United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-04-25

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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

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

ANNAN CONDEMNS SUICIDE BOMBING IN SRI LANKA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan strongly

condemns todays atrocious suicide bombing at a military installation in Colombo that claimed the lives of several army personnel and civilians, and seriously wounded the Head of Sri Lankas army, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka.

He reiterates that no cause can justify such acts of violence and expresses his condolences to the families of the bereaved and the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General is disturbed by the rapidly escalating violence on the island, as seen in a vicious cycle of attacks and retaliations that appears to seriously endanger the fragile peace process.

He would like to again stress that a return to civil war will not resolve outstanding differences between the parties. He calls on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to summon the political will to resume their dialogue under the facilitation of the Norwegian Government.

U.N. OFFICIALS: CURFEW IN NEPAL LIFTED TODAY

The UN Human Rights Office in Nepal reports that the curfew in that country has been lifted today, following King Gyanendras speech last night.

The Human Rights Office had teams traveling throughout the capital, Kathmandu, today, observing the rallies that took place in many locations. There were no clashes reported between security forces and the people holding the rallies. Also, no clashes were reported by UN human rights teams that were observing rallies in the other Nepalese cities and regions.

Also, many detainees held under the Public Security Act were released today. The Nepalese authorities told the UN Human Rights Office that all such detainees would be released, and the Office is monitoring this.

HEAD OF U.N. HARIRI INVESTIGATION MEETS WITH SYRIAN LEADERS

In response to questions on the travels of

Serge Brammertz and his

International Independent Investigation Commission on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Spokesman said Brammertz traveled to Damascus today, where he held two separate meetings: one with President Bashar al-Assad and one with Vice-President Farouk al-Shar'a.

These

meetings had been referred to in the Commissions third report, dated 14 March.

Asked whether Brammertz would conduct any further work in Syria, the Spokesman said he had no further details about his operational work.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON WESTERN SAHARA AND

TAKES ACTION ON DR CONGO, SUDAN

The

Security Council held consultations on the Secretary-Generals latest

report on Western Sahara, which came out on the racks yesterday.

Assistant Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi briefed the Council on the report, as did the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy,

Peter van Walsum. Annabi also briefed the Council on the second round of the legislative elections in Haiti.

[Council members adopted two Presidential Statements and a resolution on Sudan.

The Council voted unanimously on a resolution concerning a European force that would contribute to stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Council President, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, read out a presidential statement condemning the bombings in Egypt, and two press statements on Haiti and Iraq.]

U.N. PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL TO PRESENT SECURITY COUNCIL

WITH OPTIONS ON DARFUR

Asked about UN planning work on

Darfur, the Spokesman said that on Wednesday, the

Department of Peacekeeping Operations was expected to present to the Security Council a number of options on a possible transfer from the current African Union mission in Darfur to a UN peacekeeping force.

Asked whether the Department had dropped the idea of visiting Darfur, the Spokesman pointed to continuing work on planning for a Darfur force and said that the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force would require a prior field assessment visit.

He noted that the earlier denial of access to UN peacekeeping assessment team had not stopped the United Nations from working on and presenting options to the Security Council.

He added, in response to a question on security in Darfur, that security is constantly being assessed and changes are mad accordingly.

Asked whether the Wednesday report was in response to a

Security Council request, the Spokesman said it was. He said it would be an oral report, and also expressed the intention to provide a peacekeeping official to brief reporters afterward.

ANNAN CONDEMNED THE BOMBINGS IN DAHAB, EGYPT

A

statement was issued late Monday, in which the

Secretary-General condemned the targeting of innocent people in the explosions that took place in Dahab, Egypt.

The Secretary-General offered his sincere condolences to the injured, the families of those that have been killed and to the people and Government of Egypt.

ANNAN: HAITI ELECTIONS REPRESENT A CRUCIAL STEP ON PATH TO PEACE

On

Haitis second round of parliamentary elections last week, the

Secretary-General

says that together with the outcome of the Presidential election, Friday's vote represents a crucial step towards placing Haiti firmly on the path to peaceful and stable development.

The Secretary-General also believes that itll be essential for the country's progress that all elements of Haiti's political spectrum and the various branches of Haiti's Government work in a spirit of close cooperation to ensure that this opportunity is fully grasped.

U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY WELCOMES SYRIAN ACCEPTANCE OF REFUGEE GROUP

The

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today

said it was grateful that the Syrian Government had agreed to receive a group of 181 Palestinian refugees stranded at the Iraq-Jordanian border since March 19th.

The group had left Baghdad out of fear for its safety. UNHCR says contacts are underway with all concerned to ensure a smooth transfer of the group to Syria.

The agency said it has not been informed whether other Palestinians would be accepted into Syria.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS FORGOTTEN IN COTE DIVOIRE

Following a one week visit to

Cote dIvoire, the Secretary-Generals Representative for the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons,

Dr Walter Kalin,

says the internally displaced there have largely been forgotten.

Kalin says the country is facing a protection crisis in terms of the human rights of the displaced, and that this was mainly due to the lack of an adequate response to their needs and the lack of knowledge of their rights.

U.N. ENVOY FOR HORN OF AFRICA BEGINS REGIONAL MISSION

The Secretary-Generals Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa,

Kjell Magne Bondevik, arrives in Eritrea tonight to begin a regional mission, which will also include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

Bondevik will be studying the recurrent drought and food insecurity that is threatening the lives of 11 million people and devastating the region.

He will meet with Heads of State and senior Government officials to discuss strategies for strengthening partnerships with the international community to ensure assistance is as effective, timely and efficient as possible. He will also study long-term approaches that will reduce the regions vulnerability to drought.

ANNAN HAD ASKED DENMARK FOR HELP WITH CHARLES TAYLOR TRIAL

Asked whether the

Secretary-General had formally appealed to Denmark for help concerning the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, the Spokesman confirmed press reports that the Secretary-General had written to Denmark regarding assistance after a judgment in the Taylor case.

He said, in response to further questions, that the process of finding such assistance is still underway, but he had no further details to share.

Dujarric added that the

Special Court for Sierra Leone has said that the process by which Taylor is going to trial is still proceeding.

AT LEAST A MILLION CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA

A new report out today from the

UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today says that at least a million children continue to be severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia, and UNICEF does not have adequate resources to respond to their needs.

The report says that between 2.5 and 3.5 million persons are internally displaced in Colombia, and about half of them are children and adolescents.

UNICEF says it has a shortfall of about $1.7 million for its work in Colombia.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

MORE THAN 80 MEMBER STATES HAVE PAID BUDGET ASSESSMENTS: The arrival of checks from Grenada and Mozambique today brings the number of fully paid-up member states to 81. Both countries contributed about $17,000

UNITED NATIONS SEES MAJOR SHIFT TO BIO-ENERGY: Under the pressure of soaring oil prices and growing environmental constraints, momentum is gathering for a major international switch from fossil fuels to renewable bioenergy,

according to the

UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The gradual move away from oil has begun. Over the next 15 to 20 years we may see biofuels providing a full 25% of the worlds energy needs, Alexander Müller, the new Assistant Director-General for the Sustainable Development Department of FAO.

NEW MALARIA TREATMENT INTRODUCED IN SOMALIA: A new, effective treatment has been introduced in Somalia to curb the incidence of malaria, the

UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) said today. The new treatment is a combination of two drugs, Artesunate and Sulfadoxine- Pyramethamine. Since January UNICEF has been training health workers in the country on malaria treatment using the combination to replace drugs to which there is high resistance.

ANNANS TRAVEL PLANS TO BE ANNOUNCED WHEN APPROPRIATE: Asked whether the Secretary-General has further travels planned, the Spokesman said that he has extensive travel plans which will be announced when appropriate.

NO FURTHER DETAILS ON MAN SENTENCED OVER BOMBING OF U.N. OFFICE IN IRAQ: Asked about the person seized in Iraq for the 19 August 2003

bombing of the UN compound, the Spokesman said that the United Nations wants further details about the person and his confession. He characterized the information received so far as confusing.

MORE DETAILS ON QAZI REVIEW WHEN FULL INVESTIGATION REPORT IS RELEASED: Asked if the Spokesman would retract a statement in defense of

Ashraf Qazi, the head of the

UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, given the lack of comment by the

Office for Internal Oversight Service (OIOS), the Spokesman said he would not. He added that a statement could be expected once the full OIOS report comes out.