United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-09-16

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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

Friday, September 16, 2005

WORLD SUMMIT TO CONCLUDE THIS AFTERNOON

The

World Summit concludes today, with statements by Heads of State and Government and others at both the morning and afternoon sessions. After all the scheduled speakers have made statements, the four Chairs of the round tables will give summaries of the round table discussions.

Then, it is expected that one of the Co-Chairs will introduce the draft resolution presenting the text of the 2005 World Summit Outcome. The President is confident that the resolution will be adopted. The adoption would be followed by explanations of position, if any, and closing remarks by the two Co-Chairs: the President of Gabon, followed by the Prime Minister of Sweden.

On Saturday, the annual General Debate of the General Assembly will open at 10:00 with statements by the Assembly President and the Secretary-General. Brazil will be the first in the list of speakers, according to long-standing tradition, followed by the United States and others. We are expecting 54 Heads of State and Government to speak during the General Debate, which runs through 28 September.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ATTENDS RE-LAUNCH OF AFRICA PARTNERSHIP

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today went to the Ford Foundation, where he spoke at the re-launch of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa. He said that the time is certainly right to re-launch this partnership, and urges the Partnership, the UN system and universities to work together to support higher education in Africa.

On Saturday, the Secretary-General will speak at the opening of the General Debate of the

60th session of the General Assembly, telling delegates that this weeks

Summit has given all of us work to do. He will talk about what he intends to do, and what Member States need to do, to implement the proposals agreed to at the Summit.

Asked whether the Secretary-General will provide an update on UN internal management, the Spokesman said he would lay out what he and the Member States need to do to implement the outcome document that is expected to be approved later today.

ANNAN HOSTS NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN, EUROPEAN MINISTERS

The Secretary-General met Thursday afternoon with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to discuss issues of mutual concern, including Iraq and other regional matters, as well as the nuclear issue.

Following that meeting, the Secretary-General used his good offices to invite the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom (known as the E-3), as well as the European Unions High Representative, Javier Solana, to join them.

There were cordial discussions on the need to continue the negotiations on the nuclear issue in search of a mutually agreed solution. In that context, President Ahmadinejad reaffirmed his intention to put forward new proposals during his speech to the General Assembly on Saturday.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONFERS WITH IRAQI PRESIDENT

The Secretary-General met Thursday afternoon with President Jalal Talabani of

Iraq.

They discussed the political transition in Iraq, as well as the countrys constitution-making process, elections and the situation in Kirkuk and Mosul.

The Secretary-General presented his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attacks and indiscriminate violence that have killed and wounded hundreds of Iraqis over the past two days. He felt that the Iraqi people should not be compelled to live under the constant threat of death and destruction.

In this context, he condemned in the strongest terms the call by the group Al-Qaeda in Iraq for further acts of violence against Iraqs Shia community.

TREATY SIGNING CONTINUES AT U.N.; LIBERIA TO BREAK RECORD

Heads of State and Government, as well as other officials, are continuing to sign and ratify international treaties today, as part of the Focus 2005 Treaty Event.

Among todays highlights, Liberia, which will be represented by Gyude Bryant, Chairman of the National Transitional Government, Liberia has asked to do 102 treaty actions this afternoon. We expect that Liberia will sign, ratify or accede to more than 80 treaties. The precise number will be determined after the Office of Legal Affairs reviews each treaty action.

The Liberian delegation will be in the treaty signing area between 4:30 and 5 p.m., and is expected to make a statement. Representatives from the

Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the

World Bank are also expected to attend.

MINISTERIAL MEETING ON HAITI SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY

The

Secretary-General will chair a ministerial meeting on Haiti here at UN Headquarters at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Members of the Core Group and the Prime Minister of Haiti will participate.

The meeting aims to bolster high-level support for Haiti and the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti there as the country approaches a decisive phase in the electoral process, and to forge a broad consensus on the international communitys assistance in the post-electoral period.

The Secretary-General intends to make a short statement to the press after the meeting.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HOST MEETING OF MIDDLE EAST QUARTET

The Secretary-General will host a meeting of the

Middle East Quartet next Tuesday, from 9:30 to 11:30 in the morning, in his conference room. The meeting will be attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU High Representative Javier Solana, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who is representing the EU Presidency, and EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. They will be briefed by Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn and by US Security Coordinator General William Ward.

The meeting will be followed by a press conference in Conference Room 4, from 11:40 to 11:55.

DESPITE TALKS, VIOLENCE CONTINUES IN SUDAN

The

UN Mission in Sudan today reports that despite the opening of peace talks in Abuja, violence against civilians continues in Darfur.

The Mission said that it had received reports that armed tribesmen had killed three people in a village in North Darfur, and that four women were raped in South Darfur.

The Mission also said that about 20 men ambushed two trucks contracted by the UN in South Darfur and assaulted the drivers. One driver was severely injured.

The Abuja peace talks -- the sixth round of the negotiations -- began Thursday under the mediation of the African Union.

GUINEA-BISSAU ENTERS DELICATE POST-ELECTORAL STAGE

The completion of Guinea-Bissaus electoral process marks the end of the transitional period and the full restoration of constitutional order, the Secretary-General writes in his latest

report to the Security Council on the UN Office in that country.

He says that Guinea-Bissau has now entered a delicate post-electoral phase, and cannot meet its multiple challenges without international assistance.

He proposes that the UN Office retain some elements of its mandate, to support efforts to consolidate constitutional rule, strengthen national institutions and support the reform of the security sector, among other tasks. The Secretary-General outlines adjustments that he feels will be needed to help the UN Office accomplish those tasks.

ANNAN SAYS MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE ON OZONE PROBLEM

Today is the

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

The

World Meteorological Organization says the size of the ozone hole this year was expected to be in the same region as in 2000 and 2003 when the two largest ozone holes so far were recorded.

In a

message to mark the occasion, the Secretary-General says that while many countries have made good progress in meeting their obligations to reduce the production of ozone-depleting materials, there still remains work to be done in this area.

Developing countries are only at the halfway point in many of their obligations, and a number of chemicals till need to be phased out in developed countries.

U.N. TO HELP IN AFGHAN PARASITE PROGRAM TREAT SIX MILLION

The

World Food Programme (WFP), the

UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the

World Health Organization (WHO), this week will be

supporting an Afghan government campaign to deworm six million Afghan children across the country.

The program will treat six-to-twelve-year-olds for intestinal parasites or worms, an affliction which affects a high percentage of Afghan children.

ANNAN MEETS WITH PRESIDENT OF LEBANON

In response to a question, the Spokesman confirmed that the Secretary-General met with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud this morning. The meeting, he said, was one-on-one.

That meeting, as well as one that President Lahoud held on Thursday with Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Implementation of

Resolution 1559, touched upon, among other issues, implementing that resolution, the Spokesman said. So should the meetings scheduled for Lebanons Prime Minister, Fuad Siniora.

Asked about the investigation into Rafik Hariris murder, led by

Detlev Mehlis, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had granted Mehlis a request for a 40-day extension of that investigation and awaited his report on 25 October.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNHCR DEPLORES TAJIK DEPORTATIONS: The

UN Refugee Agency today issued a

statement deploring the deportation from Tajikistan of five members of an Afghan family who had refugee status since 1995. The agency also said it was deeply concerned by the fact that the Tajik government has repeatedly denied it access to detained persons.

MORE THAN $150 MILLION PLEDGED TO UN HUMANITARIAN FUND: More than $150 million was pledged in support of the United Nations' proposal to revamp the existing humanitarian emergency fund by Ministers from Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, during yesterday's ministerial-level meeting on Humanitarian Reform and the Central Emergency Response Fund, the UN

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports.

ANNAN, CYPRIOT PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS CYPRUS: Asked about the Secretary-Generals meeting today with the President of Cyprus, the Spokesman said that the discussion would concern developments in Cyprus.

U.N. WORKING ON FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN NIGER: Asked about the situation in Niger, the Spokesman said that the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the

World Food Programme were dealing with food distribution in that country.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, September 17

At 6:45, Mr. Yoshinori Katori, Press Secretary of the Foreign Minister of Japan, will hold a press conference.

Sunday, September 18

The UN Mission in Afghanistan will provide assistance as Afghanistan holds its legislative elections.

Press conferences scheduled include, at 12:45, President Tassos Papadopoulos of Cyprus; and at 3:00, Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk of Ukraine.

Monday, September 19

The final preparatory

meeting for the forthcoming Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society will take place at the Palais de Nations, Geneva, starting today and lasting until 30 September. The meeting is expected to welcome some 1,500 participants from UN agencies, the private sector, civil society and the media.

The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting on its annual report to the General Assembly, followed by consultations on Burundi.

Carolyn McAskie, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Burundi, will be the guest at the noon briefing.

At 1:15 p.m., the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, Alan Doss, will hold a press briefing in Room 226 at UN Headquarters.

In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agencys Board of Governors will meet on Iran.

Tuesday, September 20

The Secretary-General will host a meeting, at the principals levels, of the Middle East Quartet, bringing together officials from the UN, European Union, Russia and United States. The Secretary-General and other Quartet officials are to hold a brief press conference starting at 11:40 a.m.

Wednesday, September 21

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Sudan and Iraq.

Rachel Mayanja, the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, will be the guest at the noon briefing, to talk about her recent visit to Sudan.

UN Messengers of Peace Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Elie Wiesel and Anna Cataldi give a press conference on the outcome of the 2005 Summit, 11:15.

Thursday, September 22

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Guinea-Bissau.

Friday, September 23

The Security Council has scheduled a formal meeting on Sudan. It has also scheduled an open briefing, followed by consultations, on the Middle East.

Guests at the noon briefing are Tibor Toth, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization and Ambassador Deborah Stokes of Australia.