United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-02-01

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

BY JOHN MILLS

ACTING DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, February 1, 2000

KOFI ANNAN EN ROUTE TO NEW YORK

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is en route to New York from Geneva, where he had presided over proximity talks on Cyprus on Monday.

The talks continued in Geneva today. They are being chaired by the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.

UN FORCE TAKES CONTROL OF SECTOR IN EAST TIMOR

Today, in Bacau, East Timor, Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, the Commander of the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET), formally transferred the command of Sector East to Gen. Jaime de los Santos, Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. That transfer was the first from INTERFET to the UN Mission.

Sector East command has battalions from Thailand, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, comprising a total of about 2,100 troops.

After the INTERFET flag was lowered and the UN flag raised, Cosgrove handed over command to Santos, saying, "I give them to him with pride. I do so with nostalgia and great honor."

As the ceremony was completed, the soldiers exchanged their INTERFET hats for UN blue berets. The transition was largely a "re-hatting" exercise, in which 5,554 INTERFET soldiers come under UN authority in the coming weeks. UNTAET is projected to have 8,361 troops.

The planned hand-over process will be gradual, and move from the east to west, ending by February 28.

MORE DEPARTURES FROM CHECHNYA; UN-LED MISSION ASSESSING NEEDS

As its 27th convoy arrived in Nazran, Ingushetia, this morning, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that 2,100 people crossed from Chechnya into Ingushetia over the past 24 hours.

The new arrivals said people, particularly the elderly and infirm who cannot leave or who refuse to do so, continue to spend nearly all of their time in dark cellars, with little or no food or medicine. Various estimates say there could be up to 20,000 civilians remaining in Grozny.

According to the Chechens, ethnic Russians who remain in Chechnya, particularly in Grozny, are now living in groups of several people in order to share their meager resources. They too are in need assistance, the new arrivals were quoted by the UNHCR as saying in its briefing in Geneva.

Meanwhile, a multi-agency team comprising UN agencies, a Russian organization and international non-governmental organizations traveled to Nazran in Ingushetia today as part of a five-day mission to review the humanitarian situation and determine future assistance requirements. Their findings will form the basis of a new six-month humanitarian appeal for the region. The current appeal expires at the end of the month.

The mission will also gather information on the humanitarian situation inside Chechnya. The Secretary-General had noted in Moscow last Friday that he had indicated when the situation permits, the United Nations would want to operate on the Chechen side of the border as well.

Asked about allegations of human rights violations in Chechnya, the Spokesman reiterated the Secretary-General's concerns about the need to protect the rights of civilians there, including the need for proportionality in the response to terrorism.

He added that UNHCR has issued an appeal for $16.2 million for a three-month emergency period, and about $14.3 million has been raised.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HOLD BILATERAL MEETINGS

There is no meeting of the Security Council today. Instead, the new President of the Council for the month of February, Ambassador Arnaldo Manuel Listre of Argentina, will hold bilateral meetings with other Council members.

The first meeting of the Council is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, when it will discuss the program of work for February.

UN FOOD AGENCY POSTPONES COLOMBIA PROGRAM FOR LACK OF FUNDS

The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that it has had to postpone a planned relief program for internally displaced people in Colombia because it has not received any funding for the $9 million, two-year operation, which was scheduled to begin today.

The Spokesman said that so far, WFP has received no funding at all -- "zero dollars and zero cents."

WFP will renew its appeal to donors for financing to give food assistance to 227,000 people who have fled their homes because of the internal armed conflict. More than 1.5 million Colombians have been internally displaced over the past 15 years, more than in any other part of the Western Hemisphere.

FIFTY-TWO UN MEMBER STATES FALL INTO ARREARS

The latest report on contributions to the UN budget indicates that approximately $3.47 billion is owed by Member States: approximately $1.3 billion for the regular budget, around $2.1 billion for the peacekeeping budget, and around $31.8 million for the two International Tribunals. The final number of Member States that met their Charter obligation by making their full payment to the UN regular budget by January 31 stands at 43

The General Assembly today released a list of the countries that are currently under Article 19, listing 52 Member States that have accumulated arrears that equal or exceed their budget assessments for the previous two years. Except for seven Member States that received special exemptions from the General Assembly, the countries on the list will not be permitted to vote in the General Assembly until their arrears fall below the two-year level. In response to questions, the Spokesman noted that the number of Member States who had lost voting rights under Article 19 was higher than in recent years.

In response to a question on plans by the United States to reduce its UN regular and peacekeeping budget assessments, the Spokesman said that "the burden of persuasion rests with the United States."

UN PEACEKEEPERS WITHDRAW FROM CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Wednesday in the Central African Republic, the UN Mission will begin the final phase for its withdrawal, which should be completed by mid-month. As the Secretary-General said in his last report, the Mission, established in April 1998, "has provided the people and Government of the Central African Republic with much needed stability and breathing space after a period of serious upheaval." The Mission also helped to conduct the legislative and presidential elections, with a new Government now in place.

The United Nations will continue its presence in the country with a Peace-building Support Office, which will support the Government's effort to consolidate peace and national reconciliation.

ENERGY WORKSHOP OPENS AT UN HEADQUARTERS

A two-day series of educational sessions on global energy issues began this morning, as Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph Connor greeted the gathering of experts and said that the United Nations is committed to pushing for environmentally responsible energy policies.

This afternoon, workshops will be held on deregulation, energy efficiency and global competitiveness, and the two-day session will conclude Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. with a presentation by "futurist" David Pearce Snyder.

Click here for further information.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The new President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Claude Jorda, arrived this morning for his first visit to New York. During his four-day visit he is scheduled to meet with UN officials and delegates. Jorda, a French national, was elected President of the Tribunal last November.

Danilo Turk began his duties today as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, with responsibilities for the Americas and Europe, Asia and the Pacific, the Division for Palestinian Rights and the De-colonization Unit. He said he was honored to be part of the UN Secretariat and looked forward to the learning process in his new post. Turk previously served as Slovenia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of the Security Council for 1998-99. Turk was appointed to his position to replace de Soto, who is taking up new duties as the Special Adviser on Cyprus and eventual Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Cyprus.

The weekly update on the "oil-for-food" programme, to be issued later today, shows that during the week ending last Friday, Iraq exported 9.8 million barrels of crude oil, bringing the total for Phase VII to 77.1 million barrels, for an estimated revenue of $1,812 million. In Phases IV through VI, the Office of the Iraq Programme has received 2,043 contracts worth $1.12 billion for the supply of oil industry spare parts and equipment. Of these contracts, the Iraq Sanctions Committee has approved 969, worth $483.2 million, and put 495, worth $288.8 million, on hold.

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article