, the envoys reaffirmed the needs for concrete steps on the ground by the Palestinian Authority in order to revive the Road Map and seize the opportunity represented by Israels Gaza withdrawal initiative. They also expressed their strong support for the Egyptian role in working with the parties and urged the Palestinian Authority to do its part by moving decisively to fulfil its security commitments.

These envoys also discussed with the Prime Minister the humanitarian situation and development needs in the West Bank and Gaza.

HUNDREDS OF REFUGEES RETURNING TO DR CONGO

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that hundreds of Congolese refugees have begun returning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to assess the situation in their home villages. Over 300 have returned since 1 July, with another 500 saying that they are ready to go home.

However, because infrastructure has been severely damaged in the countrys east, and the military tends to harass and steal from the local population, UNHCR is not recommending the return of all refugees. At the same time, small numbers of Congolese continue to flee into Burundi due to tension in the DRC's south Kivu region.

U.N. CONFERENCE ON FIGHTING SPAM BEGINS IN GENEVA

The International Telecommunication Union today began a meeting on fighting unsolicited e-mail known as SPAM. The Geneva meeting is part of preparations for the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The Summit has identified SPAM as a potential threat to the full use of digital services and described it as "a significant and growing problem for users, networks and the Internet as a whole. Discussion will center on five key areas, including technical solutions and international cooperation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: At 3:00 this afternoon, the Security Council will hold consultations on the Central African Republic.

CEREAL PRODUCTION DECLINES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA: Overall cereal production in southern Africa declined this season, with maize production decreasing by 9 percent compared to last year, the Food and Agriculture Organization says. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has expressed concern about the shortfall in cereal output in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

INT'L CRIMINAL COURT ASSIGNS FIRST TWO CASES TO PRE-TRIAL CHAMBERS: Today in The Hague, the International Criminal Court decided to assign its first two cases, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda, to pre-trial chambers.

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