United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-05-03

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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

Thursday, May 3, 2001

SECURITY COUNCIL DEVOTES DAY TO RESOURCE EXPLOITATION IN THE CONGO

The Security Council is holding a public meeting today to discuss the report of the independent expert panel on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Secretary-General attended part of the public meeting. The Chairperson of the independent panel, Safiatou Ba-NDaw, introduced the report.

More than 27 speakers are expected to take the floor, included in this list is Leonard She Okitundu, the Foreign Minister of the DRC, Amama Mbabazi, Uganda's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Patrick Mazimhaka, representing the Office of the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame.

In response to a question on whether the Secretary-General would want to see an extension in the panels work, the Spokesman answered the Security Council had requested the Secretary-General to put the panel together and that it was up to the Council to decide whether or not it would.

COUNCIL TO DISCUSS LIBERIA SANCTIONS FRIDAY BEFORE WEEKEND RETREAT

Friday morning, the Security Council is expected to discuss the sanctions on Liberia during closed consultations.

In the afternoon, Council members will travel Pocantico Hills, north of New York City, for a retreat. During the retreat, they will hold discussions Friday afternoon and Saturday morning centered on the Great Lakes Region of Africa, in particular the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Secretary-General will be present throughout the retreat.

ANNAN, LIBERTY MEDAL WINNER, TO GIVE CASH PRIZE TO AIDS FUND

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been named this year's recipient of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal for his role in promoting peace, social justice and economic development.

The Secretary-General will receive the award at Philadelphia's Liberty Hall -- where the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution were adopted -- on the 4th of July.

The award was established following the bicentennial celebration of the U.S. Constitution in 1987, and has recognized achievement among civic, government and business leaders.

The award includes a cash prize of $100,000, which is raised privately, and which the Secretary-General intends to donate to the global fund that he has proposed to deal with the fight against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The Secretary-General's donation would be the first to the global fund, which is expected to cover a good portion of the $7 billion to $10 billion required annually to deal with AIDS worldwide.

In response to a question on whether the Secretary-General was the first non-U.S. citizen to receive the Liberty Medal, the Spokesman noted after the briefing that previous awardees included former Polish President Lech Walesa, Czech President Vaclav Havel, South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata of Japan. The award recognizes achievements in civic and governmental affairs.

ANNAN TO ENSURE UN AGENCIES ARE ON WAR FOOTING AGAINST AIDS

Following up on his HIV/AIDS: call to action, launched at the African Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, last week and reaffirmed in his speech at the Council on Foundations in Philadelphia this last Monday, the Secretary-General has convened a teleconference of the UN system.

All the heads of UN agencies directly involved in the United Nations fight against AIDS will be telling him and the Deputy Secretary-General of their actions and their increased efforts. The Secretary-General will make sure that all agencies are in the same war footing against the disease.

During the meeting Friday. they will also review latest developments for the establishment of the Global Fund.

NEW MEMBERS ELECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

At a meeting this morning, the Economic and Social Council elected 14 new members to three-year terms on the UN Human Rights Commission.

From the Asia Group, Bahrain, the Republic of Korea and Pakistan were elected. Iran and Saudi Arabia ran but did receive enough votes.

From the Western European and Others Group, France, Sweden and Austria were elected. The United States ran but did not receive enough votes.

This is the first time since the Commission's inception, in 1947, that the United States will not serve on the Commission.

From the Eastern European Group, Croatia and Armenia were elected. Azerbaidjan and Latvia were unsuccessful.

The African and Latin American Groups did not require elections to choose their representatives who will be Togo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, Mexico and Chile.

UN MARKS WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

To mark the holding of World Press Freedom Day today, the Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Mary Robinson and Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO), issued a joint statement that calls a free press "one of the most essential components of a democratic society."

The joint statement says that free media have an indispensable role to play in rooting out racism and xenophobia, and urges the international community to defend "the right to receive and impart information free from censorship, through any media and regardless of frontiers."

At Headquarters this morning, the Secretary-General opened an event in honor of World Press Freedom Day saying that, where a free press is imperiled, muzzled or banned altogether, every other freedom is limited. He added, "Where their rights are denied, no one can be free."

UN missions also participated in recognizing the importance of a free press today. In East Timor (UNTAET) today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, observed World Press Freedom Day by attending the inauguration in Dili of the new offices of a local magazine, Talitakum. In a speech, Vieira de Mello asked all journalists in East Timor to adhere to the highest standards of professional integrity, and to refrain from hate mongering and from biased news coverage. The UN Mission in Sierra Leone ( UNAMSIL) organized three panel discussions with local human rights activists and journalists, which were aired on the Mission's radio station, Radio UNAMSIL.

YUGOSLAV AUTHORITIES SERVE MILOSEVIC WITH WARRANT FROM THE HAGUE

The Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia today informed the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY) that it has served the indictment and arrest warrant issued by the Tribunal on former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

The Government said it had served the indictment on Milosevic today, one day after it received a letter from the Tribunal's registrar, Hans Holthuis, noting the Government's obligation to serve the arrest warrant on the accused personally. The Tribunal welcomes today's action, which is a positive step in the right direction, and hopes that it will pave the way for the prompt transfer of Milosevic and all other indicted persons living in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

KOSOVO: UN ENVOY SAYS WORK OF ELECTION FRAMEWORK NEARING END

The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, today denied reports published in the Belgrade media that work on the Legal Framework for elections in Kosovo has been completed, without including the concerns of Kosovo's Serbs.

The reality, Haekkerup said, is that he has been meeting continuously with Kosovo's political representatives, and will try to take stock of progress on the Legal Framework by the end of this week and then try to finish the work.

The UN Mission in Kosovo ( UNMIK), he said, has been trying to protect minority interests and still wants to include some Serb-proposed recommendations in the final draft.

In response to a question on the content of the framework for elections, the Spokesman said the elaboration of the framework is on-going and that the evolution of the framework is not public.

PARTIES TO SIERRA LEONE CEASE-FIRE ACCORD DISCUSS WAY FORWARD

In Abuja, Nigeria, a meeting to review progress in implementing the November 2000 cease-fire agreement for Sierra Leone concluded around midnight last night with a series of decisions on all the major issues in the peace process at this time, the UN mission in Sierra Leone ( UNAMSIL) reported.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sierra Leone Oluyemi Adeniji attended the one-day meeting, which gathered the government of Sierra Leone, the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). They concluded that the cease-fire has largely held since the signing of the accord on November 10, and discussed the way forward.

A press release issued by the UN mission in Sierra Leone highlighted agreement reached on more than 10 points on such issues as return of equipment by the RUF and the withdrawal of RUF combatants from the Kambia near the border area with Guinea.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers met with the Taliban "Foreign Minister" Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil in the Afghan capital of Kabul today to press his appeal for a truce. The Taliban did not agree to a halt in fighting. Next, Ruud Lubbers will go to Pakistan, where he will visit newly arrived Afghans, as well as meet various government officials and Pakistan's Chief Executive, Pervez Musharraf.

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Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) today announced a major step forward in combating sleeping sickness in Africa. The pharmaceutical company Adventis has committed $25 million over five years to support WHOs activities in fighting the disease. Sleeping sickness affects a half a million people in sub-Saharan Africa and some 60 million are at risk in 36 countries. Only about 10 percent of those suffering from the disease receive proper treatment.

Steffan di Mistura, the Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for southern Lebanon, met this morning with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud to give him a copy of the Secretary-Generals latest report on the UN mission in Lebanon. Later in the afternoon, di Mistura met with Ambassador Mohamed Omran of the United Arab Emirates to discuss the implementation of the $50 million pledge by the UAE towards de-mining activities in southern Lebanon. It is believed that more that 100,000 mines remain in the south.

This afternoon, Paraguay will become the 93rd country to sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Secretary-General is having lunch today with the Council of American Ambassadors, an organization of present and former U.S. Ambassadors, and he took the occasion to thank the gathered diplomats -- and to pay particular tribute to Richard Holbrooke -- for their help in resolving the question of U.S. dues to the United Nations. He told the ambassadors that he was deeply gratified to hear President George W. Bush and members his administration promise to support the United Nations' work on issues from HIV/AIDS to conflict in Africa and the Middle East. In response to a question on the status of the pending payment of $582 million in arrears by the United States, the Spokesman said the U.S. government had sent a letter to all other delegations explaining the U.S. legislative process and promising the money would be forthcoming.

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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