United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-08-31

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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

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

UNITED NATIONS CONDEMNS TERRORIST ATTACK IN ISRAEL

In a

statement released through his Spokesman,

Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemns the double terrorist attack today in the

Israeli city of Beersheba that killed at least 15 people and wounded many more. He sends his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims.

The Secretary-General calls on the Palestinian Authority to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice and to put an end to such heinous crimes.

The Security Council, in a press statement read by Council President Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov, also strongly condemned the bombings. Members of the Council also denounced the escalation of violence in the Middle East and called on all the parties for the continuation of the Middle East peace process.

SUDAN: SEARCH AND RESCUE UNDERWAY FOR MISSING U.N. STAFF IN DARFUR

A search and rescue operation with helicopter support is underway today to locate the three local staff of the

World Food Programme with whom radio contact was lost on Saturday in

Darfur,

Sudan. Also missing are five Sudanese Red Crescent staff.

The last radio contact with them was at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, in the vicinity of Shangel Tubai, approximately 30 kilometers south of El Fashir.

The local Sudanese authorities and the rebel groups, Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), have assured the United Nations that they are exerting all efforts to assist in providing any information that might get on their whereabouts.

A Crisis Management Centre has been established in El Fasher.

SUDANESE PARTIES DISCUSS HUMANITARIAN ISSUES

The political talks in Abuja, Nigeria are continuing today and the discussions are focused on the humanitarian cluster.

The African Union, with the support of UN partners, presented the parties with a consolidated draft paper on humanitarian assessment.

On the humanitarian front, the

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that over the weekend, it

sent two teams to the villages of Suleha and Arara in

Sudan's West Darfur region near the Chad border to evaluate the situation for

internally displaced persons in the villages and overall security conditions. The teams will also determine if there have been any refugees returning to these villages from Chad.

Meanwhile, across the border in eastern Chad, where 188,000 refugees have fled from Darfur, UNHCR and the Chad government are set to

sign an agreement today aimed at maintaining security and ensuring the civilian nature of the refugee camps and surrounding areas.

The

World Health Organization has produced a

report on Sudanese

internally displaced persons in Darfur, Sudan, and Sudanese refugees in Chad. It contains facts and figures on the situation of clean drinking water and sanitation, hepatitis e, cholera, and other health problems and needs.

Asked about the report by Special Representative

Jan Pronk, concerning Sudans implementation of

Security Council Resolution 1556, the Spokesman said the

Secretary-General, who remains on annual leave, was to have received the report from Pronk today. The Secretary-General, he added, had spoken by phone today with Pronk, who briefed him on his mission. Council members are expected to receive the report, in an English-only version, prior to their meeting on Sudan on Thursday. After that meeting, Pronk is expected to speak to the press.

UNITED NATIONS INVITED TO ATTEND AL THAWRA CITY

RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE IN IRAQ

The Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative in

Iraq, Ross Mountain, today met with Daoud Kassem, Iraqs Minister of State and discussed the development in Najaf and Al Thawra (Sadr) City.

Iraqi authorities invited the United Nations to attend a national conference held today in Baghdad on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Al Thawra City. The conference was attended by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and members of his cabinet.

A large number of tribal and religious leaders representing Al Thawra City discussed directly with the Iraqi officials the development programmes that need to be undertaken there.

UNESCO URGES RELEASE OF FRENCH HOSTAGES IN IRAQ

The

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has

made an urgent plea for the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq.

The pair, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, disappeared 10 days ago on the road between Baghdad and Najaf.

UNESCOs Director-General,

Koïchiro Matsuura, said its unacceptable that conflicting factions in Iraq should use the pair as pawns. He also condemned the targeting of journalists in that country.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON BURUNDI ON LAST DAY OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENCY

The

Security Council held consultations on Burundi this morning.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations, briefed the Council on the

Secretary-Generals most recent

report on Burundi, which was released yesterday.

Today is also the last day of the Russian

Presidency of the Security Council. Starting tomorrow, Spain assumes the Security Council presidency for the month of September.

NUMBER OF ASYLUM SEEKERS IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES FALLS

The number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries has dropped to the lowest level in 17 years, according to

statistics

released by the

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

According to UNHCR, the total number of asylum claims in 30 industrialised countries during the first six months of 2004 was 22% lower than during the first half of 2003. In addition, the monthly average for the first half of this year is at its lowest level since 1987.

France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria were the top five countries of asylum over this period. Russians most of whom are believed to be Chechens were still the top group seeking asylum, followed by nationals of Serbia and Montenegro, China, Turkey and India.

DONORS URGED NOT TO FORGET BANGLADESH FLOOD VICTIMS

The United Nations in Bangladesh is urging donors not to forget the devastating

floods there, which killed 900 people and displaced four million others.

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that so far, only one third of the $210 million requested through a flash appeal has been received.

Many flood victims still have no income and are vulnerable to disease, and drinking water is in short supply.

Also, because many seed stocks were swept away, and the deadline for planting new crops is swiftly approaching, farmers need seeds now if the next harvest is to meet the countrys future food requirements.

More than half of all Bangladeshis are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.

MOROCCO'S GOLD MEDALLIST TO HELP CHILD DEVELOPMENT CAMPAIGN

Moroccos double Olympic gold medallist, Hicham El Guerrouj, will be

using his popularity and fame on the track later this year to promote a

UNICEF early childhood development campaign targeting children in the critical toddler phase.

El Guerrouj is an active Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund. Proceeds from the campaign will go to early childhood projects in Morocco, in areas such as health, nutrition and social skills development for young children up to the age of three.

UNICEF says El Guerroujs popularity and integrity will be key success factors in raising awareness of child development from the ages of 0 to 3 a critical life cycle little known to many parents and child care-takers in Morocco.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

REFUGEE AGENCY IN PACT TO HELP RETURN 10,000 CONGOLESE REFUGEES: The

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has

reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR) that will pave the way for the return of some 10,000 Congolese refugees. The tripartite agreement, signed last Thursday in Kinshasa, will provide a legal framework for the voluntary repatriation of refugees who fled the fighting in DRC's northwestern province of Equateur between 1998 and 2002.

WOMEN AND ADOLESCENTS NEEDED FOR HIV VACCINE TRIALS: A meeting organized by

UNAIDS and the

World Health Organization

stressed the need for greater participation of women and adolescents in

HIV vaccine clinical trials. Experts at the meeting, which took place over the weekend in Lausanne, Switzerland, said that women exposed to

HIV are at least twice as likely to become infected with the virus as their male counterparts. AIDS also places young people at high risk, with about half of the new HIV infections in the developing world affecting people between the ages of 15 and 24.

LATEST ISSUE OF U.N. ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME MAGAZINE RELEASED: The

United Nations Environment Programme

announced today the publication of the latest issue of their magazine, called

Our Planet. This issue examines the role of women throughout the developing world in the use and care of the environment.

JAPAN DONATES $2 MILLION TO HELP GET CHILDREN OUT OF ORPHANAGES: The Government of Japan is

donating more than $2 million to

UNICEF to get children out of orphanages and other institutions across Central Asia. The funds will go to the UNICEF supported-project Every Child Has a Right to Grow up in a Family Environment" and benefit around 32,000 children, plus 30,000 families that are at risk of institutionalising their children. The funds will be divided between Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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)

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