United Nations Daily Highlights, 07-08-03

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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 FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N.

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, August 3, 2007

SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BARBADOS FOR OFFICIAL VISIT

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Barbados, where he met with Acting Prime Minister Mia Mottley. He was welcomed Thursday at the airport by Foreign Minister Billie Antoinette Miller, with whom he discussed climate change, Haiti, and the issue of drugs and crime in the Caribbean.

When he left Haiti Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General told reporters that he was encouraged at the progress that is being made on a number of fronts.

He said that the UN Mission, MINUSTAH, and the broader UN family are playing a useful role in stabilizing the country. Democratically-elected officials have taken office around the country, and security has much improved.

Yet the Secretary-General underscored that Haiti's development depends on its ability to confront corruption and impunity and to firmly establish the rule of law. The independence of the judiciary is critical to this process, and he called upon members of Parliament to adopt draft bills to move the rule of law process ahead.

And the Secretary-General asserted that he will do everything he can to ensure that the United Nations does not disengage too early, as has happened in the past.

LEBANON SPECIAL TRIBUNAL: MEMBER STATES INVITED TO SUBMIT CANDIDATES FOR JUDGES

Today, the Legal Counsel, Nicolas Michel, is sending a letter on behalf of the Secretary-General inviting Member States to submit names of candidates for consideration as international judges of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by 24 September 2007.

The judges shall be appointed by the Secretary-General upon the recommendation of a selection panel established by him, after he indicates his intentions to the Security Council. The selection panel shall be composed of two judges, currently sitting on or retired from an international tribunal, and the representative of the Secretary-General. The selection Panel will be appointed in due course.

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR LONG-TERM SOLUTION FOR LEBANON

After brief consultations, the Security Council this morning held a formal meeting to adopt a Presidential Statement on Lebanon, in which it urged all concerned parties to cooperate fully with the Security Council and the Secretary-General to achieve a permanent cease-fire and a long-term solution, as envisaged in resolution 1701.

Among other things, the Council expressed grave concern at persistent reports of breaches of the arms embargo along the Lebanon-Syria border, as well as deep concern at the increase in Israeli violations of Lebanese air space. The Council welcomed the recommendations of the Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team and looks forward to their implementation.

ARUSHA MEETING ON DARFUR TO START TONIGHT

In Arusha, Tanzania, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for

Darfur, Jan Eliasson, and his African Union counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, are prepared to begin this evening a meeting with the leading personalities of the movements that have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement. Eliasson said he is hopeful that the meeting, which lasts through Sunday, will produce understandings that will allow for invitations to peace talks on Darfur to be issued by the end of this month.

In a report that is available today, the Secretary-General says that he was encouraged by the meeting convened by the Special Envoys on Darfur in Tripoli last month, and he was appreciative of the initiative taken by Member States in recent months to bring renewed energy and commitment to the efforts to resolve the crisis. He says that, while the situation in Darfur remains very precarious, he is encouraged by the Sudanese Governments agreement to the deployment of the UN-African Union hybrid operation.

Today, Assistant Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute is chairing a troop contributors meeting for the hybrid operation in Darfur here at UN Headquarters. Holl Lute, the acting head of the Department of Field Support, will brief the press next week on the state of play with regards to mission planning.

In response to a question, the Spokesman confirmed that Jan Eliasson, and Salim Ahmed Salim have raised the continued detention of Suleiman Jamous, the humanitarian aid coordinator for the Sudan Liberation Army, with top Sudanese officials, including President Omar al-Bashir. He added that Eliasson was hopeful that the pressure being brought to bear on Sudan over the Jamous case would contribute to the latter's early release.

Asked for an update on the Secretary-General's follow-up to the Security Council's authorization of a force for Darfur, Haq recalled that Ban Ki-moon recently discussed Darfur in telephone conversations several key foreign ministers and with Alpha Oumar Konaré, the Chairman of the African Union Commission.

20 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY SOUTH ASIA FLOODS

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UN agencies are continuing with relief efforts in South Asia, following the worst monsoon rains in years. Flooding has reportedly killed hundreds of people and affected at least 20 million others.

In India, Bangladesh and Nepal, agencies including UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) are providing basic sanitation, safe drinking water, medicine and health services, as well as shelter materials. In Nepal, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Mission are also providing helicopter logistics support. WFP has also launched an emergency humanitarian appeal for $1.5 million to provide food aid to 60,000 people for up to three months in that country.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, UNICEF is providing school supplies for thousands of children and trying to help reopen hundreds of schools in time for the new year, which begins in mid-August. Floods in the wake of cyclone Yemyin in late June washed away more than 200 schools, while many that remain are either under water or being used as shelters. UNICEF notes that the education part of a $38 million UN flash appeal launched two weeks ago remains less than 10% funded.

ISRAELI INCURSION DAMAGES U.N. AGENCYS PROPERTY

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has condemned the incursion into an UNRWA school in southern Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces earlier today, which left the Agencys property damaged.

Local residents report that Israeli soldiers and two tanks entered the compound of the Al Shouka Elementary Coeducational School this morning and arrested two of the guards. The main gate of the school was damaged during the operation. Israeli soldiers then rounded up about fifty other people, about fifteen of whom were brought to the school, where they were held for several hours before being moved elsewhere.

John Ging, Director of the UNRWA office in Gaza, said, This is a violation of our property and we expect the IDF to halt any operation that places in danger our staff and which damages our installations.

U.N. VOICES CONCERN OVER HATE SPEECH IN DR CONGO

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is gravely alarmed at the rising incidence of hate speech at political rallies, in news publications, TV and radio commentaries, especially in Kinshasa and the eastern provinces. Incitement to hatred, xenophobia and repeated references to ethnic or tribal differences threaten to tear apart communities already struggling with the harsh realities of recurrent armed conflict.

Most recently, the Mission notes, a community radio station in Moba, in the Katanga province, began to air false rumors to the indigenous population that Congolese Tutsis were to be resettled by the UN in their region, from refugee camps abroad. This led the people of Moba to ransack the local UN office in a well-orchestrated early-morning assault. Four UN military observers were wounded, and some 21 UN staff had to be evacuated from the region.

To prevent further escalation, the Mission calls on the DRC authorities to investigate those responsible for the rise in hate speech and tribal hatreds and hold them accountable for their acts.

MONUC SUSPENDS FIVE STAFF FOR PROCUREMENT IRREGULARITIES

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has suspended five civilian staff members for procurement irregularities following investigations conducted by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

Upon receipt of the findings of the investigations, the Department of Management (DM) and the Department of Field Support (DFS) dispatched a High-Level Team to the DRC to address the OIOS findings and recommendations, and to advise the UN Mission on an action plan to implement the recommendations for strengthening internal control measures and ensuring continuity in MONUCs procurement activities.

MORE PEOPLE FLEE MOGADISHU, SAYS HUMANITARIAN OFFICE

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says this week has seen some of the worst attack in Mogadishu since the cessation of hostilities in April 2007.

The sporadic violence has led more people to flee the Somali capital. OCHA reports that, in all, 22,000 people were displaced in July compared to 6,300 in June. Following a UN interagency mission this week, OCHA also says that Internally Displaced People living in settlements outside Mogadishu are in dire need of food, clean water and medical assistance.

Meanwhile, UNICEF is calling for the protection of Somali children. It stresses that at least 20 children have died in the past month as a result of the ongoing conflict in Mogadishu. UNICEF adds that the insecurity is affecting its ability to carry out its humanitarian work.

IRAQ: AFTER WEEKS OF APPEALS, PALESTINIAN REFUGEES RECEIVE MEDICAL CARE IN SYRIA

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, reports, that after weeks of appeals for the urgent evacuation from Iraq of seriously ill Palestinians, four of them have been allowed into Syria to receive medical care.

UNHCR stresses that at least 16 other critical Palestinian cases, most of them children, remain in Al Wadeed refugee camp in Iraq. It says it is continuing its search for urgent solution to get these refugees proper care.

Asked if the United Nations would be commemorating the anniversary of the 19 August

2003 terrorist attack on the UN Baghdad headquarters, the Spokesman said that the Organization would be marking the occasion on 17 August.

CASE OF MARBURG FEVER REPORTED IN UGANDA

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that a case of Marburg haemorrhagic fever (MHF) has been confirmed, following the death of a 29-year-old man in Uganda.

The Ministry of Health of Uganda has requested the support of WHO in coordinating international assistance for its outbreak response and containment activities. Case investigations, including extensive contact tracing and contact monitoring, are underway at workplace of the deceased as well as at the health care facilities that cared for him and within his community.

U.N. LAUNCHES CLIMATE CHANGE WEBSITE

Today, the U.N. has launched a website on climate change. It highlights the work of various parts of the U.N. system on this issue, including reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and updates on the latest developments in efforts to reach a new international agreement.

The website is www.un.org/climatechange.

Asked if the United Nations would attend a climate change conference convened by the United States, the Spokesman said that it is the UN's hope that Member States would use the opportunity to take forward the work being done on climate change, to follow up on the Secretary-General's planned 24 September High-level Dialogue on Climate Change.

In response to a further question, Haq said that such efforts could move the discussion forward, with an eye to a fuller debate at the UN-sponsored summit on climate change due to take place in Bali, Indonesia, in December. He noted that the US-proposed meeting would take place a few days after the 24 September meeting at UN Headquarters.

IAEA TO VISIT JAPANESE NUCLEAR PLANT AFFECTED BY EARTHQUAKE

A six member team of international nuclear safety experts, assembled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrives in Japan on Sunday to commence an examination of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, which had been affected by a strong earthquake on July 16.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei

said that the mission, in response to an invitation last week from the Japanese Government, is important for identifying lessons learned that might have implications for the international nuclear safety regime.

The team will conduct a fact finding mission relating to the current conditions at the power plant. Upon completion of its mission the team will report its findings to the Japanese authorities and to the Director General. The team will leave Japan on 11 August.

CERVICAL CANCER MOST COMMON AMONG WOMEN FROM LOW-RESOURCE COUNTRIES

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), has a new report out in the scientific journal The Lancet, in which it says that visual inspection screening can reduce cervical cancer. The study, which was jointly conducted with a group of Indian scientists, found that cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in low-resource countries. 85% of the close to 495 000 cases recorded worldwide are found in developing countries. And some 273 000 people have died in those countries from cervical cancer.

The latest study found that women receiving visual inspection screening were 25% less likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than those who did not and were 35% less likely to die from it. The report also appeals for the creation of screening programs, parallel to immunization programs, especially in the developing world.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. CONTACTS CONCERNING NIGER DELTA AT EXPLORATORY STAGE: Asked to specify what the United Nations was proposing to do to help the Nigerian Government deal with the situation in the Niger Delta, Haq replied that contacts between the parties at this stage was in an exploratory stage. Ban Ki-moon, Haq noted, raised the issue at a meeting with the Nigerian President at Heiligendamm, Germany, during the latest Group of Eight summit. The Secretary-General's Special Advisor, Ibrahim Gambari, was now in contact with Nigerian authorities to explore the matter further.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

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to the Spokesperson's Page

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