United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-12-09

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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

Monday, December 9, 2002

EXPERTS START EXAMINING IRAQI WEAPONS DECLARATION

The Presidency of the Security Council has issued a statement saying it had decided to allow access to the Iraqi declaration to those members with the expertise to assess the risks of proliferation and other sensitive information to begin its immediate review.

This review, the Presidency of the Council said, will be in close coordination and consultation with UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and will assist them in producing a working version of the declaration as soon as possible.

The Presidency received the declaration through UNMOVIC and requested its Executive Chairman, Hans Blix, to make it available to the Council members mentioned above.

When he arrived at UN headquarters this morning, Secretary-General Kofi Annan was asked about the Iraqi declaration, he said it was important to allow the inspectors to do their analysis and report to the Security Council before making any comments

The Iraqi declaration was handed over the United Nations on Saturd ay evening in Baghdad, Iraq. The nuclear file was then taken by the IAEA to Vienna and the biological, chemical and missile files, along with a full copy for the Security Council, was taken by UNMOVIC to New York where it arrived last night at 8:40pm.

Both experts from UNMOVIC and IAEA have started going through the material.

Meanwhile, the inspectors continued their work over the weekend. UNMOVIC and IAEA teams visited a number of sites including the chemical factory at the Falluja III site and a warehouse complex adjacent to the Tuwaitha site. In terms of staffing, an additional 25 inspectors arrived in Baghdad on Saturday -- 21 are from IAEA and 4 from UNMOVIC. The total number of inspectors currently in Iraq is 15 UNMOVIC inspectors and 27 IAEA inspectors. Another 25 to 30 inspectors, all from UNMOVIC, are expected to arrive in Baghdad Tuesday.

Asked about when the ruling of these documents would be completed, the Spokesman said time would have to be given for analysis and translation of the vast amount of documents.

Asked about the processing of the documents for the members of the Council with the expertise to assess the risk of the proliferation, the Spokesman said, according to the statement, the President of the Council had requested UNMOVIC to allow certain members of the Security Council to have access to declaration.

ANNAN WELCOMES ACEH AGREEMENT, STRONGLY HOPES FOR RETURN TO PEACE

In a statement issued through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General welcomes the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, in Geneva today.

He congratulates both parties on this important step, which he strongly hopes will pave the way for a return of peace in Aceh. He commends them for their commitment to pursue a peaceful settlement of the conflict, in a manner consistent with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia.

He also congratulates the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue on its role in bringing about the agreement, and expresses his gratitude to all those who are prepared to contribute to its implementation.

The Secretary-General reaffirms his readiness to assist the Government of Indonesia in its effort to achieve economic and social development as well as a successful democratic transition.

ANNAN LAUDS PROGRESS IN SRI LANKA PEACE PROCESS

The Secretary-General welcomes, in a statement issued on Sunday, the conclusion of the third round of Sri Lanka peace talks, during which the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to explore a solution founded on internal self-determination based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka. It is his earnest hope that further progress toward a lasting settlement acceptable to all communities will be made in future rounds.

The Secretary-General lauds both parties for their commitment to the peace process and Norway for its role as facilitator.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES GEORGIA, ANGOLA SANCTIONS

Today, the Security Council is holding consultations on several items.

The first item is Georgia, with a briefing by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative Heidi Tagliavini on recent developments and Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno who has just returned from a visit to the region.

The second agenda item is Angola with a view to a formal meeting on resolution concerning the issue of sanctions imposed on the former rebel group, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

Also on the agenda is the upcoming Security Council mission to Kosovo. Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, who is leading the mission, is expected to introduce the mission program.

At 3:00 p.m., the Security Council has scheduled two back-to-back private meetings on the Central African Republic, one with the Central African Republic's Prime Minister, Martin Ziguele, and the other with the permanent representative of Chad.

And at 3:30 p.m., a meeting of the Council committee on counter-terrorism is also scheduled for today.

The Presidency of the Security Council is now posting on its website an annotated agenda of the Councils programme.

The Security Council President, Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso of Colombia, read a press statement late Friday afternoon on the first anniversary of the Bonn agreement on Afghanistan in which Council members reiterated their support of the efforts of the Afghan Transitional Administration.

ANNAN HOPES REVISED CYPRUS TEXT WILL BE READY SHORTLY

This morning, the Secretary-General was asked if he was ready to submit a revision of his November 11th proposal for an agreement to the Cyprus problem.

We have got the comments from both parties, the Secretary-General answered, and we are looking at a revised text which I hope will be ready shortly, and we will share them with the parties.

Meanwhile on the ground, the Secretary-Generals Special Advisor on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto is continuing his intensive consultations.

Over the weekend, de Soto met separately with the Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides and the Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. He also held meetings with advisors to both.

More consultations are being held today, de Soto saw Glafcos Clerides this morning and Rauf Denktash this afternoon. De Soto is scheduled to see Mr. Clerides a second time later today.

Asked about what the Secretary-General meant by shortly, the Spokesman said the discussions are intensive and the United Nations was working hard on a revised text.

Asked about a possible meeting between the Secretary-General and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, the Spokesman said it would probably be held Tuesday afternoon.

UN ENVOY IN TIMOR-LESTE URGES SUPPORT FROM DONOR COMMUNITY

A two-day donors conference attended by more than 200 representatives of the international donors community, members of missions and agencies, has opened in Dili, Timor-Leste.

In his address to the conference, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste Kamalesh Sharma, drew attention to the countrys development challenges: A significant proportion of the population, 41 per cent, lives below the poverty line, he said, and in some parts of urban area, the unemployment rate is as high as 43 per cent and nearly half of the adult population has difficulty in reading and writing, he added.

He urged the continued support of the multilateral and bilateral donors saying, the economic and social well-being of Timor-Leste is vital for the long-term stability of the country.

ANNIVERSARY OF LAW OF THE SEA CONVENTION COMMEMORATED

This morning in the General Assembly Hall, the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Law of the Sea Convention was commemorated, and the Secretary-General took the occasion to praise that treaty as a milestone for the rule of law and for the United Nations.

He said that the Conventions framers created a treaty that provides for the rational exploitation of both the living and non-living resources of the sea and for the protection of the marine environment. But he warned that, over the past two decades, implementation of certain aspects of the treaty have been inadequate, with the worlds fisheries becoming increasingly depleted and the marine environment becoming seriously degraded.

Going into the meeting, the Secretary-General met briefly with Javier Perez de Cuellar, who had been Secretary-General when the Law of the Sea Convention had been opened for signature in 1982.

ANNAN TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREE FROM CAPE TOWN UNIVERSITY

The Secretary-General will be attending a ceremony tonight at Columbia University where he will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from University of Cape Town (UTC).

In his speech at the ceremony, the Secretary-General will highlight the threat that African women are facing now: Famine and AIDS. He will underscore that message that if we want to save Africa, we must save Africas women first.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, is in Washington, D.C., today, where he will brief US Secretary of State Colin Powell about the general situation in Kosovo and the Balkans. Tuesday, Steiner will be in New York for internal meetings with senior officials here, before returning to Kosovo on Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates became the 145th country to sign the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The Protocol concerning trafficking in persons was signed by Japan and Lebanon; the Protocol on firearms was signed by China and Japan; and Japan also signed the Protocol on smuggling of migrants.

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

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