United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-16

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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

Thursday, September 16, 2004

ANNAN URGES SECURITY COUNCIL TO ACT ON SUDAN WITHOUT DELAY;

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS SUDAN RESOLUTION TODAY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement on Sudan he made at UN headquarters this afternoon, said: "As you know, the Security Council is discussing the [draft] resolution on Darfur, which may require me to appoint an international commission to decide whether acts of genocide have been committed. If this resolution is adopted, I shall of course do so with all speed, and we are making preliminary preparations. But I want to make it clear that, no matter how the crimes that are being committed against civilians in Darfur are characterized or legally defined, it is urgent to take action now.

Civilians are still being attacked and fleeing their villages even as we speak, many months after the Government committed itself to bring the militias under control. The ceasefire is also being violated by both groups. Both sides have to stop violating the ceasefire.

I have urged the Security Council to act on the draft resolution without delay, and to be as united as possible in the face of this crisis. This is the first time in the Councils history that it has ever been seized under Article 8 of the Genocide Convention, and it seems to me inconceivable that it should fail to respond. In any case, the Council must be fully engaged. It must continue to pressure all sides. And it must galvanize full international support for the efforts of the African Union, which needs immediate and extensive support to deploy expanded troops to Darfur. Time is of the essence. I appeal to all member states and organizations with the necessary logistical and financial capacity to do whatever they can to make this deployment happen as quickly as possible.

I have asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, and my special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Juan Méndez, to visit Darfur and see what can be done, now and in the future, to provide better protection for the civilians who are desperately in need of it. They will arrive in Khartoum on Saturday. Their job is not to describe or characterize what is happening, but to see what more can be done to stop it, and to prevent further abuses.

Meanwhile, we are seeing positive developments in delivery of humanitarian relief. Since the horrifying mortality figures that the World Health Organization (WHO) issued for June and July, we have further increased our capacity on the ground. But thousands of people are still dying from easily preventable diseases, and there is still a funding gap of $250 million. This is absolutely unacceptable. The money must be found now.

That said, everyone including the refugees and displaced people realizes that their long-term security can only be guaranteed through a political solution agreed by the parties themselves. All of us must put pressure on both sides to resume their negotiations as soon as possible in a spirit of compromise, and with a real commitment to reach agreement, for the sake of the people of Darfur."

The Secretary-General also took questions from reporters.

The Security Council has scheduled closed consultations at 4 p.m. to discuss the latest draft resolution on Sudan.

U.N. MISSION SEEKS HUMANITARIAN ACCESS IN DARFUR, SUDAN

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, on Wednesday visited the African Union Cease-fire Commission Headquarters in Al Fasher in North Darfur, where he met with General Festus Okonkwo, the Commission chairman. They exchanged views on the situation on the ground in Darfur, as well as means and ways to enhance communications between the Commission and the United Nations.

Today, the Deputy Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs, Manuel Aranda da Silva, is visiting Al Fasher to meet with the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) leaders. The discussions today will focus on granting security arrangements for humanitarian access to the areas under SLA control, similar to the ones in effect with the Sudanese Government.

Meanwhile, the UN mission continues to receive reports on acts of banditry attributed to unknown armed individuals, particularly in North and South Darfur, including attacks on passenger buses and humanitarian agency vehicles, and looting.

Jan Pronk has indicated that since the political talks on Darfur taking place in Abuja, Nigeria, are to be adjourned, there are more reasons to be concerned, because there will be no venue to discuss such security problems.

The rebel movements, particularly the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), indicated Wednesday to the African Union (AU) mediation that they needed more time to reflect on AU Chairman President Olusegun Obasanjo's request to the parties to the Abuja Talks to sign the humanitarian protocol on which they agreed.

Meanwhile, on the North-South peace process, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) are expected to resume their talks in October in Kenya.

ANNAN HAS SAID IRAQ WAR NOT IN CONFORMITY WITH U.N. CHARTER

Asked whether his Wednesday interview with the BBC was the first time the Secretary-General has called the war in Iraq illegal, the Spokesman said he has repeatedly said that war was not in conformity with the Charter. One of the purposes of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change was to look at the issue of preventive war and to see how it could be employed in conformity with the Charter, which does not allow pre-emptive attacks, he said.

On March 10, 2003, the Secretary-General said at a press conference in The Hague, If the U.S. and others were to go outside the Council and take military action it would not be in conformity with the Charter.

On April 2, 2003, he was asked by Al-Jazeera, Therefore, because you are saying that the Council did not endorse this war, would you condemn it? The Secretary-General responded, And that is why the legitimacy of this action has been questioned, and widely questioned, and I myself have raised questions about it. I have raised questions about the legitimacy and whether it was in conformity with the Charter.

On March 8, 2004, the Secretary-General had a meeting with Arab journalists and said, I myself indicated that a war would not be in conformity with the Charter and the credibility of any such action would be widely questioned and the legitimacy would be widely questioned. And this is what has happened.

The conformity with the Charter language has been his consistent position. The Spokesman said that the BBC interview shows that the Secretary-General was quite reluctant to use the word illegal, but after repeated pressure from the interviewer about whether the war was illegal, he said, Yes, I have indicated it is not in conformity with the UN Charter. From our point of view, and from the Charter point of view, it was illegal.

This position has been his consistent one for more than a year, the Spokesman said, and has been well known to Member States. We see nothing new in it, he said.

Asked whether the Secretary-General intended to highlight the issue of legality at the upcoming General Assembly, the Spokesman said he did not think so. Since the war, he has emphasized the need for the Security Council and UN Member States to come together, stressing that the restoration of Iraqs stability is in everyones interest. He has tried to look forward, not back.

However, the principles of the UN Charter need to be addressed in a serious way, which is why he has asked the High-Level Panel to look at the issue. The Panel will report by the end of this year, and the Secretary-General will put its recommendations to the General Assembly next year.

Asked whether the elections in Iraq would be postponed, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General said as recently as Wednesday that the decision on the elections in Iraq is to be made by the Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission.

MORE U.N. STAFF ARE RETURNING TO HERAT, AFGHANISTAN

The Spokesman noted that 15 UN international staff had remained in the city of Herat, in Western Afghanistan, even after last weekends violent demonstration, when other staff was temporarily relocated from the city.

Staff have been returning to Herat, with 25 international staff there yesterday. Another 18 national and international staff flew back today. They continue to be supported by hundreds of UN Afghan staff who work and live in the city.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) resumed its voluntary repatriation convoys in Herat yesterday, following a three-day suspension of activity. The decision to restart the convoys coming in from Iran was made after UNHCR received firm assurances from the new Governor of the province, as well as from central Government officials, that the convoys could cross safely.

EMERGENCY SUPPLIES SENT TO HURRICANE IVAN VICTIMS

The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team that went to Grenada has carried out two missions on the island, following the damage caused by Hurricane Ivan. They said that approximately 90 percent of the houses on the island have been damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, and consequently tents, building materials and tools are urgently needed. The teams found that there is no power supply at all in northern Grenada, and crops have been badly damaged there. Lack of food continues to be a serious problem in the parish of St. Andrews.

Meanwhile, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has sent water containers, oral rehydration salts and health kits to Jamaica, as it seeks to recover from the hurricane.

Also, the UN country team in Cuba continues to exchange data with the national authorities, and field assessment missions to two areas in western Cuba are being scheduled.

UNICEF TO ASSIST SCHOOLCHILDREN FOLLOWING BESLAN TRAGEDY

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) representative in Russia, Carel de Rooy, said the next priority for the children of Beslan must be to restore their faith in schooling.

He said, after meeting with children who had been hospitalized following the hostage-taking in the school in Beslan last week, that most of the children he had spoken to do not want to return to school. For these children, he said, their own school has become a place of terror.

UNICEF plans to help the children by supporting their psychological rehabilitation, and it is also trying to make the other seven schools in Beslan more comfortable and attractive to children, so that they can take in the students affected by the hostage taking.

ANNAN MARKS DAY FOR PRESERVATION OF OZONE LAYER

In a message to mark the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, the Secretary-General notes that, 17 years after the signing of the Montreal Protocol, more than 90 percent of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out. While congratulating the parties to the protocol for this remarkable success, he asks them to overcome some of the remaining challenges in this area.

In a separate message, Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says that scientists estimate that, by the middle of the century and as a result of the phasing-out of numerous ozone-damaging chemicals, the ozone layer will be repaired. But, Toepfer adds, this is far from guaranteed.

UNEP is now asking countries to assess the quantities of methyl bromide, an ozone-damaging chemical, being used to kill pests on shipments of rice, maize, nuts and other big commodity export crops.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON SIERRA LEONE: The Security Council is holding consultations today on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone. Daudi Mwakawago, Special Representative for Sierra Leone, briefed on the latest report on the Mission.

ANNAN TO LAY WREATH FOR HAMMARSKJÖLD: On Friday morning at 10:00, the Secretary-General will lay a wreath outside the Meditation Room in the Visitors Lobby, to mark the 43rd anniversary of the death of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and his companions.

EUROPE MUST DEAL WITH AIDS, AGENCIES WARN: UNAIDS and the World Health Organization today urged European Governments to adopt integrated HIV prevention and treatment programs, at a time when more than 1.8 million people are living with HIV in Europe and Central Asia.

ROTTERDAM CONVENTION TO DEBUT NEXT WEEK: Ministers and officials from more than 100 countries will mark the debut of the Rotterdam Convention, dealing with hazardous chemicals and pesticides, at a high-level conference that begins in Geneva on September 20.

LIBERIA FILM TO BE SHOWN: The Department of Peace Keeping Operations is showing at 6:00 p.m. a film, "Liberia: An Uncivil War," at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium, and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Liberia Jacques Klein and the filmmaker will answer questions afterward.