United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-04-21

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

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY HUA JIANG

DEPUTY SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, April 21, 2003

IRAQ: FOOD DELIVERIES RISE; DIFFICULTIES NOTED AT HEALTH FACILITIES

The World Food Programme (WFP) said the first UN food convoy has arrived in Baghdad. A trip that should take only two days took four due to the lack of security and the need to prepare a secured warehouse in the city. The convoy had 1,400 tons of food, which is enough for half the population of Baghdad but only for one day. In a very short time, more than six times this quantity will need to be sent every day from Jordan, WFP said at the humanitarian briefing in Amman.

Meanwhile in the north, the delivery of food continues to increase rapidly. Since the start of its cross-border operations from Turkey 17 days ago, WFP has increased the shipments by 200%. The agency now provides nearly 50% of the average monthly food requirement in the north.

The UN Childrens Fund said a survey of Baghdads health facilities conducted by its national staff shows that the recent events have taken a severe toll on those facilities. A major concern is the lack of health workers, with one hospital having only 7% of its original staff still at work. The lack of clean water has resulted in a sharp increase in diarrhoeal cases. Power outages have meant that vaccines have to be thrown out. Some hospitals have also had to bury the dead in surrounding gardens, due to a lack of proper storage facilities.

The World Health Organization says that it successfully delivered a truckload of surgical items, medicines for communicable diseases, trauma and other urgent drugs to Baghdad. The supplies are stored in the Ministry of Healths main warehouse in Baghdad, and will be distributed to hospitals and health centers around the city.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says its staff working in no-man's-land at al-Karama, between Jordan and Iraq, reports that another 100 persons had reached the border between late yesterday and this morning, bringing the total number of people in the makeshift encampment on Jordan's frontier to more than 1,050. UNHCR is working with local relief organizations to increase the number of shelters and other basic facilities at the windswept border encampment. Most of the arrivals are ethnic Kurds from Iran and Palestinians.

ANNAN ISSUES LATEST REPORT ON MISSING KUWAITIS

Published today is the Secretary-Generals report on the activities of the High Level Coordinator on the issue of the return all Kuwaiti and third country national or their remains, Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov.

In it, the Secretary-General writes that the resumption of the meetings of the technical subcommittee of the Tripartite Commission, which is comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, France, Great-Britain, the United States and the International Committee of the Red Cross, had provided some hope for progress. Those meetings were interrupted by the outbreak of conflict late last month.

ARGENTINE LAWYER TO BE INT'L CRIMINAL COURTS FIRST PROSECUTOR

The Assembly of the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court resumed in New York this morning, and the States, in a secret ballot, elected Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo as the Courts first prosecutor. Moreno Ocampo received all 78 valid ballots cast this morning.

Moreno Ocampo was assistant prosecutor in the trials against Argentinas military junta, and led a team which analysed more than 10,000 human rights abuses in that country, among the many important cases with which he has dealt.

This afternoon, the States Parties will also deal with budgetary matters for the Court.

ANNAN TO START OFFICIAL VISIT TO AUSTRIA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan left Greece today and traveled to Vienna, Austria, where he will have an official visit, although the official program begins Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, he will meet with the staff at the UN Office in Vienna, before having a meeting with Austrian President Thomas Klestil. Then on Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, and also will visit the Austrian Parliament.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO TAKE UP IRAQ ISSUES TOMORROW

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council today.

Tuesday, the Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations in the morning on the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq (UNMOVIC), with a briefing by Executive Chairman Hans Blix.

In the afternoon, the Council has scheduled consultations on the oil-for-food program with the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan.

WHO TO SEND MORE EXPERTS TO CHINA

The World Health Organization is sending this week a second expert team to China, in Shanghai, to monitor the outbreak there.

The WHO says that the recent outbreaks in Canada and Hong Kong have raised important new questions concerning the possibility of transmission from an environmental source and its potential to move into the wider community.

So far, a total of 3547 cases with 182 deaths have been reported from 25 countries. These figures do not include the military hospitals in Beijing, as those hospitals are not obliged by Chinese law to report cases to health authorities. However, a WHO team began visits to Beijings military hospitals last week.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

KOSOVO: The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, Michael Steiner, has announced a series of emergency measures to deal with Kosovos electricity problems, including the appropriation of 17.3 million euros, taken from last years budget surplus, to meet emergency repair needs for Kosovos power plants. In addition, Steiner said he aimed for an electricity load-shedding schedule, in which electricity would be turned on for four hours and then off for two hours or possibly on for five hours and off for one, during the spring and summer.

MIDDLE EAST "ROAD MAP": Asked about the Secretary-Generals position on the Middle East Road Map, the Spokeswoman said the Secretary-General felt it should be published as soon as possible.

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

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