United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-06-12

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, June 12, 2006

ANNAN MEETS LEADERS OF NIGERIA AND CAMEROON IN EFFORT TO SOLVE BORDER DISPUTE

The Secretary-General has been meeting with the leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon over the weekend and today, as part of his efforts since 2002 to assist in the implementation of the International Court of Justices ruling on the Cameroon-Nigeria border dispute.

The Secretary-General met with the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, on Sunday evening, and the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, this morning.

It is expected that, following a joint meeting with the two presidents and the Secretary-General today at the Greentree Estate in Manhasset, New York, an agreement will be finalized.

SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION VISITS D.R. CONGO

A delegation from the Security Council is in Kinshasa and yesterday met with officials from the Independent Electoral Commission, the High authority on Media, parliamentarians and local women groups as well as members of the international humanitarian community.

This morning, the delegation met with President Joseph Kabila, and later held separate meetings with the four Vice-Presidents. Afterward, they met with the joint commission on security, which includes both Congolese police and Army representatives as well as military personnel from the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and police advisors for the UN Mission, and is chaired by Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa.

The delegation received an update on the preparations for the July 30 elections and on other issues of concern to the Security Council, including fair access to the media and voting facilities. The delegation took note of the reported rise of acrimonious language in the campaign for the elections.

The delegation is holding a press conference at this moment and Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sabliere, who heads this part of the delegation visit, will be a guest of Radio Okapi.

Asked for an update on UN peacekeepers detained in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Spokesman said the UN was continuing with its efforts to secure their release.

LEBANON BOMB PROBE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS

The Secretary-General on Saturday received from Commissioner Serge Brammertz the fourth report of the International Independent Investigation

Commission investigating the murder last year of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others. The Secretary-General then transmitted the report to the members of the Security Council.

In his letter to the Council transmitting the report, the Secretary-General said that the report highlights the considerable progress made in consolidating the Commissions investigative capacity and organizational structure; in developing its investigative activities; and in adapting its internal procedures to the standards and requirements of a future judicial process, possibly a tribunal of an international character.

The Security Council intends to hear from Commissioner Brammertz in an open meeting, followed by consultations, on Wednesday.

TIMOR-LESTE: U.N. ENVOY CONTINUES TALKS WITH GOVERNMENT LEADERS

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative in

Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, today held a series of meetings with top Timorese leaders to determine how the UN can best respond to the current crisis. Hasegawa met with the Timorese President and Prime Minister, as well as the Speaker of the National Parliament, to seek their views on the requirements for a follow-on UN mission in Timor-Leste.

Also today, Hasegawa welcomed the decision by the Timorese Government to invite the UN to investigate the shooting incidents of April and May, which took many lives.

Asked if the UN would accept the Timorese Governments invitation for the UN to investigate past shooting incidents, the Spokesman said the UN would look at the specifics later. He added that on Tuesday, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy in Timor-Leste, Ian Martin, would be briefing the Security Council on latest developments in that country.

Asked about Security Council involvement in Timor-Leste, the Spokesman said the Security Council would decide in general what the scope of the future UN presence would be. The Secretary-Generals thinking was that the UN presence ought to be increased. The Spokesman said that the next steps were to see what sorts of recommendations Martin would give the Security Council and how the Council would respond.

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES IRAN TO COOPERATE WITH VERIFICATION ACTIVITIES

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting in Vienna today, and has among other items before it a progress report regarding the implementation of safeguards in Iran.

In a

statement to the Board, the Agencys Director-General, Mohamed ElBaradei, says that the report makes it clear that the Agency has not made much progress in resolving outstanding verification issues. He continues to urge Iran to provide the cooperation needed to resolve these issues.

He added that he remains convinced that the way forward lies through dialogue and mutual accommodation among all concerned parties.

KOSOVO: U.N. ENVOY TO RESIGN FROM POST

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, today

announced that he will be leaving his post at the end of June, because of family reasons.

In the statement he gave today, he said he is aware that he will be departing at an important moment in the history of Kosovo. At the same time, however, he is confident that the political process leading towards a status decision is on track.

ANNAN URGES ALL SIDES IN MIDDLE EAST TO EXERCISE RESTRAINT

Asked about the Secretary-Generals recent call for an investigation into the killing on Friday of Palestinian civilians, reportedly by Israeli forces, the Spokesman noted that that call had just been made on Friday. He pointed out that the Israeli Government had expressed its intention to investigate and that the UN would look at what kind of form that investigation would take.

Regarding the violence in Gaza, the Spokesman referred to a statement issued on Friday, which reminded all concerned of their obligations under international humanitarian law to avoid placing civilians in danger, and urged the utmost restraint to avoid further escalation and bloodshed.

Asked if the omission of Qassam rockets from the Secretary-Generals latest statement on Gaza showed a certain one-sidedness, the Spokesman said, No, not at all. He added that, in the past, the Secretary-General and the United Nations had criticized the firing of such rockets. Additionally, in Fridays statement, the Secretary-General had urged all sides to exercise restraint, whatever the form.

U.N. OFFICE TAKES STAND AGAINST CHILD LABOR

With the World Cup now taking place in Germany, the International Labour Organization has issued a symbolical "Red Card" against child labour. This is part of a series of global events, which began last week to mark this years World Day against Child Labor, which is marked today around the world.

In Geneva earlier today, Cameroonian football legend Roger Milla and other leaders in the field of sports, scouting and labour are taking part in an event highlighting the ILO's "Red Card to Child Labour" campaign which, through the partnership with Federation of International Football Association, has reached millions of people around the world since its launch in 2002.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GUANTANAMO DETENTION CENTER SHOULD BE CLOSED: Asked if the Secretary-General had any comments on the recent suicides in Guantanamo, the Spokesman drew attention to past comments by the Secretary-General, which had made clear that the detention facilities at Guantanamo should be closed as soon as possible, as a decision by the United States Government. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and various Special Rapporteurs had also stressed the need for Guantanamo to be closed. The Spokesman added that Arbour was studying the matter of these unfortunate suicides.

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM HEADS TO RUSSIA: Asked about a trip to the Russian Federation by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Dične, the Spokesman referred to a

press release by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which contained details of that visit.

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY AND MONITORING BOARD: Asked about developments regarding oil metering, as they related to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) dealing with Iraq, the Spokesman noted that the IAMB, in the notes from its last meeting, had expressed frustration at the slow pace of oil metering in that country.

CRIMINAL COURT GETS CUSTODY OF BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES SUSPECT: Dragan Zelenovic was brought into the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on Saturday, after nearly ten years on the run. The former Bosnian Serb policeman is indicted for a range of war crimes, including torture and rape, in and around the Bosnian town of Foca in 1992. A date for his initial appearance before the Tribunal will be announced shortly. More details are available in a press release upstairs.

WORLD BOOK CAPITAL CITY CHOSEN: An international jury of experts has just chosen

Amsterdam as World Book Capital City in 2008. Each year, a city is chosen as the World Book Capital City based on an evaluation of how it promotes books and fosters reading. Madrid became the first Capital City in 2001 when UNESCO first initiated the programme.

DRYLANDS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD: A three-day

Future of Drylands conference will be held June 19 in Tunis. The meeting is part of the United Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification 2006.Organized by UNESCO, discussion will focus on research, conservation, policy and sustainable development. According to findings at the UN Earth Summit, soil and plant deterioration have affected 70% of the world's drylands as a result of droughts and mismanagement of land.