United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-02-16

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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

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

KYOTO PROTOCOL ON GLOBAL WARMING ENTERS INTO FORCE

The

Kyoto Protocol against global warming

entered into force today.

Under the Protocol, industrialized countries are to reduce their combined emissions of six major greenhouse gases during the five-year period from 2008 to 2012 to below 1990 levels. So far 140 Member States have ratified the accord.

In a video

message to mark the event, the

Secretary-General urged the world to save the planet by adding to the limits on greenhouse gases.

Meanwhile, Klaus Toepfer, the head of the

UN Environment Programme,

said that while the U.S. Government has decided against the treaty, there are many individual states in America which have adopted, or plan to adopt, greenhouse gas reductions, in line with the spirit of the protocol.

There will be a conference at UN headquarters tomorrow, on the topic of the treaty, entitled One Day After Kyoto: Next Steps on Climate. The three-hour conference starts at 10:00 a.m. The speakers include Jose Antonio Ocampo, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel; and Emyr Jones Parry and Enele Sopoaga, the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of the United Kingdom and Tuvalu, respectively.

IRAQ: ELECTIONS A "MOMENTOUS EVENT," COUNCIL TOLD

The elections in

Iraq were a momentous event for Iraqis and the international community, and marked a significant development in the countrys transition to democratic government, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council today.

Prendergast said the elections met recognized standards for organization, regulations and procedures, and he voiced pride in the role the UN electoral team was able to play.

Now, he told the Council, the low turnout by Sunni Arabs and Arab nationalists is something that needs to be addressed if there is to be more complete participation in the writing of a constitution and a subsequent referendum.

Iraqs most immediate challenge, he said, is to form a transitional government that is broadly representative of Iraqi society and can bring together all Iraqi constituencies in a national effort to define the countrys future.

Prendergast offered the United Nations continued help, noting that the UN has considerable experience of supporting and facilitating transitional processes under difficult conditions.

Following his open briefing, which the Secretary-General also attended, the Security Council went into consultations on Iraq, to continue its discussion with Prendergast.

A

Presidential Statement on Iraq was also issued.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO TAKE UP COMMISSION OF INQUIRY REPORT ON DARFUR

The monthly Security Council luncheon with the Secretary-General is also taking place today.

Then, at 4 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled a meeting to be followed by consultations on Sudan.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will present the

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur.

The Secretary-General will attend that meeting and make a statement.

U.N. WILL ACT IMMEDIATELY AGAINST SIGNS OF ABUSE

IN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS

The Secretary-General was asked by a reporter today about any possible increase in UN assistance to

Iraq, and

said that the United Nations had been able to fulfill its mandate during the Iraqi elections and has indicated ways that it can assist the Iraqis following the elections.

He was also asked about yesterdays Security Council request for a report on Lebanon, and said it was being studied so that the United Nations could begin to take prompt action. He hoped that the first step towards meeting the request would take place in the course of the week.

Asked about the images of UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being seen with prostitutes, the Secretary-General emphasized the UNs zero-tolerance policy and said, We have urged the troops to be careful not to fraternize with these vulnerable people. He noted that the Moroccan Government has taken action to punish some of those involved, and he expected other governments to take action, as well.

Asked about subsequent comments following the announcement last week of the no-fraternization policy in the DRC, the Spokesman said that the United Nations has had some preliminary indications that the Secretary-Generals policy has been slow to filter down the ranks. Consequently, he said, the United Nations wanted to reinforce the message to all peacekeeping missions.

He said that UN peacekeeping heads would come to New York next month for an annual gathering, and the Secretary-General would take the occasion to drive the message home to them.

Asked whether the no-fraternization policy would apply to other peacekeeping missions, the Spokesman said the hope was that the policy in the DRC would serve as a signal to other missions. The United Nations would look closely at all missions, and would act immediately against any signs of abuse.

UNITED NATIONS ESTABLISHES PRESENCE IN TWO IRAQI CITIES

Regarding the UN presence in Erbil and Basra, there is now a small UN presence in both those locations. As you know the Secretary-General had decided as far back as December to take steps to establish a presence in Basra and Erbil, as circumstances permitted.

The UN staff deployed is what we call a liaison detachment of security personnel and support staff. They will be in contact with regional authorities, as well as the Multi National Force commanders to provide security assessments for the UN. They will also facilitate eventual visits by UN substantive staff to the area.

Any further expansion, including of substantive staff, of the UN presence beyond the current five staff in Basra and three in Erbil will depend on the security situation and arrangements, as well as the actual availability of UN facilities.

Asked about the current arrangements, the Spokesman said that the people in place in the two cities are security people and support staff, who can in turn determine whether it is safe for substantive staff to arrive. Its a toe in the water, he said.

Asked why it had taken so long after a previous assessment to bring in this level of staff, he noted that, following the earlier assessment, safe housing and work facilities had to be identified and arrangements had to be made for a protection force.

In response to another question, the Spokesman later added that there are currently around 50 UN staff members in Baghdad. That includes substantive staff and support staff, as well as civilian security and military advisors. The additional close protection personnel and guard units bring the total close to 200. That is in addition to the five in Basra and three in Erbil.

OIL-FOR-FOOD AUDITOR TO ANSWER INQUIRIES FROM U.S. CONGRESS

In a letter sent to Senators Norm Coleman and Carl Levin on Monday, the Secretary-Generals Chef de Cabinet, Mark Malloch Brown, said he would make available to them, and their colleagues from the other investigative committees, the UN Chief Auditor of the

Oil-for-Food Programme, Dagfinn Knutsen.

As the lead auditor of all of the OIOS audits into the oil for food programme, no one is better placed to answer whatever questions Congress members may have on this particular issue of audits.

When Mark Malloch Brown went to Washington last week to meet members of Congress he told them that the United Nations would work with Congress to ensure an orderly process that meets the needs of all the Congressional committees and those of the Independent Inquiry Committee chaired by Paul Volcker. The United Nations is doing just that.

The details of Knutsens appearance will be worked out with the various committees to find a time in the near future when he could brief them all.

IMPORTANT STEP TAKEN TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS

Out as a document today is the

report by the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict.

A press release on the report issued by the Office of the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, says that for the first time, a comprehensive monitoring and compliance mechanism is being put in place for the purpose of ensuring the protection of children exposed to armed conflict around the world.

Otunnu said, This is a very big day for millions of children who are being brutalized in situations of armed conflict.

An open Security Council debate on the report is scheduled for next Wednesday.

U.N. REPORT NOTES DECLINING FERTILITY DUE TO CONTRACEPTIVES

Out today is a

report by the Secretary-General on world demographic trends.

It notes that the worlds population reached 6.5 billion in 2005, and could ultimately stabilize at 9 billion in the year 2050.

The report says that most countries -- both developed and developing -- have seen significant declines in fertility, in line with the increased use of contraceptives. At the same time, however, the population of many countries in Africa and Asia will grow considerably in the coming decades.

The report also notes that half the worlds population is expected to live in urban areas by 2007.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ONLY SECURITY COUNCIL CAN WAIVE SECRETARY-GENERALS IMMUNITY: The Deputy Secretary-General was asked yesterday who can waive the immunity of a Secretary-General. The answer can be found in the 1946

Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which says, in Article V Section 20, that only the Security Council can do that.

NO ANNOUNCEMENT YET ON MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: Asked about comments today by the Secretary-General that Kieran Prendergast was his adviser on the Middle East, the Spokesman said that was not unusual, since, as the head of the Department of Political Affairs, Prendergast would be a senior adviser to the Secretary-General, and had been advising him on the Middle East and the work of the Quartet. A new Special Coordinator for the Middle East has yet to be announced, Eckhard added.

JOURNALISTS CANNOT RECEIVE U.N. SALARIES WHILE WORKING FOR MEDIA OUTLETS: Asked about an e-mail that accused some journalists of being in the pay of the United Nations, the Spokesman said that no journalist is paid to work for the United Nations while working for a media outlet. Members of the UN press corps have sometimes worked for the United Nations or for peacekeeping missions, he said, but they had to resign from their jobs as journalists, or take leaves of absence, to do so.

UNICEF TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT: UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, is holding tomorrow a

conference entitled Children: The Missing Link Between Poverty and Development. UNICEFs Executive Director Carol Bellamy and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz will be on a panel of eminent thinkers, who will debate issues such as how children experience poverty differently from adults.

REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON AVIAN INFLUENZA TO BE HELD: On 23-25 February, a regional conference on Avian Influenza in animals will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The meeting for chief veterinary officers, scientists, and organizations is jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). The conference follows warnings from FAO and IOE about the need for countries to step up their efforts to curb the Avian Influenza/Bird Flu epidemic.

U.S. FOOTBALL STARS VISIT TSUNAMI-HIT SRI LANKA: Two leading U.S. professional football players, New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer and Kansas City Chiefs fullback Tony Richardson, today started a four-day visit to

tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka, to work with the World Food Programme on its emergency operation to feed hungry families there.