United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-06-24

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, June 24, 2004

The Secretary-General will hold a press conference on Friday, June 25, at 10:00 a.m., which will last no more than 45 minutes. There will consequently be no noon briefing tomorrow.

ANNAN TO VISIT DARFUR, SUDAN AS PART OF THREE WEEKS OF TRAVEL

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be leaving this weekend on an extended trip that will take him to the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.

He will initially fly to Qatar via the United Arab Emirates. He will meet with the Emir of Qatar and possibly speak to the press there.

On Wednesday morning, he will travel to the Sudan for official meetings. The next day, he will visit a displaced persons camp in Darfur and then go to Chad, where he will also meet with senior officials, including the President.

On Friday, he will visit a refugee camp on the Chad side of the Chad-Sudan border before returning to Khartoum for further consultations with the Sudanese Government and a meeting with the President.

On Saturday, July 3, he will fly to Asmara, Eritrea, where he will visit the Headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia and meet with the Eritrean President. Later that day he will proceed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the African Union Summit, where he will hold bilateral meetings and address the opening of that Summit on Tuesday, July 6.

On Wednesday, he goes to Nairobi, Kenya for an official visit and also to visit the UN Headquarters there. He will meet with the negotiators in the Sudan peace process on Thursday.

He then leaves for Bangkok, Thailand that same day, where he will pay an official visit from July 10 to 13. He will attend the 15th International AIDS Conference while he is there, and will also open the 2nd Asia-Pacific Ministerial Meeting on HIV/AIDS. In the course of his official visit, he will have an audience with His Majesty the King of Thailand and will also meet with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister.

He flies out of Bangkok for Vienna, where he will join the meeting of his High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.

He is expected to return to New York on Saturday, July 17.

UN ENVOY ASSESSING HEALTH CONDITIONS IN DARFUR, SUDAN

As aid workers continued to try to reach as many people as they can who are in need in Sudans Darfur region, the World Health Organization sent a representative to the region to assess the conditions in camps there.

Meanwhile, in one of the camps in an area visited by the WHO envoy, David Nabarro, in South Darfur, internally displaced persons, who are fearful of the continued human rights violations in and around the Kass area, indicated that they would not move out of the 11 schools they currently occupy until international peacekeepers are deployed or until the police take action against the perpetrators.

The most recent incidents reported to humanitarian teams visiting the area include a Janjaweed militia attack on the evening of June 20, where the militias reportedly looted plastic sheeting and blankets, and on June 22, when two rapes, two beatings and looting of some humanitarian assistance were reported.

International agencies in South Darfur have asked the authorities to delay the relocation of the displaced persons, until police reinforcements are provided to guarantee their protection.

Asked about criticisms that the Secretary-General and the United Nations have not done enough to deal with Darfur, the Spokesman said that there has been increasing international pressure to get the situation in Darfur under control, and particularly to control the Janjaweed militia. He said that the Secretary-Generals visit would be a further ratcheting up of international pressure. The Secretary-General also hopes to intensify and reinvigorate the peace efforts in Sudan, he added.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MARKS PROGRESS AT GLOBAL COMPACT SUMMIT

More than 400 CEOs and civil society representatives convened at the United Nations this morning to discuss corporate social responsibility, as the day-long Global Compact Leaders Summit began.

The Secretary-General opened the meeting by saying, We are travelers on a common, historic journey. The Global Compact, he said, had come a long way in the four years since it was launched with fewer than fifty companies involved, with nearly 1,500 firms participating in it today.

Yet more needs to be done to integrate the nine labor, human rights and environmental standards that comprise the Global Compact into mainstream business strategies and practices, he added.

He noted that an assessment by McKinsey and Company showed that nearly half of all participating companies have changed their policies to align them with the Compacts principles. That is impressive, the Secretary-General said, but also shows room for improvement.

Among other things, the Global Compact is expected to adopt today a simple statement that business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Also expected today is an announcement of an agreement by ten world stock exchanges to share information actively on the Global Compact with their listed companies and to explore other ways of cooperating with the Compact.

Among the participants at todays Leaders Summit is the President of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who met this morning with the Secretary-General. Following that meeting, the President delivered the keynote address at the Summits luncheon, and the Secretary-General also spoke at that occasion.

A new report issued by the UN Environment Programme at todays Summit warns that, across the globe, companies will see their share price suffer in the long term unless proper attention is paid to environmental and social issues.

QUARTET STRONGLY SUPPORTS EGYPTS WORK ON GAZA INITIATIVE

Envoys representing the Middle East Quartet, which brings together the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and the Russian Federation, met today in Taba, Egypt, with Terje Roed Larsen representing the UN. They stressed their strong support for the Egyptian Government in working with the Israelis and Palestinians, to put in place arrangements that will be critical to the success of the Israeli initiative to withdraw from Gaza.

The envoys welcomed the release of the World Bank rapid assessment study and undertook to carefully consider that its recommendations in planning to ensure Palestinian economic and humanitarian needs are met.

The envoys will meet in early July with representatives of the Task Force on Palestinian Reform to consider steps to further reinvigorate the reform agenda of the Road Map. The Quartet envoys agreed to continue working closely with the parties in the coming months to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the Gaza withdrawal as a step towards re-starting progress on the Road Map and achieving the two-state vision.

They also agreed to recommend that the Quartet meet at the Ministerial level in September.

AGREEMENT REACHED ON NEW SHELTERS FOR PALESTINIANS

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, today reached an agreement with the Palestinian Authority for land to be provided for the Agency to build 400 new shelters for the homeless, in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met with UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen in Ramallah today to conclude the agreement. The project will be carried out with financial support from the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Society.

Over 15,000 people have lost their homes in Rafah since the start of the intifada, and UNRWA has been providing them with tents and assistance.

ANNAN NOTES SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS ON CRIMINAL COURT

On Wednesday, the Security Council discussed in its consultations on Wednesday a draft resolution from the United States, concerning the extension of immunity for some peacekeepers from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The U.S. Ambassador, following the adjournment of consultations, announced that the United States had withdrawn that draft resolution.

The Secretary-General had been following the discussions in the Council on the Court. He believes that the decision by the United States not to pursue a resolution on this matter will help maintain the unity of the Security Council at a time when it faces difficult challenges.

Asked why the Secretary-General had expressed his views to the Council on the resolution, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General believed important principles were at stake. The Secretary-General, he noted, normally refrains from commenting on the Councils deliberations.

Asked about reported efforts by the United States to obtain immunity from prosecution in Iraq, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General did not have a position to share on that matter, which is one to be dealt with first by the Iraqi Interim Government.

SECURITY COUNCIL MISSION VISITS LIBERIA

The Security Council delegation visiting West Africa is in Monrovia today on the third leg of its mission. The Council members met with the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Liberia, Jacques Klein.

They also held talks with Chairman Gyude Bryant of the National Transitional Government, during which the subject of sanctions imposed by the Security Council was raised.

At an airport press encounter upon arrival, the mission leader, Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of the United Kingdom responded to a question about when those sanctions would be lifted by saying that everything possible must be done to facilitate and encourage reaching of the conditions so that sanctions can end.

Lets be clear, he said, the sanctions end when government has sufficient control over the territory, over the resources so that when sanctions are lifted, there isnt the abuse which was there in the past."

ANNAN WELCOMES RELEASE OF PRISONERS IN WESTERN SAHARA

The Secretary-General welcomes the release by Frente POLISARIO of an additional 100 prisoners of war, who were repatriated on 23 June to the Kingdom of Morocco by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Secretary-General expresses the hope that the Frente POLISARIO will expeditiously release all remaining prisoners, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and in compliance with international humanitarian law. He also urges the parties to continue to cooperate with the ICRC to resolve the fate of all those unaccounted for since the beginning of the conflict.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC COUNTRIES MUST DIVERSIFY EXPORTS: The international community must work together to help African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries diversify their exports, and move away from excessive dependence on exports of primary commodities. That was part of the Secretary-Generals message to the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group being held in Maputo, Mozambique.

UN PROGRAM ON AFRICA LAUNCHED: A new weekly 15-minute radio program, The UN and Africa, was launched today. The program aims to cover topical, newsy, and current-affairs-related stories about what the UN is doing for Africa, in Africa, and about Africa, and its first program features an interview with the Secretary-General.

MORE THAN 2 MILLION AFGHANS RECEIVE FOOD AID: The World Food Programme said that it delivered food assistance to 2.1 million people in Afghanistan during the first three months of this year. Meanwhile, UNICEF says a program it has led to demobilize and re-integrate former child soldiers in Afghanistan has now helped to demobilize more than 2,000 children in eight provinces since its launch in February.

VOLCKER DISCUSSES OIL-FOR-FOOD INQUIRY: Asked about U.S. Senate and other investigations into the oil-for-food program, the Spokesman said that the head of the independent inquiry into that program, Paul Volcker, had discussed the matter with U.S. Congressional leaders, explaining to them his position that he be in control of all documentation. SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS GOLAN HEIGHTS FORCE: The Security Council did not hold any meetings or consultations this morning. At 3:00 this afternoon, the Council plans to meet with the troop contributing countries for the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights.

ANNAN TO PRESENT AFRICAN AGRICULTURE REPORT: Comprehensive strategies are needed across Africa to harness the power of science and technology in ways that boost agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability ultimately ensuring that all Africans have access to enough safe and nutritious food to meet their needs. Thats the finding of a new report that will be issued Friday.

NEW WORLD DRUG REPORT TO BE ISSUED FRIDAY: After significant growth in drug abuse in the past half century, the global spread of drugs has slowed down. Thats one of the findings of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes World Drug Report 2004, which is being launched simultaneously in Moscow and Washington on Friday.

OLYMPIC FLAME PASSES THROUGH PALAIS DES NATIONS: The Olympic flame arrived at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, for the first time as part of its journey across five continents that will culminate in Athens on 13 August 2004. The torchbearer who carried the flame through the grounds of the Palais was Marc Rosset, 1992 Olympic tennis champion. He was greeted by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, and Adolf Ogi, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

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