United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-02-26

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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 MICHELE MONTAS

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, February 26, 2007

SERBIA FAILED TO PREVENT GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA,

ACCORDING TO WORLD COURT RULING

In a much-awaited ruling issued earlier today, the International Court of Justice

found that Serbia has not committed genocide under customary international law in a case brought against it by Bosnia. Neither did Serbia conspire to commit genocide, nor did it incite the commission of genocide, the Court found.

In its judgment, which is final, binding and without appeal, the Court did find, however, that Serbia failed to prevent genocide in Srebrenica in July 1995 and that it also violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention by failing to fully co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

The Court pointedly noted that Serbia violated its obligation by failing to transfer Ratko Mladi&#263;, who was indicted for genocide and complicity in genocide, for trial by the ICTY.

Asked if the Secretary-General had any reaction to the ruling by the ICJ, the Spokesperson said that the Judgment was rendered today by the ICJ in the case by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro and that the Secretary-General had taken note of the Judgment and noted that the Court has found Serbia in violation of its obligation under the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide in Srebrenica.

Ban Ki-moon, Montas added, also noted that the decision of the Court, set out in operative paragraph 8 of its Judgment, that Serbia shall immediately take effective steps to ensure full compliance with its obligation under the Genocide Convention to punish acts of genocide under the Convention and to transfer individuals accused of genocide for trial by the ICTY.

WOMENS COMMISSION FOCUSES ON ENDING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GIRLS

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) opened its two-week annual session this morning.

The Deputy Secretary-General applauded the Commissions decision to focus at this session on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child. She also encouraged the Commission to take bold steps to improve the lives of girls everywhere.

Referring to the proposals to strengthen the UNs gender architecture, as presented by the High-level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence, the Deputy Secretary-General said she and the Secretary-General agree wholeheartedly with the Panels suggestion to replace several current structures with one dynamic UN entity focused on gender equality and womens empowerment. Such an entity should mobilize forces of change at the global level, and inspire enhanced results at country level.

She also said she will do all she can to meet the goal of 50/50 gender balance within the United Nations.

DISPLACED SUDANESE RETURN FROM NORTH TO SOUTH SUDAN

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that last week saw the first ever organized returns of internally displaced persons from Northern

Sudan to Southern Sudan.

Reception committees established by the local authorities and communities were in place, and the return operation was reported to have gone smoothly.

The Government, along with the United Nations and partners, plans to assist up to 90,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return from north to south in 2007.

The organized return of IDPs from South Darfur to Southern Sudan, meanwhile, is on hold, while IDPs are being vaccinated against meningitis.

Likewise, organized returns of IDPs from Uganda to Southern Sudan are also on hold due to meningitis in northern Uganda, and prospective returnees are being vaccinated.

SOMALIA: FOOD AGENCY CONCERNED ABOUT HIJACKED SHIP

Speaking earlier today at a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conferences Contact Group on Somalia (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, François Lonseny Fall, called on OIC members to redouble their efforts to promote stability and reconciliation in Somalia.

In his address, Fall urged OIC member states with contacts with the leaders of the Union of Islamic Courts, especially Yemen, to encourage the Islamist leaders to accept Somalia's Transitional Federal Charter and join the national reconciliation process.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) says that it is extremely concerned about the safety of crew members aboard a WFP-contracted vessel that was hijacked off the coast of northeastern Somalia yesterday.

The ship had just delivered 1,800 tons of WFP food aid and equipment from the Food and Agriculture Organization to northern Somalia and was sailing back empty to Kenya. The ship is now reported to be anchored in Somali waters.

According to WFP, such acts of piracy might undermine the delivery of relief food to vulnerable people in Somalia and could further worsen the prevailing precarious humanitarian situation.

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES ANTI-CLUSTER BOMBS INITIATIVE

In a statement issued last Friday on cluster bombs, the Secretary-General was encouraged by the declaration signed on Friday by a group of nations attending the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions. That declaration envisages the conclusion in 2008 of a new agreement banning cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

The Secretary-General also welcomed all progress to reduce and ultimately eliminate the horrendous humanitarian effects of cluster bombs.

OUTER SPACE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS APPROACHING ASTEROID

In response to questions about what the United Nations would do about the asteroid Apophis, which might come uncomfortably close to earth in 2036, the Spokesperson said that a group of astronauts and scientists had asked that the UN assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it.

Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid is low, initial plans for a blueprint on a global response to near-earth asteroids, were presented last week to the UN Outer Space Scientific and Technical Subcommittee in Vienna.

The Subcommittee has completed its latest work session in Vienna, at which it debated the newly established space-system-based disaster management programme, a safety framework for nuclear power sources in outer space and mitigation guidelines for space debris.

Meanwhile, the Subcommittee says it will continue with consideration of near-earth objects due to their scientific and the reported possibility of their collision with earth and the resulting devastating consequences.

The Subcommittee, which ended its work last Friday, is part of the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

PEACEKEEPING CHIEF HIGHLIGHTS REFORM PROPOSALS

Speaking at a Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, today stressed the need to continue in advancing the priorities set out in Peace Operations 2010, and how the Secretary-Generals reform proposals may contribute to this ongoing reform agenda.

He also said that a clearer delineation of functions and lines of responsibility at Headquarters can help ongoing efforts to structure peacekeeping in such a way that benefits performance, efficiency and accountability, here and in the field.

SECRETARY-GENERAL AWAITS LETTER FROM SUDANESE PRESIDENT

Asked for the Secretary-General's reaction on a contention by the Sudanese President Al-Bashir that a proposed phased UN peacekeeping deployment in Darfur amounted to placing Sudan under UN trusteeship and whether or not the United Nations had received a response to Ban Ki-moon's letter to President Bashir on said phased deployment, the Spokesperson declined to comment on the first question.

She said that although Sudanese officials are reported to have said that the letter had gone out to the United Nations, she had no confirmation of its receipt at UN Headquarters.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. HUMANITARIAN OFFICE POSTS DEBATABLE PHOTO: Asked to explain the reason for the posting on a website of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which appeared to depict a billboard of an elephant with a UN logo on its side, hobbled by a U.S. flag wrapped around its front legs, the Spokesperson said that the photo was taken in Liberia several years ago and has been on OCHAs web site for several years. It is, she explained, a photo of a billboard set up by former Liberian President Charles Taylor to convince the Liberian people that sanctions were harming the country, when in fact the sanctions against Liberia were very carefully crafted to avoid harming ordinary people. "OCHA put the picture on its website as a way of taking the opposite view" of Charles Taylor's insinuations, Montas said. Asked why the picture had now been taken down, the spokesperson said that it was removed because of the controversy its long-unnoticed posting appears to now trigger when it was not intended to be perceived as such.

SECRETARY-GENERAL PLANS MIDDLE EAST TRIP IN LATE MARCH: Asked if the Secretary-General planned to visit Lebanon soon, the Spokesperson said that Ban Ki-moon planned to visit the Middle East in late March and that it was yet too early to list down countries he might visit and on which precise dates such visits might take place.

BAN KI-MOON WORKS WITH SAME FACILITATOR OF CAPTURE ISRAELI SOLDERS: Asked if the Ban Ki-moon was in touch and working with the Facilitator appointed by his predecessor to handle negotiations to obtain the release of Israeli soldiers believed to be held by armed groups in Lebanon, Montas said that the Secretary-General was working with the same Facilitator.