United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-04-06

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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

MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, April 6, 2005

ANNAN CONGRATULATES IRAQI LEADERS ON ELECTION TO POSTS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan

congratulates Jalal Talabani, as well as Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar and Adil Abdul Mahdi, on their election today by the Transitional National Assembly of Iraq as President and Vice-Presidents of

Iraq.

The Secretary-General welcomes the commitment of Iraqs new leadership to working towards national unity through peaceful democratic means. He hopes that the formation of Iraqs Transitional Government will be completed quickly.

In accordance with its mandate pursuant to

Security Council

resolution 1546, the United Nations stands ready to support the reconstruction of Iraq, including by providing any needed assistance to its constitution-making process.

To that end, the Secretary-General and his Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, look forward to working with Iraqs newly-elected leaders and other representatives, with a view to further promoting dialogue and national reconciliation.

ANNAN WELCOMES DECISION TO END HOSTILITIES IN COTE DIVOIRE

The

Secretary-General

welcomes the successful outcome of the meeting of the Ivorian parties held in Pretoria, South Africa, from 3 to 6 April, convened by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa on behalf of the African Union.

The Secretary-General welcomes the decision taken to end all hostilities and start the disarmament process as well as the immediate dismantling of militias and looks forward to progress in the many areas covered in Pretoria pursuant to the Linas-Marcoussis and Accra Agreements. He urges the parties to implement their respective commitments promptly and in good faith.

While the United Nations is studying the best ways to assist in the implementation of the Pretoria agreement, which provides a roadmap for the restoration of peace and stability in Côte d'Ivoire, the Secretary-General reminds the parties that they must bear the primary responsibility in this regard.

ANNAN CONDEMNS ATTACK ON BUS SERVICE COMPLEX IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

The

Secretary-General strongly

condemns the attack that took place on a complex housing passengers for tomorrows inaugural bus service between Muzzafarabad and Srinagar across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The introduction of this land-mark bus service is a tangible achievement of the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan. Its beneficiaries will be the people of Kashmir, who have been divided for decades and traumatized by violence.

The Secretary-General commends the spirit of compromise demonstrated by both India and Pakistan in the course of negotiating this important confidence building measure.

He hopes the bus service will begin as planned, and that it can help pave the way for additional confidence-building arrangements followed by substantive agreements on all outstanding issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

ANNAN SADDENED BY DEATH OF MONACOS PRINCE RAINIER

The

Secretary-General was

saddened to learn of the death of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, one of the worlds longest-serving monarchs and Heads of State.

He expresses his deepest condolences to Prince Albert, Princess Caroline, Princess Stephanie and their families, as well as to all the people of Monaco.

Throughout his 55-year reign, and all the changes the country underwent during that time, Prince Rainier remained dearly loved by his people, and deeply respected by his peers as well as the world community.

The Secretary-General wishes Prince Albert every courage and fortitude as he succeeds his father at the helm of the principality.

U.N. ENVOY ENCOURAGED BY MEETINGS IN LEBANON

Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for

Resolution 1559 concluded his visit to Beirut today. In speaking to the press, he noted that all his meetings in Beirut had been conducted in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation.

Larsen said he had been encouraged by what he had heard and was now going to brief the Secretary-General in-depth about his mission, in preparation for his report to the Security Council.

Larsen also said that the

Secretary-General believes strongly that the implementation of resolution 1559 should proceed in such a way that would best ensure and safeguard the unity and stability of Lebanon, of Syria, and of the wider region.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS RESOLUTION ON HARIRI INVESTIGATION

The

Security Council has scheduled consultations today at 4:00 p.m. on the Middle East to discuss a draft resolution on an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

That draft was introduced earlier this week.

RESPONSE TO TSUNAMI HAS BEEN BIGGEST EVER IN U.N. HISTORY

Today marks the halfway point for the 6-month tsunami flash appeal, which was launched by the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs exactly three months ago.

Briefing journalists in Geneva today on the appeals mid-term review, Emergency Relief Coordinator,

Jan Egeland, noted that such generosity had never been recorded in the history of the UN, with 92 governments having pledged a total of some $5.8 billion for the relief effort.

He added that close to two million people in tsunami-hit areas had received emergency medical help, with an equal number having received food aid.

At the same time, however, Egeland identified some shortcomings. Specifically, the recovery and reconstruction of livelihoods was not progressing as fast as people wanted. Also, shelter was proving to be a particularly challenging issue, since records on land tenure and property rights had, in many cases, been swept away by the tsunami.

The flash appeal has now been extended to cover all of 2005, and the required sum has been increased from $977 million to nearly $1.1 billion.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS DISCUSSING ANNAN REFORM PROPOSALS THIS WEEK

The

General Assembly is holding informal consultations of the plenary this week, Wednesday through Friday on the reform proposals presented by the

Secretary Generals in his report "In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All." These plenary meetings are open to the press.

This morning the General Assembly began its work by paying tribute to Pope John Paul II and observing a minute of silence in his memory. The Assembly will resume its session this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with tributes to Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Later this month, beginning on 19 April, the General Assembly will hold closed informal consultations on the reform proposals.

The consultations will be organized around four clusters, each focusing on one of the four major elements of the reform package: Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, Freedom to Live in Dignity, and Strengthening the United Nations.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HOLDING INTERNAL MEETINGS IN GENEVA

The

Secretary-General is in Geneva today, where he is holding internal meetings with staff.

Tomorrow in Geneva, he will speak at the

Commission on Human Rights.

U.N. ENVOY: TIME FOR BOTH SIDES IN DARFUR TO COMMIT TO PEACE

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan,

Jan Pronk, is today wrapping up a trip to

South and West Darfur.

His message to rebel and community leaders was clear, the UN mission in Sudan reports, that it is time for both sides to commit to a peace settlement.

The mission also reports some positive developments in terms of planning for the provision of some basic services for internally displaced persons in and around the Khartoum area. Sudanese authorities agreed to build primary schools in all Khartoum camps for the displaced in a move the mission described as a positive start in recognizing the needs and rights of the populations living in camps and squatter areas in Khartoum.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO VISIT HAITI NEXT WEEK

A

letter from the

Security Council to the

Secretary-General, outlining the terms of reference for a Security Council mission that will travel next week to Haiti, was issued today.

The mission will be led by Ambassador Ronaldo Sardenberg of Brazil, and will travel to Haiti from April 13 to 16. The mission is being organized in conjunction with the ad hoc advisory group of the

Economic and Social Council.

Among other things, the mission will express its full support for the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, evaluate the Missions level of coordination in each aspect of its mandate, evaluate the countrys needs and requirements and review the progress achieved so far.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNICEF LAUNCHES GLOBAL WEBSITE IN ARABIC: The

UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today

launched in Dubai its global website in Arabic. The site is expected to provide Arab navigators of all ages with quick reference material, online news and up to date information on global issues related to UNICEFs mandate. It can be visited at:

www.unicef.org/arabic. Also

launched in Dubai was the Arabic version of the agencys

Humanitarian Action Report 2005, which presents an overview of crisis countries where children continue to face severe deprivations of their rights.

UNDP REPORTS DISCLAIMER IS CUSTOMARY FOREWORD: In response to a question concerning the foreword by Mark Malloch Brown to this years

Arab Human Development Report put out by the

UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Spokeswoman said it is the standard introduction to all the Human Development reports over the past 15 years , including the two previous Arab Human development reports, which makes clear that these reports are the work of independent intellectuals and do not represent the official views of UNDP or the United Nations.