United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-05-09

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

Thursday, May 9, 2002

ANNAN URGES PARTNERSHIPS ON DAY TWO OF UN CHILDRENS SUMMIT

At the start of the second day of the Special Session on Children today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed the Public-Private Partnership Dialogue, underlining the importance of public-private partnerships in building a better world.

He said that public-private partnerships have the power to help children in many ways and added that it was only by investing in children that people could build the healthy, prosperous and peaceful world for which they strive. He called on members of civil society to use their influence to lobby for debt relief, an increase in development assistance and genuinely open markets in which the countries of the developing world can compete freely and trade their way out of poverty.

The Secretary-General this afternoon is hosting a luncheon for the Heads of State and Government attending the Special Session. Later today, he will attend the concert Change the World with Children a celebration of leadership.

SOMALIA BECOMES LAST UN MEMBER TO SIGN CHILD RIGHTS CONVENTION

Many nations signed or ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols.

One particularly welcome development is that today the last Member State of the United Nations, which had not previously signed or ratified the Convention, Somalia, has now signed on.

In response to questions, the Spokesman said that all Member States except two Somalia and the United States had ratified that Convention. The United States signed it in 1995, but has not ratified, and Somalia now has also signed, but not ratified.

UNRWA SEEKS ADDITIONAL $70 MILLION FOLLOWING INCURSIONS

At a meeting in Amman, Jordan, today, where 28 donor nations gathered, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that it would need an additional $70 million, over and above an earlier $117 million request, to meet the emergency humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza.

Following the recent Israeli military incursions, the Agency has had to draw on its existing, and over-stretched, resources to tend to the wounded and supply food, medicine and water to the areas that have been affected.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said the recent incursions had led to the large-scale destruction of shelters, water supplies and electricity and sewage lines. A large population of the refugees, he said, now finds itself without the basic services and means of support for the minimum standards of life.

He also criticized the almost complete closure of entry points to the Gaza Strip, which has hampered the Relief and Works Agency in its efforts to distribute food there. Already, the Agency has had to cancel the distribution of emergency food aid in Gaza, planned for May 11, because food could not be brought into the area.

ANNAN TO VISIT CYPRUS, INDONESIA, EAST TIMOR

Starting next Monday, the Secretary-General is scheduled to begin a week-long trip to Cyprus, Indonesia and East Timor.

The Secretary-General will visit Cyprus on May 14-16. He will hold separate meetings on May 15 with H.E. Glafcos Clerides, the Greek Cypriot leader, and H.E. Rauf Denktash, the Turkish Cypriot leader. That evening he will host a dinner for them at the residence of the head of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The following day, the Secretary-General will pay a visit to UNFICYP before departing for Indonesia.

From May 17-19, the Secretary-General will be staying in Indonesia where he will meet with the President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda.

On May 19, the Secretary-General will arrive at Dili to participate in the celebrations of the independence of East Timor.

He will return to New York on May 22.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ETHIOPIA, ERITREA

The Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on Ethiopia and Eritrea at 4:30 p.m. today.

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, is expected to brief the Council on recent developments there.

AFGHANISTAN: UN ENVOY MEETS VISITING GERMAN CHANCELLOR

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, met in Kabul today with visiting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

They reviewed developments in the Loya Jirga process, the extension of International Security Assistance Force, and the funding situation of humanitarian agencies, in particular the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme. Those two agencies are faced with increased demands due to the very fast pace of refugee returns and the increased nutritional needs of the Afghan population.

Brahimi thanked the Chancellor for the lead role Germany is playing in supporting the Ministry of Interior to develop a new Afghan Police force.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan today also noted the situation in the north, the Loya Jirga process, and efforts to eradicate locust infestations.

UN MISSION ASSESSES SECURITY BEFORE SIERRA LEONE ELECTIONS

The Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Lt. Gen. Daniel Ishmael Opande, has toured the towns of Kenema and Makeni, both former strongholds of the Revolutionary United Front, to assess the general security situation in advance of the May 14 elections. Opande cautioned the peacekeepers to maintain their vigilance.

The Security Council has given the UN Mission in Sierra Leone wide-ranging security tasks for the upcoming May elections, stressing that holding them freely, fairly and transparently was vital to long-term stability.

NEW CUSTOMS POST OPENED AT EAST TIMOR-WEST TIMOR BORDER

In East Timor today, the Special Representative for the Secretary-General, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and East Timor Chief Minister Marí Alkatiri opened a new customs post and met with Indonesian officials from West Timor. The post is in the town of Tonobibi, 100 km west of Dili.

The customs post will allow East Timorese officials to collect taxes, quarantine goods and handle immigration matters.

UN ENVOY NOTES CRITICISMS TO KOSOVO ASSEMBLY

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, today addressed the Kosovo Assembly, and shared with them some of the criticisms that Security Council members expressed last month about Kosovos progress.

I hate to say that partly they are right, Steiner told the Assembly, noting criticisms on issues ranging from the lack of a multi-ethnic civil service to concerns about organized crime and the living conditions of minorities. And he added some additional concerns, saying that Kosovo needs to unify the health care system and asking, Why is there not one single woman in this government?

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

In response to a question, the Spokesman said that the United Nations had not yet officially approached Israel or the Palestinian Authority to discuss cooperation with a report to be prepared by the Secretariat on events in Jenin and other Palestinian cities, but it intended to do so.

Today, Mongolia became the 72nd Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $11,000.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced the release of a joint report Children in the New Millennium: Environmental Impact on Health. The report shows that 5,500 children die each day from diseases caused by consuming food and water polluted by bacteria.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General United Nations, S-378 New York, NY 10017 Tel. 212-963-7162 - press/media only Fax. 212-963-7055

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212) 963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article