United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-02-17

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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

Thursday, February 17, 2005

UNITED NATIONS CONGRATULATES IRAQIS ON ELECTORAL PROCESS

Earlier today, the Independent Electoral Commission for

Iraq announced the final electoral results.

Speaking at a press conference where the announcement was made by Iraqi officials, the UNs chief electoral officer in Iraq, Carlos Valenzuela, said that the Iraqi people have shown the world that they were really up to the occasion and that made this process an immense success. We congratulate them for it, he said.

U.N. ADVISER LAKHDAR BRAHIMI MEETS LEBANESE LEADERS

IN WAKE OF HARIRIS DEATH

Some members of the press had asked yesterday about Special Advisor to the Secretary-General

Lakhdar Brahimis activities in Beirut. As has been indicated, he represented the

Secretary-General at the funeral of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Today, he paid courtesy calls on President Emile Lahoud, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Omar Karame, and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

He also had the opportunity to sit down with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Fadlallah, a senior Shiite cleric.

Later tonight he will meet the Hariri family. And tomorrow he is expected to meet other senior political figures.

Asked about comments made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday that he hoped to announce his first steps responding to the Security Councils request on Lebanon in the course of the week, the Spokesman said that the Council had wanted the United Nations to investigate Hariris killing, and the Secretary-General was looking for someone to lead that investigation.

The Spokesman added that the Secretary-General wants to move quickly, because evidence goes cold quickly. Although it could be difficult to shake people loose from their existing commitments, Eckhard said, the Secretary-General was going flat-out to find a senior person soon.

TOP U.N. DISARMAMENT OFFICIAL NOTES ENCOURAGING TREND

IN FIGHT AGAINST SMALL ARMS TRAFFICKING

Nobuyasu Abe, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, told the Security Council this morning that the increasingly vigorous actions taken by the Security Council to implement sanctions and arms embargoes are particularly encouraging when it comes to combating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

Introducing the Secretary-Generals recent t

report on small arms during an open debate on the same topic, Abe also commended the Councils greater attention to the specific needs of women and children in the context of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs.

He said negotiators were far from a consensus on an international instrument on identifying and tracing illicit small arms and light weapons. He hoped that Member States would muster enough political will to move forward.

He also noted the demobilization of thousands of child soldiers in Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

ANNAN DESCRIBES SUFFERING IN DARFUR

AS LITTLE SHORT OF HELL ON EARTH

The

Secretary-General, in a

statement to the

Security Council Wednesday afternoon, described the suffering by the people in

Darfur as little short of hell on earth and spoke forcefully of the need for urgent action.

He urged that those responsible for the atrocities committed be held accountable and called on the international community to find a way to halt the killing and protect the vulnerable.

The

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, then

presented to the Security Council the findings of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur.

What is most urgently needed now are concrete measures to bring the current violence to an end and restore security and dignity to the people of Darfur, she said. "The Commission, in my view, eloquently and powerfully argues that referral to the International Criminal Court is the best means by which to halt ongoing violations and prevent future ones.

The Council then held consultations on the commissions report.

Asked about comments the Secretary-General made, during a conference in Munich last weekend, about the NATO role in Sudan, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General did not want NATO to take over from the African Union, but to support the African Union in its role. He was discussing the African Unions various needs in Darfur, primarily including logistical support but also including financial support, and asked NATO to help.

The Spokesman added that the Security Council has given the African Union the monitoring responsibility in Darfur, and the Secretary-General had long said that the African Union needs help. UN peacekeeping personnel had advised the African Union on the structure and deployment of monitors, but the African Union needs further assistance, he said.

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES SUMMIT OF ISRAELI, PALESTINIAN LEADERS

Wednesday evening, following consultations, the

Security Council welcomed last weeks summit between the

Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in a

presidential statement read out by Security Council President, Ambassador Joel Adechi of Benin.

The Security Council underlined the understandings reached by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, in particular that Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis and that Israel will cease its military activities against all Palestinians.

The Council also welcomed the United Kingdoms initiative in convening a meeting in London on 1 March to support Palestinian efforts to prepare the ground for a viable Palestinian state.

The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process consisting of the United Nations, European Union, Russia and the United States will convene in the margins of that London meeting.

GEORGIAN AND ABKHAZ SIDES OPEN TO RESUMING PEACE PROCESS

The Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations,

Jean-Marie Guehenno, has just wrapped up a three-day visit to Georgia, where he found both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides open to resuming the peace process.

Guehenno noted that although differences on substantive issues remain, both sides are now willing to address them in a practical and pragmatic way.

The two sides will meet at a high-level Group of Friends meeting, to be held in Geneva this spring.

EGYPT EXEMPTS NEW SUEZ CANAL SURCHARGE FOR SHIPS

CARRYING U.N. PEACEKEEPING EQUIPMENT

The United Nations

welcomes Egypts recent decision to waive a new 25% surcharge for all ships carrying military equipment through the Suez Canal destined for

UN peacekeeping operations.

Egypt currently deploys uniformed personnel serving in UN peacekeeping operations in

Western Sahara,

Haiti, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Burundi,

Sierra Leone,

Kosovo,

Liberia and

Georgia.

The United Nations welcomes Egypts continuing support of UN peacekeeping efforts.

U.N. MISSION IN COTE DIVOIRE ASSISTS IN CURRENCY EXCHANGE;

CONVEYS CONCERN OF HIV/AIDS

The

UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (ONUCI) provided an update today on the demonetization operation it is assisting. The exercise involves the exchange of old banknotes of the West African currency, CFA Franc, into new ones.

ONUCI, which has been providing logistical support and security for bank officials traveling from Abidjan to Force Nouvelles strongholds, says that more than 2,100 people have been served in the last three days.

Meanwhile, the mission says,

UNAIDS in Cote d'Ivoire has expressed concern about the effects of the war on rates of HIV/AIDS in the country. UNAIDS mentioned that insecurity has disrupted efforts to open new centers, decentralize treatment and train personnel.

INTENSE COLD PROMPTS GREATER WINTER SUPPLY AID TO AFGHANISTAN

UN agencies have stepped up deliveries of supplies to parts of

Afghanistan that have been hit with unusually cold temperatures and heavy snowfalls over the past three weeks.

UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund, has provided nearly $200,000 worth of supplies to the provinces of Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan in the south, including blankets, emergency medication, wood-burning heaters, tarps and plastic sheeting.

UNICEF has also provided medication to all nine northern provinces to guard against outbreaks of whooping cough.

Meanwhile, the

World Food Programme has been airlifting supplies from the capital of Zabul province to the provinces most affected districts, with the intention of providing 515 metric tons of food for more than 28,000 people.

And the

UN Office for Project Services is working with Afghanistans Ministry of Public Works to carry out a snow clearance program throughout the country.

Also on Afghanistan, the

Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees

reports that more than one million Afghan refugees are likely to return in two years with prospects of improved security.

Ruud Lubbers, the High Commissioner for Refugees, added that it is absolutely crucial that donor commitment to the Afghan returns remains high. Lubbers also said that planning should begin soon for those refugees who wish to remain in Pakistan and Iran.

NEW DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS REVEAL SCOPE OF LOSSES

SUFFERED BY FISHERMEN IN TSUNAMI

The

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

says that updated damage assessments are shedding new light on the scope of material losses suffered by fishermen in southern Asia as a result of the

tsunami.

So far, the agency has fielded 22 fisheries specialists to the affected countries, and 11 more will soon be dispatched to join them. The teams include master fishermen, naval architects, boat builders, marine biologists, aquaculturists and fisheries planners.

FAO has also purchased plastic materials to repair over 300 boats, and is distributing ropes and nets.

Meanwhile, Hafiz Pasha, Director of the

UN Development Programmes Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific,

began a two-week trip through tsunami-hit countries to examine ways and means for moving forward with the recovery effort.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN WISHES NEGROPONTE LUCK IN NEW ASSIGNMENT: Asked about John Negropontes appointment to head U.S. intelligence, the Spokesman said that the

Secretary-General had worked closely with Negroponte when he had served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and wished him luck in his new assignment.

UNESCO CONDEMNS MURDER OF BANGLADESHI JOURNALIST: The

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has

condemned the murder of Bangladeshi journalist Sheikh Belaluddin Ahmed, the victim of a targeted bomb attack in the town of Khulna in south-western Bangladesh. The condemnation comes less than a week after UNESCO voiced increasing concern at the growing insecurity in which journalists work.

U.N. CONGRESS ON CRIME PREVENTION TO MEET IN APRIL: The 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will be held in Bangkok from April 18 to 25. The Congress provides a forum for discussion by policy makers, administrators, academicians and other professionals in the crime prevention and criminal justice field. The items on the agenda are, among others, effective measures to combat transnational organized crime, international cooperation against terrorism, and links between terrorism and other criminal activities.