United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-10-30

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, October 30, 2006

ANNAN CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF D.R. CONGO

ON PEACEFUL PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly congratulates the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on their peaceful participation in the second round of the presidential election and the elections for the provincial assemblies, which were held on 29 October.

The Secretary-General is pleased to note that voters were able to cast their ballots in a generally free and calm environment, although he is concerned at the violent incidents that took place in Equateur province and near Bunia in Ituri district.

He commends the tireless efforts of the Independent Electoral Commission in ensuring that the electoral process continues to be credible and transparent.

He notes that voting, which was disrupted in the town of Bumba in Equateur, will be completed on 31 October.

The Secretary-General also welcomes the signing on 29 October, by representatives of President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, of a declaration of intent regarding their conduct following the elections, which is an important step in ensuring that the electoral process is successfully concluded in calm and secure conditions.

The Secretary-General calls on the presidential candidates and their supporters to exercise patience and restraint and to take all possible steps to prevent any acts of violence while waiting for the results to be announced by the Independent Electoral Commission.

The UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) says that provisional results could be available in some ten days.

MONUC deplores the shooting deaths by Congolese soldiers of two electoral workers in the town of Fataki, an incident which prompted an angry mob to ransack some 37 polling stations, out of 55,000 polling stations. MONUC says voting in that region will resume on Tuesday.

ANNAN IS CONCERNED OVER ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE IN BANGLADESH

The Secretary-General is concerned by the violence in Bangladesh related to the forthcoming national elections and the transitional arrangements.

He hopes that the efforts of President Iajuddin Ahmed, who has assumed additional responsibilities as head of the Caretaker Government, to consult with the main political parties to find a way out of the present crisis will bring about the desired results.

The Secretary-General appeals to the major political forces in Bangladesh to work together to find a common ground for the elections acting in the interest of democracy and the welfare of the entire nation.

UNITED NATIONS TO ASSESS SECURITY CONCERNS NEAR DARFUR

IN CHAD, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations will send an assessment mission to Chad and the Central African Republic to look at ways in which the United Nations can help address security concerns there as soon as security conditions permit.

The assessment mission comes at the request of the Security Council, and it will pay particular attention to the issue of protection for internally displaced people and refugees.

Speaking outside the Security Council last Friday, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said the UN is very concerned by the deteriorating situation in Chad, with the growing number of refugees and internally displaced people.

Meanwhile, the UN Mission in Sudan says it has received reports that several villages around Jebel Moon in

West Darfur and the Chadian border were allegedly attacked yesterday by 1,200 Janjaweed militias, as well as other militias. The Mission has also received reports of a government military offensive against a rebel group in Kulbus, also in West Darfur.

ANNAN URGES MEMBER STATES TO ACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES REFORM

The Secretary-General today addressed the General Assemblys Fifth Committee about UN human resources management reform. Speaking about his proposals, which are drawn from his March report, Investing in the United Nations: For a Stronger Organisation Worldwide," the Secretary-General said that the UNs staff is its greatest asset and must be treated as such.

Pointing out that more than half of the UNs 30,000 staff now serve in field locations, he noted that UN missions are often handicapped by high vacancy rates and destabilizing levels of staff turnover.

The Secretary-General said his proposals reflect extensive consultations with staff and managers, as well as his own personal experiences during more than 40 years as a UN staffer. He added that anyone else who did a similarly thorough analysis of UN human resources would probably arrive at the same findings and remedies as he did.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO TAKE UP LEBANON THIS AFTERNOON

Terje Roed-Larsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Implementation of Resolution 1559, concerning the withdrawal of foreign forces from

Lebanon, will brief the Security Council on its consultations this afternoon, on the Secretary-Generals latest report on that resolution.

In the report, the Secretary-General says that the implementation of resolution 1559 has made considerable progress over the past two years, although he warns that in the past six months, Lebanon has suffered a severe setback and confronts challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of the civil war.

He says that, in the months ahead, Lebanon will have to engage again in a truly national and inclusive dialogue. He expressed his deep hope that the opportunities born from conflict will be seized upon and that Lebanon may once again rise from the ashes of destruction and war.

Regarding the Shaba Farms area, the Secretary-General says he is working expeditiously to establish in full the cartographic, legal and political implications of the approach suggested in Lebanons recent seven-point plan, adding that he will revert to the Security Council.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization and UNICEF are supporting a new polio immunization campaign in Lebanon. The campaign was launched today and it is targeting children.

POST-CONFLICT ASSESSMENT IN LEBANON INCLUDES UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE

Asked whether the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) was studying the use of depleted uranium in Lebanon, the Spokeswoman said that UNEP is conducting a standard post-conflict assessment of the environment in Lebanon, which includes looking into the effects of exploded ordnance.

Routinely, she said, as part of that assessment, UNEP will check for depleted uranium use.

UNEP says it has completed its work on the ground, and the samples taken from Lebanon are now undergoing laboratory testing, Okabe said. Although UNEP does not have any results yet, it is expected to report on its findings sometime in December.

SECURITY COUNCIL HOLDS MEETING ON CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The Security Council this morning held a private meeting on the Central African Republic, with that countrys Prime Minister in attendance.

Gen. Lamine Cissé, the Secretary-Generals Representative for the Central African Republic, briefed the Council on the work of the

UN Peace-building Office in the country.

U.N.-TRAINED PROSECUTORIAL ASSISTANTS

TO HELP CLEAR COURT CASE BACKLOG IN LIBERIA

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) says that it has made a dozen UN-trained prosecutorial assistants available to serve as state prosecutors and help clear a substantial backlog of court cases, including cases of rape and armed robbery.

UNMIL adds that Liberias Solicitor-General has commended the UNs sponsorship of a recent workshop for state prosecutors from the 16 political sub-divisions of Liberia under the theme Understanding Court Room Practice and Procedure. The four-day workshop ended on 27 October.

POLITICAL AGREEMENT IN BURUNDI HELPED OVERALL SECURITY SITUATION

Available today is the

Secretary-General's latest report on the UN Operation in Burundi. In it, the Secretary-General says that the 7 September agreement between the Government and the Palipehutu-Forces Nationales de Liberation marked a significant milestone, which has contributed to an overall improvement of the security situation.

While the UN-led disarmament process is progressing well, the Secretary-General reports that allegations of a coup plot and the resignation of the Second Vice-President have heightened internal tensions.

Meanwhile, the drawdown of the UN operation is on schedule, especially with regard to the withdrawal of the military component.

ANNAN ADDRESED YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

AND HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR COOPERATION

The Secretary-General yesterday addressed the UN Global Youth Leadership Summit, telling them that the young leaders of tomorrow will need to work with governments, the private sector and civil society to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals will be turned into reality.

He warned that any society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline.

ANNAN TO DELIVER ANNUAL OLIVER TAMBO LECTURE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Secretary-General will be in Washington later today where he is scheduled to deliver around 6 p.m. the annual Oliver Tambo lecture at Georgetown University in the evening.

He is expected to say that Africa is in a defining struggle for its destiny. With unprecedented vigor and resolve, its people are addressing the gravest challenges confronting their continent. Today, they need the international community to work with them, and invest in them, to ensure the better future that can and must be Africas.

Tuesday morning he will deliver remarks at a two-day conference which will assess his legacy in Africa, as Secretary-General. The conference, organized by the African Studies Programme at Georgetown University, will bring together academics and Africa specialists.

The Secretary-General will be back in New York on Tuesday afternoon.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would meet with U.S. officials during his Washington trip, the Spokeswoman said that this was not an official visit, and was devoted to delivering the lecture and attending the conference.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS REPORT OF ATOMIC AGENCY

According to the General Assembly Spokeswoman, the General Assembly is today considering the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] and will take action on draft resolution (A/61/L.9). There are some 26 speakers inscribed. Opening the meeting, the acting President of the Assembly and Permanent Representative of Kuwait, Ambassador Abdullah Ahmed Mohamed Al-Murad, stated that the award of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to the IAEA and its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, was an affirmation of their efforts to ensure that nuclear energy is used only for peaceful purposes. The latest developments in the area of nuclear proliferation that have attracted international attention, Ambassador Al-Murad added, are an indication of why all Member States must continue to support the work of the IAEA.

In his opening statement the Director-General of the IAEA Mohammed ElBaradei noted that next year would mark the 50th anniversary of his organization. In this connection, he expressed the hope that as the IAEA commemorated this anniversary, its goal would be to broaden awareness of the scope of the IAEAs mission and activities and to provide forums to review the challenges and opportunities.

In a wide ranging statement the Director-General touched on many issues from the growing global expectations for nuclear power, and the important role of energy for development; the evolution of the IAEAs technical cooperation programme; its assistance in mitigating cancer through work in the field of radio therapy, to maintaining the safety and security of nuclear activities around the world. He spoke of the challenges posed by the nuclear non-proliferation and arms control regime and appealed to the 36 non-nuclear weapon States parties to the NPT, who have not yet fulfilled their obligation to bring into force safeguard agreements with the Agency, to do so.

He spoke about the implementation of safeguards in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, stressing that the organization remained ready to work with the DPRK and with all others towards a solution that addressed the needs of the international community to ensure that all nuclear activities in the DPRK are exclusively for peaceful purposes; while addressing the security and other concerns of the DPRK.

On Iran, he expressed the hope that through dialogue between Iran, its European and other partners, conditions will be created to engage in what he described as, a long overdue negotiation to achieve a comprehensive settlement that on one hand would supplement IAEA verification efforts in addressing international concerns about the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear programme, while on the other, addressing Irans security and other concerns.

The President of the General Assembly Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa is on official mission combined with a personal visit, for a week. Yesterday evening she addressed the Sixth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies in Doha, Qatar, noting that democracy is widely supported because it provides a framework to promote human development and human rights. She also called on the conference to recognize that democracy was a process which took time and this was why she noted, continued support for emerging democracies was important. She added, all of us recognize that there is no single model for democracy... it cannot be imported. Each country has its own unique path based in history and its political system.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN MET WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVES OVER THE WEEKEND: Asked whether the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, was meeting the

Secretary-General today, the Spokeswoman said they were not, as the Secretary-General was traveling soon. She noted that they would have met over Friday and the weekend, when the Secretary-General chaired the meeting of the Chief Executives Board.

CASH GRANT PROVIDED FOR FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS IN GUINEA: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released a $55,000 emergency cash grant for Guinea to help with flood relief efforts in the western part of the country. That money will bolster the work of to the World Health Organization and World Food Programme. For its part, UNICEF has prepositioned goods, including soap, in a hard-hit town and is distributing water treatment supplies.

UPWARD TREND DETECTED IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: The secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has

released data which shows that there has been an upward trend in greenhouse gas emissions of industrialized countries between 2000 and 2004.

GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DATA TO BE BETTER SHARED: The UN Environment Programme has

joined forces with Yale University and leading science publishers to launch a new collaborative initiative to make global scientific research in the environmental sciences available online to researchers and policy makers in the developing world. It is aimed at helping reduce great disparities in scientific capital between developed and developing nations, and you can find more on that in a press release upstairs.

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF HUNGRY PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING WORLD: According to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, there are 820 million hungry people in developing countries today, which is more than there were in 1996 when the World Food Summit promised to reduce the number of undernourished people.

INCREASE IN NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED YOUTH OVER PAST DECADE: A new

report by the International Labour Organization highlights the rise in the number of unemployed youth aged 15 to 24, over the past decade. The report says that the number of young unemployed increased from 74 million in 1995 to 85 million in 2005.

CONTACTS UNDERWAY FOR TRANSITION TO NEW SECRETARY-GENERAL: Asked about the transition to a new Secretary-General, the Spokeswoman said that contacts were being made between Secretary-General Kofi Annans team and representatives of

Secretary-General-designate Ban Ki-moon.

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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