United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-04-05

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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

Wednesday, April 5, 2006

ANNAN CONCERNED BY DEVELOPING CONFRONTATION IN NEPAL

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is

concerned about the confrontation developing in Nepal, where the Government has imposed a ban on protests in Kathmandu on the eve of planned demonstrations by the Seven-Party Alliance. He is also troubled by reports of a large number of arrests of government opponents.

While maintenance of law and order is the responsibility of the State, security considerations should not be the basis for denying citizens their right to peaceful protest -- a right for which virtually all avenues seem to be closing.

In the context of stated security considerations, the Secretary-General notes the recent announcement by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) that it has suspended military activity in the Kathmandu Valley. He urges the Maoists to take further steps to fulfill the commitments they have publicly made.

The Secretary-General appeals to all sides in Nepal to work towards ending the conflict through a reciprocal ceasefire agreement.

ANNAN HEADS TO SPAIN AND THE NETHERLANDS

The Secretary-Generals official travels to Spain and the Netherlands begin tomorrow when he arrives in Madrid, where he will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero. He is also to meet with King Juan Carlos later in the day.

He will go on to chair the twice-yearly meeting of the Chief Executives Board, which brings together the heads of UN agencies, funds and programmes.

Early next week, before heading to The Hague, the Secretary-General will also travel to Sevilla, where the Nodo Foundation plans to present him with an award. The Secretary-General intends to use the Sevilla Nodo Award money to contribute to a joint project led by the UN Population Fund in Kisangani, which provides medical, psychological and legal assistance to women and children who have suffered from sexual violence.

ANNAN MEETS WITH LEADERS CHOSEN TO HELP REVITALIZE U.N. WORK IN

DEVELOPMENT, HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE & THE ENVIRONMENT

The Secretary-General this morning

addressed the first meeting of the high-level panel that he formed to explore how the UN system could work more coherently and effectively in dealing with development, humanitarian assistance and the environment.

The Secretary-General told the

Panel on System-Wide Coherence that it can help make a decisive breakthrough in realigning and revitalizing the United Nations in those crucial areas, so that the 2005 World Summits political goals are translated into real action on the ground.

The three co-chairs of the Panel will speak to reporters at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. They are Prime Ministers Luisa Dias Diogo of Mozambique, Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown will also be present.

HUMANITARIAN CHIEF DISMAYED BY SUDANS DECISION TO EXPEL

NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL

Just days after the UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland was denied permission to travel to Darfur, the non-governmental organization, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been told by Sudanese authorities to leave that region.

The NRC has been doing an excellent job, as acknowledged by not only its humanitarian partners and the donors but also many local authorities, Egeland stated, on learning of the decision not to renew the NRCs camp management contract. With no one to replace them, I fear that tensions will rise among the thousands of IDPs [internally displaced persons] that looked to NRC to help them and resolve problems, particularly with local authorities.

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), meanwhile, reports that a mini-summit is scheduled to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, this coming Saturday to discuss ways to speed up the process of reaching a peaceful solution to the Darfur conflict. It said participating countries include the Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sudan, as well as the Chairman of the African Union Commission. The Secretary-Generals Deputy Special Representative, Taye Zerihoun, is scheduled to participate in the meeting.

The World Food Programme, meanwhile, praised decisions by the governors of three Sudan states to renew and expand their support to WFP school meals by committing precious resources to monitoring, transport and other support.

Asked whether the Secretary-General had spoken to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, as he said he would do on Tuesday, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had not yet been able to reach the President. He still wishes to speak with President Bashir, the Spokesman added.

Asked if the UN was thinking of appointing a high-level Muslim envoy to lobby the Sudanese government, the Spokesman said that he had nothing to say on the possibility of such a development. The United Nations, the Spokesman went on to say, was trying to create the conditions and the atmosphere that will allow the planning mission to proceed with the full cooperation of the Sudanese government.

Asked when Jan Egeland, who had not been able to visit Darfur, was returning to New York, the Spokesman later said he would return on April 19, after visiting stops in Europe and the Middle East.

MILOSEVIC DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES, DUTCH INQUIRY DECIDES

Judge Fausto Pocar, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), today

welcomed the final results of the Dutch authorities independent inquest into the death of Slobodan Milosevic, which confirmed that he died of natural causes and ruled out any suggestion of criminal conduct.

The Tribunal has been provided with copies of the independent autopsy and toxicology report, as well as the final inquest findings of the Dutch authorities, that all confirm that Slobodan Milosevic died of natural causes.

An internal enquiry, ordered on 11 March by Judge Pocar, is continuing to focus its attention on issues relating to the medical treatment provided to Milosevic while he was in the Tribunal's detention facility. The internal inquiry expects to conclude its investigation on these issues shortly.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

PALESTINIAN LETTER RECEIVED AND BEING STUDIED: Asked whether the Secretary-General had any response to a letter sent to him by Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud a-Zahar, the Spokesman said that the letter had been received and is being studied, and declined to comment further at this time. Asked about subsequent comments attributed to the Foreign Minister that suggested that a reference to a two-state solution in that letter was a mistake, the Spokesman said that the United Nations, while aware of the press reports, had only received the letter, and no other official communications.

LEBANON BOMB PROBE CHIEF STILL HARD AT WORK: Asked about the work of Serge Brammertzs

inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Spokesman said that even though Brammertz may not have a high media profile this should not be seen as indication that he is not hard at work on his investigation. As for the next report, the Spokesman said, that schedule is dictated by relevant Security Council resolutions.

VIOLENCE AGAINST IRAQI INTELLECTUALS CONDEMNED: Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), today

condemned a campaign of violence waged against Iraqi academics and intellectuals and called for international solidarity and mobilization in favour of education and educators in the country. He said, The right to education is a basic human right and the persecution of the custodians of knowledge and skills is an unacceptable attack against a whole society.

UNICEF CALLS FOR QUICKER ELIMINATION OF SCHOOL FEES: A UNICEF education specialist today said progress towards the goal of free universal primary education is stalled, and needs to be accelerated and quickly scaled up. In remarks prepared for delivery at a three-day conference in Nairobi, aimed at coming up with ways to eliminate the fees, a UNESCO official said more than 115 million primary school aged children are out of school, in Africa. Universal free primary education by 2015 is one of the millennium development goals set by last years UN summit meeting.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 100178

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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