United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-11-01

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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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

KOFI ANNAN LAUDS DESIGNATION OF HOLOCAUST DAY

Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes todays decision by the

General Assembly to designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

He

sees this annual commemoration as an important reminder of the universal lessons of the Holocaust, a unique evil which cannot simply be consigned to the past and forgotten.

He also looks forward to taking the measures which the Assembly has requested from him, to establish a program of outreach on the subject of the Holocaust and the United Nations and to mobilize civil society for Holocaust remembrance and education, in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.

ANNAN APPOINTS ENVOY TO WORK ON FUTURE STATUS OF KOSOVO

The Secretary-General has conveyed to the Security Council his intention to appoint Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, as his Special Envoy to lead the political process designed to determine the future status of Kosovo.

On 24 October, the Security Council endorsed the Secretary-Generals conclusion, which he had conveyed to the President of the Council on 7 October, that the time has come to move to the next phase of the political process in Kosovo.

Ahtisaaris excellent negotiating skills, proven leadership, previous experience with the United Nations and knowledge of the Balkans make him the ideal person for this endeavour. The Secretary-General also conveyed to the Security Council his intention to appoint Albert Rohan, former Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Ahtisaari's deputy.

The future status process will be carried out in the context of

resolution 1244 (1999) and the relevant Presidential Statements of the Security Council.

NEW REPRESENTATIVE APPOINTED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA

The Secretary-General has decided to appoint Yash Ghai of Kenya as his Special Representative for human rights in Cambodia, following the resignation of Peter Leuprecht.

Ghai is a distinguished academic and renowned constitutional lawyer and is currently teaching human rights and public law at the University of Hong Kong.

RUSSIA ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF SECURITY COUNCIL

Russia has assumed the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of November, and Ambassador Andrey Denisov is holding bilateral talks with other Council members today on the program of work for the coming month.

Tomorrow at 3 p.m., Ambassador Denisov will talk to reporters about the Councils activities this month.

Yesterday afternoon, following the meeting on Lebanon, the Security Council held another meeting in which it adopted a Presidential Statement strongly condemning the bomb attacks that took place in New Delhi on Saturday. The Council stressed the importance of bringing the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of those attacks to justice.

Asked whether the Council will receive a briefing on Wednesday from the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Implementation of

resolution 1559, the Spokesman noted that the Council was still working on its program of work for the month and thus that briefing had not been confirmed yet.

U.N. MISSION IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA REPORTS SITUATION AS TENSE

The

UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea reports the situation on the ground as tense.

Regarding the situation in Eritrea, the mission reports that restrictions on freedom of movement are continuing both in the Central and Western Sectors. Night movement of our patrols is also being curtailed. This in turn has seriously constrained the missions ability to monitor the remaining 40 per cent of the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas, according to the mission.

Asked what the Secretary-General was doing to respond to Eritreas problems with the UN Mission, the Spokesman said that the Eritreans have yet to provide any reason as to why they are limiting the UNs movements in its peacekeeping and humanitarian work.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO HEAD TO GREAT LAKES REGION

This weekend the

Security Council will begin a

mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa.

From 4 to 11 November, Council members will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

The intent of the mission is, in part, to stress the importance of achieving sustainable peace, security and stability for all countries in the region. The mission will also underscore the importance of the resources committed by the UN to peacekeeping in the region.

Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière of France, who will lead the team, will brief correspondents tomorrow at 3:30pm.

U.N. ENVOY CONFERS WITH OFFICIALS IN SUDAN ON NO GO AREAS

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative Jan Pronk met with the Sudanese Minister of Interior and raised with him the issue of cooperation between the United Nations and Sudan.

Pronk expressed satisfaction at the significant improvement of the cooperation of the Sudanese police with UN civilian police.

He raised the situation in West Darfur where security remains problematic and continues to hamper UN movement. Humanitarian assistance is still being provided by air and the roads from and to Geneina are still "no-go" for the United Nations.

U.N. STAFFER PROSECUTED FOR SEXUAL ABUSE IN KOSOVO

A Pristina District Court panel -- presided over by an international judge but also involving two judges from Kosovo -- found UN refugee agency official Rashidoon Khan guilty of one count of sexual abuse of persons under the age of sixteen and one count of falsifying official documents. Khans sentence is three years in prison.

The

UN Mission in Kosovo says the ruling demonstrates both its zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and the independence of the judiciary in Kosovo.

The Mission also stresses that, if in any case there are credible allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of any UN staff, immediate investigative and prosecutorial measures are undertaken in accordance with the applicable law in Kosovo.

OPIUM CULTIVATION FALLS AGAIN IN MYANMAR

Opium cultivation in Myanmar, the worlds second largest opium producer, fell by more than a quarter in 2005 from the year before, and is now 80 per cent lower than in the peak year of 1996, according to the

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2005 Myanmar Opium Survey, which was launched today in Bangkok.

UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa has welcomed the decline in cultivation but has warned that the rapid eradication seen in the past decade could be undone if growing poverty among farmers is not addressed.

ANNAN AND PRINCE OF WALES FOCUS ON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

The Secretary-General and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will, this afternoon, attend a special forum of business leaders here at UN Headquarters on the global challenge of youth employment.

Theyll emphasize the crucial role of the private sector in developing countries in creating jobs for young people, and will challenge them to come up with new ways for training young people to help them to set up their own businesses.

Todays event is co-hosted by the United Kingdom Mission to the UN and the

UN Development Programme, in association with the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum and Youth Business International.

The discussion will include business leaders, civil society, UN representatives and Ambassadors of UN Member States, and presentations by young entrepreneurs identifying the challenges of youth employment.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMS ANNUAL HOLOCAUST DAY

This morning the General Assembly adopted without a vote a resolution on Holocaust remembrance, resolving that the United Nations designate 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The resolution was co-sponsored by 104 Member States.

At the close of the meeting, Assembly President Jan Eliasson reiterated his opening statement that the Holocaust also reminds us of the crimes of genocide committed since World War II. It must, therefore, be a unifying historic warning around which we must rally; not only to recall the grievous crimes committed in human history but also to reaffirm our unfaltering resolve to prevent the recurrence of such crimes. We cannot continue to repeat saying Never again after Cambodia, Rwanda and Srebrenica.

Today, informal consultations of the plenary on the Human Rights Council are being held in both morning and afternoon, to discuss rules and procedures, working methods and transitional arrangements for the new Council.

On Wednesday afternoon, informal consultations of the plenary will be held on the Peacebuilding Commission, to review a next text circulated by the Co-Chairs, the Ambassadors of Denmark and Tanzania. The Co-Chairs are aiming to circulate a draft resolution towards the end of next week.

ROTATION IN PROCUREMENT DIVISION INCREASED

In response to a series of questions about whether a particular procurement officer, Diane Mills-Aryee, had been rotated out of the

UN Procurement Division, the Spokesman said he did not know of her particular status but that a number of people were being rotated out of that division as part of a policy of rotating staff from there more frequently.

He added that such a rotation does not imply wrongdoing by any staff member. He added, in response to a further question citing a claim by a lawyer that the officer had been prohibited from talking to reporters, that Mills-Aryee had not been barred from speaking to the press and that all staff are allowed, if they so choose, to speak to the press on their general areas of expertise.

Asked about the employment status of another individual, the Spokesman said he did not have details about the particulars of every person employed by the United Nations.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

QUAKE HELP JUST A DROP IN THE BUCKET SO FAR: The Office of the

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR), says that, in all, it has provided 20,000 tents among other materials to Pakistan. But that is just a drop in the bucket according to the agency. UNHCR is working with the Pakistani military and other partners in 12 camps that have a combined population of more than 15,000 people. And more people are coming down from the mountains daily.

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO VISIT IRAN WITHIN A MONTH: Asked when the Secretary-General would travel to Iran, the Spokesman said that would take place some time this month.

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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