United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-08-08

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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

ANNAN APPOINTS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOUTHERN LEBANON

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to appoint Rolf Knuttson as his Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon. That appointment is for six months, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.

• Knuttson's tasks will include coordinating UN activities in southern Lebanon and day-to-day responsibility for diplomatic and political liaison with the Lebanese Government on the implementation of relevant resolutions. He will maintain an office and small staff in Beirut. He will work in close cooperation with the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Terje Roed Larsen.

• Knuttson currently has been working as Director of Political Affairs in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, and as Deputy to the UN Chief of Staff. He has worked for the United Nations since 1969, including peacekeeping assignments in the Middle East, Honduras and Western Sahara. He is Swedish.

• As of today, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has deployed some 400 troops to 17 new positions in southern Lebanon, nine of which are on the withdrawal line. UNIFIL intends to place troops at 10 to 11 more points in the next few days.

• The situation on the ground is described as calm.

UN STAFF MEMBER CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN HAITI SHOOTING

• An international staff member of the UN International Civilian Support Mission to Haiti (MICAH) is currently in very critical condition in a hospital in Miami after being shot in the head last night in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

• The staff member, Garfield Lyle of Guyana, was evacuated this morning to Miami, where he is receiving medical attention at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Arrangements are being made to transport his wife and one of his children to Miami.

• This is the first such shooting incident to involve a staff member of MICAH. In recent days, UN officials have expressed their concern at the alarming law and order situation in Haiti.

SECRETARY-GENERAL REGRETS ATTACK NEAR UN LOCATION IN SUDAN

• The Secretary-General, in a statement read by the Spokesman, expressed his deep concern over the security of humanitarian personnel and facilities belonging to Operation Lifeline Sudan. He was alarmed at the dropping of some 18 bombs on Monday near UN-based facilities in Mapel, in southern Sudan. One UN aircraft that had been cleared for flight by the Sudanese Government was on the airstrip at Mapel at the time of the bombing.

• The Secretary-General regretted that the latest incident took place despite assurances from the Sudanese Government that bombings of locations being used by the United Nations and Operation Lifeline Sudan would not recur, following earlier bombing incidents in late July.

• In light of these developments, all Operation Lifeline Sudan flights have been suspended temporarily, pending a security assessment. The Secretary-General and humanitarian agencies are extremely concerned at the impact the suspension may have on people who need relief aid.

ANNAN EXTENDS CONDOLENCES FOR MURDERED AFGHAN MINE WORKERS

• The Secretary-General, in a statement issued by the Spokesman, expressed his sorrow at the ambush and murder of seven Afghan relief workers who had been traveling to Herat in western Afghanistan on August 5. The relief workers, who belonged to the non-governmental organization OMAR, were part of the UN-supported mine action program in Afghanistan.

• The Secretary-General extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and called on all parties to take immediate measures to apprehend those responsible for the killings and bring them to justice.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS DR OF CONGO ON WEDNESDAY

• There is no Security Council meeting scheduled for today. The next meeting of the Council is planned for Wednesday morning, when it is expected to hold consultations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted today that fighting in several parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has driven thousands of new refugees into neighboring countries.

• UNHCR staff who traveled last week to Uganda reported that an estimated 2,700 refugees have crossed the Congolese border into Uganda since late July. Many refugees say that they are running from rebel forces who have accused them of harboring Interahamwe (former Rwandan Hutu) militia. Those refugees are coming from the Congolese province of North Kivu, just across the border from Rwanda and Uganda.

• New arrivals have also been recorded in the Central African Republic, which currently hosts some 7,000 refugees who fled fighting in the DRC's Equateur Province. More refugees are also fleeing to the Republic of Congo -- also known as Congo-Brazzaville -- which now hosts some 60,000 people from Congo-Kinshasa.

• The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also announced today that Executive Director Carol Bellamy will begin a three-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, starting on Thursday, in an attempt to boost the global effort to wipe out polio.

• She will visit Kinshasa on Thursday, where she will meet the Health and Foreign Ministers. Then she will travel to Mbuji-Mayi and Kananga on Friday to participate in immunization efforts before traveling to Brazzaville, in the neighboring Republic of Congo, on Saturday. Bellamy will wrap up her trip by taking part in door-to-door outreach operations in Kisangani on Sunday.

UN TROOPS EXCHANGE FIRE WITH SUSPECTED MILITIA IN EAST TIMOR

• Two exchanges of fire were reported on Sunday between Australia's UN battalion and suspected militia groups in district of Maliana, East Timor.

• On Sunday afternoon, Australian troops encountered a group of seven to eight militia northeast of Maliana, wearing camouflage uniforms and armed with rifles and hand grenades. The group was ordered to lay down their weapons, but responded by opening fire on the UN troops. The Australians returned fire and the militia withdrew.

• On Monday morning, a trail of blood was found near the site of the incident, indicating that one militia member may have been wounded. UN operations in the area are continuing.

• Also on Sunday, Australian soldiers found two men -- one in Indonesian camouflage and one in plain clothes -- south of Batugade, just 500 to 600 meters inside the border of East Timor. The uniformed person fired upon the UN peacekeepers, who returned fire.

• The person in civilian clothes, who was unarmed, was wounded and evacuated to the UN military hospital in Dili, where he underwent surgery. The uniformed person escaped back in the direction of the border with West Timor.

• In Suai District, there have been several reports over the last days of a large group of possibly between 20 and 30 armed militia members. The peacekeeping force is trying to identify the group and establish its intent.

IAEA RESPONDS TO REPORT ON FINANCING SHORTFALL

• The Spokesman, in response to questions, noted the response by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to an article in the "Washington Post" which had suggested that the agency faced significant shortfalls in its funding.

• The IAEA said that the article refers to a situation that occurred at the end of July due to an unexpected deviation from established patterns of payments of contributions to the regular budget by some major donor countries.

• It asserted that, while the agency is experiencing cash flow pressures that underscores its vulnerability to the timing of the receipt of Member States' contributions, it is pursuing all avenues to resolve the problem.

• In response to its requests, several Member States have already taken steps to accelerate payment of their overdue contributions. Other Member States' Missions are checking with their Governments to see what other temporary measures they might be able to authorize.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Asked about UN response to the decision to remove the immunity of Chilean Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the Spokesman noted that it was an internal Chilean issue, but added that the United Nations is interested in seeing how the ruling would affect the rule of law, international law and the concept of universal jurisdiction.

• In response to a question concerning former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the Spokesman noted that the case was an internal matter, but added that the United Nations had noted the concerns and reservations expressed in different quarters. He noted the expectation that Anwar will appeal, and said that the United Nations expects that he will be accorded due process of law and that every effort will be made to address the concerns expressed during the course of his trial.

• The International Day of the World's Indigenous People will be observed at UN Headquarters on Wednesday, where there will be a press briefing at 11 a.m. on this year's theme, "Indigenous Children and Youth." At 11:30 a.m., there will be a traditional sacred pipe ceremony at the Visitors' Entrance to the United Nations, celebrated by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota tribe. Then, from 3 to 6 p.m, a dialogue session on indigenous children and youth will be held in Conference Room 1.

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