United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-07-23

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK Monday, July 23, 2001

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes the Bonn agreements reached after a marathon negotiating session as they give a strong signal to the global economy that, early in this century, emission limitation must become part and parcel of production and consumption processes. The agreements also recognize the need for more financial and technological support for developing countries to engage in a global strategy against climate change and provide a solid political basis for industrialized countries to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and bring it into force in time for the Johannesburg Summit in September 2002.

The Secretary-General appreciates the hard work and spirit of compromise shown by all delegations and the unflinching leadership of Jan Pronk, the Conference President. He fully shares Pronk's sentiment that the Bonn agreements are proof that "multilateral cooperation in the UN framework does make good sense."

BREAKTHROUGH ON CLIMATE CHANGE REACHED IN BONN TALKS

The 180 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Bonn today reached a broad political agreement on the operational rulebook for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The document had been introduced by the President of the current session of talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Jan Pronk, on Saturday evening, and was the subject of marathon negotiations through the weekend and this morning.

This afternoon, the document was adopted by standing ovations and cheers by delegates and observers. It is to be adopted in a plenary session this Friday, when the current climate change talks in Bonn are to conclude.

Under the agreement, a special climate change fund and a fund for least developed countries will be established under the 1992 Convention to help developing countries adapt to the impact of climate change and limit the growth in their emissions.

The Protocol also includes a compliance mechanism. Compliance with the Protocol will be overseen by a Compliance Committee, which will have an enforcement branch. For every ton of gas that a country emits over its target, it will be required to reduce an additional 1.3 tons during the Protocols second commitment period, which starts in 2013. Additional compliance procedures and mechanisms will be developed after the Protocol enters into force.

ANNAN WELCOMES CONSENSUS REACHED AT SMALL ARMS MEETING

In the early hours of the morning last Saturday, the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects reached consensus on a Programme of Action.

Then, shortly after noon, the closing meeting of the Conference took place and the report of the Conference was adopted as orally amended. Conference President Ambassador Camilo Reyes of Colombia undertook to finalize the report for submission to the General Assembly.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Secretary-General warmly welcomed the news that consensus had been achieved and praised the steps agreed to as essential in building norms and in implementing collective measures against the global scourge of small arms.

The Secretary-General also called upon all the peoples of the United Nations to support and encourage their leaders in Government both to consolidate the gains made at the Conference and to take additional steps to address the threat of small arms. He noted in particular the great potential benefits for all States from improved controls over both the uncontrolled private ownership of military-standard weapons and, even more critical, the transfer of such arms to non-state groups.

He looks forward to the implementation of the agreed measures and the follow-up to the Conference, in which the United Nations will play a major role.

ANNAN TO HOLD MONTHLY LUNCHEON WITH SECURITY COUNCIL

The Secretary-General is back in New York, having returned from the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Genoa, Italy, over the weekend. Today, he will be having his monthly luncheon with members of the Security Council.

Once that luncheon ends, he will come to UN Headquarters, where he will have a few appointments this afternoon, beginning at 3:30 p.m. He may meet briefly with the press upon entering the building.

There is no Security Council meeting today. On Tuesday, the Council will hold a formal meeting to discuss the situation in the Great Lakes region.

Asked about the Secretary-General's schedule today, the Spokesman said he would meet with his Jan Egeland, his Special Adviser on International Assistance to Colombia, at 3:30 and would otherwise hold internal meetings.

ANNAN WARNS PARTIES TO RESPECT BLUE LINE IN LEBANON REPORT

In his latest report on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Secretary-General says that the situation along the Blue Line has been generally stable, but that there have been attacks across the Line in the Shab'a Farms area, in direct breach of the decisions of the Security Council.

The Secretary-General says that Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace have created additional tension, and he also says that the Government of Lebanon has continued to let Hezbollah operate close to the Blue Line. He asks the Lebanese Government to take more steps to ensure the return of its effective authority throughout southern Lebanon.

The Secretary-General reiterates the need for all parties to respect the Blue Line, and once again appeals to both sides to keep the situation calm.

In the report, he also mentions the controversy that arose over a videotape made by UN peacekeepers of vehicles that might have been used in the abduction of three Israeli soldiers last October, and notes that Israel and Lebanon have been offered the opportunity to view the tape, with the identities of non-UN personnel obscured.

Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph Connor has been charged with leading an investigation into the internal handling of the matter, and Connor is in Naqoura, where the UN Mission is based in southern Lebanon, today. He is meeting with UNIFIL staff as part of his investigation, which he expects to wrap up by the end of this month.

The Security Council intends to hold consultations on Lebanon on Wednesday. In the current report, the Secretary-General asks for a six-month extension of the mission, until the end of January 2002.

REPORT SAYS PEACE PROCESS IN GEORGIA REMAINS FRAGILE

The Secretary-General's latest report to the Security Council on the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) notes that killings and hostage-takings have interrupted negotiations there several times recently, including a spate of incidents two weeks ago. Consequently, he says, the overall peace process remains fragile, with meaningful negotiations on Abkhazia's status within the State of Georgia yet to begin.

In the most recent incident, on July 8-9, six people were killed and two taken hostage northwest of the Kodori Valley, just before negotiations were to begin in Tbilisi. In the report, the Secretary-General calls on both sides to work together to release the hostages still being held and to bring the perpetrators to justice. He adds, "Attempts to hold the peace process hostage to political demands are a cause for concern."

He also urges the parties to follow up on a Programme of Action of confidence-building measures to which they agreed at Yalta last March, and warns that the ongoing violence is a constant threat to the peace process.

The Secretary-General also recommends a six-month extension of the mandate of the UN Mission, until the end of next January, and the Council expects to consider that when it holds consultations on Georgia on Wednesday.

ANNAN NOTES STEEP RISE IN POVERTY AMONG PALESTINIANS

In a report on assistance to the Palestinian people, the Secretary-General notes that the Gross Domestic Product in the Palestinian territories declined by 51 percent since the beginning of the conflict. The estimates for March 2001 set the number of unemployed workers in the occupied Palestinian territory at 297,000, or about 26.1 percent of the workforce, and the poverty rate is expected to rise above 40 percent by the end of 2001.

In the report, the Secretary-General says, "Much work needs to be done to repair the extensive negative effects of the crisis on the Palestinian economy and society." He calls on the international community to provide resources for the assistance programmes and in particular to the latest appeal from United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides vital services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

PARTIES AGREE TO FORMULA FOR BURUNDI TRANSITION

The Burundi peace process appears to have advanced another step today in Arusha, Tanzania, where former South African President Nelson Mandela, Facilitator of the Arusha Process, won agreement from the Governments attending the regional initiative summit for his formula to have the current President of Burundi, Pierre Buyoya, serve the first 18 months of a three-year transitional Government. A Hutu would serve as Vice President and then serve the second 18 months as President.

Berhanu Dinka, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, attended the summit, which has four core country members: Uganda, as chair, Tanzania, as vice chair, Kenya and Rwanda.

UN AIDS ENVOY TRAVELS TO RWANDA, NIGERIA

The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, arrived over the weekend in Nigeria, on the final leg of a three-country fact-finding trip that began in Kenya and continued last week in Rwanda.

While in Rwanda for a four-day visit, Lewis met at length with President Paul Kagame and other officials, including the Minister of Health and the National AIDS Commission. He emphasized in his meetings with President Kagame the need for an up-to-date survey on AIDS prevalence rates, since Rwanda's present figures are based on data from 1997.

They also discussed how Rwanda could gain access to the Global Fund on AIDS and Health and how it could deal with the problem of AIDS orphans. President Kagame pledged his commitment to continued leadership on these issues.

Asked whether the Secretary-General was satisfied with the commitments made so far to the Global Fund, the Spokesman said that not all of the additional $7 billion to $10 billion that are envisioned yearly for AIDS activities are intended to go into the Fund. The Fund is intended to facilitate programs to deal with AIDS and other health crises in the developing world.

The Secretary-General said last week, of the more than $1 billion received so far, that it is a good start, but more is needed.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about recent developments in Indonesia, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General hopes that the political process will continue to be peaceful, which is vital for Indonesia and the region, and that constitutional norms and practices will be respected. The United Nations will continue to support the consolidation of democracy in Indonesia, based on full respect for human rights.

Asked about reports that Rauf Denktash might meet the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General hoped that progress would happen soon on talks on Cyprus. In that context, his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, has been in contact with Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash in the past few days, but had nothing to announce so far.

The Provisional Agenda for the 56th session of the General Assembly was issued today. The session is due to begin on September 11, and there are 185 items on the Provisional Agenda, up from 171 in the Provisional Agenda of the current session.

Today, Albania became the 98th Member State to pay its regular budget contribution in full for this year with a payment of more than $31,000.

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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