United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-08-07

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

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOON BRIEFING
BY MANOEL DE ALMEIDA E SILVA
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

UN FORCE DEPLOYED AT 17 NEW POSITIONS IN LEBANON

• This morning, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed in 17 new positions along the withdrawal line and in southern Lebanon, after having commenced its expanded deployment in that area on Saturday morning.

• On Sunday, UN Force Commander Maj. Gen. Seth Kofi Obeng flew over the newly-established positions with his Lebanese counterpart. The UN peacekeeping force intends to deploy into 11 additional positions in the coming days, and will continue to coordinate its deployment with the Lebanese authorities.

• The deployment of about 1,000 Lebanese security forces to the region is also expected to take place in the coming days.

• The United Nations voiced its concern today with the relevant authorities following a shooting incident at the Fatima Gate near the border, in which at least three Lebanese civilians were reported to have been wounded by gunfire from the Israeli side. This followed an incident in which some Lebanese reportedly threw stones and "Molotov cocktails" at Israeli soldiers.

• The United Nations has repeatedly expressed its concern about the stone-throwing activities and the potential for escalation with the Lebanese authorities and hope that such incidents can be halted.

SEVEN LOCAL MINE WORKERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN

• The United Nations is concerned by reports that seven Afghan men who worked for a demining agency that was implementing UN projects were killed, and eight others injured, in an ambush in Herat, in western Afghanistan, on Saturday.

• The 15 people all worked for OMAR, a non-governmental demining agency that worked on mine clearance projects under the umbrella of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. At this time, it is not known why they were attacked, or by whom.

• They were shot by unknown gunmen when their vehicles were stopped at a pass between Herat and Baghdis provinces.

• The United Nations is trying to clarify the details of the attack, which remain murky.

• There are about 5,000 Afghans throughout the country who work to implement UN mine action projects.

UN PEACEKEEPERS RESTORE CALM AFTER SIERRA LEONE SHOOTING

• Although most of Sierra Leone today is reported as calm, there was tension reported overnight in the capital, Freetown, where one Sierra Leone Army soldier was shot dead on Sunday night while investigating a shooting incident.

• UN peacekeepers rushed to the area of the killing and brought the situation under control. Two Sierra Leone Army recruits and a civilian technician were arrested following the incident, and a further investigation is underway.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON ETHIOPIA, ERITREA DELAYED

• There is no meeting of the Security Council scheduled today. Also, the open Council meeting that had been scheduled for Tuesday on Ethiopia and Eritrea has been postponed until later in the week.

• The Secretary-General's next report to the Council on Ethiopia and Eritrea, which will detail plans for a UN presence there, is still being finalized and is expected to go to the Council in the next few days.

• The members of the Council agreed last Friday to hold a meeting of the Council members' heads of state on September 7, to discuss the Security Council's role in maintaining peace and stability, particularly in Africa.

• Also on Friday, Council President Hasmy Agam of Malaysia, in a statement to the press, noted the Council's "profound condolences" to the family of Corporal Miah Mohammed Abdul Aziz, a Bangladeshi peacekeeper who died last week in East Timor.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY MONTENEGRO ARRESTS

• The Spokesman noted that he had issued a statement on Friday evening which noted the Secretary-General's concerns about the detention in Montenegro of two British members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who were seconded to the UN Mission in Kosovo.

• The Secretary-General noted that the seconded officials, as members of the UN Mission, are entitled to the privileges and immunities of UN staff members, and he demanded immediate access by UN officials to the staff members. He also expressed concern at the detention of two Canadian nationals in the same incident.

• There has been no change in the condition of the detained officials reported over the weekend.

HUMAN RIGHTS HIGH COMMISSIONER ENDS EAST TIMOR VISIT

• The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, left East Timor today, after a three-day visit. Speaking at a press conference in Dili before her departure to Jakarta, Robinson said that the international community has a responsibility to ensure that the perpetrators of last year's violence in the country do not escape justice.

• "The most important thing is to bring perpetrators to justice," she said, adding that such a task could be done either by courts in Indonesia or East Timor or, if necessary, by an international tribunal.

• Earlier in the day, she had delivered a keynote speech at a human rights workshop, stressing that the process of nation-building must be based on human rights principles.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• In response to a question, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General's first report to the General Assembly on the UN International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti (MICAH), which would cover events since the Mission's creation in March until mid-July, would be issued later this week.

• For the week ending August 4, the Office of the Iraq Programme reported that Iraq exported 14.9 million barrels exported at an estimated value of $353 million. Since beginning of Phase VIII of the "oil-for-food" program, Iraq has now exported 106.8 million barrels of oil for an estimated revenue of about $2.56 billion.

• In response to a question on security in Kosovo, the Spokesman noted after the briefing that the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has planned to establish a cell to examine political killings and violence. The cell would include members of the office of Special Representative Bernard Kouchner, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), UNMIK police and the Kosovo Force (KFOR).

• Saudi Arabia has become the 106^th Member State to pay its dues in full to the UN regular budget for the year 2000 by paying just over $5.9 million.

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