United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-03-16

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

BY MANOEL DE ALMEIDA E SILVA

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, March 16, 2001

SECRETARY-GENERAL BEGINS OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife Nane began their official visit to India this morning, laying a memorial wreath at Rajghat, the site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated.

He then went to Parliament House, where he met Dr. Najima Heptullah, Deputy Chairperson of the Upper House, and current President of the Inter Parliamentary Union, a worldwide association of parliamentarians. The Secretary-General emphasized the importance of ratifying treaties and conventions, in the context of globalization and the rule of law. They touched on the subject of Kashmir, and the Secretary-General repeated his message that what is important is that India and Pakistan renew a dialogue.

The Secretary-General then sat down with Speaker of the Lower House, G.M.C. Balayogi, who was accompanied by about 20 other Members of Parliament. He again urged the ratification of covenants and the need for dialogue between India and Pakistan on the dispute over Kashmir. When he said, "You must support dialogue and a peaceful way out", they applauded.

He then had the opportunity to meet with Sonia Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress Party, and Manmohan Singh, opposition leader of the Upper House, for a wide-ranging discussion. On Kashmir, the Secretary-General reiterated his appeal for India and Pakistan to talk.

At midday the Secretary-General met with the President of India, K.R. Narayanan. They discussed the Secretary-General's meeting of the night before with Indian industrialists and also touched on Iraq and Kashmir. In the afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and then had a private meeting with India's Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Mrs. Annan visited two UNDP-supported projects. The first one offers skills training and preparation for adult life to young people with disabilities, with a special emphasis on girls. In the city of Delhi alone, there are 450,000 handicapped persons. Mrs. Annan also visited a project in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, which provides an environment for the enrolment of all children under age 14, many of whom have had little schooling because they have been child labourers.

UN SPECIAL ENVOY DISCUSSES SECURITY CONCERNS WITH FYROM LEADERS

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for the Balkans, Carl Bildt, is in Skopje today, where he met with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Boris Trajkovski and Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski.

Bildt conveyed the strong international support for the integrity and democracy of FYROM and underlined the importance of the efforts undertaken by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to maintain stability among the FYROM populations. The President and Prime Minister conveyed to Bildt their concerns about the security along the border with Kosovo.

Bildt will also meet with Albanian leaders of FYROM during his two-day stay.

SECURITY COUNCIL HEARS FROM UN REPRESENTATIVE FOR KOSOVO

The Security Council this morning began with consultation on Kosovo. It then went into an open meeting to hear a briefing from Hans Haekkerup, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, on the situation there.

Haekkerup told the Council that that the UN Mission is faced with security problems in the region outside Kosovo, and he said that it is important that the Mission and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) support the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in solving its immediate problems. But he added that closing off the border crossings between FYROM and Kosovo, at Blace and Globocica, does not address the problem and is unacceptable.

Haekkerup said, "The level of violence in Kosovo continues to be unacceptably high." The general security situation in Kosovo has not improved over the past two months, with high levels of ethnic violence. He said that parallel security structures in Mitrovica must be abolished.

He also asked for the Government in Belgrade to take positive steps in dealing with Kosovo, including the transfer of all Kosovo Albanian detainees in Serbia proper to the UN Mission.

TOP UN REFUGEE OFFICIAL WARNS OF NEW HUMANITARIAN DRAMA IN BALKANS

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today warned that intensifying fighting between Albanian separatists and the government forces in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could lead to a major population displacement and threaten the stability of the entire region.

We simply cannot afford another humanitarian tragedy in the Balkans, where millions of people were uprooted by a string of violent conflicts in the last decade, said High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers. My organization has been dealing with the humanitarian fallout from the Balkan wars for the past 10 years -- from Croatia and Bosnia to Kosovo. We are still working to undo the tragic outcome of those conflicts.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO HOLD PRIVATE MEETING ON BURUNDI

This afternoon at 4 p.m., the Council will hold a private formal meeting to hear from the Permanent Representative of Burundi, Marc Nteturuye, on the situation in Burundi. The Council expects to hear a briefing from the Secretariat on Burundi next Tuesday.

Just prior to today's private meeting, Council members have been invited to a closed Arria formula" meeting at 3 p.m. with Mustapha Ka, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Senegal.

On Thursday afternoon, the Security Council continued its open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. However, not all speakers were able to present their views by the end of the day, and the Council will continue the formal meeting next Monday.

The Council's formal meeting this morning began with a tribute by the Council President to Tunisian Ambassador Saïd ben Mustapha, who is ending his service at the United Nations, and Council members applauded him for his work.

EAST TIMORS ELECTION SET FOR AUGUST 30

After signing the Regulation on the Election of a Constituent Assembly today, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, announced that the first democratic election in East Timor would be held on August 30.

East Timors National Council approved the regulation on the Election of a Constituent Assembly on March 13, but it rejected a proposed quota for women.

Today, Vieira de Mello added a paragraph to the preamble of the Regulation encouraging the equal participation of women and men at all stages of the electoral and constitutional process, and undertaking to promote the full enjoyment by women of their civil and political rights.

He also announced that among other measures to increase gender participation, he would encourage the political parties to have at least 30 percent of their lists of candidates made up of women. The UN Missions Gender Affairs Unit to identify 100 potential women candidates for election to the Constituent Assembly and to organize a special training for these candidates.

UN FORCE COMMANDER MEETS REBEL LEADER IN SIERRA LEONE

The UN Force Commander in Sierra Leone, Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande, is in Kailahun today where he is meeting with the interim leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Issa Sesay.

UN peacekeepers successfully conducted a long-range patrol to Kailahun on Wednesday, which was the first UN patrol to that area since last July, when the Mission conducted an operation to rescue Indian troops who were blocked there by the RUF.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that, over the past for weeks, more than 700 Sierra Leoneans have fled the violence in the "Parrot's Beak" region in southern Guinea to travel to the Kenema region in Sierra Leone. Some walked 70 miles or more, traveling through RUF-held territory.

UN REPRESENTATIVE CHAIRS YALTA MEETING WITH GEORGIAN PARTIES

Today in Yalta, Ukraine, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Georgia, Dieter Boden, chaired the third meeting on confidence-building measures between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides.

In a statement signed by the two sides, the representative of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Boden today, the parties repeated their obligation not to use force against each other in the settlement of their disputes. They also reached agreement on a program of activities designed to build confidence between the sides.

COMPENSATION COMMISSION APPROVES $2.4 BILLION IN CLAIMS

Thursday afternoon in Geneva, the UN Compensation Commission approved nearly $2.4 billion in claims to parties seeking compensation from Iraq following the Gulf War. Yesterday's approvals bring the total compensation awarded by the Commission to more than $34 billion, out of a total of some $89 billion sought by claimants.

One issue that was not resolved, however, was whether Iraq may receive funds in order to allow it to hire experts to assist Baghdad in its responses to environmental claims made against it. As a result, the current session has been adjourned until April 2, when it will continue its discussion of that topic.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Spokesman, in response to a question on whether the Secretary-General would discuss any plans for a second term at a forthcoming press conference, noted that Annan had said in New Delhi today that he would make his determination before the end of this month. He added that there was a good possibility that the Secretary-General may hold his next press conference at United Nations Headquarters sometime next week.

UNHCR today noted that more than 150,000 Chechens remain displaced in neighboring Ingushetia, with some 2,500 Chechens fleeing to Ingushetia last month alone.

A United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) staff member was injured and a UN vehicle was damaged by a mine in Mozambique Thursday afternoon. The vehicle was travelling off-road as part of a convoy when the accident occurred. The injured staff member, the driver of the vehicle, is in stable condition in hospital.

The World Food Programme, on behalf of the United Nations, and the Government of Italy officially opened the United Nation's first-ever comprehensive humanitarian rapid response base today in Brindisi, Italy. The United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot, UNHRD, will serve as an emergency logistics base and storage site that allows the UN to respond to crises at a moment's notice. "

The World Health Organization has issued a revised fact sheet on the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, GAVI. The alliance is an international coalition of national governments, international organizations, philanthropic institutions and the public and private health sectors.

The United Nations Environment Programme today launched a new web portal to facilitate the international exchange of halons. The web portal, called the On-line Halon Trader, provides a virtual market place where the demand for recycled halons can be matched to supply. Halons are used in fire extinguishers and are more depleting to the ozone layer than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and are controlled by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. More information is available in a press release.

This afternoon Costa Rica will sign the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols, one Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the other to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, March 17

The Secretary-General will visit Hyderabad, India, where he will meet with the business community and visit Hyderabad's Cyber City.

Sunday, March 18

The Secretary-General is expected to return to New York, ending his four-country trip to South Asia.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will begin an official visit to Finland, where she will meet with Government officials and also deliver a speech Monday on the UN role in crisis prevention and peace-building.

Monday, March 19

The Security Council will hold a continuation of its open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

In Geneva, the Commission on Human Rights will hold its 57th session in Geneva through April 26. Among the items on the agenda are human rights violations, women's and children's rights, torture and economic, social and cultural rights. Meanwhile, in New York, the Human Rights Committee will open its 71st session.

Shashi Tharoor, interim head of the Department of Public Information, will launch the "UN Works" web site at the noon briefing.

The preparatory committee dealing with the UN conference on small arms will begin a two-week meeting. At 12:30 p.m., the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is sponsoring a press briefing on small arms.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will begin a three-day meeting of its Board of Governors in Vienna.

Also in Vienna, the UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention's major donors will meet on Afghanistan, Tajikistan and demand reduction. The decrease in Afghanistan's opium production, and the resulting need to address the concerns of some 500,000 Afghan farmers and their families, will be among the items to be discussed.

Tuesday, March 20

The Security Council has scheduled consultations to discuss follow-up to last year's Council Summit on the Council's role in peace and security issues, especially in Africa. It also expects a briefing from the Secretariat on Burundi.

The Secretary-General's reports to the Security Council on Guinea-Bissau and on the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) are expected in the early part of the week.

The Secretary-General is to be presented with the Joseph Prize for Human Rights at the National Leadership Breakfast of the Anti-Defamation League.

The 44th session of the Commission of Narcotic Drugs, The UN Office on Drug Control and Crime Prevention's governing body, will open in Vienna.

The Secretary-General will honor jazz musician Wynton Marsalis as a UN Messenger of Peace, at 3:45 p.m. in a pinning ceremony at his office. Further information can be acquired from Jesse Tampico, at (212) 258-9821.

Wednesday, March 21

The Security Council has scheduled a private meeting on Georgia, which the Georgian Foreign Minister and the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Dieter Boden, will attend.

Some 400 teenagers will participate in an event at UN Headquarters on promoting tolerance and fighting racism, which will be held on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The event is a collaborative effort between the

United Nations and MTV, and will include the participation of the Secretary-General and, by a live video link, High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The Secretary-General is to speak to the Foreign Policy Association on "Strengthening the UN for Preventing Deadly Conflict."

At 11:00 a.m., the Swedish Minister for Trade and Globalization, Leif Pagrotsky, representing the Presidency of the European Union (EU) and the European Community, will hold a press conference on the Everything but Arms Initiative recently adopted by the EU.

The Deputy Secretary-General will be in Brussels, where she will participate in a special meeting of the European Union's Political and Security Committee.

Thursday, March 22

The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In Brussels, Belgium, the Deputy Secretary-General will chair a coordination meeting of agencies dealing with the Balkans, organized by the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans, Carl Bildt.

This is World Water Day. The Secretary-General will issue a message to mark the occasion

The Secretary-General is expected to attend a jazz event at Lincoln Center, featuring the new UN Messenger of Peace, Wynton Marsalis.

Friday, March 23

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on Afghanistan and Somalia.

There will be a meeting of troop contributing countries for the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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