United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-11-14

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY

FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, November 14, 2001

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES RESOLUTION ON AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council met in closed consultations this morning to receive a briefing by Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, on the latest situation on the ground and other developments.

A draft resolution on transitional arrangements for Afghanistan is also being discussed for possible adoption as soon as possible.

During yesterdays Security Council meeting, Brahimi said that there will be a meeting of the so-called "Group of 21" on Friday. That meeting is scheduled to take place Friday at UN headquarters at 10 a.m. Members of the Group and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have been invited for that meeting.

The group first met in November 1996 at the invitation of the then Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali. They are a group of states from the region and other states with influence on Afghanistan.

Asked for more detail on a the composition of an international force for Afghanistan, the Spokesman said the Unite Nations is not recruiting the troops and will not be paying the troops. The Spokesman added that such a force would have to be led by one or more member state.

When asked to confirm a report that the United Arab Emirates would host a conference of the Afghan parties, the Spokesman said he could not but that in his consultations Brahimi was seeking a location close to Afghanistan, possibly in the Middle East. Brahimi, the Spokesman added, would announce the final decision once it has been reached.

In response to a question on the Northern Alliance's decision to enter Kabul against the reported wishes of some nations, the Spokesman answered that it was not up to the UN to comment on agreements that may or may not have been made between the Northern Alliance and one or more member state.

Asked what the hypothetical scenario would be if Osama bin Laden was captured by a member state, the Spokesman said that under Security Council resolution 1368 every member state is obligated not to provide refuge to terrorist so that if he was captured he would probably be turned over to the appropriate authorities at which point the Security Council could decide the venue for a trial, under a national authority or under an ad-hoc UN tribunal. The Spokesman added that if there an International Criminal Court existed, he could be sent there but none exists yet.

When asked what other UN operations might serve as a model a political and military settlement for Afghanistan, the Spokesman said that Brahimi said he believed there was no model for Afghanistan, since every operation is unique. The Spokesman added that UN operations in Cambodia and East Timor are specifically not models since both the Secretary-General and Brahimi have said that a UN-imposed administration is not an answer for Afghanistan. Both, the Spokesman said, underscored that it was up to the Afghans to come up with a political solution, with whatever support they may require from the United Nations.

UN INTERNATIONAL STAFF PREPARES FOR RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN

According to reports from the field, preparations are underway for the visit to Francesc Vendrell, Brahimis deputy, and Michael Sackett, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, to Kabul as soon as security conditions permit. UN agencies are also preparing for the return of international staff to Afghanistan.

As promised, the Northern Alliance authorities placed guards around UN offices in Kabul, where the situation is reported calm. Staff of UN Afghanistan met briefly with Northern Alliance authorities, and received reassurances that UN staff and property would remain secure.

The Mine Action Center has named Herat as one of these sites where new mines are being laid by retreating Taliban forces, a development which is of great concern to the United Nations.

The United Nations today dispatched the first barge load of relief supplies into Hairaton, Afghanistan from Termez in Uzbekistan. The supplies, intended for the most vulnerable people of northern Afghanistan, include wheat, winter clothes and water containers.

A staff member from the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who crossed to the Hairaton side of the river met with Afghan colleagues from the UNHCR sub-office in Mazar-i-Sharif who advised that the town was generally calm, although pockets of insecurity were reported in some surrounding areas. Meanwhile, UNHCR said its office in that western Afghanistan town was re-opened by local staff today.

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) is temporarily suspending aid convoys that use commercial transport, to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, following reports that one or possibly two drivers of a commercial transport company affiliated with the agency may have been killed in the Mazar-i-Sharif area.

The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that a convoy of trucks carrying about 1,200 tonnes of food left Turkmenabad in Turkmenistan for north Afghanistan.

DOHA TRADE AGREEMENT WELCOMED BY UNCTAD CHIEF

Rubens Ricupero, the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development said he welcomed the agreement reached today at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Meeting in Doha to launch a new round of global trade talks.

Ricupero especially welcomed a separate declaration from the meeting which states that nothing in the agreement on intellectual property rights (TRIPS) should prevent developing countries from taking measures to protect public health.

The UN system worked closely with WTO to raise awareness for this public health issue, which Ricupero says is an outstanding achievement for WTO and the world.

Asked for clarification on the agreement on TRIPS, the Spokesman said it re-affirmed the right of developing countries to protect public health first and respect the TRIPS second.

ANNAN TO DISCUSS GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK WITH IMF, WORLD BANK

This Saturday night, the Secretary-General will be in Ottawa, Canada, to attend a unique dinner with the Committees of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to discuss the global economic outlook following the September 11 attacks on the United States, and in particular the impact on the poorest.

For the first time ever, the Secretary-General was invited by the chairs of those two organizations Development Committee and International Monetary Finance Committee, Indian Finance Minister Yaswant Sinha and UK Chancellor Gordon Brown, to exchange views with the members of those Committees in a Saturday evening dinner session.

In addition to the post-September 11 economic environment, he will discuss plans for the forthcoming UN Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Monterey, Mexico, next March. He will also take questions from the attendees, who are to include 45 finance ministers who are attending the weekend meeting.

Earlier on Saturday, the Secretary-General is also expected to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The Secretary-General will be back in New York the following day.

UN CONGO ENVOY SAYS COUNCIL RESOLUTION IS 'ROAD MAP' FOR UN MISSION

At a press conference held this morning in Kinshasa, the Secretary-General Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amos Namanga Ngongi, said the recently adopted Security Council resolution (1376) provides the UN mission (MONUC) with the road map which guide its actions in the coming months.

He stressed that the goodwill and efforts made by the United Nations would not suffice in ensuring the successful implementation of the resolution: the belligerents themselves will have to meet certain prerequisites, most notably in the demilitarization of Kisangani and the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Ngongi announced that at Kamina, the mission has undertaken the screening operation of the former Rwandan combatants. More than 1,500 men were presented to the UN mission in the presence of the minister of security and public order and the UN Force Commander, Maj.-Gen. Mountaga Diallo.

"The disarmament as well as the repatriation will be voluntary," the Special Representative said, "MONUC will not forcibly impose and will not condone any method which does not enter into the terms of its mandate."

UNRWA RECEIVES JORDANIAN LEADERSHIP AWARD

Today, at a ceremony in Amman, Jordan, presided by King Abdullah II, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) received the King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Prize for its 50 years of services to Palestine refugees and its emergency work in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip over the last 13 months.

In his acceptance speech, Peter Hansen, UNRWA Commissioner-General, said that over the decades the organization has embodied the international communitys commitment to Palestinian refugees.

However, the events in the Occupied Territories since October of last year have posed an unprecedented challenge to UNRWA, Hansen said, as large number of refugees in the West Bank and Gaza strip continue to fall below the poverty line.

ANNAN ASKS FOR TECHNICAL EXTENSION OF WESTERN SAHARA MISSION

The Secretary-General, in a letter to the President of the Security Council that was published today, says that his Personal Envoy for the Western Sahara, James Baker, has been consulting with the parties involved in the Western Sahara dispute to discuss the draft Framework Agreement, but that he would need additional time for these consultations.

Accordingly, the Secretary-General proposes that the Security Council authorize a technical extension of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara which is set to expire at the end of this month, for another two months, until the end of January 2002.

The Security Council is expected to hold consultations on Western Sahara next week.

CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE OPENED BY UN ENVOY IN SIERRA LEONE

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Sierra Leone, Oluyemi Adeniji, yesterday opened the National Consultative Conference in Freetown, which brings together Government officials, civil society representatives and political party members to chart the way forward for democracy and development in that country.

Adeniji appealed to all Sierra Leoneans to emphasize what they can achieve collectively, and said the success of the three-day Conference depends on what it can yield for fostering democratic values in Sierra Leone.

Also today, the World Food Programme warns that it may face a break in humanitarian operation to feed thousands of destitute and vulnerable people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone unless more contributions are received immediately. The emergency operations in this region require 100,000 tonnes of food and because of the lengthy procurement processes, donors are urged to pledge their contributions as soon as possible.

REDUCTION OF MILITARY IN UN EAST TIMOR MISSION GETS UNDERWAY

The gradual reduction of the military component of the UN Mission in East Timor began today with a ceremony to mark the departure this coming Friday of the Kenyan contingent.

This is the first in a series of downsizing moves that will reduce the peacekeeping force from its current level of almost 8 thousand troops to 5 thousand by East Timors independence on 20 May next year.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Guatemala today became the 127th Member State to pay its 2001 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $279,000. At this time last year, 137 Member states had paid their dues in full.

Among the many treaty signings today, this morning, Palau acceded to four of the Conventions on Terrorism and Guinea Bissau to three and this afternoon, Belize will also accede to four treaties and ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Tuesday, among the signings, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya became the 100th country to sign the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

The World Food Programme announced in a press release today, the first relief operation in decades in the Nuba Mountain region of the Sudan. 100 tonnes of food was airdropped today as part of 2,000 tonnes to be delivered in the coming weeks. A four-week period of tranquility had been negotiated to allow humanitarian assistance to reach some 158,000 people impoverished and displaced by years of war.

The Food and Agriculture Organization ended the 31st session of its Governing Council yesterday. We have a press release with some of the highlights of the session, which saw the admission of four new members Monaco, Nauru, Uzbekistan and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Security Council is expected to receive the report on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is expected to be out on Friday.

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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