United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-06-27

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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

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

FLAG OF REPUBLIC OF MONTENEGRO TO BE RAISED WEDNESDAY MORNING

There will be a meeting of the

General Assembly plenary tomorrow morning at 10:30, on the admission of Montenegro as the UNs 192nd Member State.

Following that, the flag of the Republic of Montenegro will be raised in a ceremony to be held outside the Delegates Entrance. The Secretary-General and representatives of the new Member State are expected to be present for that ceremony.

ANNAN TO ATTEND AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

Secretary-General Kofi will be departing this week to the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte dIvoire, Ghana and Germany.

In Banjul, he will attend the African Union Summit. On the margins, he will hold a series of bilateral meetings. He is also expected to host a mini-summit on Côte dIvoire, which will bring together President Laurent Gbagbo and other African leaders.

In Freetown, he will visit the

UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone, as well as the

Special Court for Sierra Leone. He will meet with the President and other officials.

The Secretary-General will also visit the UN Missions in Liberia and

Côte dIvoire, before proceeding to Ghana for a private visit.

While on official visit to Germany, the Secretary-General will meet with officials and ministers of the German government, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Horst Kohler. In Bonn. he will visit the UN offices. While in Germany, he also hopes to attend the World Cup Final.

We expect further stops on this trip.

TWO NEPALESE PEACEKEEPERS RELEASED FROM CAPTIVITY IN D.R. CONGO

The

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo says that two Nepalese peacekeepers who were taken captive along with five others almost a month ago in the Ituri district, in the eastern

Democratic Republic of Congo, have been released."

The Secretary-General was pleased to learn of the release today of the two Nepalese peacekeepers who have been held by Peter Karims FNI militia (Front Nationaliste et Integrationniste) in the Ituri District since 28 May. MONUC continues to maintain contact with those responsible in order to bring about the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining five Nepalese peacekeepers.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO BE BRIEFED ON SUDAN ASSESSMENT MISSION

The

Security Council held consultations this morning to discuss the work of the UN peacekeeping mission in Burundi. They received a briefing from Nureldin Satti, the Secretary-Generals Acting Special Representative for Burundi.

The consultations followed a meeting among the Council members and the countries contributing troops to the Burundi mission.

Then, at 3:30 this afternoon, the Security Council will hear from Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations

Jean Marie Guéhenno about the recent visit by the United Nations-African Union assessment team to Darfur.

The Secretary-General will attend those consultations..

NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED IN TIMOR-LESTE RISES

The number of people registered as

internally displaced persons (IDPs) as the result of violence there has risen past 150,000 according to figures gathered by UN agencies, non-governmental groups, and the government.

The

UN Office in Timor-Leste says the latest figures show more than 79,000 IDPs in the outlying districts and more than 72,000 in makeshift tent camps in the capital Dili up nearly 10,000 over the figures from the beginning of last week.

The

World Food Programme has completed the second round of rations distributions for 53,000 displaced people in Dili.

The

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs has coordinated the delivery of 80 metric tons of food and non-food aid to the island of Atauro off the Dili coast.

And the

UN Childrens Fund says that a mass measles vaccination programme which was suspended last week has resumed.

U.N. ENVOY DISCUSSED U.N. ROLE IN PROMOTING PEACE WITH SOMALI LEADER

The Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia,

Francois Lonseny Fall, had a telephone conversation today with Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the Chairman of the Union of Islamic Courts based in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Fall briefed Sheikh Ahmed on the UNs role in promoting peace and security in Somalia and on UN efforts to encourage dialogue between the Transitional Federal Government and the Union of Islamic Courts.

Fall reported that Sheikh Ahmed expressed a willingness to work with all parties to promote peace in Somalia. He also thanked the UN for the role it has been playing so far, and agreed to meet with Fall in the near future.

Yesterday in Nairobi, Fall held separate meetings with the Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi, and the Speaker of the Parliament, and discussed the latest developments in Somalia.

ANNAN TO MEET WITH IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TODAY

Asked about the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday between the Secretary-General and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki, the Spokesman said it was essentially a continuation of a meeting the two men had in Geneva last week. He said that, at that time, the Foreign Minister had said he would be in New York this week on other business, and the two mutually agreed to meet then.

The Secretary-General, Dujarric said, would continue to encourage Iran to give full consideration to the package of proposals made by the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. The Secretary-General believes that Iran is considering that offer seriously, as he has urged them to do, the Spokesman added.

ANNAN EXPECTS BUDGET CAP TO BE LIFTED

Asked how talks are progressing on the UN budget, the Spokesman noted comments made by the Secretary-General last week, in which he said that he expects the budget cap to be lifted.

Asked whether the Secretary-General is concerned about the fate of the reform package, the Spokesman said he very much hopes that the Member States will continue to work in a spirit of compromise and move forward on the proposals put to them, including those on management reform, procurement and oversight, among other topics.

BUSY WEEK AHEAD FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Spokeswoman for the

President of the General Assembly said that this is going to be a busy week in the

General Assembly, as the President, Jan Eliasson, is aiming for Member States to wrap up work in a number of areas, with maximum tangible results.

This morning the

Fifth Committee held an open meeting where the latest report of the Secretary-General on management reform issues -- on the Independent Audit Advisory Committee was to be presented by the Controller. One additional report, on procurement, is expected later this week.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Fifth Committee will begin intensive informal consultations on management reform issues, facilitated by Morteza Mirmohammad, a delegate from Iran. Yesterday the Chairman of the Fifth Committee circulated a letter from Australia, Japan and the United States, at their request, attaching the text of a draft resolution. This is an informal contribution to the negotiation process and has not been tabled as an official draft resolution.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

STATEMENTS ISSUED ON RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS AND ISRAELI CAPTIVE: Two statements were issued yesterday afternoon. They concern the Secretary-Generals shock and sadness at the gruesome

murder of four Russian diplomats who were taken hostage in Iraq earlier this month, and his call for the safe and immediate

release of a captured Israeli soldier following an attack by Palestinian militants on Sunday.

SPECIAL ADVISOR ON CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT TO VISIT SRI LANKA:

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-Generals

Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, has expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka. In that regard, she has appointed Ambassador Alan Rock of Canada as her Special Advisor. Rock will undertake a field mission to Sri Lanka to get a firsthand look at the situation on the ground.

W.H.O. CONCERNED ABOUT RICKETS AMONG CHILDREN IN GAZA: The

World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned that a significant proportion of children in the Gaza Strip are suffering from rickets, a nutritional disorder caused by vitamin D deficiency. A recent WHO-supported study found that over 4% of all children aged between 6-36 months were suffering from clinical rickets.

NEW YORK MEETING TO BRING TOGETHER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS: A meeting on information security is taking place today and tomorrow in Conference Room Two, at UN Headquarters, with the support of the UNs

Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development. The meeting is bringing together a blend of key decision makers, policy makers, technology experts and administrative officials from the UN diplomatic and administrative communities and from the private and public sectors.

W.H.O. LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON POOL SAFETY: The

World Health Organization (WHO) is launching the world's first-ever international guidelines on how to create safe places to swim and bathe. The guidelines aim to protect people from the risks associated with swimming pools, spas and other recreational bathing areas.

ANNAN TO CONTINUE WORK ON AFRICA PROGRESS PANEL AFTER RETIREMENT: Asked about the work the Secretary-General would do for the Africa Progress Panel, the Spokesman said that Kofi Annan would continue to work on that panel after he leaves his duties as Secretary-General. Dujarric added that the Secretary-General welcomed the initiative but believes that it should not be a replacement for existing UN mechanisms.

WARREN BUFFETS CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION A WELCOME GIFT: Asked about the charitable contribution announced by US businessman Warren Buffett, the Spokesman said it was a tremendously generous and welcome gift, particularly since the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which would receive money, works closely with a number of UN agencies, including the

World Health Organization . He added that the Secretary-General has always encouraged increased partnerships with civil society and the private sector, to provide additional resources for humanitarian and development actions.