United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-06-30

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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 30, 2005

COTE DIVOIRE: ANNAN URGES PARTIES TO ADHERE TO PEACE AGREEMENTS TIMETABLE

The Secretary-General

takes note of the renewed commitment expressed by the Ivorian parties in their declaration of 29 June, to implement the Pretoria Agreement on the peace process in Côte dIvoire, and congratulates the African Union Mediator, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, on this achievement.

The Secretary-General urges the parties to strictly adhere to the revised timetable for the implementation of key provisions of the Agreement so that credible elections can be held on schedule. The time has come to move on this path briskly. The Secretary-General also notes that the declaration envisages the imposition of sanctions against those parties who fail to implement the Pretoria Agreement.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS ON OIL-FOR-FOOD

The Secretary-General met Wednesday afternoon in his office with the members of the Security Council to provide an update on the

Independent Inquiry Committees (IIC) ongoing investigation of the

Oil-For-Food Programme.

The discussion touched on the timetable of the next reports of the IIC, its budget, and on a request by the IIC for access to documents that pertain to the work of the Council and its subsidiary organs. The Secretary-General expressed his intention to comply with the request but wished first to consult with the Security Council.

Asked about what the documents were, and why they had not been turned over to the IIC already, the Spokesman said they were the unofficial notes taken by UN Secretariat staff describing the closed, informal consultations of the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies. Those notes allow UN officials to have an understanding of what transpires in Security Council consultations, and those of subsidiary Council bodies.

He emphasized that all copies of such notes that were in the possession of UN staff, such as those in the Executive Office and the Office of the Iraq Programme, had already been turned over to the Volcker inquiry. As a result, the IIC already had the vast majority of these notes, although it is now seeking to check the information it has against a master index of all the notes about Council activity.

In terms of the Councils response to the Secretary-Generals request, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General appreciates the advice of the Council and wants to hear from the Council by next Tuesday at noon. If the Council has not responded by then, he will assume that Council members have no objection to turning the documents over, and he will proceed to give all the documents to the IIC.

The Spokesman added, We expect the transfer of documents to go over smoothly.

Asked about concerns from Member States, the Secretary-General hopes there will be a consensus among the Council members to turn over the documents. This is not a situation, he added, where there would be any veto from one or more states.

If there is no consensus to be found by Tuesday at noon, he added, the United Nations would have to assess the situation.

Asked why the Secretary-General had not turned over the documents without consulting the Council, the Spokesman said that, since the notes contain the views of the Council members, he thought it would be wise to consult with them.

Asked why the Wednesday meeting had been called on apparent short notice, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General would be out of town until the second week of July, and wanted this resolved before then.

Asked what documents the Volcker inquiry was seeking, the Spokesman said that they did not need every note of every meeting -- simply those pertaining to the oil-for-food program. The Volcker committee, he added, has been aware of the existence of the notes from the beginning, and now wanted to make sure it has all the information it needs.

The notes have been referred to in previous Volcker reports, he said.

Asked what part of the UN keeps the notes, Dujarric said it was the Department for Political Affairs.

Asked about the financial situation of the IIC, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had told the Council of the likelihood of a cost overrun by the Committee. The Committee is to provide details of what it needs, and why it needs more funds. He said he was not aware of how much money is needed.

Asked about a timetable for the IICs work, the Spokesman said the Committee indicated that it expects to put out one more interim report in late July, to tie up loose ends. The final report on the UNs management of the oil-for-food program is expected in August, although, he added, there may be one more report later on.

IN SCOTLAND, ANNAN TO CALL FOR UPGRADE OF DEVELOPING WORLDS HEALTH SYSTEMS

The Secretary-General arrived in Edinburgh this afternoon on the first leg of a four-stop mission that will take him to the African Union and the G-8 summits.

Later today, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech at the 500th anniversary dinner of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

He is expected to call for new and serious efforts to build health systems in the developing world, and to note that Africa alone will require one million new health workers to achieve the

Millennium Development Goals.

He is also expected to say that, while progress is possible, it will depend on the will of Governments, such as the Group of Eight countries, which will meet just down the road from Edinburgh in Gleneagles next week.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO BE BRIEFED ON LATEST BLUE LINE CLASHES

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Lebanon at 3:00 this afternoon. It will be briefed on the latest developments by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno.

Geir Pedersen, the Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, deplored the attacks that emanated from the Lebanese side of the Blue Line yesterday and the subsequent exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces yesterday and today. Those exchanges apparently have left one Israeli soldier and one Hezbollah fighter dead, and three Israeli soldiers injured.

The

UN Interim Force in Lebanon says the Hezbollah fighters infiltrated yesterday afternoon, after which Israeli positions in the Shebaa farms came under Hezbollah mortar fire. Subsequently, the Israeli Defence Force fired artillery and tank rounds in the Shebaa farms area and also dropped aerial bombs in southern Lebanon. Reports today indicate that Israeli helicopters have violated Lebanese airspace, flying over the cities of Tyre, Sidon and Beirut.

Pedersen calls upon the Lebanese Government to extend its control over all of its territory, to exert its monopoly on the use of force and to put an end to all attacks emanating from its territory. He calls upon the Israeli authorities to refrain from air violations of the Blue Line and urges all parties once again to fully respect the Blue Line. He reminds them that one violation cannot justify another.

CHRONIC HUNGER A DESTABILIZING FACTOR IN AFRICA, SECURITY COUNCIL TOLD

The Security Council met today to consider Africas food crisis as a threat to peace and security, and was briefed by James Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa.

Saying that chronic hunger in the African countryside had become a destabilizing factor on the continent, Morris added that the greatest humanitarian crisis we faced today was the gradual disintegration of social structures in southern Africa.

He also pointed out that, after the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, WFP had lost more staff than any other branch of the UN. Assaults on food convoys and the taking of WFP staff as hostages were common.

U.N. MISSION IN SIERRA LEONE EXTENDED FOR FINAL 6 MONTHS

Prior to the meeting on food and security, the Council held a short meeting on Sierra Leone, during which it

decided to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in that country for a final six months, until 31 December 2005.

UNEASY CALM MARKS CONGOLESE INDEPENDENCE DAY

Today is Independence Day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and it also marks the end of the first 24 months of transition. The

UN Organization Mission in the DRC reports that an uneasy calm prevails in Kinshasa, with isolated skirmishes being reported between police and protesters. The Mission is monitoring the situation closely.

The

Security Council yesterday adopted a

Presidential Statement on the DRC, in which it called on all Congolese parties to respect the decision to extend the transitional period in that country by six months.

The Council encouraged the Congolese people to mobilize for and conduct the electoral process in a peaceful manner. It welcomed the progress made so far in the preparation of the elections.

Also yesterday afternoon, the Council heard a briefing on

Sudan from the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno.

HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMMES IN SUDAN FACE $1.3 BILLION SHORTFALL

Humanitarian assistance and recovery programmes in Sudan face a $1.3 billion funding shortfall, warned the UN and its partners yesterday, as they presented the

revised 2005 Work Plan for the Sudan in Geneva.

Launched in November 2004, the 2005 Work Plan originally cited requirements of nearly $1.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance and protection, and to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) through targeted recovery and development programmes. To date, $643 million has been received.

IRAQ: U.N. ENVOY MEETS WITH CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERTS

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, today sent his condolences to the family of Dhari al-Fayyad, the member of the Transitional National Assembly who was killed on Tuesday.

Qazi met yesterday with the chair of the Assemblys Constitutional Committee, Sheikh Humam Hammoudi, to offer him the UNs continued support in the constitution-writing process.

The United Nations is covering significant operating costs of the Committee, thanks to a contribution from the European Union, including salaries and the provision of computers.

MORE THAN 61,000 EX-COMBATANTS DISARMED IN AFGHANISTAN

The

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that today, in the final days of the disarmament and demobilization phases in the country, more than 61,000 former combatants have been disarmed. Also, the Mission

said, more than 34,000 light and medium weapons have been collected.

After today, no one will be allowed to use or move weapons, other than security organizations or those licensed to do so by the Ministry of the Interior.

U.N. REPRESENTATIVE CALLS ON G-8 TO DO MORE TO FIGHT A.I.D.S.

The governing board of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has unanimously agreed to put into practice recommendations on how the UN system and others can work together better to strengthen the AIDS response in developing countries.

A Global Task Team, made up of more than 55 governments and organizations, recently submitted a report containing ten recommendations on how countries can lead an inclusive response to AIDS.

Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, yesterday said that the three by five initiative to deal with AIDS has unleashed an irreversible momentum for treatment. Now, he says, all sides are focused on providing treatment for anyone who needs it, as soon as possible. At the same time, he calls on the Group of Eight nations to do more to provide resources to the fight against AIDS.

OUTGOING SPOKESMAN SAYS U.N. BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH A PROFESSIONAL PRESS CORPS

Today was the last day for Fred Eckhard, the outgoing Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Attending his final noon briefing before retirement, he said that the United Nations had been blessed to have such a professional press corps. He added that even the rabble-rousers, who have been especially active in recent months, had served the useful journalistic purpose of uncovering things that the UN needed to know about.

At the same time, however, he urged correspondents to keep their eyes on the long ball, for that was where the ultimate truth could be found.

He thanked the journalists for all of their support over the past years.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. PEACEKEEPERS LAUNCH OPERATION AGAINST ARMED GROUPS IN HAITI: Yesterday, in the Bel Air district of Port au Prince,

Haiti, Brazilian and Chinese peacekeepers conducted an operation against armed groups in the area. The operation resulted in the death of six gunmen, four injured and 13 arrested. In addition, an employee of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, who had been kidnapped the day before, was freed.

IRAQ-KUWAIT COMPENSATION COMMISSION COMPLETES WORK: The Governing Council of the

UN Compensation Commission concluded its 56th session today, awarding more than 366 million dollars for compensation to successful claimants. The approval of these reports marks the completion of twelve years of claims by the Commission and brings to an end the work of the panel of commissioners as a whole. Since its inception, it approved awards of approximately $52.5 billion.

INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING SYSTEM LAUNCHED TODAY: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports that the Indian Ocean early warning system formally came into existence today with the establishment of an intergovernmental coordination group to govern it. The 23rd Assembly of UNESCO's

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission also decided to establish similar bodies for the Caribbean, the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

UNICEF HAILS MAJOR NEW U.S. FUNDING FOR MALARIA: UNICEF

hailed the announcement today of a major new initiative by the United States to fund the prevention and treatment of malaria in Africa, calling the commitment a great step forward for child health and survival. Malaria is a major killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa, taking a childs life every 30 seconds, said UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, who attended the announcement.

SCHOOL GARDENS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR EDUCATION AND NUTRITION: The integration of school gardens with national agricultural, nutrition and education programmes has a profound effect on improving the quality of nutrition and education of children and their families in rural and urban areas in developing countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

said today. School gardens give children the opportunity to learn how to grow healthy food and how to use it for better nutrition.

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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