United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-05-10

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

THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, May 10, 2004

ANNAN, SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMN TERRORIST ATTACK IN

CHECHNYA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan was dismayed to learn of the terrorist attack in Grozny on Sunday which took the life of Akhmad Kadyrov, President of the Republic of Chechnya, and a number of others who were with him at the time. He extends his deepest condolences to the Government of the Russian Federation and to the families of the victims. Such acts can never be justified. They can only delay the return to peace and justice in Chechnya.

Separately, the Security Council President, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, opened this mornings Council meeting with an expression of condolences on behalf of Council members in the wake of the Sunday terrorist attack in Grozny.

[Following the open meeting, Council members went into consultations to discuss a draft presidential statement on the attack. In the subsequent presidential statement, the Security Council expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist bomb attack, and urged all States to cooperate with the Russian authorities in the efforts to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of the attack.

ANNAN CONCERNED OVER REPORTED COMMUNAL CLASHES IN

NIGERIA

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned over reports of growing communal clashes in Nigeria, and condemns the attacks in the village of Yelwa in Plateau State where hundreds of people lost their lives last week.

The Secretary-General welcomes the concerted efforts of the authorities and the affected communities not only to investigate the Yelwa killings with a view to bringing those responsible to justice, but also to promote the peaceful resolution of disputes.

He appeals for swift action to ensure the rule of law, and to promote reconciliation, and supports the Governments efforts to protect the safety of all citizens throughout the country.

PROPOSALS FOR CARETAKER GOVERNMENT

DISCUSSED WITH

IRAQ

GOVERNING COUNCIL

Special Advier Lakhdar Brahimi has been very busy over the past three days, continuing his consultations with a wide spectrum of Iraqi society.

On Saturday he had a meeting with the Governing Council, chaired by this months president Ezzelding Selim. For over 90 minutes they discussed proposals for the care taker government to which sovereignty would be transferred on 1 July. Brahimi listened to their views and answered all their questions regarding the political transitions.

His meetings over the weekend included a number of ministers, tribal leaders, representatives of professional groups and business leaders.

Last Friday, the UN Electoral Assistance Division issued a press release regarding the nomination process for the independent electoral commission. Nominations for the posts are already being received through manual submission at Governorate locations and via email. Especially interested in the exercise have been womens groups, academia, professional associations, political parties and other civil organizations.

To date, 5,000 nomination forms and 600,000 leaflets advertising the process have been distributed throughout Iraq. Another 5,000 forms are to be distributed shortly. Iraqis are encouraged to photocopy and widely distribute more of the nomination forms to interested people.

Asked about when Brahimi would return to New York - possibly as soon as next week - the Spokesman said he didnt believe the Special Adviser was expected back then, adding that even if his return date was known, it would not be announced in advance.

Asked about a report claiming that the U.S. State Department had contacted the Secretary-Generals office about the composition of

Iraqs caretaker government, the Spokesman said Brahimi was not in business of naming ministers. He [Brahimi] said the people in this caretaker government should not run for office when the elections come about next January and they should be above all, people of great integrity and competence, according to the Spokesman said.

ANNAN PROPOSES ONE-YEAR EXTENSION FOR U.N.

MISSION

IN TIMOR-LESTE

The Security Council today was briefed in an open meeting on the situation in Timor-Leste, with the Secretary-Generals Special Representative, Kamalesh Sharma, making his final appearance before the Council in that role.

Sharma noted the Secretary-Generals proposal to the Council to keep the UN Mission of Support in East Timor, which is set to expire at the end of this month, for an additional year. He expressed his satisfaction that the Timor-Leste Mission has been widely seen as successful.

Sharma said that considerable progress has been made in the orderly downsizing of the Mission and added that the Missions military component has continued to draw down smoothly.

JUDGE ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR EX-INDONESIAN DEFENCE MINISTER

The UN Mission of Support in East Timor reports that an international judge working for the Special Panel for Serious Crimes issued an arrest warrant today for General Wiranto, Indonesias former defence minister.

The Special Panel, which is an independent court, had indicted Wiranto and seven other senior officials in February 2003, for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. The indictment charged Wiranto with command responsibility for murder, deportation and persecution.

U.N. ENVOY BRIEFS LEBANESE LEADERS ON DIPLOMATIC QUARTET MEETING

Terje Roed Larsen, the UNs Middle East envoy, is in Beirut

today to meet senior Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri. In separate meetings, he briefed them on the recent Quartet meeting held here in New York

.

Larsen also reiterated the Secretary-Generals position on the Palestinian track, meaning that final status issues should be resolved between the parties and the parties alone, within the frame work of the Road Map. It is important that these negotiations are not prejudged, he added.

U.N. AGENCY SPEAKS OUT ON ISRAELI DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIAN HOMES

According to figures released today by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the last 10dayshave been one of the most intense periods of destruction of Palestinian homes by the Israeli military since the start of this intifadah.

In the first 10days of this month, Israel has demolished, or damaged beyond repair, 131 residential buildings in the Gaza Strip, creating 1,100 new homeless people.

Peter Hansen, UNRWAs Commissioner-General said: UNRWA condemns without reservation the 2 May killings, as it does the killing of innocent Palestinians and their children, asinternational law simply forbids collective punishment. The overwhelming majority of the more than 17,000 Palestinians who have lost their homes in Gaza since the start of the intifada have been guilty of nothing more than living in the wrong place at the wrong time.

U.N. MISSION EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ERITREAN ALLEGATIONS

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has expressed its grave concern over a press release issued by the Eritrean Commission for Coordination with the Peacekeeping Mission listing a host of allegations.

UNMEE, in a press release released late Friday, said it takes these allegations very seriously, and is deeply concerned that these accusations have the potential to incite the Eritrean people against the mission.

Since its inception, the Mission says it has worked hard to contribute to a lasting solution to the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and it was shocked to learn that it is now part of the problem. UNMEE adds that We of course acknowledge that we are guests in Eritrea. When a guest is no longer welcome in a house, it is the prerogative of the host to decide what to do next.

INDIGENOUS FORUM TO FOCUS ON ROLE OF WOMEN

Some 1,000 people from around the world are beginning a two-week meeting at the United Nations today to focus on indigenous issues, in a session opened by the Secretary-General.

In his address, the Secretary-General told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that the past three decades have witnessed a sea change in global attitudes towards promoting indigenous rights. Yet he will warn that indigenous peoples continue to suffer from prejudice and ill will.

The theme of this years Forum is the vital role played by indigenous women.

UNITED NATIONS BACKS EMERGENCY POLIO CAMPAIGN IN

BOTSWANA

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting a massive emergency immunization campaign in Botswana, following the re-introduction of poliovirus into the country from Nigeria in February, after a 13-year absence.

The campaign is deemed critical to protect the country's children from further spread of the poliovirus. UNICEF and WHO are supplying the oral polio vaccine, mobilizing communities, training health workers and ensuring that the refrigerated 'cold chain' equipment is in place to safely transport the vaccine to the children.

AFGHANISTAN VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE

CONTINUES, DESPITE EXPLOSION

A vehicle transporting national electoral field coordinators in Afghanistan

hit an explosive device on Saturday near Jalalabad, but the country's voter registration drive continues, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports.

The Mission said the vehicles fuel tank burst, but the cars five occupants managed to escape, with the driver suffering only minor injuries. An Afghan Government investigation into the blast is underway.

The Mission noted that, despite the explosion, voter registration is continuing in Afghanistan, and, as of Thursday, it hit an important milestone, with over 2 million Afghans registered. About 70% of those registered are men.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

CALLS FOR ARMED GROUPS IN DR CONGO TO LAY DOWN ARMS: In a speech given today in Kinshasa, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, William Swing, called on armed groups active in the countrys Ituri province to join, without restriction, the UN-backed process of pacification of the province. The conflict in that particular region of the country has already claimed the lives of some 50,000 people and displaced at least half a million.

BLACK BOX ANALYSIS RESULTS EXPECTED SOON: Asked about the black box found in March at UN Headquarters and currently under investigation for possible links it to the 1994 aircraft crash that triggered the Rwanda genocide, the Spokesman said he had been informed by the UNs Office of Internal Oversight Services that the Ottawa-based firm that is analysing the black boxs contents, is very close to its final analysis, and an announcement is expected soon.

CONFERENCE

ON

AFGHAN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES BEGINS: A high-level conference of government ministers and top business leaders from the region surrounding Afghanistan today began a meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on ways to tap the new regional economic opportunities afforded by Afghanistan. The meeting is being supported by the UN Development Programme, and will last through Wednesday.

LIBERIAN WOMENS CONFERENCE BEGINS: Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), delivered the keynote address at the opening this morning in Monrovia of the National Women's Conference on Peace and Socio-Economic Recovery in Liberia. The Conference, with the theme "Solidifying and Sustaining Peace and Development in Liberia," will run from 10-14 May.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE UNDERWAY IN

SRI LANKA AND ZAMBIA: Nearly 80,000 Sri Lankan families need emergency food, seeds and fertilizer following poor rainfall on the islands rice paddies. Thats one of the findings of a report released today by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme. Meanwhile, the UN agencies and their partners are responding to humanitarian needs created by floods in

Zambia

that now affect more than 20,000 people. Emergency funds have been released for the purchase of necessities, and a multi-agency team which includes the UN will report back once its latest assessment of needs in the area is completed.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, DESA TO MAXIMIZE BUSINESS CONTRIBUTIONS: The World Economic Forum is teaming up with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs on a joint effort to maximize business contributions to development and the fight against poverty. That is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed today by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo and Richard Samans, the World Economic Forums Managing Director for Partnership and Governance.