United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-03-01

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

ASSOCIATE

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

ANNAN: SENSE OF EXPECTATION ON MIDDLE EAST IS PALPABLE

Earlier today,

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning addressed the London Conference in Support of the

Palestinian Authority, convened by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He

told the Conference that the sense of expectation is palpable, and that there is a feeling that, after long years of suffering, bitterness and despair, better days may lie ahead.

He told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he has acted courageously to restrain violence and has clearly articulated a vision of the future for Palestinians that is based on dignity and justice.

The Secretary-General focused on three areas of Palestinian reform: good governance, security and economic development. We have copies of his speech upstairs.

In the margins of the meeting, the Secretary-General met with Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In all three meetings, the participants discussed developments in

Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The Secretary-General also discussed the situation in

Sudan with Amre Moussa, and Cote dIvoire and this Septembers General Assembly summit with the French Foreign Minister.

After the meeting with Rice, the Secretary-General, in a brief press encounter, said that he and the Secretary of State had discussed UN reform, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon, North Korea, Cote dIvoire, Sudan and Nepal.

He

told the press that he thought the Palestinians have handled the transition extremely well and competently, and added his hope that todays meeting would add to the momentum that has been gathering.

After a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Blair, the Secretary-General attended the meeting of the Quartet.

Later, the Secretary-General met with Blair to discuss UN reform, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, as well as the Prime Ministers Africa initiative.

This evening, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet with Abbas.

MIDDLE EAST QUARTET MEMBERS REAFFIRM COMMITMENT

TO HELP ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS ACHIEVE PEACE

The Quartet members -- the European Union, the Russian Federation, the United Nations and the United States -- reaffirmed their commitment to help

Israelis and Palestinians make progress toward a two-state solution.

They noted the fragile state of the current momentum and encouraged both parties to continue direct dialogue and negotiations.

The members of the group agreed on the need to ensure that a new Palestinian state is truly viable, including with contiguous territory in the West Bank.

They also called for the full implementation of the commitments made by Israelis and Palestinians at the recent Sharm el Sheikh summit.

Quartet members added that the withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank should be undertaken in a manner consistent with the

Road Map.

At UN headquarters last night, the Security Council President for February, Joël W. Adechi, Permanent Representative of Benin, read a

press statement on the

Middle East. In it, Council members condemned in the strongest possible terms Fridays terrorist attack in Tel Aviv and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to continue on the path of direct dialogue and negotiation in order to implement the Road Map and to realize the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security.

[At UN headquarters tomorrow, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will give an informal briefing on the London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Trusteeship Council Chamber.]

ANNAN CONGRATULATES BURUNDI ON SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUM

The Secretary-General

congratulated warmly the Transitional Government of Burundi and the Burundian people for the successful conduct of the referendum on the post-transitional constitution, which took place yesterday.

In welcoming this important event in the national history of Burundi, the Secretary-General also calls on all Burundian parties to build on this positive momentum and ensure the early conduct of the national elections that would conclude the transitional process in Burundi.

Separately, the

UN Operation in Burundi reports that voters turned out in large numbers to vote for a new constitution yesterday, with people lining up to cast their vote as early as 6:00 a.m. just as the polling stations were opening. Crowds continued to pour into the polling stations in an orderly and calm manner as the day went on.

Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary Generals Special Representative in Burundi, said We are happy with the Burundian people for what they have accomplished today, they can be proud of this electoral day.

ARRESTS MADE IN CONNECTION TO ATTACK ON U.N. PEACEKEEPERS IN DR CONGO

The

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo says it has been informed by the government of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo that three people have been arrested in Kinshasa in relation to last weeks

attack in which nine UN peacekeepers were killed in the countrys east.

The Missions chief,

William Swing, made the announcement at a memorial service for the fallen blue helmets in Kinshasa today.

According to the Congolese authorities, the individuals arrested are Floribert Njabu, president of the Nationalist Integrationist Front, also known by its French acronym FNI, and Goda Supka, also from the FNI; and Germain Katanga from the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri, who was also recently made a general in the DRC's national army.

In addition, UN peacekeepers in Ituri today carried out a cordon and search operation in an FNI-controlled area. Two peacekeepers were wounded when contact was made with a local armed group, and they will be evacuated to South Africa.

Separately, Etienne Lona, the current chief of staff of FNI has surrendered himself to UN peacekeepers in Ituri.

Humanitarian organizations have suspended help for 40,000

internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Kakwa and Tché areas of the Ituri district in the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) .

The suspension follows the Friday's

attack on a UN peacekeeper patrol. It also comes in wake of the suspension of humanitarian assistance to Gina, north of Bunia, last week, after militia threatened aid workers giving out food to 14,000 IDPs in the area.

The latest suspension means that there are now more than 54,000 recently displaced people without vital aid in Ituri.

OCHA says the humanitarian community will continue to review the security situation on a daily basis to determine whether aid activities can resume in the area.

Asked whether the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the DRC William Swing will resign, the Spokesman said that, as of now, he has not resigned. He noted that Swing is expected in New York this week, probably by Thursday at the earliest, and will discuss the sexual exploitation allegations, as well as recent far-reaching changes in the mission, in which some battalion commanders have been rotated out. In that context, the Spokesman added, there will be a discussion of Swings own plans for the future.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY

DURING VISIT TO U.N. MISSION IN LIBERIA

The

Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fréchette,continued her visit to the

UN Mission in Liberia.

The Deputy Secretary-General, on mission in Liberia to emphasize the

Secretary-Generals zero tolerance policy for sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers, met in Monrovia with the UN Senior Management Team and the UN Country Team for Liberia. She held a working level meeting with Mission personnel working on these issues; and a town hall meeting with the entire mission civilian and military staff.

Accompanied by Special Representative Jacques Paul Klein, the Deputy Secretary-General visited the town of Greenville in the morning, reviewing Ethiopian peacekeepers and paying a courtesy call on Gyude Bryant, the Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia.

The Deputy Secretary-General and Chairman Bryant discussed preparations for the 11 October Liberian national elections, the severe shortfall in donor funding for the reintegration of ex-combatants, progress on restructuring and retraining of the Liberian armed forces, and the need to ensure transparency and accountability in government and political institutions.

Klein noted that any allegations of sexual exploitation or abuses would be taken very seriously at the highest level of the Mission.

BRAZIL ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF SECURITY COUNCIL FOR MARCH

Brazil has assumed the

Security Council

Presidency for the month of March.

Today, the Council President, Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, is holding bilateral meetings on the months program. He will brief on the program following tomorrows consultations.

UNITED NATIONS PREPARED TO SUPPORT AFRICAN UNION IN PLANNING FOR SOMALIA

The challenges facing Somalia are enormous, although the current power-sharing arrangement is the countrys most inclusive peace process ever, the

Secretary-General says.

In a

report to the

Security Council, the

Secretary-General notes that Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has sought the help of African Union peacekeepers to help the Transitional Federal Government relocate to Somalia.

The Secretary-General says that the United Nations is prepared to support the African Union in the planning of a protection force.

At the same time, he says, there are a number of areas where an expanded UN role will be required in Somalia in the immediate future. These include assisting in the continuous dialogue among Somali parties for reconciliation, assisting in the effort to address the Somaliland issue, coordinating support for the peace process among Somalis neighbors, and chairing the Coordination and Monitoring Committee that deals with the peace process.

The Secretary-General says he intends to appoint a Special Representative, at the Assistant Secretary-General level, to lead the expanded UN role.

U.N. OFFICIALS IN COTE DIVOIRE DISCUSSED SECURITY WITH PRESIDENT

The Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte dIvoire,

Alan Doss, the Force Commander, General Abdoulaye Fall, and other UN officials held a meeting with President Laurent Gbagbo today and discussed the security situation, particularly in the West, a day following an early morning attack on a western village.

The

UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI) observed that what happened in the west early yesterday has proved that militias are armed and can be belligerents.

UNOCI reported that tension is mounting also in the east of the country.

UN Force Commander General Fall hopes to meet with his Ivoirian and French forces counterparts today.

Meanwhile, UNOCI expressed concern about the present tensions on the humanitarian situation in Cote dIvoire. A deterioration of the security situation would only further exacerbate assistance needs in the country.

NUMBER OF ASYLUM SEEKERS IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES FALLS IN 2004

The

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has

released the annual statistics on asylum seekers arriving in industrialised countries.

In 2004, the number of asylum seekers fell sharply for the third year in a row, reaching its lowest level in 16 years across all the industrialised countries for which comparable historical statistics are available.

The top receiving country in 2004 was France, with an estimated 61,600 asylum seekers. The United States, which was top receiving country last year, came second with 52,400. The UK fell to third with 40,200, and Germany -- the top asylum country in 13 of the past 20 years -- was in fourth place with 35,600.

The largest group of asylum seekers in 2004 was from the Russian Federation. The majority of these are Chechens. The next largest groups of asylum seekers were from Serbia and Montenegro, many of whom are from Kosovo.

Perhaps most striking, says UNHCR are the number of Afghans the number has fallen by 83% in the past three years.

TWELFTH CAMP FOR DARFUR REFUGEES UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN CHAD

The

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners are

starting work this week on a new refugee camp in eastern Chad to accommodate Sudanese refugees who have fled Darfur. The camp will be the 12th established in eastern Chad.

In all, more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees live in camps in eastern Chad.

The two-year-old conflict in Darfur has also uprooted another 1.8 million people within Darfur itself.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

WORK OF UN TEAM LOOKING INTO HARIRI ASSASSINATION CONTINUES: Asked about the work done in Lebanon by the team led by Peter Fitzgerald on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Spokesman said the team will depart when its work is completed, and its work is expected to continue for a couple of weeks. He said that Fitzgerald has been meeting with the relevant Lebanese authorities.

SOME MEASURES TAKEN TO FIGHT TORTURE IN GEORGIA: Torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials still exist in Georgia, but the authorities have taken some measures to fight the problem. Thats what Manfred Nowak, the UNs Special Rapporteur on torture,

said today, following a weeklong visit to Georgia. He also noted deplorable conditions in the Ministry of Justices pre-trial detention facilities. He also noted deplorable detention conditions, primarily for people detained in the Ministry of Justices pre-trial detention facilities.

WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION URGES BALANCED COVERAGE OF TSUNAMI RELIEF: The

World Tourism Organization (WTO) is

urging the media to look hard at its coverage of humanitarian relief to destinations afflicted by the tsunami, in order not to cause misunderstanding among potential travellers and slow the recovery of tourism. WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said that the best way to help the Indian Ocean destinations, in particular Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia, is to encourage tourists to return.

ANNIVERSARY FOR ONLINE VOLUNTEERING: The

UN Volunteers programmes Online Volunteering (OV) service

marks its fifth anniversary today. The

service connects non-profit and nongovernmental organizations working in the South with people willing to volunteer their skills over the Internet. Since its launch in March 2000, some 30,000 people have joined the OV service, with more than half taking on an assignment.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY CONDEMNS MURDERS IN COLOMBIA: The

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has strongly

condemned the brutal murder of eight people, including three children, from the peace community of San José de Apartadó in northwestern Colombia, and has urged authorities to ensure the protection of community leaders and members of internally displaced persons' associations throughout Colombia. The murders are the latest in a string of attacks that the community says have left 154 of their members dead since 1997.