United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-12-09

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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

Friday, December 9, 2005

U.N. PEACEKEEPING OFFICIALS EXPECTED IN ERITREA ON TUESDAY

The Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations,

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and the UN Military Advisor, General Radhir Kumar Mehta, will be traveling to Ethiopia and Eritrea, following Eritrea's most recent decision affecting the

UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea in that country.

They are expected to arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, early Sunday morning and then travel on to Asmara, Eritrea, on Tuesday.

They will be hearing directly from the UN military staff on the ground to better assess the situation. They have also requested meetings with the political leadership in both countries.

Guéhenno will encourage them to implement Security Council

resolution 1640.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF BRIEFS SECURITY COUNCIL

ON PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS

The Under-Secretary-General for

Humanitarian Affairs,

Jan Egeland, today told the

Security Council that the internationally community needs to assess how effective it has been in efforts to shield civilians from the horrors of armed conflict when states have been unwilling or unable to do so.

Speaking at a public meeting of the Security Council on the protection of civilians and armed conflict, Egeland said that governments, regional organizations, Security Council, peacekeeping missions and the humanitarian community must make the World Summits commitment to peace-making and mediation an early reality. "We must prioritize peacemaking efforts where there are serious humanitarian consequences," he said.

Egeland said that broad international support to southern Sudans peace process has at long last allowed refugees and displaced persons to return home. He asked how much longer can the world tolerate the inadequate resources given to solve the conflict in northern Uganda.

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF COTE DIVOIRE PRIME MINISTER

Prior to its public meeting, the

Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement welcoming the appointment of Charles Konan Banny as Prime Minister of Cote dIvoire.

The Security Council endorsed the final communiqué of the International Working Group, recalling that an earlier communiqué states that the Prime Minister has full authority over the Cabinet he will establish. And the Council also urges the establishment without delay of the Government.

ANNAN URGES MEMBER STATES TO FIGHT AGAINST HOLOCAUST DENIAL

A

statement was issued yesterday afternoon expressing the

Secretary-Generals shock at remarks in which the President of Iran reportedly cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust and suggested that the State of Israel should be moved from the Middle East to Europe.

The Secretary-General urged all Member States to combat the denial of the Holocaust, and to educate their populations about the well established historical facts of the Holocaust, in which one third of the Jewish people were murdered, along with countless members of other minorities.

TIMOR LESTE POLICE DEPLOYED WITH U.N. MISSION IN KOSOVO

Ten members of the National Police of Timor-Leste are en route to the

UN Interim Administration in Kosovo to serve in the UN Police unit there. The officers were trained by the

UN Mission in Timor Leste.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Timor-Leste,

Sukehiro Hasegawa,

said the selection of the team for Kosovo showed the remarkable progress and professionalism of the Timor Leste police.

IRAQ MOVING TOWARDS COMPLETION OF POLITICAL TRANSITION PROCESS

With the adoption of a new constitution,

Iraq is now moving towards the scheduled completion of its current political transition process, the

Secretary-General informs the

Security Council in his latest report on the

UN Mission in Iraq.

Despite meeting benchmarks, however, Iraq today remains beset with formidable security, political and economic challenges.

The report describes the UNs ongoing electoral support to the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, with a 25-member UN electoral team in Baghdad fully engaged in assisting in preparations for the 15 December elections.

Also,

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative, is working closely with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa, to prepare for a conference on Iraqi national accord, which is planned for early 2006.

The Secretary-General, in the report, says he remains gravely concerned by the high levels of civilian fatalities and injuries caused by terrorist, insurgent, paramilitary and military actions. He also remains concerned about the human rights situation in Iraq, which holds the potential of undermining national dialogue and reconciliation efforts.

MEHLIS TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL ON HARIRI PROBE REPORT ON TUESDAY

Asked when

Detlev Mehlis, head of the

International Independent Investigation Commission, would present his report to the

Security Council, the Spokesman said that the Council would discuss the report in a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 13 December.

However, he added, the President of the Security Council had said that the Council expects to receive Mehliss written report on Monday morning.

The Spokesman added that Mehlis was expected to brief the press on Tuesday, after he has presented his report to the Council.

Asked whether a replacement is being sought for Mehlis, the Spokesman said that, should the Security Council extend the Commissions mandate, a search for a potential replacement for Mehlis is continuing and is proceeding actively.

REPORTS ON U.N. MISSIONS IN LIBERIA, GOLAN HEIGHTS AND GUINEA BISSAU

RELEASED TODAY

The

Secretary-General, in his latest progress

report on the

UN Mission in Liberia, says that the recent national elections were an important milestone in the

Liberias peace process and commends the Liberian people for coming out in large numbers to vote. While he notes this and other achievements, he also warns that the challenges ahead are formidable, with the country still only at the early stages of reconstruction and rehabilitation. He also urges Liberias international partners to maintain their support and help the new government to tackle daunting post-election challenges.

The Secretary-Generals latest report on the

UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights was also released today, and the Secretary-General says that the situation in the Israel-Syria sector has remained generally quiet. He recommends a six-month extension in the Force, until the end of June, and also draws attention to a $22.7 million shortfall in the funding of the Force.

The Secretary-Generals latest report on the

UN Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau. In it, he notes that although the new government is in place the UN still has a decisive role to play in the consolidating of a lasting peace there. He notes that the new president has asked for a one year extension of the UN mission there.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME MOBILIZES FOOD AID IN DR CONGO

In the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo, the

World Food Programme (WFP) is

mobilizing food aid for tens of thousands of people who are fleeing their homes in the Katanga region because of new militia attacks. But it urgently needs an additional $20 million to keep working there, especially since its stocks of maize meal are running low.

WFP has already airlifted food aid to some 7,000 displaced people in the hard-to-reach town of Mpiana, and food destined for the town of Dubie is currently being loaded onto WFP trucks in Lubumbashi.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WARNS OF EFFECTS OF COLOMBIAN CONFLICT

ONE MILLION INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

says that the armed conflict in Colombia is badly affecting the country's one million indigenous people, and its concerned that entire communities could disappear after being forced to flee their traditional territories.

UNHCR says a recent report from Colombias national indigenous organization shows that more than 19,000 indigenous men, women and children were forced to flee their homes and territories since the start of this year.

UNHCR says forced displacement is doubly catastrophic for indigenous communities given that indigenous culture is closely linked to the land and displacement often leads to the total collapse of traditional authority and cultural patterns.

TEN MILLION LIVES COULD BE SAVED WITH IMMUNIZATION

Ten million lives could be

saved through child and maternal immunization between 2006 and 2015 at an average annual cost of $1 billion, according to a new study by the

World Health Organization and

UNICEF.

The estimated $2.5 billion current annual spending on immunization in the poorest countries would need to increase to $3.5 billion by 2010 and $4 billion by 2015 to reach this goal.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

HUMAN RIGHTS CAN BE AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT TOOL: Human rights are not only an objective in themselves but also an important development tool, which can be used to work towards achieving the

Millennium Development Goals and to prevent discrimination or exclusion from the development process on the grounds of race, religion, or gender. This is the

message of

UN Development Programme Administrator

Kemal Dervis on the occasion of International

Human Rights Day, which falls tomorrow, Saturday 10 December. Dervis notes that if a human rights-based approach to development is to be successful, women and men must have equal access to both national development and political processes.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC GROWTH IS FAILING TO CREATE JOBS FOR THE POOR: The

UN International Labour Office (ILO) today

said that global economic growth is failing to create jobs for the poor. In a

report released today, the ILO said that half the worlds workers earn less than $2 a day. The ILO said the report, which makes specific observations on wage gaps, could be used as useful tool for promoting decent work opportunities.

U.N.S SPECIFIC DATA AND METHODS TO HELP CARBON REDUCTION: The

UN Food and Agriculture Organization today

announced that it is making available extensive data and research methodology on deforestation worldwide to help governments and private entities create financial incentives for reducing forest loss in the developing world. The announcement follows a decision of the UN climate conference in Montreal to adopt rules for carbon trading.

HUMAN HEALTH UNDER THREAT FROM ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION: The

World Health Organization is

publishing a

report, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Health Synthesis, which represents an attempt to describe the complex links between the preservation of healthy and biodiverse natural ecosystems and human health. Approximately 60% of the benefits that the global ecosystem provides to support life on Earth (such as fresh water, clean air and a relatively stable climate) are being degraded or used unsustainably. In the report, scientists warn that harmful consequences of this degradation to human health are already being felt and could grow significantly worse over the next 50 years.