United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-02-12

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, February 12, 2004

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO RESUME TALKS WITH CYPRUS LEADERS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan expects to meet this afternoon at 3:00 with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, for a third day of discussions on the basis of his plan for Cyprus.

Asked whether he believed progress could be made in the Cyprus talks, the Secretary-General said yesterday, As long as we are talking, we are making progress. He added that the UN was going to do whatever it can to make progress.

The Spokesman, in response to several questions, declined to speculate on what the results of todays talks would be, noting that the United Nations has been trying to solve this issue for forty years.

He said the two sides would have to resolve their disagreements, adding that the Secretary-General had proposed, if they could not agree, to leave it to him to fill in the blanks.

He added that once the Secretary-General was convinced that the two sides were serious in their efforts to find a solution, he could then send his Special Adviser, Alvaro de Soto, to assist them in a discussion of nuts-and-bolts issues.

Asked to describe the Wednesday session, the Spokesman said, It went better yesterday than the day before.

IRAQ: CONSENSUS ON TRANSITION EMERGING FROM U.N. TEAMS MEETINGS

The Secretary-General has been briefed regularly by his Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, on his talks in Iraq, including todays meeting in Najaf with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and on the progress of the UN Fact-Finding Team.

The Team has had contact with a wide range of Iraqi opinion, and has been listening to the views expressed by Iraqis on the best means of effecting a peaceful and stable transition.

The Secretary-General understands that there is a consensus emerging from the Teams contacts that direct national elections are the best way to establish a parliament and government in Iraq that are fully representative and legitimate.

At the same time, there is wide agreement that elections must be carefully prepared, and that they must be organized in technical, security and political conditions that give the best chance of producing a result that reflects the wishes of the Iraqi electorate and thus contributes to long-term peace and stability in Iraq.

The Secretary-General will be briefed fully next week when Brahimi returns to New York, after participating in the meeting in Kuwait this weekend of Foreign Ministers of States bordering Iraq, and of Egypt.

Asked about the meeting of Iraqs neighbours and Egypt, the Spokesman said that it would take place in Kuwait on Saturday. He noted that the Secretary-General had repeatedly stressed that cooperation by neighbouring states is crucial for Iraq.

The Spokesman added he had no other travels by Brahimi to announce at this stage.

BRAHIMI ENCOURAGED BY

IRAQI DESIRES FOR REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

Lakhdar Brahimi met for more than two hours today with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Afterwards, he told the press, in Arabic, that they discussed the deep suffering of the Iraqi people and the need to help this nation out of this ordeal and out of this long, dark tunnel, to a new Iraq, united, and independent and rebuilding itself.

In a brief interview later, he said of his talks with the Iraqis: What is encouraging is that I think they want to go towards the rule of law, they want to go towards a government that is representative and they all agree that this can best be done through elections. The question is, when are these elections possible?

In the afternoon, Brahimi met a traditional leader, or sheikh, and the representative of a womans group. He also chatted with members of the Society of Students and Youth of Iraq before meeting a group of Sunni Muslim clerics.

Asked about Brahimis comments to the press on elections, the Spokesman said that there may have been some misunderstanding about what he told the press. Brahimi feels that a consensus is emerging that elections are the right way to go, Eckhard said, but the question remains on when they could be organized.

The Spokesman added that all sides expect elections to take place in 2005. The question is what can be done to have a legitimate government in place before 30 June this year.

He declined to comment on any specific proposals for the path ahead, saying that the Secretary-General would await Brahimis report.

Asked if the Secretary-General had spoken to Brahimi personally, or to U.S. officials, on this issue, he said that the Secretary-General had spoken with Brahimi this morning, some time after Brahimis meeting with Ayatollah al-Sistani. The Spokesman added that he was unaware of any phone calls today between the Secretary-General and U.S. officials.

SECRETARY-GENERAL: NO DECISION YET ON RETURN TO

IRAQ

Speaking to reporters at the opening of the Trygve Lie Gallery in New York yesterday, the Secretary-General said, Were going through a very difficult phase in Iraq at the moment, and added that the United Nations intended to remain alert and analyze the security situation before taking any decision on the return of UN international staff to Iraq.

Asked about the two recent suicide bombings in Iraq, the Secretary-General said he sent his deepest sympathy to the families of those who lost loved ones and stressed once more the need for a secure environment.

Asked whether there was any link between the terrorist attacks and the visit of the UN delegation, the Spokesman said the United Nations has "no way of knowing."

ISRAEL

URGED TO ABIDE BY INTERNATIONAL LAW

FOLLOWING MILITARY INCURSION IN

GAZA

The Secretary-General deplores the loss of life during Israeli military incursions in Gaza yesterday, which led to clashes in which at least 15 Palestinians, including civilians, were killed.

More than 50 Palestinians have been reported injured so far, among them several critically-wounded children.

The Secretary-General urges Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. This includes ceasing to use disproportionate force in densely populated areas and taking greater care to avoid harm to innocent civilians.

U.N. MILITARY OBSERVER KILLED IN DR CONGO

The Secretary-General is deeply saddened to hear the news of the tragic killing of a military observer from MONUC, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, early today in Ituri, in the countrys northeast. The incident took place after an ambush of a MONUC military and civilian convoy travelling from Katoto to Bunia, the main town in Ituri.

The Secretary-General reaffirms MONUCs determination in cooperating with the Government of the DRC to pursue the culprits and bring to justice all those who are responsible for this reprehensible and criminal act.

Regarding the background to the ambush in Ituri, the UN Mission in the DRC reports that a mixed military-human rights team was dispatched this morning from Bunia to the nearby town of Katoto, following reports of serious harassment by the UPC militia (Union des Patriotes Congolais) against the civilian population.

The team investigated the situation, reported that all was calm in the area, and had started back on the road to Bunia when the convoy came under fire. One of the military observers in the convoy, a national of Kenya, was shot and subsequently died of his wounds.

INT'L ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY CHIEF URGES URGENT DIALOGUE

TO SHORE UP NON-PROLIFERATION REGIME

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, today said he shared the concern and the sense of urgency expressed by President Bush to shore up the non-proliferation regime and global security system.

He noted that he has laid out some ideas and proposals to that end, outlined in a piece he wrote for today's New York Times. Those ideas, he said, include the need for additional authority for the IAEA, a much more stringent export control system and accelerated efforts towards nuclear disarmament.

ElBaradei said, "I call on the international community to engage in an urgent dialogue that can move us towards an agreed package of measures to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and international security system."

Asked whether the Secretary-General had any comment to make on a press report claiming that UN inspectors in Iran have discovered undeclared designs for an advanced centrifuge used to enrich uranium, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General is aware of the report but would let the IAEA take the lead on the issue.

The Spokesman noted that the IAEA had no public comment on the matter today, and the press report appeared to have advance information of an official IAEA report that has yet to be released. So thats probably why IAEA isnt commenting and the Secretary-General wont comment either, the Spokesman added.

Asked whether the Secretary-General had any views on the best way to strengthen rules governing the spread of nuclear technology, the Spokesman said he did not think it was the moment for the Secretary-General to weigh in on the debate. The Spokesman said he thought the Secretary-General would expect member states, working initially within the IAEA, to discuss what kind of modifications would be needed to strengthen the non-proliferation regime.

U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY ARRIVES IN

SUDAN FOR RELIEF TALKS

Tom Eric Vraalsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs for Sudan, arrived in Sudan today.

As we mentioned earlier this week, his mission follows up on the promise made by the Sudanese President to provide access to aid workers so that they can reach millions of suffering civilians in Darfur region.

Vraalsen is expected to discuss with the authorities putting in place an all-inclusive humanitarian ceasefire for Darfur so that aid agencies can have access to those in need.

UNICEF APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Toshiyuki Niwa, the head of the UN's Capital Master Plan Project, has been named Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, the UN Childrens Fund.

Niwa, who is from Japan, will take responsibility for the overall direction of several key areas in UNICEF, including finance and management, human resources, information technology, and the Funds inter-governmental work and relations with the UN. He previously had been the Assistant UN Secretary-General for Central Support Services.

He will assume his duties at UNICEF on 1 March. Niwas successor at the Capital Master Plan Project will be announced shortly.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NO SECURITY COUNCIL MEETINGS SCHEDULED: There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council scheduled today.

PROGRESS NOTED IN DEMOBILIZING AFGHAN EX-FIGHTERS: UNAMA, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, reports that a total of 210 men have been demobilized in Mazar-e-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan; while in the capital, nearly 600 former soldiers have passed through the reintegration process. UN demobilization projects in four cities have now dealt with more than 3,500 former combatants, while more than 2,000 of them have gone through the reintegration process.

VOTER REGISTRATION SITE FOR WOMEN ONLY OPENS IN AFGHANISTAN: The first womens-only site for voter registration in the southern city of Kandahar opened yesterday.

UN ASSESSMENT TEAM BEGINS MISSION EVALUATION IN SIERRA LEONE: A UN assessment team has begun to evaluate the benchmarks guiding the draw-down of UNAMSIL, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone, conduct a comprehensive assessment of the security situation; identify major tasks that might remain unfinished when the mission completes its mandate in December this year. The team will also develop recommendations for any possible post-mission arrangements to complete those tasks. The Secretary-General intends to present his recommendations on the matter in his March 2004 report to the Security Council.

DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY: In Geneva today, the Conference on Disarmament today approved by consensus a decision to increase the engagement of civil society in its work. The Conference also heard statements from Poland, China, North Korea, and the United States

on how to start substantial negotiations in the Conference, as well as on issues concerning non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

CAMEROON-NIGERIA MIXED COMMISSION MEETING ENDS:The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission has issued a communique following the end of its eighth meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The Mixed Commission is a mechanism established by the Secretary-General in November 2002 at the request of President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Paul Biya of Cameroon in order to facilitate peaceful implementation of the International Court of Justice judgment on the border dispute between the two countries.

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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