United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-04-23

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

FROM THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF

THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, April 23, 2001

SECRETARY-GENERAL STOPS IN GHANA ON WAY TO AIDS SUMMIT IN ABUJA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan traveled over the weekend, heading for Abuja, Nigeria, where he will attend the African Summit on HIV/AIDS from Wednesday through Friday of this week.

The Secretary-General overnighted in London, and today he is headed for his home country of Ghana, where he'll pay a personal visit before moving on to Abuja Wednesday morning.

LEADERS OF THE AMERICAS ENDORSE UN MILLENNIUM GOALS

Thirty-four leaders from the Western Hemisphere yesterday signed a summit agreement in Quebec, Canada, endorsing, among other things, a goal for reducing poverty that was first advanced by the UN's Millennium Summit last fall.

We welcome the commitment of the Summit of the Americas to halve the number of people living in poverty by the year 2015.

THREE UNHCR STAFF CHARGED WITH EXTORTING FUNDS FROM REFUGEES

Three locally-hired staff of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) appeared before a Kenyan court today. The three Kenyans had been arrested last Thursday and charged with extorting funds from refugees seeking resettlement and threatening UNHCR and U.S. Embassy officials.

The three appeared before the Chief Magistrates court in Nairobi during which charges against them were read. They pleaded "not guilty" to the charges.

The judge requested until 11 a.m. Tuesday to consider the defense lawyers request for bond to be posted and the prosecutors objection to that request.

Asked about the expectations of additional arrests in this case, the Spokesman said that the investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight ( OIOS) is continuing, adding that Barbara Dixon, head of investigations for that office, is in Nairobi where she is working closely with the Kenyan authorities. The Spokesman added that the allegations are a matter of record and were now waiting to see what the Kenyan courts will do with this case.

ANNAN ON AFGHANISTAN: OUTLOOK IS BLEAK

The Secretary-Generals report on Afghanistan to the General Assembly and the Security Council was released today.

In it the Secretary-General says that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has reached alarming proportions. He warned that conditions are liable to deteriorate further. He states that it should not be forgotten that the international community, having failed to remain engaged in Afghanistan, bears a large share of responsibility for the current plight. He urged donor states to contribute more. Over $250 million is required but only $85 million has been made available so far.

While sanctions are not responsible for the current crisis, he adds, they have permeated the Afghan political discourse, being blamed by the Taliban for the deteriorating situation. The Taliban has also used the sanctions as an argument to suspend participation in the UN-sponsored dialogue process agreed upon on November 2.

Also on sanctions, the Secretary-General says that while effective and timely sanctions can prove useful in modifying the behavior of certain errant regimes, they cannot be an end in themselves or as a substitute for a comprehensive policy. He urges the international community to set clear objectives and develop a strategy to achieve them.

He concludes by saying that the outlook for the next few months is bleak.

The report is scheduled to be discussed by the Security Council on Thursday

Asked if aid was getting to those who needed it on the ground, the Spokesman said that UNHCR continues to try get a significant amount of supply into refugee camps in Pakistan and they are also trying to increase aid to displaced people inside Afghanistan. He added that they do not have the money they need and are not satisfied by their relief efforts to date.

SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON PROTECTING CIVILIANS IN CONFLICT

This morning, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette opened the Security Council public meeting on the theme of protection of civilians in armed conflict by saying that the protection of civilians must become a regular and central aspect of UN peace operations.

Noting the Secretary-General's recent report on the subject, Fréchette mentioned three priorities: the criminal prosecution of violations of international criminal law; the question of access to vulnerable populations; and the separation of civilians from armed elements in refugee camps and similar settlements.

The Secretary-General's new report offered 14 recommendations for the Security Council to consider, which are in addition to 40 recommendations included in a previous report on the protection of civilians that came out in September 1999.

Also speaking was High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson ( UNHCHR), who said that tackling impunity at all stages of a conflict is essential to ensure that human rights standards are maintained. She noted that fact-finding missions can be useful in investigating human rights during armed conflicts, and also mentioned the role of human rights field officers. Robinson also pointed out that the Secretary-General's report said that "corporate royalties have continued to fuel wars," and she said the United Nations has a role to play in promoting responsible behavior by businesses in conflict zones.

The public meeting is expected to last most of the day.

Tuesday, the Security Council will have a private meeting to hear from the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Georgia, Dieter Boden, and members have also scheduled consultations to consider the Secretary-General's latest report on Prevlaka.

UN ENVOY TO MIDDLE EAST SAYS TALKS MUST CONTINUE

In Ramallah, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ( UNSCO), Terje Roed Larsen, met with Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority. The meeting, which was described as constructive, is part of the on-going work of the UN Special Coordinator.

While in Ramallah, Larsen also met with two other senior Palestinian officials: Abu Mazen, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and Abu Alaa, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Later tonight Larsen will be in Amman where he will see Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelillah Al-Khateeb.

Tuesday morning, he will travel to Damascus to discuss the current situation with Farouk Al-Shara, the Syrian Foreign Minister.

Larsens regional political and diplomatic efforts are undertaken amid the dangerous new situation resulting from the past weeks renewed violence, including actions on different fronts. He has warned that the situation is close to a point where the violence threatens to spin out of control. The events of last week have widespread regional implications.

At the same time, Larsen noted that there are grounds for optimism and that it is possible to make progress. We must all ensure that the talking continues. No one can afford a regional conflict, he said.

Asked if the Secretary-General shared the optimism expressed by Terje Roed-Larsen, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General feels that as long as security contacts between the parties continue, as they have over the weekend, there is a chance that an agreement could be reached on restoring security and eventually restarting political dialogue.

ANNAN URGED TO INTENSIFY CONTACTS TO HELP RESTART MIDEAST DIALOGUE

The Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Ambassador Ibra Deguene Ka of Sénégal has sent a letter to the Secretary-General drawing his attention to the dangerously rapid escalation in the past several days of military actions taken by the Israeli Defense Forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem.

The committee also urges the Secretary-General to again intensify contacts with all the parties concerned in order to help bring the crisis to an end and restart the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.

UN AND YUGOSLAV ENVOYS MEET IN PRISTINA TO DISCUSS TAX ISSUES

The UN Mission in Kosovo ( UNMIK) reports that its work at tax collection centers in northern Kosovo was interrupted again today, as Kosovo Serbs protested the tax collection efforts in Mitrovica.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, met this afternoon with Momcilo Trajkovic, the representative of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Government Committee on Kosovo, to explain at length the difference between the taxes being collected by the UN and customs taxes.

The UN taxes are sales and excise taxes, designed to provide revenue for Kosovo's consolidated budget -- there are no customs imposed on goods traveling through the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Last Friday, UN police arrested a suspect in connection with last week's car bomb explosion in Pristina. Today, the police confirmed that the suspect is carrying a German passport, but no further details have been released at this stage. The UN investigation of the explosion is continuing.

EAST TIMOR INDEPENDENCE LEADER LEAVES NATIONAL COUNCIL

Jose Ramos Horta today resigned from East Timor's National Council and returned to his previous post as Cabinet Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ramos Horta made the decision to return to his former post after the elections in the National Council on April 9, in which Manuel Carrascalăo became the Council's speaker after he and Ramos Horta tied on the first ballot.

In departing the National Council, Ramos Horta appealed to all East Timorese to support the presence of the United Nations in East Timor ( UNTAET), noting that a UN role had been sought in East Timor during the 24-year independence struggle.

MRS. ANNAN LAUNCHES SAY YES FOR CHILDREN CAMPAIGN IN TURKEY

In Istanbul today, Nane Annan, the wife of the Secretary-General, participated in the regional launch of SAY YES FOR CHILDREN campaign.

In a speech she delivered to over 5,000 people, she said: When a baby is born, you can see the universe reflected in his or her clear eyes. For some, each breath will be an affirmation of the right to grow up free and strong, for others each breath will confirm their loss of possibilities.

We are meeting today to give every child the right to dream, to grow up without fear and with a sense of dignity, she said.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS, warning that tuberculosis (TB) cases in Africa can double over the next decade as a consequence of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS said that both TB and HIV should be addressed together and that reducing the transmission of HIV would reduce the TB epidemic.

Issued today is a letter from the Secretary-General to the Security Council, transmitting the names of 60 candidates, submitted by Member States, for the 27 posts of "ad litem" judges, who are to serve for short-term periods on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The Council is to consider the nominations and then transmit to the General Assembly a list of not fewer than 54 candidates, from which the Assembly would elect the 27 ad litem judges, who would serve for a non-renewable term of four years. The addition of the ad litem judges is designed to expedite the work of the Tribunal.

On Saturday, 21 April, Jan Pronk, chair of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC), gave a press briefing after an informal meeting with senior officials from 40 key countries, including 25 Environment Ministers. The meeting was held to take stock of the political situation since the suspension of negotiations in The Hague last November. All countries at the meeting overwhelmingly supported resumed negotiations in Bonn in July, and a more inclusive, open-ended may be held within a month in Sweden.

Asked about the UN involvement in the recent referendum on independence held in the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, the Spokesman said that this was an internal matter for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

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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