United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-12-02

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE

SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, December 2, 2004

SECRETARY-GENERAL ENDORSES PANEL REPORT ON

COLLECTIVE SECURITY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning received the

report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and he said that he wholly endorsed its core arguments for a broader, more comprehensive system of collective security.

In a letter transmitting that report to the Member States of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General says that the report offers the United Nations a unique opportunity to refashion and renew our institutions.

In particular, he pledges to take the lead in promoting a new comprehensive strategy against terrorism and to articulate his vision in a report that he will submit to Governments next March, which will factor in the panels recommendations. That report will help to set the agenda for the summit next year on implementing the UN Millennium Declaration.

The Secretary-General agrees with the panels view that the worlds threats are interconnected, saying, We cannot treat issues such as terrorism or civil wars or extreme poverty in isolation.

He also notes that the reports concerns have also figured in his own reform efforts, including the need for a more representative Security Council.

ANNAN CALLS ON RWANDA TO REFRAIN FROM MILITARY ACTION

IN DR CONGO

The Secretary-General is very

disturbed by the increasing tension between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, particularly by indications from Rwanda of military operations on DRC territory against ex-FAR/Interahamwe elements which Rwanda maintains is a threat to its security.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Rwanda to refrain from any military action on DRC territory, which would disrupt the vital transitional process in the DRC. He hopes that Rwanda will work within the established process for the disarming and repatriation of the remaining ex-FAR/Interahamwe elements still in DRC territory.

The Secretary-General also calls on the Government of the Republic of the Congo to intensify its efforts for disarming and repatriating such elements. He would expect that Rwanda would provide the DRC and the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) with all information it may have on the location of such elements.

The UN mission in the DRC is prepared to activate immediately the Joint Verification Mechanism for the purpose of disarming and repatriating these groups.

U.N. MISSION SAYS RWANDAN SOLDIERS HAVE ENTERED DR CONGO

The

UN Mission in the DRC says it has compelling evidence that Rwandan soldiers have crossed into the east of the country.

The Missions helicopter reconnaissance patrols have taken photos of abandoned bivouacs and well-equipped soldiers who are moving with new uniforms and materials.

The Mission says that the communications equipment the soldiers were carrying suggests theyre from the Rwandan army rather than members of one of several other armed groups in the region.

Mission patrols have also been getting consistent and coherent information from locals about hundreds of Rwandans that have crossed into the DRC.

The Mission is continuing its reconnaissance activities, with the aim of obtaining full confirmation, if that is possible.

MORE THAN 2,000 PEOPLE FLEE FIGHTING IN DRC-RWANDA BORDER AREA

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has sent an assessment team to the DRCs North Kivu province, which shares a border with Rwanda.

The team says it has encountered people who claim to have witnessed fierce fighting in that area, and that villages have been looted and burned, while children have been separated from their families.

OCHA says that over 2,000 newly displaced persons people have been registered so far in the south of Lubero - which is in North Kivu - and others continue to arrive.

Humanitarian actors on the ground there warn that such displacement is likely to have dire humanitarian consequences as people are arriving with little or no food, and the existing health system is unable to cope with the influx of new cases, OCHA says.

U.N. PEACEKEEPING CHIEF BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL ON DR CONGO

The Security Council this morning approved the program of work for the month of December and then held consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Council members heard a briefing by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, on the latest developments in the DRC.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS BURUNDI OPERATION

Yesterday afternoon, the Security Council held brief consultations on Burundi and then

extended the mandate of the

UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) for six months, until 1 June 2005.

Council members, in a unanimously adopted resolution, reiterated their strong condemnation of the Gatumba massacre and reaffirmed that the perpetrators of such crimes must be brought to justice.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today started providing food to ex-combatants in support of the demobilization and reintegration efforts that are vital to Burundi's peace process.

U.N. ENVOY SAYS BETTER SECURITY ESSENTIAL FOR REBUILDING STABLE AND DEMOCRATIC IRAQ

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, ended a three day visit to Iran, which included the Conference of the Interior Ministers of Neighboring Countries of Iraq.

He met this morning with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi for talks on the latest developments in Iraq as well as international and regional efforts to support Iraq through the transitional process.

Qazi stressed to the Foreign Minister the important role of the regional countries in contributing to the success of the transitional process in Iraq.

In a separate meeting with Irans Interior Minister, Abdel Wahed Mousawi Lary, Qazi pointed out that improvement in the security situation in Iraq is essential for advancing the political process towards the goal of rebuilding stable, democratic and prosperous Iraq.

Asked how many UN international staff are in Baghdad, the Spokesman said that the ceiling of 59 for UN international staff in the entire country has not changed. Asked how the staff are being protected, the Spokesman said that the multinational force has assumed responsibility for their security until special arrangements for close protection troops and a middle ring of security can be worked out.

FIGHTING CONTINUES IN PARTS OF SUDANS DARFUR REGION

The UN mission in

Sudan continues to report fighting in parts of Darfur, Sudan.

The mission reported heavy fighting today in a government-stronghold southwest of Nyala in South Darfur, as well as shooting at a camp housing displaced persons at Kalma yesterday.

And in West Darfur, the area of north Geneina has been declared a "no go" area for UN staff until further notice, following an ambush on policemen yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

reports that it is providing vegetable seeds and gardening tools to 35,000 of the poorest households in conflict-affected areas of Darfur.

U.N. MISSION WELCOMES RETURN OF BANNED NEWSPAPERS IN COTE DIVOIRE

The

UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI) welcomes the return of newspapers forced off the stands since November 4.

Meanwhile, the UN mission reports that its office will be closed as of 3 p.m. local time on account of the Young Patriots descending on the streets to welcome South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is working to bring the Cote dIvoire peace process back on track.

TOP U.N. HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL MEETS WITH SOMALI PRESIDENT

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland is in Nairobi, where he met with Abdullahi Yusuf, President of the Republic of Somalia, to discuss the response to the humanitarian situation in that country.

The United Nations has just launched its

2005 Humanitarian Appeal for Somalia, seeking $164 million for programs to address humanitarian needs caused by continuing insecurity, worsening drought, and deep poverty.

UNICEF URGES MAJOR MINE-PRODUCING COUNTRIES TO JOIN MINE BAN TREATY

China, India, Russia and the United States should join the Mine Ban Treaty and immediately cease landmine production, Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF,

said at the Nairobi Summit for a Mine-Free World today. She was joined by a 14-year old boy from Bosnia-Herzegovina, who had lost a hand to unexploded ordnance when he was three.

Also at the Summit was Julia Taft, Assistant Administrator of the UN Development Programme. She urged countries to incorporate mine action into their economic development plans and budgets.

At a side event, a sculpture of an elephant disabled by a landmine was unveiled at the UN offices in Nairobi. The ceremony highlighted the launch of a

new project that will clear mines so that an ancient elephant migration route in southern Africa can be restored, thereby preventing over-crowding and fostering ecotourism.

TOMORROW IS INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED PERSONS

Tomorrow is the International Day of Disabled Persons. In Kabul today, the

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) supported a number of events to mark the occasion.

The Mission

reported that the new Afghan Government would implement a nine-million-dollar strategy to deal with disability that it had designed with the UN Development Programme. The Mission says that an estimated 800,000 to two million Afghans are disabled.

Here in New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will issue a Mayoral Proclamation tomorrow to recognize the International Day of Disabled Persons. Present at that event will be a young, award-winning filmmaker, Victor Pineda, who is a person with disability himself.

OIL-FOR-FOOD DOCUMENTS TURNED OVER TO INDEPENDENT INQUIRY COMMITTEE

Asked to respond to comments from U.S. President George W. Bush about accountability at the United Nations, the Spokesman said he had not seen the Presidents comments, but noted that all documents on the

oil-for-food program had been handed over to Paul Volckers

Independent Inquiry Committee.

In response to a question about the release of UN audits, he noted that the matter had been settled in an exchange of letters between Volcker and two U.S. Senators who had asked for those audits. The Spokesman said that his understanding was that Volcker might release the audits when he next reports publicly on his investigation, some time in January. The United Nations, Eckhard added, would not stand in the way of that.

Asked about an article today concerning Kojo Annan, the Secretary-Generals son, and Cotecna, the Spokesman declined to comment, saying that matters between Kojo Annan and Cotecna do not involve the United Nations.

Asked whether the United Nations is considering guidelines on the activities of relatives of senior officials, the Spokesman said the United Nations has guidelines in place regarding the hiring of family members. He was unaware of any discussion of whether those guidelines might be expanded.

Asked about a meeting on Wednesday in which several Ambassadors to the United Nations expressed their support for the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that the meeting had been about a different subject, but each of the Ambassadors present expressed their support to the Secretary-General on behalf of their Governments.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN SAYS SLAVERY MUST BE ERADICATED: People everywhere should know that slavery is not a thing of the past. It still exists, and must be eradicated. Those remarks are part of the Secretary-Generals message for today, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. He also notes that the practice offends every value that underlies the UN Charter.

NEW COOKBOOK MARKS END OF INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RICE: To mark the end of the International Year of Rice, UN Special, the Geneva based UN staff magazine, has published a rice cookbook entitled: Rice: Around the World in 300 recipes. This book was prepared using recipes received from all over the world. It is prefaced by Nane Annan , the Secretary-Generals wife, and by Mahmoud Solh, Chairman of the International Year of Rice 2004. All profits will be donated to UNICEF nutrition programmes.

INCREASED BENEFITS FOUND FROM ANTI-PARASITE DRUGS: Encouraging new data shows that anti-parasite drugs in pregnant women and very young children have much wider benefits than previously thought, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Previously, due to safety concerns, the drugs were not widely recommended for young children or pregnant women until 2002. Now, however, studies have shown that they led to a 41% drop in infant mortality in Nepal; and decreased anemia incidence and improved iron status among pregnant women in Sierra Leone.

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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