United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-04-18

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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

Monday, April 18, 2005

ANNAN TO VISIT INDONESIA AND INDIA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be traveling this week, first to Indonesia, and then to India.

He will attend the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta and the Commemoration of the 1955 Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.

From Jakarta, he goes to New Delhi, where he will make a two-day official visit to India.

He leaves tomorrow night, and is scheduled to return to New York on Thursday, 28 April.

Asked whether the United Nations was doing anything regarding the dispute between Japan and China, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General would be in Indonesia when the leaders of both countries would attend the meetings there, and hoped to have bilateral meetings while in the country.

The Secretary-General today told a reporter that China and Japan had an economic and political relationship, which he hoped would encourage them to resolve their differences.

ANNAN WELCOMES IRREVERSIBLE DIALOGUE BETWEEN INDIA & PAKISTAN

The Secretary-General warmly

supports the efforts by India and Pakistan to advance the ongoing dialogue.

He welcomes the joint statement issued by the leaders of the two countries this weekend which outlined additional confidence building measures aimed at achieving durable peace in the region.

In particular, he is encouraged by their declaration that the dialogue had become irreversible.

ANNAN CONGRATULATES NEW LEADER OF NORTHERN CYPRUS

The Secretary-General

notes the outcome of the elections in Northern Cyprus held on 17 April.

He is glad that the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community has been clarified and he welcomes the renewed evidence of commitment to a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus issue.

In the context of his mission of good offices, he congratulates Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat and looks forward to working productively with him in the continuing search for peace on the island.

ECUADOR: ANNAN CONCERNED BY INSTABILITY

The Secretary-General is following with

concern the latest developments in Ecuador.

The present crisis may aggravate an already unstable situation.

The Secretary-General calls on the Government and the opposition to find a constitutional solution to the crisis through dialogue.

He urges all Ecuadorians to maintain a peaceful and constructive attitude.

SECURITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR ARMS EMBARGO ON D.R. CONGO

The

Security Council today adopted unanimously a resolution on arms sanctions on the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), numbering it Security Council resolution 1596.

The resolution bans military equipment for any recipient in the DRC, except to those police and soldiers who make up the country's national army, and those arms used for technical training and for the

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The resolution also expresses serious concern regarding the presence of armed groups and militias in the country's north-east, particularly in the North and South Kivu provinces and the Ituri district.

D.R. CONGO: U.N. PEACEKEEPERS COME UNDER FIRE,

STILL MANAGE TO DISMANTLE MILITIA CAMPS

In the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN peacekeepers in the Ituri district, in the countrys north-east, are carrying out a search and cordon operation in Katoto, north-east of the city of Bunia.

The peacekeepers came under fire but nevertheless were able to dismantle two militia camps in the area.

The UN Mission in the DRC says that at this stage there are casualties to report, and while militia members appear to have fled, the peacekeepers have been able to seize ammunition supplies.

The operation continues.

SUDAN: SECURITY SITUATION IN DARFUR HAS FAILED TO IMPROVE

The Secretary-Generals monthly report on

Darfur is out on the racks today.

In it, the Secretary-General says that the security situation in Darfur in March saw no improvement. He reports increased military activity undertaken by all parties and attacks against international personnel. The government, he says, continues to pursue the military option on the ground with little apparent regard for the commitments it has entered into.

The killing of civilians and combatants alike must stop, he urges, and a genuine cease-fire must be observed.

He notes that the African Unions Peace and Security Council will meet later this week to decide on steps to strengthen the African Union mission.

The Secretary-General himself is expected to submit by April 24 a report to the Security Council on how to reinforce the African Union effort in Darfur.

No date has been set yet by the Security Council for a discussion of this report.

HIGH-LEVEL MEETING OF ECONOMIC & SOCIAL COUNCIL

OFFERS FRESH OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE

The Secretary-General this morning opened the special high-level

meeting bringing together the Economic and Social Council and representatives of the major international financial and trade institutions.

He

told them that the coming months offer a unique opportunity to make real changes in the international system, which can make the world freer, fairer and safer. The stakes, he said, could hardly be higher for the September Summit to review progress since the Millennium Declaration.

The Secretary-General noted that the chances of winning commitments to reach the 0.7 percent target for official development assistance, to address Africas special needs and to mitigate climate change will be greater if they are placed squarely in the context of the September Summit.

RICH STATES SHOULD OPEN THEIR MARKETS TO GOODS

FROM LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

The Secretary-General was in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to attend a dinner of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the International Monetary Fund and the Development Committee of the World Bank.

He

told the assembled Finance and Development ministers that the UN, the World Bank and the IMF are not only all working on the same issues aid, debt, trade, development but also that they also share a vision of development priorities.

He highlighted a number of development objectives that donor countries should carry such as the 0.7 percent development aid target and ensuring greater access to their markets for goods coming from least developed countries.

SECURITY COUNCIL REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR U.N. MISSION IN HAITI

The Security Councils four-day working mission to

Haiti came to an end on Saturday. It was the Councils first-ever mission to the Caribbean nation.

At a press conference on Saturday, the leader of the mission, Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg, the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN, expressed confidence that general elections will be held this year as scheduled.

He also reaffirmed the Councils support for the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, and praised the work of peacekeepers there, one of whom was killed last week.

The Council missions activities during the visit included meeting with leaders from different areas of Haitian society, as well as the Interim Prime Minister and President. It also visited the cities of Cap Haitien and Gonaives.

The mandate of the UN Mission in Haiti expires on 1 June, and the Council is expected to vote on a mandate extension next month.

MILLIONS OF GIRLS STILL DENIED BASIC EDUCATION

More children than ever are going to school. That is the good news from UNICEFs latest Progress for Children

report.

But the report which focuses on gender parity in primary school attendance also

says that millions of girls are still denied a basic education, and that, in many parts of the world, the gender gap in primary school attendance remains too wide.

In her last visit to Geneva as UNICEFs Executive Director, Carol Bellamy today

launched the report with the warning that, without a "quantum leap," the world would miss its chance to meet Millennium Development Goal number two, namely universal primary education by 2015.

In response to a question about when Ann M. Veneman would be assuming her functions as the new UNICEF Executive Director, the Spokesman later said, according to UNICEF, Ms. Veneman would start on May 2.

CONGRESS ON CRIME OPENS IN BANGKOK

The 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

opens today in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Secretary-General

issued a message to the congress, in which he said that many of the States parties to international treaties on organized crime and corruption have not implemented these treaties adequately.

The Secretary-General also called on all States to ratify and implement these conventions, while helping one another to strengthen domestic criminal justice systems.

The

Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will run through 25 April.

UN ENVOYS FOR COTE D'IVOIRE AND LIBERIA DISCUSS WAYS

TO PREVENT CROSS-BORDER MOVEMENTS OF ARMS AND MERCENARIES

The Secretary-General's Special Representatives for Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia, Pierre Schori and Jacques Klein respectively, met in Monrovia over the weekend to review issues pertaining to inter-mission cooperation including mixed patrols to monitor movement of arms and mercenaries across the border.

Schori and Klein also discussed the alleged recruitment in Liberia of children formerly associated with armed groups destined for Cote dIvoire.

This was Schoris first visit outside Cote dIvoire since he arrived to take up his duties as Head of the United Nations Operation in Cote dIvoire on last week.

UNITED NATIONS WILL COOPERATE WITH U.S. JUDICIAL PROCESS

The Spokesman was asked about an investigation being carried out by a U.S. Attorney, involving sealed indictments concerning the oil-for-food program, and he noted that the United Nations has not been contacted by the U.S. Attorneys office regarding those indictments.

He said the United Nations is happy that this judicial process is going forward. If the individuals are named and indicted, he said, the United Nations would cooperate if asked to do so.

Asked whether the United Nations would conduct an internal investigation of its own into the matter, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was not going to run a parallel investigation.

Asked whether the Secretary-General had met with Tongsun Park, who was named in connection with this investigation, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General told a reporter last week that he had never met him.

Asked about the employment of Maurice Strong, the Spokesman said that he is a Special Adviser dealing with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, who is employed as directed. Strongs involvement in the United Nations dates back to the 1970s, Eckhard added, including work as an adviser to the Secretary-General on UN reform in the late 1990s. Strong, he added, has had nothing to do with the oil-for-food program, and was not involved in Iraqi affairs in the 1990s.

Asked for an update on former Office of the Iraq Programme head Benon Sevan, the Spokesman noted that delays in his response to the interim report by the Independent Inquiry Committee resulted in part from the Committee having documentation with which Sevan needed to consult.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would not lift Sevans immunity, the Spokesman reiterated that the Secretary-General has repeatedly said that he would lift the immunity of anyone found to have committed any wrongdoing.

THIRD PARTY REVIEWING COMPLAINTS AGAINST DILEEP NAIR

Asked about the farewell call that the Secretary-General paid today to Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight

Dileep Nair, the Spokesman said that Nairs term ends on April 20. However, he said, a third party is still reviewing complaints involving Nair, and that process will continue even after Nairs UN service ends.

Eckhard added that Nair was interested in clearing his name, so he would want to see the matter come to a conclusion. Any violation of UN rules would be a matter of record, he added.

The Spokesman said that interviews for a new head of the Office for Internal Oversight Services would conclude on Tuesday, and an announcement was expected later this week.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NIGERIAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME FROM CAMEROON: A group of 250 refugee herdsmen today

returned to Nigeria from Cameroon, where they had been seeking shelter since fleeing clashes in their homeland three years ago. Many more are expected to follow later, traveling on foot with their livestock. The group is part of 30,000 Nigerian refugees who fled a community in the eastern part of the country into northwestern Cameroon in 2002.

ANNAN TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONS FIRST-EVER FINANCE PANEL: This afternoon at 4:30, the Secretary-General will make opening remarks at the ministerial level panel discussion of the

Commission on Sustainable Development. The panel will debate the economic benefits of policies on water, sanitation and human settlements. It will be

webcast live.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DISCUSS UN REFORM: The General Assembly will begin today to discuss the In Larger Freedom report today by focusing on the reports recommendations in four clusters: peace and security; development; human rights and the rule of law; and the strengthening of the UN.

U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO APPEALS FOR CALM AFTER MURDER OF EX- PRIME MINISTERS BROTHER: The

UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo expressed

shock over the murder of Enver Haradinaj, the brother of former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, on Friday afternoon. It also appealed to the people of Kosovo to demonstrate the respect for the rule of law that they have shown during the past month. In other news, the UN Mission has begun an operation in the Klinė municipality to excavate a cave, which might have been used to secretly dispose of human remains, and could be related to the disappearance of non-Albanian Kosovans in 1998.

U.N. DEVELOPMENT CHIEF TO BE SELECTED THIS WEEK: Asked about the selection process for a UN Development Programme Administrator, the Spokesman said that the last interviews took place on Friday and the final selection process would conclude this week. He confirmed, in response to a question, that the short list had narrowed to three candidates.

UNITED NATIONS AWAITS RESULTS OF W.I.P.O. INVESTIGATION: Asked about a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) investigation into corruption involving Michael Wilson, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General had no comment on Wilson, and the United Nations would await the results of the WIPO investigation.

ANNAN TO BRIEF ON SYRIA AND LEBANON NEXT WEEK: Asked when the Secretary-General would brief the Security Council on Syria and Lebanon, the Spokesman said that was expected to happen early next week.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only

Fax. 212-963-7055

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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