United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-08-11

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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

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, August 11, 2005

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES COMPROMISE ON IRAQ CONSTITUTION

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is closely following the discussions underway on the drafting of a new

Iraqi constitution. He

calls on all political, religious and civil society leaders in Iraq to exercise the vision and the political will needed to come to an agreement in the next few days. He believes such an agreement will constitute a major milestone in Iraqs political transition.

The Secretary-General emphasizes that compromise and mutual understanding are critical if the parties are to quickly resolve the remaining issues under consideration.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS IRAQ MANDATE; STUDIES D.R. CONGO

The

Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in

Iraq for twelve months.

The Council afterward went into consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Council members heard a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hédi Annabi, on the Secretary-Generals latest report on the work of the

UN Mission in that country.

ANNAN HOPES FOR SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM BY SEPTEMBER

As he left the

Security Council meeting on Iraq today, the Secretary-General was

asked by Japans NHK television about the timetable for reforming the UN Security Council.

He responded that we should try and make as much progress as we can on other clusters of UN reform, where Member States are much closer. The Secretary-General hopes that, between now and the end of August, Member States would clear up all the outstanding issues on those clusters to be able to put forward a package of decisions.

As for reform of the Security Council, he said that negotiations are going on, and ideally, it should be done by September.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals hopes for Security Council reform, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General remains hopeful that it can be done by September. He said he hopes that, if Member States are not able to resolve Council reform by September, the outcome document would indicate the importance of reforming the Council and the need to do it by the end of December.

Asked about the significance of any change in deadline, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General has been in touch with many Member States dealing with Council reform. He wanted to make sure that, if reform does not take place by September, it is not left unresolved, and nations still commit themselves to doing it by December. Nonetheless, Dujarric added, the Secretary-General remains hopeful that it will be resolved.

Asked about a discrepancy between the initial and revised transcript issued on that press encounter, the Spokesman said that the corrected version came after the Spokesmans Office listened to a tape of the encounter and made the revision.

IAEA CONCERNED WITH IRANS NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES

The Board of Governors of the

International Atomic Energy Agency this afternoon concluded a closed meeting in Vienna on Iran with the adoption of a resolution, without a vote.

The resolution expresses serious concern at the 1 August notification to the IAEA that Iran had decided to resume uranium conversion activities at Isfahan. It underlines the importance of rectifying the situation and urges Iran to re-establish full suspension of all enrichment-related activities on a non-legally binding basis.

It request Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to provide a comprehensive report on the implementation of Irans safeguards agreement by 3 September.

ElBaradei afterward told press that there was still a window of opportunity for negotiations to continue.

Asked whether the Secretary-General considers the situation in Iran to be a threat to international peace and security, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General very much hopes that the issue will be resolved through negotiations between the three European Union nations and Iran.

Asked whether the situation in Iran should be referred to the Security Council, he said that was a matter for the IAEA Board of Governors to decide.

ANNAN TO HEADS OF STATE: 10 MILLION AFRICANS NEED AID

The Secretary-General wrote a letter to a number of Heads of State this week, to draw attention to an unfolding food emergency in southern Africa. Noting that more than 10 million people will need humanitarian aid over the coming year, because of previous food shortages, endemic poverty and HIV/AIDS, he wrote that we cannot wait until the last minute to help.

He expressed concern that hunger was forcing children, especially orphans, to drop out of school, and causing some women to turn to prostitution to survive. The Secretary-General asked the world leaders to do everything in their power to ensure that southern Africa didnt become another crisis that could have been prevented.

FAO SAYS MALAWI CRISIS WORST IN A DECADE

Malawi is facing its worst food crisis in over a decade, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization

said today. More than 4.2 million people are in need of urgent assistance, the agency said.

The agency said droughts, floods, consecutive poor harvests and an HIV/AIDS pandemic have caused the crisis. The FAO called on the donor community to help prevent a further escalation of the crisis.

OIL FOR FOOD SPOTLIGHT COULD HELP U.N. REFORM

Asked whether the

oil-for-food investigation could hurt the reform proceedings at the 2005 World Summit, the Spokesman noted that, as Chef de Cabinet Mark Malloch Brown said on Monday, the recommendations in the next Volcker report could help to push Member States to adopt administrative and management reforms. He noted, in response to further questions, that it was up to Volckers

Independent Inquiry Committee to determine when the next report comes out.

The Spokesman added, in response to a question, that the Committee has requested additional funding to allow it to complete its work by early October

HUMANITARIAN HELP, POLITICAL DIALOGUE NEEDED IN ZIMBABWE

Asked whether the Secretary-General has abandoned hopes of a dialogue in

Zimbabwe, the Spokesman said that, while the immediate UN concern is on the humanitarian situation, there will need to be a political dialogue to address the situation on a long-term basis.

Asked why the UN does not have an envoy there, he noted the African Union has sent a political envoy to Zimbabwe, and added that any duplication of political envoys could be counterproductive.

Asked whether Zimbabwe is an example of the need for a responsibility to protect, the Spokesman said that it was a case where the international community needs to do all it can to help those in need.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

WFP PRE-POSITIONING FOOD FOR AFGHANISTAN: Ahead of Afghanistans winter, the World Food Programme (WFP) has

started pre-positioning food supplies for nearly half a million Afghans, who will be cut off from markets once the cold weather sets in. Deliveries have already begun in northeastern

Afghanistan, where winter normally begins as early as September.

U.N. ENVOY ATTENDS INAUGURATION OF SUDANESE VICE PRESIDENT: The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Sudan, Jan Pronk, today attended the swearing in of Salva Kiir of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement as First Vice President of that country. Kiir replaces the late John Garang.

U.N. HAITI ENVOY HOPES FOR RELEASE OF FORMER P.M.: The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in

Haiti has once again expressed his concern with the detention without trial of former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune. The representative, Juan Gabriel Valdes, told a news conference this week, We don't understand why the preventative detention of an ex-Prime Minister should last so long. However, we hope that the current efforts of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice will allow us to succeed to find a reasonable solution.

U.N. ELECTION ENVOY BEGINS WORK IN COTE DIVOIRE: The

UN Mission in Cote dIvoire reports that the UNs election representative there has begun a series of meetings with local and international officials to prepare for the October election. The mission reports that the special representative, Antonio Monteiro, has been stressing the need for credible elections, with results that are acceptable to all parties.

CHARTER TO NARROW GLOBAL HEALTH INEQUITIES IS ADOPTED: The World Health Organization (WHO) today

announced the adoption of the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion at the

6th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which ended today in Thailand. According to WHO, the charter addresses the most pressing health challenges of the new millennium, such as how to narrow global inequities in life expectancy, particularly in the developing world.

TOURISTS GROW MORE RESILIENT TO TERRORISM: In an indication that tourists have become more resilient to terrorism, the latest report by the Market Intelligence Department of the World Tourism Organization (WTO)

concluded that the recent attacks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will do no long-term damage to tourism flows there. While the initial reaction of some tourists was to go home, a significant number decided not to leave and there continue to be new arrivals and bookings.

ONE HUNDRED STATES HAVE PAID THEIR U.N. DUES: The Spokesman welcomed El Salvador as the 100th Member State to pay its dues in full to the 2005 regular budget. And, following swiftly on its heels early Wednesday afternoon, Haiti became country 101, with $53,385. A

list of all those countries which have paid in full is available on the Spokesmans web page.

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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