United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-06-26

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, June 26, 2006

SMALL ARMS CLAIM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES EACH YEAR

Secretary-General Kofi Annan this morning

addressed the opening of the

UN Small Arms Review Conference, and he warned that tens of thousands of lives are lost each year because of the trade in illicit small arms and light weapons. These weapons may be small, the Secretary-General said, but they cause mass destruction.

He welcomed the progress made in dealing with small arms, with nearly one-third of all States having made efforts to collect weapons from those who are not legally entitled to hold them. Yet important challenges remain, including a need to reach agreement on a realistic and effective approach to end-user certification.

The Secretary-General also stressed that the review conference is not negotiating a global ban on guns, nor does it wish to deny law-abiding citizens their right to bear arms in accordance with national laws. We have his speech upstairs.

Earlier this morning, the Secretary-General received the Million Faces Petition, calling for an international arms trade treaty, from its one-millionth signer, a Kenyan victim of gun violence. The Secretary-General

said he would transmit that call onward to the President of the Review Conference.

The conference opened with the election of the President of the Conference, Prasad Kariyawasam, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

ANNAN CONDEMNS SUICIDE BOMBING IN SRI LANKA

The Secretary-General

condemns todays suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka which killed Major General Parami Kulatunga, the third-highest ranking officer in the Sri Lanka army, and three other people near the capital, Colombo.

He expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families of the bereaved and the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Secretary-General reiterates that no cause can justify such acts of violence. The Secretary-General appeals to the parties to redouble their efforts to resume peace talks under the facilitation of the Norwegian Government.

ANNAN CALLS FOR RELEASE OF ISRAELI SOLDIER

The Secretary-General is alarmed about the recent events in Gaza and Israel, and is following developments closely. He is concerned about the attack that took place yesterday, when Palestinian militants tunneled from Gaza into Israel, and killed two Israeli soldiers and took another hostage. He calls for the safe and immediate release of the captured soldier.

The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise restraint at this grave moment, and to take all possible steps to avoid further escalation and bloodshed.

U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY ARRIVES IN TIMOR-LESTE FOR MEETINGS WITH ALL SIDES

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Timor-Leste, Ian Martin, arrived in Dili today to plan the next stage of United Nations assistance to Timor-Leste.

Martin will meet leaders of all sides of the Timorese political spectrum as well as religious and civic organizations and the UN country team before reporting to the Secretary-General on the make-up of an increased UN mission, should one be approved by the Security Council.

Meanwhile, the head of the

UN Office in Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, has asked political leaders to ensure that their followers restrain themselves from any behaviour that might result in violence, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri today.

On the humanitarian front, the

UN Childrens Fund, the

World Food Programme and the

International Organization for Migration say that food supplies and other support items were sent to the camps despite the disruption of traffic by the demonstrators.

Assessment teams have been sent out to the outlying districts to determine the needs of the displaced persons.

TOP U.N. PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL TO BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL THIS WEEK

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, today welcomed the broad-ranging initiative by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on National Reconciliation in Iraq.

Qazi, in a statement, said that, at a time when violence and sectarian strife continue to mark the loss of life all across Iraq, it is important that the new government has chosen to widen the door for dialogue. All parties should see this as an opportunity for a new beginning and reinvigorate the spirit of national unity to ensure wise governance in the days ahead.

The statement added that the efforts of the Prime Minister should receive the utmost encouragement from national, regional and international forces.

The United Nations is ready to facilitate and assist in the implementation of the issues outlined in the reconciliation project of the Prime Minister, in accordance with its mandate.

U.N. MISSION IN SUDAN ATTENDS FIRST MEETING OF DARFUR JOINT COMMISSION

The

UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) its representatives attended a voluntary Janjaweed disarmament ceremony in Nyala, in

South Darfur, sponsored by the state government there, where some 150 members of the militia surrendered their weapons.

Asked about the partial suspension of UN operations in Darfur, the Spokesman said that the information received from UNMIS today is that any such restrictions had been reversed today. He added that he did not think the ban had any impact on UN operations, given the short time between when the order went out and when it was reversed.

The Spokesman said that the crux of the matter was related to flight manifests and regulations by which the United Nations needs to communicate flight manifests with the Government of Sudan, and to an issue arising over one particular UN flight.

The order, Dujarric said, was only related to activities by the UN Mission in Sudan and not to greater UN humanitarian activities in Darfur.

Asked whether the United Nations had transported a rebel leader, as had been reported, the Spokesman said that the UN Mission had said it would look into its flight manifests.

Asked when the Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations,

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, would brief the

Security Council on Sudan, the Spokesman said that briefing was likely to be on Tuesday afternoon, and added that Guéhenno had been asked to speak to reporters afterward.

DRUG CONSUMPTION IN WESTERN EUROPE RISES TO ALARMING LEVELS

Cocaine consumption in Western Europe is reaching alarming levels, while opium production in Afghanistan could rise again this year despite a welcome decline in 2005, the Executive Director of the

UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa,

said today.

The UN Offices

2006 World Drug Report showed that global opium production fell five percent in 2005 while cocaine production was broadly stable. Seizures of both drugs, especially cocaine, reached record highs.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GLOBAL COMPACT BOARD TO HOLD FIRST MEETING ON WEDNESDAY: The inaugural meeting of the

Global Compact Board, which was appointed by the Secretary-General in April, will take place on Wednesday at UN Headquarters. The meeting itself is not open to the media, but individual board members will be available for media encounters tomorrow, as well as on Wednesday afternoon.