United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-05-15

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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, May 15, 2002

LIBERIA: UN CONDEMNS ALL ATTEMPTS TO TAKE POWER BY FORCE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is deeply disturbed by the human suffering caused by the precarious situation in Liberia, according to a statement released through his Spokesman. He is also concerned about the implications that this might have for the sub-region of the Mano River Union [consisting of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea].

Recent fighting in Bong County and reports of rebel activity in the vicinity of the capital Monrovia have raised grave concerns about the well being of a large number of civilians, many of whom are being forced to flee their homes.

The Secretary-General is also concerned for the safety of UN and non-governmental humanitarian workers, some of whom were forced to evacuate the town of Gbarnga and its environs on May 9.

The Secretary-General condemns all attempts by the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and any other armed factions to take power by force. He urges the Liberian parties concerned to resort to dialogue to address their grievances and in this regard, supports the efforts of ECOWAS and others to make this dialogue possible.

The Secretary-General further reiterates his call on all states in the region not to allow their territories to be used to commit acts of aggression against neighboring countries.

The Secretary-General appeals to the international community to urgently provide adequate resources to relief agencies, to enable them to respond to vital needs of the rising number of internally displaced persons and other vulnerable Liberians.

[In a press statement on behalf of the Security Council, which took up Liberia in consultations this morning, Council President Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani of Singapore expressed serious concern at the grave humanitarian situation as a result of the recent fighting. He added that the Council called on all States in the region to take action to prevent armed individuals and groups from using their territories to prepare and commit attacks on neighboring countries.]

UN APPLAUDS PEACEFUL PARTICIPATION IN SIERRA LEONE ELECTIONS

The Secretary-General, in a statement issued today, extends his congratulations to the people of Sierra Leone for voting in their numbers and in a spirit of mutual respect and reconciliation in yesterdays presidential and parliamentary elections. Their peaceful and enthusiastic participation in the elections is an eloquent testimony to Sierra Leoneans determination to turn a page on their tragic past. It is also a major step on the road to lasting, sustainable peace.

The Secretary-General appeals for continued calm and restraint as the election results are collated and announced. He also urges political leaders and their followers to be magnanimous in both victory and defeat.

The Secretary-General notes that the countrys pressing reconstruction and national reconciliation needs will be the next challenge for the Sierra Leonean people and the international community. Extending State authority throughout the country, restoring Government control over natural resources, reintegrating ex-combatants and resettling returning populations, will require sustained determination, encouragement and support.

[Security Council President, Ambassador Mahbubani in a statement to the press, said that the Security Council welcomed the peaceful conduct of the elections in Sierra Leone.]

ELECTION TURNOUT IN SIERRA LEONE 'QUITE HIGH'

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sierra Leone Oluyemi Adeniji said the organization of yesterdays presidential and parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone was extremely well done throughout the country.

Adeniji praised Sierra Leoneans for their conduct during elections. The comportment of the voters, of the people of Sierra Leone, has been exemplary, practically in every place we visited, he said.

He said the turnout among the 2.3 million eligible voters was quite high. No official figures were expected to be released until at least Friday evening.

Commenting on the UN missions role in providing logistical support to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) as mandated by the UN Security Council, he confirmed that all the materials were in place by the time people started voting, adding that even in some inaccessible places, UN helicopters delivered materials well into the evening before the elections.

Adeniji expressed the hope that political parties would abide by the code of conduct they signed. We are expecting that as just as the election has been free of violence, so will the aftermath of the election when the results are announced, he said.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED ON LIBERIA, MIDDLE EAST, AFGHANISTAN, DRC

This morning the Security Council met in closed consultations to hear a briefing on Liberia by Youssef Mahmoud, Director of the Africa II Division of the Department of Political Affairs.

Afterwards, Council members were briefed on the Middle East and Afghanistan by Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

The Council was briefed on the outcome of last weekends Security Council retreat by Council President, Ambassador Mahbubani.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was also taken up during a briefing by Jean-Marie Guehénno, Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.

DR CONGO: KISANGANI REPORTED TENSE AFTER VIOLENT INCIDENTS

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that the situation in the center of the northeastern city of Kisangani appears to be calm following Tuesdays mutiny attempt by former combatants from the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD.) However the situation remains tense in certain areas around Kisangani, where a number of people were killed. Preliminary reports indicate that five people lost their lives.

Tuesday afternoon, a planeload of reinforcements of RCD troops arrived from Goma.

The UN Mission is currently trying to establish the facts surrounding the events as well as identify the victims.

These incidents, the mission spokesman in Kinshasa said, underscore the urgent need for the demilitarization of the town, as called for by the Security Council.

ANNAN MEETS WITH GREEK CYPRIOT AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS

This morning, the Secretary-General met for an hour and a half with Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides at Clerides' office. The meeting was two-on-two, with the Secretary-General accompanied by his Special Adviser Alvaro de Soto.

Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General went to the office of Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for a meeting that lasted almost two hours. Again, the formula was two-on-two.

This evening, the Secretary-General has invited the two leaders to a working dinner, which will be held at the residence of Zbigniew Wlosowicz, the Chief of the UN Mission in Cyprus.

DAMAGE IN WEST BANK FROM ISRAEL INCURSIONS ESTIMATED AT $361 MILLION

An assessment, carried out by the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Norway and released earlier today in Jerusalem, has determined the total cost of the damage in the West Bank and Gaza resulting from the recent Israeli incursions at more than $361 million.

The most heavily damaged areas were Nablus and Jenin; the total damages to Nablus cost some $114 million, while damage to Jenin was estimated at more than $82 million.

UNDP made a substantial contribution to the assessment by gathering and consolidating information and was responsible for the assessments of two of the seven areas in question, Nablus and Qalqilia.

MIDDLE EAST: UN ENVOY SAYS PRINCIPLES OF 'OSLO PROCESS' STILL VALID

Today in Oslo, Noway, Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process, delivered a lecture entitled The Current Crisis in the Middle East: Causes and Solutions". This was the annual Nobel lecture, hosted by the Nobel Institute.

Speaking in the city which gave its name to the Middle East peace process, Larsen said that 10 years on that process has collapsed.

The institutions it gave birth too are shattered and almost destroyed, Larsen went on to say, and the spirit that fueled it is being drowned out by violence, recriminations, and distrust.

Nevertheless he told the audience that basic principles on which the Oslo process was based remain valid. Those were: land for peace, based on Security Council resolutions 242 and 338; the end of occupation; total rejection of violence and terrorism; the need for security for both parties; and Israels right to exist in security.

However given the erosion of trust and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, it now necessary to use the opposite tactics of Olso to reach agreement and the end of conflict.

We must now start at the end, Larsen said, We have a consensus about where the conflict must end, and this must be agreed up front before anything else can be done.

The principles for an end to the conflict must be introduced and guaranteed by the international community.

In conclusion, he said that those involved in the Middle East peace process are motivated by two fundamental principles and one unshakable idea -- the principles of the fundamentality of Israels right to exist and of the Palestinians right to independence and self determination. The unshakable idea being that these two principles can be reconciled into one common vision and one common future.

DONOR PLEDGE $360 MILLION TO EAST TIMOR DEVELOPMENT

The donors meeting in Dili ended today with pledges of more than $360 million to support East Timor over the next three years. This will be added to the $81 million already available through the Trust Fund for East Timor and the UN Mission of Support in East Timor, UNMISET, the successor to the current mission the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.

The two-day conference focused on poverty reduction and development in the social sector, with allocations of about 48 percent of the core budget, going to health and education.

Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri said the National Development Plan set out an ambitious path. Our challenge, he said, will be to ensure that we have the persistence to implement it and the flexibility to make changes and improvements as conditions allow.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello today swore in 29 Regional Commissioners for the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation. Under guidance from the Commissions seven National Commissioners, the Regional Commissioners will conduct inquiries into human rights violations from 1974 to 1999.

TWO SERB SUSPECTS ARRIVE AT HAGUE TRIBUNAL

Two Serbs who had been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were transferred from Serbia to The Hague, where they have been put in the Tribunals detention unit.

Milan Martic, the former head of the Serb Krajina within Croatia, and Mile Mrksic, a Yugoslav Army general who was the former commander of the Serb Krajinas army, have been charged with crimes allegedly committed in Croatia.

RWANDAN GENOCIDE SUSPECT ARRESTED IN BELGIUM

In Brussels, Belgium, a former colonel in the Rwanda Armed Forces was arrested on charges of genocide and other crimes allegedly committed in 1994.

The suspect, Leonidas Rusatira, is accused by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda of leading an attack against thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus who had sought refuge in a technical college in Kigali, killing hundreds of them.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The UN International Drug Control Program (UNDCP), in a press release, says a five-year plan of action against drug abuse has been adopted at the first-ever Organization of African Unity (OAU) Ministerial Meeting on Drug Control in Africa in Côte dIvoire. Until recently, drug control in Africa has received little attention and the full dimensions of drug trafficking, abuse and related problems still need to be assessed, says UNDCP, which helped organize the meeting.

Today in Toronto, the Global Mining Initiative Conference, which seeks to foster responsible mining worldwide, is holding its closing session, and the Secretary-General has issued a message emphasizing the importance of the initiative. In his message, delivered by Georg Kell, executive head of the Global Compact, the Secretary-General points out, The mining and minerals industry is one in which there are real discrepancies between wealth creation for the few, and environmental and social costs for the many. It is imperative, he said that more is done to mitigate the fallout from mining and ensure that local communities share in the benefits.

The United Nations Environment Programme announced in a press release today, the launch of 22 reports on a variety of subjects from aviation and chemicals to waste and water management. The reports, prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, indicate there is a growing gap between the efforts of business and industry to reduce their impact on the environment and the worsening state of the planet.

Mozambique today became the 74th Member State to pay its 2002 regular budget contribution in full with a payment of more than $11,000.

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