United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-07-09

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, July 9, 2004

ANNAN FORWARDS RULING ON ISRAELI WALL TO U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Shi Jiuyong, today read out the advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The advisory opinion says that the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime, are contrary to international law.

The Judge added that the Court is of the view that the United Nations, and especially the General Assembly and the Security Council, should consider what further action is required to bring to an end the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and the associated regime, taking due account of the present advisory opinion.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has today received from the International Court of Justice its advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in occupied Palestinian territory.

The Secretary-General has forwarded the advisory opinion to the General Assembly, which had requested the Courts advice, and which will determine how to proceed on this matter.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals views on the advisory opinion, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General would not want at this point to pre-empt the General Assemblys determination on how to proceed.

He expects Member States to consider seriously their actions in light of the Courts advisory opinion. He believes that it is for the membership to determine whether further action in the General Assembly is appropriate.

ANNAN TO WARN OF AIDS SETBACK AT BANGKOK AIDS CONFERENCE

The Secretary-General has arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, where he will on Sunday address the 15th International AIDS Conference.

In his speech, he will warn that, despite much progress over the past three years, we are not on track to begin reducing the scale and impact of the AIDS epidemic by 2005, as world leaders had promised.

He will outline the need to focus on supporting treatment and prevention, empowering women and girls to protect themselves against the virus, and providing stronger leadership at every level in fighting AIDS.

TWO MILLION CHILDREN VACCINATED AGAINST MEASLES IN DARFUR

The World Food Programme says it was about to conclude an agreement with Libya to transport food from the port of Benghazi to northern Chad.

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, and the World Health Organization said today that two million children in Darfur have now been vaccinated against measles, but that hundreds of thousands more cannot be reached because of prevailing insecurity.

In North Darfur, humanitarian agencies are investigating the Sudanese Governments repeated claims that internally displaced persons are returning voluntarily to Tawilla and Korma from El Fasher and the Abu Shouk camp, supposedly to prepare for the planting season. So far, an assessment of the humanitarian situation in Tawilla, where some 150 households are accommodated in schools, has revealed serious security concerns.

Twenty-two deaths have been reported in Abu Shouk during the past week, mainly because of diarrhoea. In El Fasher, malnutrition among children has increased.

In West Darfur, agencies plan to investigate claims by local authorities that around 6,500 displaced have recently returned from Chad. Local authorities in West Darfur have continued to push for the relocation and return of the displaced persons, even though they still do not feel secure enough to return to their villages. Reports of attacks and looting continue to be received.

Donor funding is at 40% of the requested $350 million.

Meanwhile, two NGOs, namely the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), have arrived in South Darfur and are planning to immediately start operations there.

U.N. SECRETARIAT NOT MANDATED TO POLICE OIL-FOR-FOOD SUPPLIERS

Asked whether the United Nations had been aware of a list of preferred suppliers, which Saddam Husseins Government had dealt with extensively under the oil-for-food program, the Spokesman said the United Nations was not aware of that list.

Asked about whether the United Nations had done anything to deal with the preferred suppliers, the Spokesman said that the UN Secretariat had not been mandated by the Security Council to police the contractors.

He noted that, when the Secretariat received information regarding kickbacks and surcharges, it had informed the Councils 661 Sanctions Committee dealing with Iraq about the matter, and the Committee responded by enacting a system of retroactive pricing for the contracts.

The Spokesman outlined the procedures by which a contract was made, saying that the permanent mission of the supplier would send an application for export to Iraq with a contract attached to it. The UN oil-for-food program would review the contracts and give all the details to the members of the 661 Committee.

The Security Council resolutions, he underscored, gave Saddam Husseins Government the exclusive right to select companies to sign contracts with. The way the program was set up was out in the open, and the rules were known to everyone.

Under that arrangement, he added, the Secretariat of the oil-for-food program was not in direct contact with the suppliers.

Asked how that system was devised, the Spokesman noted that all nations, from the 1991 Gulf War onward, had appreciated the need to tend to the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, for which they had to deal with the sovereign government of Iraq. In the northern governorates, the United Nations implemented the program itself, while in the rest of Iraq, the United Nations and the Security Council dealt with the sovereign government. We worked with the mandate that we had, the Spokesman said.

SECURITY SITUATION IMPROVING IN SIERRA LEONE

The Secretary-Generals report on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone was released today, and in it, he notes the steady improvement in the security situation in the country as the mission continues its gradual withdrawal.

He notes the importance for the Security Council to join the United Nations in appealing to Member States to provide urgently the much-needed assistance for the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

Ongoing efforts to improve the overall situation in Liberia continue to have a positive impact on the situation in the whole of the Mano River region, he says.

PROTRACTED PEACE PROCESS CAUSES INSTABILITY IN ETHIOPIA/ERITREA

In his latest progress report on Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Secretary-General says a protracted stalemate in the peace process is in itself a source of instability and flags his concern that a relatively minor incident, even one of miscalculation, could degenerate into a very serious situation, which no one would wish for and which would be tragic for all concerned.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO VISIT COTE DIVOIRE ON 18 JULY

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that the Independent Commission of Inquiry, which was announced on 22 June to look into the grave violations of human rights committed in Côte dIvoire, would travel to that country on 18 July. The five-member Commission would be accompanied by its secretariat and a team of forensics experts.

The Commission expected to be in Côte dIvoire for three months, but that could change depending on what they found. The period that they were looking at was open-ended and would examine the human rights situation since 19 September 2002.

BIRD FLU STILL ENDEMIC TO ASIA

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says new outbreaks of the avian influenza virus also known as bird flu in China, Thailand and Viet Nam confirm that the virus is still endemic in the region.

FAO says the new cases do not come as a surprise, and eradication of the flu should be considered, at best, as a long-term task. It adds that its very encouraging that governments have reacted immediately on recent outbreaks and have officially informed international organizations.

However, FAO warns that surveillance and immediate reaction to outbreaks need to be strengthened and applied in all countries of the region.

OPIUM CULTIVATION IN LAOS FALLS BY HALF IN 2004

Opium cultivation in Laos fell by 45% this year, in comparison to 2003. This translates into a cumulative decline of 75% since 1998.

These are some of the findings of the Laos Opium Survey carried out by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the Government of Laos.

Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of UNODC, attended the launch of the survey in Vientiane today.

He said that together with the parallel decline in opium cultivation in Myanmar, this historical achievement if sustained will end more than a century of opium production in the Golden Triangle.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

BOSNIA FORCE MANDATE EXTENDED: The Security Council unanimously adopted today a resolution on Bosnia and Herzegovina, which extends the mandate of the NATO Stabilization Force until the end of this year.

NEW COLOMBIAN REFUGEES ARRIVE IN VENEZUELA: The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has a team in Venezuela's border state of Apure evaluating the humanitarian and protection needs of around 200 Colombians who fled fighting in their home country earlier this week. Some of the group wish to seek refugee status in Venezuela while others would like to return to Colombia once the security situation improves. UNHCR is contacting the military, government and immigration authorities to inform them of the influx and to coordinate a response.

U.N. AID TO NORTH CAUCASUS BACK ON TRACK: UN assistance to the war-affected population in the North Caucasus is back on track, following the return of international United Nations staff to the region. The staff had temporarily relocated to Moscow, after a large, coordinated attack by non-state armed actors on 21 June in Ingushetia. During fighting in the republics main city, a local UN staff member had been killed.

U.N. SYSTEM RESPONDS TO FLOODS IN NICARAGUA: The U.N. system is responding to humanitarian needs following heavy rains in Nicaragua. The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO) the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have carried out assessment missions and are working in support of the Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture and Family. Heavy rains in Nicaragua in the last four weeks have triggered mudslides and flooding, causing great damage in certain areas and creating an emergency.

UNITED NATIONS CONDEMNS HOSTAGE-TAKING IN IRAQ: Asked about the UN reaction to the latest kidnappings in Iraq, the Spokesman said that the United Nations has condemned all these acts of violence in the strongest possible terms. He was not aware of any contact with the Iraqi national authorities concerning the kidnappings.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Sunday, July 11

In Bangkok, Thailand, the Secretary-General will address the Fifteenth International AIDS Conference and will also speak before the opening ceremony of the Second Asia-Pacific Ministerial Meeting on HIV/AIDS.

Today is World Population Day.

Monday, July 12

The Secretary-General will visit the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific while in Bangkok.

Tuesday, July 13

The Secretary-General will hand over the Thai Millennium Development Goals report while in Bangkok.

The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing, followed by consultations, on the Middle East.

Wednesday, July 14

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Somalia.

At 11:00 a.m., K.Y Amoako, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, will launch a report on "Assessing Regional Integration in Africa."

The guest at the noon briefing will be Jan Egeland, Emergency Relief Coordinator, who will launch "Living with Risk", a report of the International Disaster Reduction Secretariat.

Thursday, July 15

The Secretary-General is expected to meet in Vienna with his High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the UN Missions in Sierra Leone and in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNAMSIL and UNMEE).

UNDP will release its Human Development Report for 2004, and Zepherin Diabre, UNDP Associate Administrator, will discuss it at the noon briefing.

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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