United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-04-02

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

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, April 2, 2004

UNITED NATIONS

TO ESTABLISH INVESTIGATION

INTORECENT VIOLENCEIN

COTE.DIVOIRE

Following requests from the Monitoring Committee, as well as President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, urging the United Nations to institute an international commission of inquiry to investigate the tragic events that occurred in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire on March 25, 2004, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take the lead in the establishment of such a Commission, which will commence its work as soon as possible.

The Secretary-General expects all Ivorian authorities and political forces to extend all the necessary cooperation to this Commission.

In the meantime, he calls on all Ivorians to continue to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could cause further deterioration in the situation in the country.

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE IN SUDAN

The Security Council approved the programme of work for April and then heard a briefing on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur, Sudan, from Jan Egeland, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs who is also the UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Immediately following consultations, Security Council President, Ambassador Gunter Pleuger read out a statement to the press on behalf of the Council on the Darfur situation. In the statement,

Pleuger said Council members urged the parties concerned to fully cooperate to address the grave situation, to ensure the protection of civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. They also called on the Sudanese government and opposition groups to conclude a cease-fire and reach a political settlement. Cease-fire talks are

taking place in N'djamena, Chad.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced that it was in the process of fielding a fact-finding mission to look into the situation in Darfur, Sudan. The mission members would interview refugees from Darfur

in Chad, and OHCHR was also seeking access to

Darfur

itself. Given the urgency of the situation, the mission would deploy in the coming days.

Seven UN agencies, meanwhile, have issued a humanitarian appeal to provide immediate assistance to 110,000 people in eastern Chad, who had fled the conflict in Darfur. The amount is for $30.1 million.

The World Food Programme said that 1.2 million people were in need of food aid but the prevailing dangerous conditions were restricting access; WFP could only reach 300,000 at present.

And, the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugeessays that it is becoming increasingly urgent that additional refugee camps be set up in Chad because most of the existing sites are quickly approaching capacity.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO HEAR BRIEFING ON

CYPRUS

At 3 p.m., the Secretary-General's Special Advisor for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, is scheduled to brief the Security Council in an open meeting on the developments since the 13 February agreement in New York and the recently concluded talks in Burgenstock, Switzerland.

In his statement to the Council, de Soto will outline the plan, unveiled on Wednesday, which will go to two separate referenda on 24 April.

Following the open meeting, Council members will move to closed consultations to continue their discussion. Consultations on Cyprus will follow the open meeting.

ANNAN MEETS WITHHEADS OF U.N. AGENCIES

The Secretary-General this morning opened the spring session of the Chief Executives Board, which brings together, twice every year, the heads of UN agencies funds and programs. This session is taking place in Vienna.

The World Tourism Organization is the most recent addition to the meeting, having been recently added as a UN specialized agency.

After a three-hour regular session, the members of the Board attended a luncheon hosted by International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. They then flew by helicopter to Baden, just outside Vienna, where they had a three-hour private discussion.

This evening, they will attend a dinner hosted by Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Thursday evening, the Secretary-General had a three-way meeting with Austrian President Thomas Klestil and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who was on an official visit to Vienna. They discussed the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, including the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians and blockages at checkpoints that are threatening international aid efforts. They also discussed efforts to make progress in the search for peace, in light of Israels declared intention to withdraw from Palestinian areas.

U.N. ENVOY FOR KOSOVO HOLDS TALKS WITH SERBIAN LEADER

Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo, met today in Belgrade

with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. They discussed the recent events in Kosovo, which left 19 people dead, hundreds injured and many properties damaged.

Holkeri stressed to Kostunica that the international communitys current priority is to bring the organizers of the violence to justice, and he noted that 140 arrests have already been made in connection with the riots.

GUATEMALA: UNITED NATIONS WELCOMES PROMISE

TO HALVE ARMY, MILITARY BUDGET

The UN Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA), has welcomed Thursdays announcement by President Oscar Berger, that Guatemala will reduce the size of its army and its military budget by 50%.

The Mission calls this drastic reduction the most significant change for the Guatemalan Army in decades, and one fully in keeping with the spirit of the 1996 Peace Accords.

It also points out that the 50% reduction in the Guatemalas military budget will allow funds to be freed up for priority social needs such as education, health and public security.

ADDITIONAL FUNDS SOUGHT FOR HUMANITARIAN NEEDS IN

ZIMBABWE

The United Nationsis urgently seeking additional funds to meet massive humanitarian needs in Zimbabwe

especially for health care, safe water, sanitation, education, and recovery at household and community levels.

The UNs Humanitarian Office there says that while the response of the international community in the first six months of the Consolidated Appeal has already helped ease the humanitarian consequences of Zimbabwes crisis, a lot more must be done to prevent the further erosion of basic services.

Thus, the 2003/2004 Consolidated Appeal, has been revised, with funding requirements now totalling $95.4 million, including $31.1 million requested by local and international NGOs.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL ENDS EUROPEAN TRIP: Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette has wrapped up four days of meetings with high-level European officials in Strasbourg and Brussels, to review and develop further areas of cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union. She met with the European Parliaments President, Pat Cox, and with European Commission President Romano Prodi, among other officials, and also spoke about UN reform at a forum organized by the European Policy Centre.

SMALL FIRE CONTAINED AT

RWANDA

TRIBUNAL: A small fire broke out early this morning at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwandas premises in Arusha, Tanzania. The Tribunals security and local fire authorities acted quickly and were able to contain the flames with a minimum of damage to office documents and equipment. There were no injuries. Preliminary investigations have determined the cause of the fire to be of an electrical nature, but a thorough and comprehensive investigation is still underway. As a result of the fire, trial proceedings have been adjourned until next Monday.

SECRETARIAT TO REVIEW GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER STATES CONCERNS: In response to a question at todays briefing on the General Assembly Fifth Committee meeting, which requested that the United Nations review its January bulletin concerning same-sex marriages and civil relationships, the Spokeswoman said the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management Rosemary McCreery told the Fifth Committee today that the Secretariat will carefully review the views and concerns expressed by Member States, and will reissue the bulletin promptly after the review has been completed. The Secretariat will continue to determine the personal status of staff members, with respect to their eligibility for UN entitlements, by referring to the law of their country of nationality.

AGGRESSIVE DRIVING SEMINAR STARTS ON MONDAY: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is holding in Geneva

on Monday an International Seminar on Aggressive Driving. The seminar will discuss the phenomenon and ways of curbing it. Its worth noting that road accidents still cause over 120,000 deaths and 2.4 million injuries every year throughout the UNECE region which includes Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia

and

North America. Also, the seminar will also be the launch of Road Safety Week in the UNECE region. In addition, next Wednesday is World Health Day for Road Safety.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Monday, April 5

At the start of the week, the Secretary-General is expected to pay an official visit to Russia, meeting President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials.

Tuesday, April 6

The Security Council has scheduled a public meeting on Afghanistan and consultations on Guinea-Bissau.

Wednesday, April 7

The Secretary-General is expected to speak in Geneva

about the genocide in Rwanda, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the genocide. His Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, will represent the Secretary-General at events in Rwanda

to mark the occasion.

The Security Council and the General Assembly will hold a joint session to commemorate the Rwanda

genocide.

Also, at the Economic and Social Council Chamber, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will chair a panel discussion, A Decade After Rwanda: The United Nations and the Responsibility to Protect.

At noon, in every time zone around the world, there will be a minute of silence to commemorate the genocide in Rwanda.

Today is also World Health Day.

Thursday, April 8

The Security Council has scheduled consultations on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Friday, April 9

Today is the Good Friday holiday, and UN Headquarters will be closed.

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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