United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-07-24

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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

Monday, July 24, 2006

ANNAN TO TRAVEL TO ROME TO ATTEND LEBANON MEETING

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in comments to reporters today, said that he would leave for Rome this afternoon, to attend the international meeting on Lebanon that would take place there starting on Wednesday.

He said that he hoped that a package would emerge from the discussions in Rome that would allow us to take concrete measures to resolve the Lebanon crisis. Among the steps that would be discussed, he added, were a cessation of hostilities, ideas about an international force and the release of the abducted soldiers.

The Secretary-General added, in response to a question, that what is important is to arrive at a set of measures that can be implemented simultaneously, rather than sequentially.

Asked about the status of the team to the Middle East, headed by Vijay Nambiar, the Spokeswoman said that the future of the team has not been decided. She noted that one member of the team, Terje Roed-Larsen, would travel to Rome in his capacity as the Special Envoy for the Implementation of Resolution 1559.

Asked whether Syria and Iran would be represented at the Rome meeting, the Spokeswoman said that would be up to the organizers of the meeting. She noted that the nations participating in the Contact Group for Lebanon would be there.

Asked whether the Secretary-General risked undermining the UNs credibility by highlighting the issue of the Shebaa Farms, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General had answered that question today, in the context of finding long-term solutions to the main issues in the region.

UNITED NATIONS LAUNCHES HUMANITARIAN APPEAL FOR LEBANON

Jan Egeland, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, was in Lebanon today for the

launch of the UN humanitarian

flash appeal for Lebanon, and he will travel to Israel later today.

Speaking to the press in Cyprus over the weekend, Egeland said it is wrong, according to international law, to have disproportionate attack against civilian populations, as is now happening in Lebanon. But it is also wrong and condemnable, he added, to use civilian areas to

Egeland has been on mission in Lebanon over the weekend. On his first day in Beirut, he visited the area of Haret Hreik in the southern Beirut suburbs, where heavy damage has been incurred during the past 12 days of shelling by the IDF, as well as a school in Beirut where hundreds of displaced people from south Lebanon and southern suburbs of Beirut have taken refuge. He also visited a park that has been transformed into a makeshift shelter for the displaced and the Beirut hospital, where he met with Lebanons Minister of Health.

On Sunday, Egeland also met with Lebanons Prime Minister, Fuad Saniora, the countrys Higher Relief Council, and the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri.

Egeland said the United Nations is calling for a cessation of hostilities. If it continues like this there will be more and more civilian casualties, he said. He also said the United Nations was setting up major relief activities but needed access to the different areas.

Also on Sunday, Egeland met with local and international NGOs and civil society organizations, who shared their experiences of what they had seen during the past 12 days of conflict. He concluded the day with meetings with the ambassadors of the five permanent Security Council members and other major donor states.

HEAVY EXCHANGES OF FIRE CONTINUE ALONG BLUE LINE

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that heavy exchanges of fire continued along the length of the Blue Line in the last 24 hours, with somewhat reduced intensity in the eastern sector.

It says that Hezbollah fired rockets from various locations, and the Israeli Defense Force continued its shelling and aerial bombardment. The IDF also maintained its presence on the ground inside Lebanese territory, in the area of Marun Al Ras in the central sector, and somewhat advanced north of the village in the direction of Bint Jubayl.

One unarmed UN military observer, a member of the Observer Group-Lebanon, was seriously wounded by small arms fire in the patrol base in the Marun Al Ras area yesterday afternoon. According to preliminary reports, the fire originated from the Hezbollah side during an exchange with the IDF. He was evacuated by the UN to Israel, and his condition is now reported as stable.

LEBANON: U.N. MISSIONS WORK HAMPERED BY CURRENT CRISIS

The Secretary-Generals latest report on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is available today.

In it, he says that the hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel since 12 July have radically changed the context in which UNIFIL is operating. In the current environment, he says, circumstances conducive to UN peacekeeping do not exist.

He noted that a situation now exists where the Force is restricted from carrying out even its basic activities, such as re-supplying its positions and conducting search and rescue operations.

At the same time, the Government of Lebanon has asked for the Security Council to extend UNIFIL for a further six-month period after its mandate expires at the end of July. The Secretary-General, however, recommends that the Council extend the mandate for one month, to provide the time for the Council to consider all possible options for future arrangements in South Lebanon.

TWO MILLION CHILDREN DIED IN WARS OVER PAST 10 YEARS

The Security Council is holding an open debate on children and armed conflict. Among those briefing this morning were: the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy; Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme Ad Melkert; and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman.

The

meeting is taking place one year after the signing of a landmark Security Council resolution to protect children in conflict. That resolution created a monitoring and reporting mechanism for six types of violations of childrens rights. In her comments to the Council this morning, Coomaaraswamy said that now that the mechanism was in place, we must ensure that concrete measures are taken against violators.

Meanwhile, Melkert said we need to put in place strong policies that make young people active agents for peace. For example, youth could be trained as election observers or peace monitors, he said. For her part, Veneman drew attention to the fact that, over the past 10 years, some 2 million children have died as a result of war.

ANNAN RE-APPOINTS SERGE BRAMMERTZ

AS HEAD OF HARIRI INVESTIGATION

The Secretary-General, after consultation with the State Parties to the Rome Statute and approval by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has re-appointed until December 31, 2006 Serge Brammertz as the Commissioner of the International Independent

Investigation Commission looking into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

He is grateful that the International Criminal Court has agreed to extend Brammertzs leave of absence until that date.

The Secretary-General looks forward to further progress in the Commissions investigation under Brammertzs continued leadership.

HIGH-LEVEL KOSOVO STATUS TALKS HELD IN VIENNA

On Kosovo, high-level status talks between Pristina and Belgrade

took place in Vienna today under the auspices of UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. The two sides were represented by both their Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Although eight rounds of technical talks have already been held, this was the first time that delegations at this level presented to each other their visions of the political future of Kosovo in the presence of the international community. The meeting was also the first formal one between top Serbian and Kosovar leaders since 1999.

A press conference by Ahtisaari and his deputy, Albert Rohan, was held in Vienna.

SUDAN: HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SUFFERS AS SECURITY REMAINS VOLATILE

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) says that the security situation in

Darfur remains volatile, so much so that the UNs access to beneficiaries is less than 80%, a figure well below the rates achieved in 2004.

UNMIS is concerned that the requisite conditions for humanitarian operations inside camps for internally displaced people are being affected.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, is currently in South Darfur as part of a regular visit to the three Darfur states.

He is checking on UN activities in the region and holding meetings with local authorities on the security situation and on the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Asked whether there were any new initiatives to convince the Sudanese Government to agree to a UN force, the Spokeswoman noted that, while he was in Brussels last week, the Secretary-General had met with the Sudanese delegation there, among others, to discuss the issue. The transition from an African Union force to a UN force, she said, is very much at the top of the UNs agenda.

ANNAN AND PHARMACEUTICAL HEADS WORK ON INCREASING

GLOBAL ACCESS TO H.I.V. PREVENTION, TREATMENT, CARE

The Secretary-General is meeting this afternoon with the heads of nine of the world's leading generic and research based pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies working on HIV/AIDS.

It is the first time that research-based, generic and diagnostic pharmaceutical companies working on HIV/AIDS will be coming together in a single meeting. It is also the first time in five years that the Secretary-General will be meeting with pharmaceutical companies to find ways of scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support to all those who need it by 2010, in line with international commitments.

Among the goals of the meeting are to review the industrys progress in recent years in contributing to the global response to AIDS and to discuss how the UN and companies can do more together to expand access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services in low- and middle-income countries.

U.N. VIGILANT BUT NOT OVERLY ANXIOUS

ABOUT UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN D.R. CONGO

In the UNs continued effort to ensure a peaceful run of the 30 July elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in that country, William Lacy Swing, left the capital Kinshasa this morning for the troubled eastern province of Ituri.

Swing, who is traveling to Ituri for the 46th time in connection with the UNs preparations for the elections, has repeatedly noted Ituris key role as a barometer for the stability of the country and its readiness to hold the elections.

Speaking to the press this weekend, Swing said that the United Nations was vigilant but not overly anxious about the security situation, and he welcomed the fact that militias in the east had not disrupted the election process.

Asked about reports that UN vehicles had been stoned in a southern DRC mining town, Okabe noted that there have been incidents of violence, yet she reiterated Swings point about the need to be vigilant without being over-anxious.

Asked what the United Nations is doing concerning such incidents, the Spokeswoman said that the UN Mission is working with all parties on the ground to ensure the smoothest possible election.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N LEGAL OFFICE PUBLISHES BOOK ON MIGRATION TREATIES: Available today is a new publication by the UN Office of Legal Affairs on migration-related treaties. Titled Focus 2006: Crossing Borders, this book is being released ahead of the General Assembly summit to promote signature and ratification at this years Treaty Event, which will take place during the General Debate from 13 to 15 September at Headquarters and will coincide with the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development planned for 14 and 15 September. The book is available online at: untreaty.un.org.

U.S. GOVERNMENT HANDLES ITS OWN APPOINTMENTS: Asked whether U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton should be re-confirmed, the Spokeswoman declined comment, noting that the issue would be addressed by the US Government.

*** Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Margareta Wahlstrom was the guest at the noon briefing. She briefed on the UN humanitarian flash appeal for Lebanon, which was launched today.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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