United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-03

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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

Friday, September 3, 2004

[There will be no briefing Monday as UN Headquarters will be closed.

The briefing resumes Tuesday]

SECRETARY-GENERAL HORRIFIED BY DEATHS OF RUSSIAN CHILDREN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been following closely the tragic developments regarding the situation of the hostages in Beslan, Russian Federation. According to a statement, he was horrified to learn that a large number of children and others have lost their lives or were injured during the last few hours.

The Secretary-General reiterates his condemnation of all terrorist acts.

UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy said in a statement, The Beslan siege represents a new and discouraging low -- children used as hostages and denied food and water for three terrifying days.

"It is unacceptable, incomprehensible, senseless. And the tragedy is that this episode is just the latest in a rising tide of violence aimed at children. It is time to take stock, to take a long hard look at our world and how it is treating children, Bellamy said.

SUDANESE PARTIES BEGIN TALKS ON SECURITY ISSUES

The Sudanese parties to the political talks in Abuja, Nigeria, have started discussions on security issues, the second main item on the agenda of the current round.

The discussions among Government of the Sudan and the two rebel groups, Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), are still at their preliminary stage. The African Union mediation is trying to assist the parties to focus the discussions on substantive issues. It invited the parties to submit written proposals.

The signature is still pending for the humanitarian protocol on which the parties agreed Thursday. The two rebel groups insisted that they would sign the protocol only after discussions on security conclude.

VILLAGERS IN DARFUR AFRAID TO TRAVEL OUTSIDE SETTLEMENTS

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that displaced persons and returnees from Chad in three villages in Darfur have told UNHCR they are afraid to go more than a few kilometers outside of the settlements because of continuing insecurity.

While they indicated that there has been a slight improvement in security, they reported ongoing incidents, such as livestock theft, physical assault, rape, killings and attacks on villages by the Janjaweed militia. Some of the community leaders reported that, because of the continued incidents, even those who have recently returned from Chad are considering fleeing again across the border.

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF ANWAR IBRAHIM

The Secretary-General warmly welcomes the decision of the Malaysian Federal Court to release Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, from jail.

He hopes that Anwar will recover his health soon by receiving long-awaited medical treatment.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON ABUSES IN DR CONGO;

FINDINGS ON AUGUST ATTACK IN BURUNDI

The Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, briefed the Security Council, in closed consultations on Ituri in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A report recording human rights abuses which occurred in Ituri, from January 2002 to December 2003, was released last month.

The Council also discussed Burundi. Annabi briefed Council members on the preliminary findings of a human rights investigation into last months attack in Gatumba, Burundi.

SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION ON LEBANON

On Thursday evening, the Security Council adopted resolution 1559, which underlines the importance of free and fair elections according to Lebanese constitutional rules.

The text, which was adopted with nine votes in favor and six abstentions, also calls for all remaining foreign troops to leave Lebanon.

U.N. ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY INSPECTORS SENT TO SOUTH KOREA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has dispatched a team of inspectors to the Republic of Korea to investigate all relevant aspects of its declaration to the IAEA that it had enriched nuclear material.

On August 23, the Republic of Korea informed the IAEA that it had enriched nuclear material in experiments that had not been declared to the agency. The Republic of Korea informed the IAEA that these experiments had been on a laboratory scale and involved the production of only milligram quantities of enriched uranium. It added that these activities were carried out without the Governments knowledge at a nuclear site in Korea in 2000, and that the activities had been terminated.

The inspectors will report to Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei upon their return to Vienna early next week. The Director-General will inform the Board of Governors of the IAEAs initial findings at the next meeting of the Board of Governors, which begins on September 13.

U.N. ENVOY TO MEET KING OF MOROCCO, POLISARIO LEADERS

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Western Sahara, Alvaro de Soto, will be received by H.M. King Mohammed VI and senior Moroccan officials on September 6-7. He will be received by the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO on September 12. He is in contact with the governments of Algeria and Mauritania regarding visits to Algiers and Nouakchott soon thereafter.

This will be de Sotos first round of consultations with the parties and neighboring countries since the enlargement of his responsibilities following the resignation of James Baker III, last June, as the Secretary-Generals personal envoy.

The Secretary-General is due to report to the Security Council in October. The mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) expires at the end of that month.

U.N. OFFICIAL POINTS TO NEGLECTED" NORTHERN UGANDA CRISIS

Speaking to reporters upon his return from northern Uganda, where he visited camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Director of the UN's Internal Displacement Division expressed concern over "this neglected long term humanitarian crisis."

With 1.6 million displaced people spread over dozens of locations, Dennis McNamara noted in a press encounter in Nairobi that this represented a number larger than Darfur and that the camps in northern Uganda are "as desperate looking as in Darfur."

Roads and bridges are collapsing under food convoys, and the situation for women and children is particularly alarming, he said.

According to McNamara, "the United Nations needs to strengthen its role, its presence and its capacity but unless we are properly funded, we won't be there to do what we should do.

Despite some political progress, he also underlined that there was "no effective civilian management" of IDP camps in northern Uganda and that only the military exerted control over the region. "There is no functioning of the rule of law, he said.

UNICEF NOTES INFANTS IN SWAZILAND SUFFER FROM VITAMIN DEFICIENCY

AND CHINAS PROGRESS ON VITAMINS

UNICEF says China has made extraordinary progress in reducing the damage caused by vitamin and mineral deficiency, but still needs to do more to help the 250 million people still suffering from the effects of vitamin deficiencies. UNICEF has released a report on this topic.

Meanwhile, a UNICEF study has found that up to 60 percent of infants in Swaziland are likely to incur brain damage due to vitamin deficiencies. Specifically, deficiencies in vitamin A can lead to problems such as stunted growth and greater susceptibility to infection.

UNICEF has set up a new program to distribute vitamin A to children under the age of five. Forty per cent of Swazi children under the age of six are not getting enough vitamin A, and such deficiencies cause the deaths of 600 children annually.

U.N. HEALTH AGENCY STUDYING WHETHER BIRD FLU HAS SPREAD TO CATS

The World Health Organization is investigating reports that avian influenza, or bird flu, has now jumped the species barrier to infect cats. WHO will specifically be looking to see if infected cats play any role in the human disease.

The comments were made at a press briefing in Geneva today, and follow a report published in Science magazine, which claimed that cats could be infected. This is an extraordinary finding because it was thought cats couldnt be infected with bird flu.

The disease killed 23 people in Asia earlier this year, and led to the death or culling of millions of birds.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

MILLENNIUM REPORT TO BE RELEASED TUESDAY: The Secretary-General's annual report on implementation of the Millennium Declaration will be released this coming Tuesday morning. The Department of Public Information will issue two press releases on the report, highlighting the swelling demand for UN peacekeeping missions as well as progress on the Millennium Development Goals. The Secretary-Generals report, the press releases and DPI background materials will be under embargo until noon New York time on Tuesday.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, September 6

Today is a U.S. holiday, and UN Headquarters in New York will be closed.

The first regional preparatory committee meeting of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region will open in Bujumbura, Burundi, and is to run through Friday.

Tuesday, September 7

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wednesday, September 8

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission dealing with Iraq (UNMOVIC).

Thursday, September 9

The guest at the noon briefing will be the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.

Friday, September 10

The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing, followed by consultations, on Haiti. The Council also expects to meet with the countries contributing troops to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.