United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-06-30

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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 MARIE OKABE

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, June 30, 2006

ANNAN TO ATTEND AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is on his way to Banjul, The Gambia, to attend the

African Union Summit this weekend.

On the margins of the summit, the Secretary-General will hold a series of bilateral meetings. He is also expected to host a mini-summit on Côte dIvoire.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET TODAY ON MIDDLE EAST

The Security Council has scheduled a meeting on the Middle East this afternoon at 3:00.

Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane is expected to briefing on the latest developments.

This morning, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolutions concerning two peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The Council extended the mandate of the

UN Operation in Burundi until the end of December, and also extended until 30 September the authorization allowing some of the troops and military observers in that mission to be redeployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Then, in a separate resolution, the Security Council extended until 30 September the increase in the military and civilian police strength of the

UN Mission in the DRC.

Today is the last day of the Danish Presidency of the Security Council. Starting tomorrow, France assumes the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of July.

U.N. AGENCIES DRAW ATTENTION TO HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES IN GAZA

UN agencies are expressing their concern at the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, at a time when more than half of Gazas power supply has been knocked out, and roads and water pipes have also been damaged by Israeli air strikes. Approximately 130,000 people have been without water for the past few days.

The top priority for the UN agencies is the restoration of the supply of fuel for sanitation pumps in Gaza, at a time when there are only a few days of fuel left if supplies are not resumed.

The agencies say they are also worried about supplies of essential medicines and food, with some medicines already being rationed because of shortages.

The World Food Programme today

said that, because of the random closure of border crossings, it has not been able to get enough food into Gaza. The current supply of wheat flour, the agency says, would only be enough to cover the current caseload of 160,000 people for about 10 days.

Asked about a letter from the Iranian Government to the Secretary-General, asking for a special meeting of the Security Council to address the latest events in the Middle East, the Spokeswoman said she was unable to confirm that the letter has been received. However, she noted, the Council was scheduled to meet this afternoon on that matter.

The Secretary-General, she said, has been monitoring developments and will follow that meeting closely. He has been in contact with both the current President of the Security Council as well as the one for the coming month, she added.

UNITED NATIONS URGES CALM ON START OF CAMPAIGNING IN DRC

Today is the official start of the electoral campaign in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the UN Mission in the DRC is reminding all involved that everything must be done to ensure that the Congolese people cast their votes in a calm, serene and constructive atmosphere. The UN Mission commends the work of the Independent Electoral Commission, and calls for free and fair media access to voting facilities. It also calls on Congolese politicians and political parties to refrain from hate messages, adding that this unique moment should be one of national unity, and not one of national division.

The Secretary-General urges all the political actors to respect the democratic tenets of freedom of expression, assembly and association, and to engage in positive and constructive campaigning in accordance with the code of conduct for political parties. The electoral campaign should be conducted in an atmosphere of calm, tolerance and national reconciliation having the long-term interests of the country in mind. Violence or other disruptions should not be tolerated.

The Secretary-General also welcomes the progress achieved in electoral preparations; he calls on the Government and the Independent Electoral Commission to ensure that the announced date of 30 July, for the holding of the first round of the Presidential elections, and the National Legislative elections is respected.

TIMOR LESTE: U.N. ENVOYS BRIEFED ON PLAN DESIGNED TO RESOLVE CRISIS

The

UN Office in Timor-Leste says that some 3,000 demonstrators supporting former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri descended on Dili Thursday night in 150 trucks and camped overnight in front of the government house.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative in Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, said that the demonstration should be regarded as an exercise of the freedom of assembly and speech.

Meanwhile, Hasegawa and UN Special Envoy Ian Martin continued on Friday their rounds of meetings with government officials in an effort to help find a solution to the violence and political crisis.

Hasegawa and Martin met with Senior Minister Jose Ramos-Horta Friday and were briefed on a plan designed to replace the Prime Minister without dissolving parliament.

The

UN World Food Programme says that it has had to reduced rations of supplementary food it delivers to camps for internally displaced persons, and warns that vital food supplies will be exhausted within two weeks. The food agency had asked for $5.2million in the recent flash appeal, but its received only $2.2 million so far.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES FIRST SESSION

The

Human Rights Council is expected to conclude its inaugural session in Geneva this afternoon. During its two-week session, the Council took a number of

decisions on building the new institution, addressing procedural issues inherited from its predecessor the Commission on Human Rights and considering substantive human rights issues.

The Council labeled the following topics as "pressing human rights issues": the incitement to hatred and violence for reasons of religion or race; the human rights of migrants; the role of human rights defenders; support for the Abuja Agreement on Darfur; and the human rights situation in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine. The Council is expected to adopt a Presidential Statement by consensus drawing attention to each of those issues.

Also during this session, the Human Rights Council adopted the "Universal Periodic Review", which authorizes the Council to review the human rights performance of all States in the UN, starting with its own members. The 47 members also decided to extend the mandates of the special rapporteurs and working groups of the former Commission.

The Council also adopted a resolution requesting the relevant special rapporteurs to report to the next session on Israeli violations in occupied Palestine. And that session will be held in Geneva from 18 September to 6 October.

ICC PROSECUTOR INVITES REBEL LEADER TO THE HAGUE

The Chief Prosecutor of the

International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, today invited Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), and four other LRA commanders to appear before the Court to respond to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity levied against the LRA leadership by the ICC.

This is in response to recent media statements by Joseph Kony denying the charges.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TO BEGIN ANNUAL MEETING MONDAY

The UN's

Economic and Social Council will begin its annual meeting in Geneva on Monday with its high-level segment that will focus on the issue of employment and how countries can generate jobs that will help people work their way out of poverty.

José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, gave a press conference today at the Palais des Nations on the annual substantive session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 3 to 28 July 2006. In this context, the Under-Secretary-General also presented to journalists the report,

World Economic Survey 2006 Diverging Growth and Development, which forms the fundament for the discussions taking place during ECOSOC.