United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-02-08

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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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

ANNAN WELCOMES STEPS TAKEN BY ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN LEADERS

TOWARDS PEACE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly

welcomes the announcements of Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon today in Sharm el-Sheikh. He believes that their joint announcements to cease violence after four years of death and suffering provide an opportunity for the peace process to resume.

The Secretary-General commends the steps taken by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and looks forward to further cooperation between the two parties.

The Secretary-General also commends Egyptian President Mubarak for organizing the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and for his leadership in the peace process. He believes that the active participation of Egypt and of King Abdullah of Jordan will greatly enhance the chances of peace in the critical months ahead.

The Secretary-General calls on both parties to fulfill their Road Map obligations as necessary steps toward achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.

Asked in what ways would the coming months be critical, the Spokesman said that, since the death of Yasser Arafat, fresh efforts had been made to revive the Middle East peace process, including renewing efforts by the

Quartet. In recent months, the Spokesman said, the growing expectation is that there is new room to maneuver, as seen by todays meeting. The Secretary-General, he added, looks forward to seeing the process develop on a positive track.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON SUDAN AS FIGHTING PERSISTS IN DARFUR

The Security Council held an open meeting on

Sudan "with a view to addressing some pending issues such as the establishment of a UN Peacekeeping Operation to implement the Naivasha Agreement, the development of the relationship with the African Union mission in Darfur, the full implementation of the obligations of the parties involved in conflict in Darfur and the follow-up of the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on the grave violations of international humanitarian law committed in Darfur."

Speaking at the meeting were: Sudanese First Vice President Ali Othman Taha; John Garang, Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement; the Secretary-Generals Special Representative Jan Pronk; the African Union Commissions Special Representative Baba Gana Kingibe; and Security Council President, Ambassador Joel Adechi of Benin. The Secretary-General attended the meeting.

Jan Pronk, in his statement, summarized the findings of the latest report by the Secretary-General on Darfur, which is out as a document today.

He said: Over the past six months, performance by the Government of Sudan in complying with its commitments and obligations has been uneven. Humanitarian access in Darfur has improved. However, action on human rights, in particular measures to end impunity, have fallen short of what the Government agreed to, and what the Security Council has demanded.

The Government has shown willingness to make progress in the political talks on Darfur. However, fighting continues. The ceasefire has not been kept. Those responsible for atrocious crimes on a massive scale go unpunished. Militias continue to attack, claiming that they are not part of any agreement. The government has not stopped them.

This is a dismal picture, Pronk said, and he appealed to all parties concerned, the African Union, as well as members of the Security Council, to find a creative way to expand the present force into one which can stop all attacks.

In a statement to the press after the meeting, Council President, Ambassador Adechi, said Security Council members condemned the serious crimes under international law, which had been committed in Darfur as described in the International Commission of Inquiry, and stressed their determination to tackle impunity and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

IRAQ: ELECTION RESULTS BEING TABULATED

The UN Electoral Assistance Division says that all the results from polling stations around

Iraq have made it to Baghdad, and are now being tabulated.

A first result is expected on Thursday. The final official results will be confirmed about a week later, once any claims that have come in are resolved.

Asked about claims of fraud, the Spokesman said that that was a matter for Iraqs Independent Electoral Commission.

U.N. ENVOY HOLDS TALKS WITH LEBANESE OFFICIALS

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the implementation of Security Council

resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, continued his visit to Syria and Lebanon today.

Earlier in the day in Beirut, he met with President Emile Lahoud, to whom he delivered a letter from the Secretary-General regarding the implementation of the resolution.

He also held separate discussions with Prime Minister Omar Karami, Dep. Prime Minister Issam Fares, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud, Speaker Nabih Berri and other government officials.

The Special Envoys talks have been held in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation, and he is confident that positive results can be expected in the course of his assignment.

His report to the Security Council is expected to be submitted in April.

He will continue his meetings tomorrow in Beirut with an array of Lebanese political figures.

U.N. OFFICIAL TO MEET U.S. LAWMAKERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Secretary-General's Chef de Cabinet, Mark Malloch Brown, will be traveling to Washington, D.C., tomorrow to meet with a number of Congressional leaders.

Malloch Brown is expected to meet, among others, Senators Norm Coleman and Carl Levin of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Representatives Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos of the House International Relations Committee.

Other meetings on Capitol Hill are being scheduled, and they will be announced once they are confirmed.

The focus of Malloch Brown's discussion will be the United Nation's ongoing and thorough management and administrative reforms.

Asked what Malloch Brown hopes to achieve on this visit, the Spokesman said that he would show U.S. legislators what the United Nations has done in recent years to reform its management practices, including its reforms of procurement, personnel and budget policies. He noted that this trip was taking place after the recent report by Paul Volckers Independent Inquiry Committee, and discussions could include what further reforms need to be done, in light of that report.

Asked whether this sort of visit has been done before, the Spokesman said it was perfectly normal for the Secretary-General or his senior staff to visit Member States, including the host country. The Secretary-General, he noted, had visited members of the U.S. Congress before, and has tried to draw parliamentarians from all countries into the work of the United Nations.

UNICEF REACHES OUT TO WAR VICTIMS IN EASTERN D.R. CONGO

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, has

begun along with its partners a humanitarian operation to help around 50,000 internally displaced people in the province of Ituri, in the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At least 10,000 families in the Djugu territory, north of Bunia, have been displaced in recent weeks by armed groups which have looted and burned down villages and reportedly killed civilians.

Peacekeepers from the

UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are currently protecting some of the displaced persons.

NEARLY $3 MILLION NEEDED TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS IN GUYANA

The United Nations today

launched a flash appeal for Guyana, to meet the immediate needs of those hit by the recent floods.

The appeal amounts to almost $3 million, the majority of which will go towards addressing food and health-related needs.

Jan Egeland, the UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator, has expressed hope that donors will show the same generosity towards Guyana that they have shown towards the countries hit by the tsunami.

ANNAN ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF DEPUTY CHEF DE CABINET

The Secretary-General, in a statement, said: It is with sadness that I have

accepted the resignation of my Deputy Chef de Cabinet, Ms. Elisabeth Lindenmayer, effective immediately.

Ms. Lindenmayer served the United Nations with exceptional loyalty, competence and diligence since 1977. She had an extensive career in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, where she served in several senior positions.

Ms. Lindenmayer also served in the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Finance, the Office of Human Resources Management, and as my Executive Assistant in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

I am deeply grateful for her unstinting support and her steadfast commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, and I know that her many friends throughout the UN family and around the world join me in wishing her all the best in the years to come.

Asked who will replace Lindenmayer, the Spokesman said that Michael Moller, a Director in the Executive Office, will replace her on an acting basis while a full-time replacement is sought.

The Spokesman denied, in response to another question, that Lindenmayer had left her job to make room for a Russian candidate, saying that her departure had been her own initiative.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS CONCERNED BY EVENTS IN NEPAL: Nine UN human rights experts today expressed their concern at the actions taken by the King of Nepal to dissolve that countrys constitutional government and suspend civil and political liberties. In a

joint statement, they expressed particular concern at the wave of arrests and detentions following the February 1 declaration of a state of emergency in Nepal, calling the detentions a serious setback for the country. They called for steps to be taken to reinstall democratic institutions and to protect Nepalese citizens.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CRUCIAL FOR STABILITY IN SOMALIA: Unless human rights become a cornerstone of Somalias Transitional Federal Government, the long-term stability of the country cannot be guaranteed. That was the finding of Ghanim Alnajjar, the UN-appointed independent expert on human rights in

Somalia, as he wrapped up a thirteen-day mission to the country. He also called for the immediate release and repatriation of all prisoners of war still being held in Somaliland and Puntland.

REFUGEE AGENCY NOTES IMPROVED INTEGRATION OF OSSETIAN REFUGEES: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

reports of progress in integrating Ossetian refugees into the Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania. It notes that close to 19,000 of them have become Russian citizens.