United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-06-02

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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

Thursday, June 2, 2005

ANNAN CONDEMNS ATTACK BY ARMED ELEMENTS IN COTE DIVOIRE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly condemns the attack by Ivorian armed elements on the village of Guetrozon near Douékoué in western Côte dIvoire on 31 May and 1 June, which has reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people.

The Secretary-General urges the Ivorian authorities to conduct a full enquiry into the incident and ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are quickly brought to justice.

He calls on all parties concerned to refrain from any action that may lead to an escalation of tensions between various communities in Côte dIvoire.

U.N. MISSION REPORTS SEVEN MORE KILLINGS OVERNIGHT IN COTE DIVOIRE

The

UN Operation in Cote DIvoire (UNOCI) reports that seven more people were killed last night in Duékoue town, bringing the number of those murdered in the violence since the night of Tuesday and Wednesday to 57 with 65 others injured.

UNOCI says that aid workers have described the scenes of the killings as grisly with some people burnt in their houses and others slashed with machetes. The extent of damage is massive and cannot be quantified at the moment.

Humanitarian organizations have reported that 15,000 people are currently sheltering at the Catholic Church compound, as thousands of others were seen leaving the town yesterday.

ANNAN CONDEMNS KILLING OF LEBANESE JOURNALIST SAMIR KASSIR

The

Secretary-General strongly

condemns the killing, in a bomb blast in Beirut, of Samir Kassir, a prominent and outspoken Lebanese journalist, and another person in Beirut earlier today.

He expresses his condolences to the families of both victims.

The Secretary-General calls on the Lebanese Government to bring to justice the perpetrators and the instigators of todays terrible crime and to ensure an end to impunity and the continuation of press freedom.

He urges all parties to preserve national unity and calm during this important electoral period.

ANNAN: NEED TO BUILD ON GAINS MADE IN FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS

The

Secretary-General this morning addressed the

General Assemblys

High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS.

The day-long Meeting is reviewing progress in realizing the commitments set out in the

2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.

In his

speech to the meeting, the Secretary-General said thereve been some success stories, but the epidemic continues to outrun efforts to contain it.

He said theres a need to build on gains made so far, and this will require increased resources, better planning, more vocal leadership and the empowerment of women and girls.

ANNAN TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL ON TRIP TO ETHIOPIA AND SUDAN

The

Security Council is holding its first consultation under the French Presidency for the month of June.

On the agenda are its programme of work and a briefing by the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs,

Tuliameni Kalomoh, on the Central African Republic. Cote dIvoire is expected to come up under other matters.

Then at 3:00 p.m., the

Secretary-General will brief the Security Council, in closed consultations, on his recent visit to Sudan and to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he attended a conference to raise support for the African Union operation in Darfur.

The Security Council

President, French Ambassador Jean Marc de La Sabliere, will brief the press on the programme of work for June immediately after the AIDS press briefing.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS TEAM FIRED ON IN DR CONGO

The

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that a UN human rights team came under fire during a verification mission to the village of Lugo, in the north-eastern district of Ituri.

The team had flown in by helicopter to investigate allegations that members of the militia known by the acronym FNI had abducted and raped women in the local chapel in April.

While the team was in the village, the militia leader, Paul Karim sent someone to ask why they were there.

The senior UN peacekeeper with the team said that they were there to speak with the residents, and invited the militia leader to meet with them.

Then, while taking off in their helicopter, the team came under a hail of fire, said to have lasted five minutes.

They were able to take off, and no one was injured although the helicopter was damaged.

The Nepalese peacekeepers who were providing security for the team returned fire, and a helicopter gunship and more peacekeepers were sent in to reinforce them.

Four peacekeepers were injured in the exchange, and there is no word yet on casualties among the militias.

NOT A SINGLE DOLLAR PLEDGED FOR SILENT CRISIS IN NIGER

Two weeks ago, as Nigers lean season neared and indications emerged that the country faced a looming silent crisis, the

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched a four-month Flash Appeal for $16.2 million.

The appeal will help the 3.6 million individuals -- including 800,000 children under the age of five -- affected by the nations food crisis. Some 150,000 children are suffering from malnutrition.

To date, not a single dollar has been pledged to the Flash Appeal.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME TO PROVIDE AID TO ZIMBABWE

The Executive Director of the

World Food Programme (WFP), James Morris, who is the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, says he had good meetings yesterday with Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe, government ministers, the UN Country Team, Non-Governmental Organizations and donors.

WFP says the government would welcome food aid from the United Nations and other agencies.

In response, WFP says it is now preparing to mobilize between 200,000-300,000 tons of maize to assist at least three million people in Zimbabwe.

The UN Country team in Zimbabwe is meeting today to see how they will proceed with assistance.

James Morris also raised the issue of forced urban land clearance and the President assured him that human rights would be respected,.

U.N. ENVOY TO MEET ARAB LEAGUE HEAD DURING VISIT TO DARFUR

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Sudan,

Jan Pronk, left today to Darfur for a two day visit, which will include a trip to Nyala where he is expected to meet with the high-level delegation of the Arab League, headed by the Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

He is also expected to attend a tribal reconciliation meeting that the First Vice President Ali Osman Taha is expected to attend as well.

Jan Pronk is expected to be back in Khartoum tomorrow, where he is to meet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who is conducting a visit to Sudan.

Meanwhile, the

UN Mission in Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement held ongoing discussions on issues relating to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, including the deployment of the UN troops in the South.

Asked if the Secretary-General would re-assess his stance on whether or not events in Darfur, Sudan, could be described as genocide in light of comments by U.S. President George Bush to that effect, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General fully supports the findings of the commission which visited Sudan a few months ago. He noted that the commission had said that offences such as crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed in Darfur and these are no less serious than genocide. He also noted that the Secretary-General had recently visited Darfur and had described the situation as remaining unacceptable.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES NEED TO MAKE SPECIAL EFFORTS

TO HELP CARIBBEAN WITH DISASTER PREPARATION

In Havana, Cuba,

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, stressed that the developed countries of North America and Europe should make special efforts to provide financial support for risk management and vulnerability reduction programmes in the Caribbean.

This would require funding for better hospitals, schools, housing and other infrastructure. Many Caribbean nations were poor and urgently required this support.

Egeland is scheduled to meet with the Cuban Minister for Economic Investment and Collaboration.

ANNAN WELCOMES APPROVAL OF U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE IN GUATEMALA

The

Secretary-General joins the High Commissioner for Human Rights in welcoming the approval by Guatemalas legislature of the opening of an office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the country.

The office, which is expected to start operation in July, will advise the Guatemalan Government, state institutions and civil society on all matters related to the promotion and protection of human rights.

The High Commissioners presence will continue the work begun by the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala, which completed its mandate at the end of 2004.

DE-MINING ACTIVITIES SUSPENDED IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN

The

United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan

says that its temporarily suspending all de-mining operations on the Kandahar to Herat section of the countrys national ring road, and on some secondary connector roads.

The suspension follows a bomb attack yesterday which killed two Afghan de-miners and injured another five.

This bomb attack was the third of its kind against de-mining organizations in the past two weeks.

U.N. OFFICIAL LEAVES CYPRUSWITH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION

The

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs,

Kieren Prendergast, left Cyprus for Athens, continuing his regional tour.

From there he will head to Ankara before returning to New York.

While on the island, he had the opportunity to meet a number of times with both His Excellency Mehmet Ali Talat and His Excellency Tassos Papadopoulos.

He also had discussions with a number of political leaders on the island.

Speaking to reporters a short while ago, Prendergast said he was leaving with a better understanding of the situation. While he is neither a pessimist nor an optimist, he remains a realist, he told journalists.

He added that the United Nations is here to encourage and facilitate but ultimately, it is a matter for the two sides to arrive at an agreement for a settlement.

YEMEN BEGINS POLIO IMMUNIZATION CAMPAIGN

UNICEF

reports that the Yemen Ministry of Health has launched a nationwide immunization campaign to break the back of the

polio epidemic and stop the virus travelling further.

With 179 cases of polio now confirmed in that country, 11 million doses of vaccine will be required for the campaign, of which UNICEF has provided 6 million so far.

The door-to-door operation will reach an estimated five million children under five years of age in more than 320 districts in Yemen.

SPOKESMAN ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON U.N. STAFF MEMBER

DISMISSED FOR SERIOUS MISCONDUCT

Asked why Joseph Stephanides had not been given a hearing, the Spokesman said the UNs staff rules clearly state that it is within the Secretary-Generals authority to summarily dismiss staff if there has been a serious breach of regulations.

However, the Spokesman added that Stephanides has avenues of appeal open to him. He has two months to submit an appeal to

the Joint Disciplinary Committee, and the matter can then be further appealed to the

UN Administrative Tribunal.

Asked why the United Nations had continued the administrative process against Stephanides but not against Benon Sevan, the Spokesman said that the Independent Inquiry Committee (ICC) continues to investigate Sevan and because of that, the UNs own internal proceedings against him had been suspended until the ICC completes its work on Sevan.

He added that the ICC had completed its work on Stephanides and that is why the United Nations proceeded with the administrative process against him.

Asked about the contract of Benon Sevan, the Spokesman said it was extended on 19 April but did not know whether he was still in the United States.

Asked if the United Nations would investigate the members of the steering committee whose lead Stephanides is reported to say he was following the Spokesman declined to hypothesize, noting that the work of the ICC continues and the United Nations will take administrative action on the ICCs findings as they are released.

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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