United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-28

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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

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

ANNAN URGES ISRAEL TO REFRAIN FROM ENDANGERING LIVES

Of CIVILIANS ON U.N. PREMISES, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan continues to be deeply

concerned at the upsurge in violence in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.

He was saddened to learn of the death of 10-year-old Raghda Adnan al-Assar, who died on September 22 after being hit in the head by an IDF bullet whilst sitting at her desk at the

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Elementary School in Khan Younis on September 7.

On September 27, 55 year-old Said al-Madhoun was shot and killed on the grounds of UNRWAs Preparatory School in Khan Younis.

In addition, an UNRWA contractor was shot and seriously wounded on September 27 while working in a UN warehouse in Rafah.

The Secretary-General and his representatives in the region have repeatedly called on the Government of Israel to respect the inviolability of UN institutions and installations, and in particular, to refrain from any activities that endanger the lives and safety of those who are lawfully on the premises, especially children.

The Secretary-General reiterates the obligation for the Government of Israel to ensure the safety of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory.

TOP U.N. RIGHTS OFFICIAL TO FORCEFULLY ADVOCATE EXPANSION

OF INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE IN DARFUR, SUDAN

At a press conference in Geneva before departing for New York, the

High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Louise Arbour, said she believed the core crisis in

Darfur, Sudan, is one of safety and security, and it is a crisis which must now be addressed with great urgency and seriousness.

She was asked what the thrust of her recommendations to the Secretary-General would be. She said that "in general terms, I will be advocating as forcefully as I can the need for a considerable expansion of the international presence on the ground in all its manifestations."

The Secretary-General is expected to participate in a

Security Council briefing on Darfur on Thursday.

He will be accompanied by Arbour and Juan Mendez, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the prevention of genocide.

TOP U.N. REFUGEE OFFICIAL DEMANDS END TO VIOLENCE IN DARFUR

The

High Commissioner for Refugees,

Ruud Lubbers, is in Khartoum today on the last leg of a five-day mission to

Chad and Sudan.He was to meet senior government officials and press home the urgent need to end the continuing violence in Darfur and reduce the enormous gap of mistrust between the displaced and the authorities.

The

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also reported that it had opened its tenth camp for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad.

The Special Representative for Sudan,

Jan Pronk, who is also expected in New York this week, is in Brussels to meet with the Political and Security Committee of Council of the European Union.

The Deputy Special Representative for humanitarian and development affairs, Manuel Aranda Da Silva, is leading a UN team at a two-day meeting in Oslo. He warned that even in a "best case" scenario, the current level of humanitarian response and donor support must last until at least the end of 2005.

SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD PREPARATIONS FOR AFGHAN ELECTIONS ON TRACK

A successful election in

Afghanistan on October 9 will represent a significant step on the path to democracy there.

That was the message that the Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations,

Jean Marie Guéhenno, gave the

Security Council this morning.

In an open briefing to the Council, Guéhenno said that, in the 11 days remaining before the elections, it is incumbent on all parties to work together to ensure that the process is a success. So far, the technical arrangements are on track, but are made vulnerable by the prevailing level of insecurity.

He told the Council that last week a security exercise was conducted to simulate a series of multiple incidents throughout the country on election day.

Guéhenno stressed that all efforts must be undertaken to be fully prepared to react to attacks, especially on polling sites, transportation of ballots and counting centers.

He added that more than 2,000 men have been disarmed in the past 10 days.

The open briefing was followed by Security Council consultations, also on Afghanistan.

SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS ANNUAL REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The

Security Council began its work today by adopting its annual report to the

General Assembly for the period 1 August 2003 to 31 July 2004.

Assistant Secretary-General for

Political Affairs,

Tuliameni Kalomoh, said that of particular interest was the introduction, which contained an analytical summary of the Councils work.

RELIEF WORKERS STRUGGLE TO DISTRIBUTE AID IN NORTHERN HAITI

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that in Gonaives, northern

Haiti, relief workers continue to struggle in distributing food and water to people affected by flooding there.

An estimated 40,000 people are in urgent need of both food and water.

At least 44 metric tonnes of food are being distributed at two distribution sites each day. The UN humanitarian team is looking into opening four more distribution centers in Gonaives and four centers outside that city, once the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has secured the sites.

To try and meet the need for clean water,

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, will donate 120,000 litres of bottled water.

Among the priority actions are epidemiological surveillance programmes and vaccination campaigns to prevent disease. Also needed are funds for trucks and tools to expedite the removal of debris from flood ravaged streets.

In response to a question about the number of peacekeepers currently deployed in Goanives, the Spokesman later noted that up to last weekend, MINUSTAH's uniformed presence in the city consisted of 450 troops from the Argentine contingent plus 30 Brazilian troops and 30 UN civilian police. According to OCHA, an additional 150 troops from Uruguay were moved to Gonaives on 26 September to reinforce relief and security operations there.

CONGOLESE AUTHORITIES URGED TO ENSURE SAFETY OF REFUGEES

UNHCR has

urged the Congolese authorities to ensure the safety of a group of 366 Congolese refugees who chose cross back into the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Burundi last Friday despite hostilities there. The refugees are Banyamulenge, that is, Congolese of Tutsi origin.

The refugee agency notes that riots broke out in the Congolese town of Uvira to protest the group's return and that the refugee convoy was later stoned.

Congolese soldiers are now protecting a transit centre near Uvira, and UN peacekeeping troops are on the ground.

UNHCRs efforts to move some of the 20,000 Congolese people living along the insecure border area of Burundi to safer camps inland are meeting great resistance. This is despite the fact that more than 150 refugees were killed in an August attack on the Gatumba border transit camp.

The agency is concerned that the refugees may be under peer pressure to repatriate to the DRC, especially after a recent visit by the vice-governor of South Kivu to ensure them that it was safe to return.

CONCERN VOICED OVER NUMBER OF SECURITY DETAINEES IN MYANMAR

The Special Rapporteur dealing with human rights in Myanmar expressed his concern at the large numbers of security detainees that remain in that country, around some 1,300 people in all.

He regrets that only a small number of detainees have been released in recent months, and is concerned that there have been no indications when Aung San Suu Kyi will be released.

The rapporteur, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, also says in his

report that the resumption of peace talks between Myanmars Government and the opposition Karen National Union is a significant development. He hopes all remaining issues will be resolved by the two sides very soon.

EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF NEEDED IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

The

World Food Programme has

launched an appeal for $78 million to provide emergency aid to almost two million people in Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland. The Programme says it needs the money to boost its operations there in the first half of next year during the peak hunger months ahead of the April harvest.

The three countries suffered an extremely poor harvest this year because of drought and the effects of poverty and

HIV/AIDS.

SOUTHEAST ASIA ENCOURAGED TO WORK TOWARDS MILLENNIUM GOALS

The

Secretary-General and the General Assembly President were the guests of honor at a luncheon today bringing together the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In remarks made at the luncheon, the Secretary-General encouraged the ASEAN states to redouble their efforts to promote cooperation and pursue strategies to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals.

He also spoke with them about the work of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which is to report on UN reform by December.

U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG ELECTED NEW CHAIR OF BOARD: The Board of Governors of the

International Atomic Energy Agency has decided on its membership for 2004-2005, and has elected Ambassador Ingrid Hall of Canada as the Chair of the Board for those two years. She succeeds Antonio Núñez García-Saúco of Spain.

ANNAN PUTS FORWARD NOMINATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL: In a

letter, the

Secretary-General transmitted to the

Security Council 19 nominations for permanent judges on the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He notes that, under the Tribunals statute, the Council is to submit a list of no fewer than 28 names to the

General Assembly. The Assembly would then select 14 of those candidates to occupy seats on the Tribunal.

W.H.O. HELPING DETERMINE IF BIRD FLU SPREAD BETWEEN HUMANS: The

World Health Organization is

helping Thai authorities determine if two recent cases of

avian influenza or bird flu are evidence that the virus has spread between humans. The investigation comes as two new cases of bird flu in humans are confirmed in Thailand. WHO says that if proven, this kind of transmission could be a cause for alarm as it might signal the start of an influenza pandemic.

TAJIKISTAN BEGINS FIRST-EVER MEASLES VACCINATION CAMPAIGN: The first ever

measles vaccination campaign in

Tajikistan began today.

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund,

says almost three million people or half of the countrys total population will be immunized over the next fortnight. UNICEF says the challenge will literally be to climb every mountain as mountains make up 93% of Tajikistans land area but it is optimistic about achieving its goal.

U.N. ECONOMIC REPORTS TO BE RELEASED: The

UN Conference on Trade and Development will release on Wednesday its report titled Debt Sustainability: Oasis or Mirage. The report argues that debt servicing at any level is incompatible with attaining the

UN Millennium Development Goals and calls for a total cancellation of Africas debt. Also, the

UN Economic Commission for Africa will release its flagship publication, the Economic Report on Africa 2004.

SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO AWARDED CITIZENSHIP POSTHUMOUSLY:

Sergio Vieira de Mello was posthumously granted honorary citizenship in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, by Robert Cramer, President of the State Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The ceremony took place in Geneva Monday in the presence of Vieira de Mellos widow, Annie, and of his successor as

High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Louise Arbour.