United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-08

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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 FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

ANNAN MARKS DEVELOPMENT OF LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Efforts to make Latin Americas societies more democratic will also help to make them more developed and more stable. That was the message that Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave to participants at the International Seminar on Democracy, Politics and the State, which opened in Mexico City this morning.

In his statement, the Secretary-General said Latin Americans were steadily building their democracies, but democracy had still not responded to the aspirations of the regions poor. Citizens, he said, have to feel confident that their vote will translate into improvements in their daily lives.

Following the opening of the Seminar, the Secretary-General is meeting with the press, before going on to meet members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

On Tuesday night, upon his arrival in Mexico City, the Secretary-General met President Vicente Fox and Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez at Los Pinos Presidential Palace. Among the issues they discussed were Mexicos contribution to multilateralism, its role in training Iraqi electoral commissioners and its support of the peace process in Colombia.

They also discussed the Eminent Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the state of democracy in Latin America and the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS.

ANNAN CONCERNED ABOUT FATE OF HOSTAGES IN IRAQ

In response to a question about the two Italian hostages seized in Iraq, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the fate of all civilians held hostage in Iraq and reiterates his call for their immediate and unconditional release.

The abductions of two French journalists and two Italian humanitarian aid workers and their Iraqi colleagues are but the latest incidents in a tragic pattern of violations committed against innocent civilians in Iraq.

The Secretary-General appeals for respect, at all times, for the fundamental principals of human rights and dignity.

ANNAN WELCOMES PROGRESS ON INDIA-PAKISTAN ISSUES

In a statement issued after the noon briefing, the Secretary-General welcomed the outcome of the weekend meeting between the External Affairs Minister of India, K. Natwar Singh, and the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Khurshid Mohammed Kasuri, which reviewed the process of the composite dialogue between the two countries and took important decisions arising from the dialogue.

He also welcomed the announcement that President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York later this month.

He is heartened that the two sides continue to make steady progress towards resolving outstanding issues and improving their bilateral relations. The Secretary-General attaches great importance to the success of these efforts, which would have a highly salutary effect not only on the lives of the peoples of the two countries but also on regional and global stability.

Once again, he encourages the leaders of India and Pakistan to pursue these efforts with patience and a spirit of compromise in addressing the various issues, including the question of Jammu and Kashmir. The Secretary-General remains at their disposal to assist in any useful manner.

UNMOVIC WORKS ON COMPENDIUM OF IRAQI WEAPONS PROGRAM

The Security Council met in closed consultations this morning to hear from Demetrius Perricos, the Acting Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq, better known as UNMOVIC. Perricos presented to Council members its eighteenth quarterly report.

Over the last quarter, UNMOVIC teams have continued to investigate the discovery of Iraqi weapons related items found in scrap yards in Jordan, Turkey and the Netherlands. A significant number of items related to Iraqi SA-2 missiles were found in Jordan.

UNMOVIC staff also continue to work on the compendium of the previous Iraqi regimes chemical and biological munitions program. A summary of this compendium was released as part of the latest UNMOVIC report.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES EXPANSION OF UN DR CONGO FORCE

On Tuesday afternoon, the Security Council held consultations in which France circulated a draft resolution concerning the expansion of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

That move came after the Secretary-General, in a letter to the President of the Security Council, said he was extremely concerned at the volatile security environment in the DR Congo, and warned that the possibility of further deterioration cannot be ruled out, given the speech with which events are unfolding.

In the letter, he proposed that the Council take an urgent decision to deploy emergency reinforcements to the UN Mission. Such reinforcements would consist of two additional infantry battalions and four attack helicopters.

Council discussions on the draft resolution responding to that request are continuing at the expert level.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS SUDAN ON THURSDAY;

DARFUR POLITICAL TALKS FOCUS ON SECURITY ISSUES

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Sudan for Thursday afternoon.

The African Union mediation, together with the United Nations and other partners, prepared a revised draft protocol on security issues and presented it to the parties to the political talks on the Darfur crisis taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.

The mediation is meeting separately with the parties to introduce the new text to them. The mediation is hoping to convene a plenary meeting with the parties in order to move forward towards what could be a viable text for all concerned.

UNICEF and WHO launched a measles vaccination campaign in rebel-controlled territory in North Darfur as part of an effort to reach some 500,000 children who could not be vaccinated during previous campaign in July.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that it is in the process of finalizing a countrywide data collection on fistula, one of the most devastating pregnancy-related complications in Sudan. UNFPA preliminary estimates show that around 40 percent of the reported cases come from Darfur.

UNRWA HANDS OVER NEW HOMES TO FAMILIES IN GAZA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), today handed over 103 new homes to families from Rafah refugee camp.

Their homes had been destroyed by the Israeli military during the ongoing Intifada. The Agency has also opened a new school to serve these families.

Todays official ceremony could not take place due to Israeli closures within the Gaza Strip, which prevented UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen from reaching Rafah.

The project, which cost $2.6 million, was funded by donations from Norway, Italy, and the United States.

ANNAN APPOINTS NEW REPRESENTATIVE FOR GUINEA-BISSAU

Available today is an exchange of letters between the Secretary-General and the Security Council regarding the appointment of a new Representative in Guinea-Bissau.

The new senior official in Guinea-Bissau is Joćo Bernardo Honwana of Mozambique, former Chief of the Conventional Arms Branch in the Department of Disarmament Affairs. He succeeds David Stephen, who retired in April.

ANNAN APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE FOR COTE DIVOIRE

The Secretary-General has named Abdoulaye Mar Dieye of Senegal as his Deputy Special Representative for Cote dIvoire.

Mar Dieye will work under Special Representative Albert Tevoedjre and will be in charge of humanitarian affairs and development, as well as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in the country.

SECRETARY-GENERAL OBSERVES LITERACY DAY

Today, September 8th, is International Literacy Day.

The theme of this years commemorations is gender and literacy. In this second year of the United Nations Literacy Decade, more than 500 million women make up the majority of adult illiterates around the world, while girls constitute the majority of children who are not in school.

In a message, the Secretary-General says that there is no time to lose if we are to translate into reality the Millennium Development Goal of increasing the worlds literacy rate by 50% by 2015. The cost of building a literate society is relatively low, he says, compared with the cost of failure, in terms of prosperity, health, security and justice.

UN TRACKS PROGRESS OF HURRICANE IVAN

The UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is monitoring the progress of Hurricane Ivan, the latest storm to threaten the Caribbean and parts of the United States.

A five-person UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is being pre-positioned in Jamaica, which is on the storms path.

In Haiti, which is also expected to be in Ivans path, the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization have placed four emergency kits in the southern part of the country. Each of those kits covers basic needs for 10,000 people.

UN POSTAL ADMINISTRATION RECORDS NET PROFIT

The UN Postal Administration has posted a net profit of $706,434 for the first six months of this year, and it expects to maintain or improve on this in the future as more new products are introduced.

This is a big turn-around for the Postal Administration after it had been incurring losses since 1994, reaching $3.46 million over the 2000-2001 biennium. On top of that, at the last session of the General Assembly, one delegate had proposed that it be closed down.

The proposal was defeated following assurances from UNPA and the Department of Management that UNPA could be restructured into profitability.

It did this by lowering operational costs and introducing new marketing initiatives, such as the personalized stamp facility.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SUICIDE IS LARGELY PREVENTABLE: Suicide is a huge but largely preventable public health problem. It causes almost half of all violent deaths and results in almost one million fatalities every year, as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars. The World Health Organization is calling for more attention on the issue and global action, ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day this Friday.

UN FORCE COMMANDERS REVIEW PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS: The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations is hosting a conference for the heads of the military components of peacekeeping missions. The aim of the three-day conference is to review the latest developments in peacekeeping, and 16 senior military officers including several force commanders are attending, from a wide range of missions.

IRAQ REPRESENTATIVE LIKELY TO SPEAK TO PRESS NEXT WEEK: The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, will not be the guest at the Thursday noon briefing, as was previously scheduled. Instead, Qazi will speak to the press, most likely at the Security Council stakeout, following his briefing to Council members on Tuesday, September 14.

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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