United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-10-05

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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

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, October 5, 2006

COTE DIVOIRE: ANNAN DEPLORES POLITICAL LEADERS INFLAMMATORY REMARKS

The Secretary-General deplores the inflammatory remarks made on 2 October by the President of the Front Populaire Ivoirien, Mr. Affi Nguessan, which contained threats against citizens of other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) living in Côte dIvoire.

The Secretary-General calls on all Ivorian political leaders and their followers to exercise the utmost restraint at this critical juncture, and stresses that those instigating or committing violent acts will be held personally responsible by the international community. He also emphasizes the responsibility of the Ivorian Defence and Security Forces to protect the civilian population, including ECOWAS citizens as well as other foreigners residing in Côte dIvoire.

The Secretary-General urges the Ivorian leaders to pursue dialogue and work with ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations to break the current impasse and agree on new transitional arrangements that should lead to elections.

DARFUR AT A CRITICAL STAGE, ANNAN SAYS

This morning, the Security Council held consultations on

Sudan.

Also, the Secretary-Generals latest report on Darfur, covering the month of August, is available today.

In it, he covers several issues concerning Darfur, ranging from the intensified violence and violations of human rights law to the worsening humanitarian situation.

He says that Darfur is at a critical stage and unless security improves, the world is facing the prospect of having to drastically cut back on an acutely needed humanitarian operation.

He also urges the Government of Sudan to embrace the spirit of recent UN and African Union decisions and give consent to the transition to a UN operation in Darfur.

Meanwhile, from the field, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) says it has received reports that in Muhajariya, South Darfur, about 10,000 people have established a temporary camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) near an African Union camp, as a result of recent fighting in the area.

It has also received reports that armed men abducted three people from the IDP camp at Kalma, and that two people were killed and one person injured during the abduction.

In North Darfur, the Mission has received reports that government troops attacked the village of Malagat, northeast of Kuttum.

In West Darfur, the Mission says it has gotten reports that a government vehicle travelling from Zalengie to Geneina was attacked by four armed men on horseback on the outskirts of Geneina, and one passenger was wounded in the attack.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals meeting today with the Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations, the Spokesman said that during the meeting, the Secretary-General received a letter from Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, responding to a letter sent jointly by the Secretary-General and the African Unions Alpha Oumar Konaré concerning UN support for the African Union Mission in Darfur.

Dujarric said that the letter is being studied, but he characterised it as a positive one, which expresses support for the UN effort to aid the AU Mission.

Asked about a letter being sent by the Sudanese Government to potential troop contributing countries that purportedly discourages support for the UN Mission in Sudan, the Spokesman said that the United Nations continues its planning work for a transition from the AU Mission to a UN Mission in Darfur.

He noted that, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1706, any deployment would have to be done with the consent of the Sudanese Government, which has not been forthcoming. Dujarric said that the Secretary-General is continuing his efforts to secure that consent.

Asked what more the Secretary-General could do, the Spokesman said, We have not reached a dead end. He said that the situation is at a critical stage. The Secretary-General, he said, would continue his contacts with the Sudanese Government to try to alter its position on UN deployment and to assert that there is no military solution.

At the same time, Dujarric encouraged Member States, including those of the League of Arab States and the African Union, to encourage the Government of Sudan to change its stance, and he added that the rebel groups that have not yet signed the peace agreement should be encouraged to do so as well.

Meanwhile, he said, the UNs work on a peacekeeping transition continues, and the United Nations is proceeding, with Sudanese consent, to work on a $22 million package of assistance to the AU Mission.

Asked whether Member States were living up to their promise to uphold a responsibility to protect, the Spokesman said that Member States must live up to their commitments.

Asked about a UN effort to inform the world about Sudan, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General and other UN officials have raised the alarm worldwide on numerous occasions.

NEW FUND TO SUPPORT JUBA PEACE TALKS

Tomorrow the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will launch the $4.8 million proposal for the Juba Initiative Fund.

The Fund, along with financing from the Governments of South Sudan and Uganda, will facilitate the basic necessities of the Juba Peace Talks and support the start-up of the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team.

UN bodies, including OCHA and UNICEF, have staff members providing technical support to the mediation team.

THE GAMBIA: U.N. ENVOY TO BRIEF ANNAN

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to The Gambia, former Nigerian President General Abdusalami Abubakar, is in New York today after a visit to The Gambia where he was the UN official observer at the recent presidential election and provided moral and political guidance to the process.

Gnrl. Abubakar is expected to brief the Secretary-General on his trip tomorrow.

LEBANON: U.N. MISSION CONTRIBUTES TO LOCAL ECONOMY

There is a press release available today describing the effect that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has on that countrys economy.

Over the last three years, UNIFIL spent approximately 60 percent of its budget on procuring from local companies. In the past year alone, approximately 40 million dollars went back into the Lebanese economy.

FINANCIAL REQUESTS CHANNELED TO ANTI-DISEASE FUND

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today

announced that the independently constituted Technical Review Panel has recommended 85 requests for funding, worth a total of $949 million over two years, to the Board of the Global Fund for its consideration. The recommended proposals represent 43 percent of all eligible requests for funding received by the Global Fund for its sixth round of funding.

The Board is expected to approve the recommended proposals at its upcoming meeting in Guatemala City, from 31 October 3 November.

TREATY PUTS IVORY SALES ON HOLD

The UN Environment Programme

says that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has decided not to allow exports of elephant ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to go ahead for the time being.

The sales were agreed in principle in 2002 but they were made conditional on the ability of the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants system to establish up-to-date and comprehensive baseline data on elephant poaching and population levels.

Todays meeting of the CITES Standing Committee determined that this condition has not yet been satisfied and the sales may not go forward.

OPIUM SURGE COULD LEAD TO MORE HEROIN-RELATED DEATHS

The worlds health authorities should prepare for a significant increase in the number of deaths from heroin overdoses following a dramatic surge in opium production in Afghanistan this year, Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, has warned.

In a letter sent to nearly 90 Health Ministers this week, he said past experience showed that a sharp rise in the supply of heroin tended to lead to an increase in the purity of the end-product rather than lower street prices.

HEALTH AGENCY CHALLENGES COUNTRIES TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY

The World Health Organization (WHO) is today

challenging governments around the world to improve air quality in their cities in order to protect people's health. The call comes as WHO unveils its new Air Quality Guidelines, which for the first time, address all regions of the world and provide uniform targets for air quality.

Those targets are far tougher than the national standards currently applied in many parts of the world, and in some cities, would mean reducing current pollution levels by more than three-fold.

WHO says that reducing levels of one particular type of pollutant, known as PM10, could reduce deaths in polluted cities by as much as 15% every year.

U.N. AGENCIES MARK WORLD TEACHERS DAY

The head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koïchiro Matsuura,

marked World Teachers Day today with a message, which said that there could be no viable long-term solution to our education challenges and teacher shortages without investment in training and measures to promote respect for the teaching profession.

That message was also signed by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, and Kemal Dervis, Adminstrator of the UN Development Programme.

FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT TO BRIEF ON PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush, the UNs Special Envoy for the South Asia Earthquake, will brief the press in New York tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. He will be marking the one year anniversary of the South Asia earthquake and will be joined by Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistans State Minister for Economic Affairs and Statistics.

In related news, UNICEF today launched an exhibition of childrens photos in the UNICEF house in New York. The pictures were taken by 160 children from the quake-hit region, and document their lives following last years disaster.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. MAKES ROUTINE THREAT ASSESSMENTS: Asked about a security threat to the United Nations in Geneva, the Spokesman said that the United Nations makes threat assessments on a daily basis and makes arrangements accordingly. He declined further comment, but noted, when pressed, that there had been no evacuation of staff in Geneva.

ANNAN STILL ENCOURAGING TALKS BETWEEN GABON & EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Asked about the Secretary-Generals concerns that the President of Gabon did not show up for a meeting that would have included the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Spokesman noted that the meeting involving those leaders had not been officially announced. The Secretary-General, he added, will continue to work to encourage the parties to resolve that dispute through talks.

ANNANS SUCCESSOR MUST BE OFFICIALLY NAMED BEFORE TRANSITION CAN BE DISCUSSED: Asked about the transition from the Secretary-General to his successor, the Spokesman said that first, the Security Council and the General Assembly need to decide on who that successor will be. The Secretary-General, he said, is pleased that the selection process is moving quickly and will work to ensure a smooth and effective transition.

NEW TOOLKIT TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAUNCHED: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime today launched a toolkit to help Governments, policy-makers, law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) tackle human trafficking more effectively. It contains practical tools for police and other law enforcement officers such as a checklist to help identify trafficking victims as well guidance on interviewing victims and victim protection.

NEXT LECTURE IN ANNANS SERIES TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK: The next lecture in the Secretary-Generals Lecture Series will be held on Wednesday, 11 October, from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m., in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium. Stephen Schlesinger, Director of the New School Universitys World Policy Institute, will speak on the topic: Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations.

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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