United Nations Daily Highlights, 03-09-25

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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

Thursday, September 25, 2003

IRAQ: ANNAN ORDERS TEMPORARY REDEPLOYMENT OF UN INT'L STAFF

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on the advice of his Security Coordinator, has ordered a temporary redeployment of UN international staff in Iraq. Today there remain 42 in Baghdad and 44 in the north of the country, and those numbers can be expected to shrink further over the next few days.

This is not an evacuation, just a further downsizing, and the security situation in the country remains under constant review.

Meanwhile essential humanitarian activities in Iraq continue, thanks to the efforts of our more than 4,000 national staff in the country.

Asked if this is a Security Phase V evacuation, the Spokesman said it was not since that would imply a complete withdrawal of international staff. The Spokesman further stressed that some international staff will remain and that the staffing level was being kept under constant review.

Asked how many staff would remain after this downsizing, the Spokesman said that the number was not yet known and that it would be announced once the operation is over.

Asked about the security being provided by the Coalition to the United Nations, the Spokesman said that the United Nations had been working with the Coalition on security but that there is no 100% guarantee of safety for anyone.

Asked why the United Nations had not just asked for more security from the Coalition, the Spokesman repeated that the United Nations had been working with the Coalition but the UN Security Coordinator felt it would be better to conduct a temporary reduction in staff.

Asked why the Secretary-General had not followed the recommendation of his Security Coordinator, which had reportedly been to evacuate all the international staff, the Spokesman said that todays decision was taken by the Secretary-General and that he would not comment on recommendations that may or may not have been given to him.

Asked where the staff would be redeployed to, the Spokesman said that they would go to Amman.

Asked who was currently in charge of the UN operations in Iraq, the Spokesman said that Kevin Kennedy was the officer-in-charge while the Acting Special Representative Ramiro Lopes da Silva was on leave.

ANNAN SADDENED BY DEATH OF IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER

In a statement released through his Spokesman , the Secretary-General was very sad to learn of the death of Dr Akila al-Hashemi, the member of the Iraqi Governing Council who was attacked last Saturday.

He considers such murderous use of violence wholly inexcusable, and likely only to retard the process of establishing a broad-based and representative government in Iraq, to which sovereignty can be transferred. He sends his sincere condolences to Dr. al-Hashemis family, and to the Governing Council.

ANNAN HONORS THE LATE EDWARD SAID

The Secretary-General, according to a statement released through his Spokesman, heard with great sadness of the death of Edward Said, the distinguished Palestinian-American writer and scholar who did so much to explain the Islamic world to the West, and vice versa.

While not sharing all of Professor Saids opinions, the Secretary-General always enjoyed his company, savoured his wit, and admired the passion with which he pursued his vision of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Both the Middle East and the United States will be the poorer without his distinctive voice.

SUDAN: ANNAN ENCOURAGED BY ACCORD ON SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS

The Secretary-General, in a statement released through his Spokesman, said he was encouraged by the news that today the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) initialed a framework agreement on the security arrangements for the interim period.

He highly commends the commitment and personal efforts of First Vice-President of the Sudan, Mr. Ali Osman Taha, and Chairman of the SPLM/A, Mr. John Garang, who have been engaged in direct talks in Naivasha, Kenya, for over three weeks.

The Secretary-General urges the parties to sustain the pace of the talks and reach a speedy settlement of the conflict.

ANNAN CALLS FOR REVIEW OF AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION NEEDS

The Secretary-General addressed the High-Level meeting on Afghanistan Wednesday afternoon, appealing for continued help for the Afghan Government. He noted that it may be necessary to take another look at the assistance to the country beyond the 2004 time frame set by an international donors' conference in Bonn in 2001. He called for a new international meeting early next year to review reconstruction needs.

He noted that the continued lack of security was hampering reconstruction activities and severely threatening political participation across a wide region of the country. He again called for an expansion of international security assistance beyond Kabul, but underscored that in the long run, security was an Afghan responsibility. To that end, he urged the Government accelerating the reform the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior and the intelligence services in a credible manner.

A joint communiqué was issued at the end of the meeting attended by 22 countries and representatives from the European Commission.

UNICEF CONCERNED AT CHILD TRAFFICKING IN AFGHANISTAN

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) today expressed its serious concern over reported incidents of abduction and trafficking of children in Afghanistan.

Reports received from the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the UN Mission in Afghanistan indicate that there has been a series of abductions of children as young as four years old in northern and north-eastern regions of Afghanistan. Since early 2003, a number of children have been reportedly abducted for the apparent purpose of trafficking to neighboring countries.

UNICEF has written to the Afghan government, calling for intervention on this issue and requesting maximum resources be made available for the investigation.

ANNAN CALLS ON G-77 TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN TRADE TALKS

The Secretary-General spoke this morning at the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 coalition of developing nations, and said that, although it may be hard to imagine making gains on trade issues following the setback in Cancún, Mexico, earlier this month, the G-77 should play a key role in getting trade negotiations back on track.

He said, I hope the talks will be seen by everyone not just as a narrow exercise in mutual concessions, but rather as a wider, universal effort to ensure that the impediments to development in the present international trading arrangements are removed. That is in everyones interests.

The Secretary-General added, As Cancún showed, together you are stronger.

ANNAN HOLDS LUNCHEON WITH PERMANENT SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council as a whole scheduled for today.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Ministers of the Five Permanent Members of the Security Council are holding their annual luncheon today.

The Security Council Committee overseeing the implementation of sanctions imposed on individuals and entities belonging or related to the Taliban, Usama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaida organization, has added six more individuals to the Al Qaida section of its consolidated list.

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT DONATES $50,000 TO COMBAT HUNGER AND POVERTY

At a meeting this morning with the Secretary-General, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil made a personal donation of $50,000 to the United Nations.The President had received this sum as the Prince of Asturias Award, in recognition of his own work and leadership on social issues, and wished it to be given to the United Nations for use in a global initiative to eradicate poverty and hunger that Brazil launched this week at the United Nations, along with India and South Africa.

The Secretary-General wishes to express his great appreciation for this gift and for the Presidents strong gesture of support for the United Nations.

LIBERIA: CIVILIANS REMAIN AT RISK IN NORTH CENTRAL AREAS

The Special UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Liberia, Ross Mountain, today expressed his concern for civilians who, despite the signing of a peace agreement, continue to be subjected to serious human rights violations in north-central Liberia.

He said, A pattern of instability, characterized by sporadic weapons fire, looting and human rights violations is emerging across the north-central Liberian counties of Bong, Lofa and Nimba.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has also expressed alarm by a new mass movement caused by fresh fighting and armed groups harassing villagers for food.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UN WELCOMES JUDICIAL RULING ON AMINA LAWAL: Asked about the UN response to the appeals court ruling in Nigeria that acquitted Amina Lawal in an adultery case that carried the death penalty, the Spokesman said that the United Nations welcomes the decision taken, which is in line with international human rights standards, and is happy that her life has been spared.

RESPONSE TO AIDS BY UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION: The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today published the first of a series of case studies on AIDS and the uniformed services, dealing with the first large-scale response to HIV by a UN peacekeeping mission, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). The report highlights the groundbreaking work in Eritrea to fight the epidemic, particularly efforts by UNMEE, which pioneered a program that equips soldiers from seven countries to train their peers in HIV education techniques, and also by the Eritrean Defence Forces.

DISARMAMENT REPORT: In the Secretary-Generals report to the General Assembly on the Work of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, the Board notes that global military expenditures had been rising since 1998, after an observable general decline immediately after the end of the cold war, surging to $794 billion in 2002. The report points out that the military expenditures of just one country accounted for 43 percent of world military expenditure. The Board also recommends that the United Nations identify the best way to preserve the expertise and knowledge of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission with a view to maintaining the Organizations readiness to address future non-compliance cases.

HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEPAL: Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan welcomed investigations conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal into reported violations by the two warring parties in three districts. He called on the Nepalese government to act on the investigations findings and ensure full transparency. He urged the Nepalese Royal Army and the Communist Party of Nepal to protect civilians and combatants who have surrendered, were captured or wounded.

FOOD AID APPEAL FOR ETHIOPIA: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today appealed for $7.7 million to provide emergency assistance to some 13 million Ethiopians, who continue to be affected by critical food shortages and high levels of malnutrition in several parts of the country. The $7.7 million would be in addition to the FAOs existing support programmes, the agency said, and would be spent on animal health, feed, fodder and non-cereal seeds to assist poor farmers with managing their livestock.

U.N. BUDGET: Rwanda paid more than $24,000 today to become the 106th Member State to pay its UN regular budget dues in full for this year.

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