United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-14

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

BOMBING BRINGS HOME TRAGEDY IN IRAQ, UN ENVOY SAYS

In his presentation to the Security Council this morning, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, said the tragic human situation in that country was brought home to all of us today with another bombing in Baghdad, which killed almost 50 Iraqis.

Qazi said he condemned such acts, which victimize civilians primarily. These attacks, he told Council members, symbolize the resurgence of the vicious cycle of violence that is halting the process of rebuilding the country. Improving the security situation, he stressed, is a responsibility that we all share.

The current situation, Qazi said, can only be resolved politically. He underscored that no political reconciliation can be successfully pursued through the use the excessive threat or use of force. In fact, he went on to say, the various parties and movements in Iraq must not lose sight of their shared interest in a united, independent, prosperous and stable country.

Qazi then highlighted for Security Council members the Secretary-Generals report.

Before moving into closed consultations, Council members also heard statements from the Permanent Representative of the United States, Ambassador John Danforth, and the Chargé dAffaires of Iraq, Ambassador Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi.

Asked about comments from the Iraqi ambassador that several countries were to be involved in protecting UN personnel, the Spokesman said that the extensive search for contributors to protect UN premises and staff in Iraq had not to date produced any definitive agreements with donors.

The United Nations, he said, is talking to potential contributors, but no deal has been struck. The hope is that the United Nations will receive the necessary protection elements.

In response to further questions concerning how much personnel the United Nations intended to deploy in Iraq, the Spokesman said that several offices, including the electoral unit and humanitarian workers, would like to be able to bring in more staff. If they were to do so, the number of international UN personnel could easily swell from some 30 or so today to a couple of hundred, he added.

The Spokesman said that such an amount would greatly exceed the limit on staffing set by the UN Security Coordinator. Unless the United Nations receives sufficient protection or the security situation in Iraq improves, he asserted, it would not be possible to bring in large numbers of international staff.

IRAQI SCIENTISTS WILL INVESTIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS

The UN Environment Programme announced today that environmental "hot spots" in Iraq are to be investigated by Iraqi scientists.

This is part of a long-term plan to clean up the country after well over a decade of instability and conflict.

Iraqi scientists, trained in the latest laboratory and field testing skills, will be carrying out tests at a handful of contaminated sites in order to assess their threats to human health, wildlife and the wider environment.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF U.N. MISSION IN ETHIOPIA, ERITREA;

CONTINUES DISCUSSIONS ON DRAFT SUDAN RESOLUTION

The Security Council began its work this morning by adopting unanimously a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea until March 15, 2005. The Security Council had discussed the latest report on that Mission on Monday afternoon.

Also on Monday, the Security Council condemned Sunday's violent scenes in the troubled Afghan city of Herat, where the regional offices and compounds of the UN mission and agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were ransacked and seriously damaged. In an oral press statement read out after consultations, Ambassador Juan Antonio Yañez-Barnuevo of Spain, which holds this month's Presidency, said Council members remained united in their determination to proceed with the presidential election scheduled for October 9.

On Sudan, the sponsor of the Security Council draft resolution on Sudan has scheduled another experts level meeting at 3 p.m. today to discuss the latest text.

HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES CONSIDER FURTHER ACTION IN DARFUR, SUDAN

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, convened a meeting of UN humanitarian agencies and their partners at the principals' level this morning to discuss the results of a WHO survey on mortality rates among displaced persons in Darfur, Sudan and what further action needs to be taken.

The World Health Organization in Geneva issued on Monday a press release on a mortality survey it conducted together with Sudan's Ministry of Health in two of the States in Darfur. It concludes that death rates amongst internally displaced people still surpass the threshold for a humanitarian emergency, underscoring the need for urgent increases in, and focus on, assistance to displaced people in the region. According to WHO, displaced people in North and West Darfur are dying at between three and six times the expected rate.

At the meeting of humanitarian agencies today, it was agreed that the current build-up of humanitarian capacity on the ground had to be sustained and accelerated further. As indicated by the survey, which shows that diarrhoea was the leading cause of death, improvements in water and sanitation and public health services are key priorities, as is improved camp management.

Major improvements that had been achieved since the period covered by the survey were noted, thanks to a large increase in the capacity of UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) over the past 4-6 weeks.

Nevertheless, relief operations during August and September have been severely constrained by the rainy season, which is also causing many additional health hazards. Closing the remaining funding gap of more than $250 million and further increasing the coverage and quality of the relief effort are essential to reducing the mortality rates.

Asked about the first time that Darfur came up in the Security Council, the Spokesman later said that Egeland gave a briefing to the Council on the humanitarian situation

on Darfur on April 2.

U.N. ENVOY SAYS BAKASSI WITHDRAWAL MAY BE DELAYED

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

West Africa and Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, said on Monday that Nigerias withdrawal from the Bakassi Peninsula, scheduled for September 15, may be delayed due to unexpected technical difficulties.

He said that the sovereignty of Cameroon in that area is not disputed, and expressed confidence that progress is close at hand.

At the same time, he said, the Mixed Commission is carrying out its other activities, to follow up on the implementation of the 2002 International Court of Justice ruling on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, in a satisfactory manner. He added that the demarcation process is progressing well, and that the two nations have submitted their view on how to proceed with a maritime boundary.

ANNAN SEEKS NINE-MONTH EXTENSION OF UN SIERRA LEONE MISSION

Secretary-General Kofi Annans report on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone says the overall gradual progress and stable political environment in Sierra Leone has continued to facilitate the consolidation of peace in the country. He notes that revenue from the export of diamonds has significantly increased as the capacity of the Government to monitor and control mining activities in the country has improved.

In order to continue with the gradual draw-down of the mission and to ensure a seamless transition, the Secretary-General recommends the mandate be extended for a period of nine months, until June 30, 2005.

A draft resolution on Sierra Leone was circulated in Monday afternoons Security Council consultations.

HUMANITARIAN STAFF ASSIST RECOVERY FROM HURRICANE IVAN

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to provide assistance in the Caribbean nations affected by Hurricane Ivan. Four additional members of a UN Assessment and Coordination team left for Jamaica today carrying information technology equipment. The team is now running a 24-hour center in Kingston to facilitate coordination among international partners and the Jamaican Government, and is planning to open another in Montego Bay.

In Grenada, where almost 90 percent of the population is reported to have been affected by the hurricane, additional support is being sent to the three-person UN team that is assessing the worst hit areas.

Once the United Nations has a complete assessment of hurricane-related needs for the region, it will approach donors with a consolidated request for materiel and financial support. So far, OCHA has released emergency grants of $100,000 for Grenada, Jamaica and Cuba.

The Director of the UNs International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction in Geneva, Salvano Briceno, has stated that Cuba is a model in hurricane risk management in developing countries. He says education may be the main reason, as disaster preparedness, prevention and response are part of the general education curriculum in Cuba.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ADDRESSES INTERFAITH GATHERING

This morning, the Secretary-General attended the annual interfaith prayer service at St. Bartholomews Church in New York. This service is held every year at the opening of a new General Assembly session.

The Secretary-General was joined at the service by representatives of more than 20 faiths. He told the audience that this gathering offers a resounding answer to all those who despair at the prospect of ever achieving global harmony.

Here today, he said, we are one a single human family united in our embrace of the other. He stressed that tolerance was not only acceptance others; it needs to be an active effort to learn more about each others values and beliefs.

LOCUST PROBLEM IN SENEGAL EXPECTED TO WORSEN

The locust situation in Senegal will most likely worsen because of a lack of pesticides.

So far, damage has been very low, but hatching is taking place in seven regions, and the locusts will probably reach western and southern parts of the country in the coming week, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.(OCHA)

As of Monday last week, 300,000 hectares had been affected, but only a third of that number had been treated. A total of 750,000 hectares is expected to need treatment in the near future.

OCHA says that according to a Government report, close to $21 million is needed to fight the swarms, adding that the Government estimates that damage caused by the swarms could reduce agricultural production by 40 percent.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

FAO NOTES DECLINE IN ANNUAL GLOBAL FISH DISCARDS: New research shows that over the last decade, an average of 7.3 million tons of fish are being thrown back to sea unused each year, a decrease of about 12 million tons from previous estimates. The analysis was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which in 1996 estimated that average annual global fish discards were around 20 million tons. FAO says the fact that we are seeing less waste is good news, but it raises other concerns: namely, whether the drop is due to better fishing practices or a case of just fewer fish in our oceans.

WFP ASKS FOR ACTION TO HELP POOR IN MYANMAR: A senior World Food Programme official today called on Myanmars Government to step up its efforts toward social and economic reforms to benefit the countrys desperately poor. Sheila Sisulu, WFP Deputy Executive Director, completed a four-day visit to WFP operations in Myanmar, and said she saw deprivation and genuine want among the people in the Northern Shan State. She warned, Not enough priority is being placed on the real needs of the citizens.

ANNAN TO ADDRESS CEREMONY FOR GUATEMALA PHOTO EXHIBIT: This afternoon, at 5:15 in the Visitors Lobby at UN headquarters, the Secretary-General and Nane Annan will attend the inauguration of a photo exhibit, Guatemala: Images of Peace, which features photos from the collection of the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). The Secretary-General will take the occasion to talk about how the photos show the journey Guatemala has taken in the past ten years.

UNFPA REPORT TO BE LAUNCHED: The guests at the noon briefing tomorrow will be Safiye Cagar, the new Director of Information at the UN Population Fund, and Jill Sheffield, President of Family Care International. They will discuss the new State of the World Population Report, which reviews progress in the 10 years since the International Conference on Population and Development took place in Cairo.