United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-08-11

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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

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

UN ENVOY ATTENDED CONFERENCE ON DRAFT LAW FOR DARFUR

In Sudan this morning, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Jan Pronk, attended the opening of a two-day conference organized by the Sudanese Government to review a draft law on The Native Administration of the Three Darfur States. The event brought together tribal and traditional community leaders from west, north and south Darfur.

Present at the conference were President Omar al-Bashir and members of his Government, as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

The participants are discussing the draft law, which is based on earlier consultations with local leaders, taking into account recent agreements with the United Nations.

Other draft laws to be discussed are on the role of the traditional administration in the disarmament process and on social reconciliation in Darfur.

Special Representative Pronk said he welcomed the meeting and the participation of the traditional leaders to discuss necessary reforms to be undertaken in Darfur, in order to restore peace and stability in that region. He added that the meeting is a positive step towards the implementation of the Government's commitments, laid out in the Darfur Plan of Action.

Early this afternoon, Khartoum time, Pronk held a press encounter with the Sudanese media. He provided an overview on the UNs current activities in the Sudan, the background for the mandate of the UN mission, and his role and activities as Special Representative of the Secretary-General.

This evening, Pronk will be meeting the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Mustafa Ismail, to continue the discussion on the next Joint Implementation Mechanism meeting, which will take place on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. local time.

UNFPA WARNS OF HEPATITIS E OUTBREAK IN DARFUR REGION

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for immediate action to avert a Hepatitis E outbreak among displaced people in Sudans Darfur region. UNFPA says that, while Hepatitis E usually has a fatality rate of 1 to 4 percent, the virus is several times more lethal for pregnant women.

UNFPAs call comes one day after an outbreak of the disease was confirmed in camps for internally displaced persons in all three of Darfurs states.

NO PROGRESS TOWARDS MIDDLE EAST PEACE, COUNCIL TOLD

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have taken adequate steps to protect civilians, and both are in breach of their international legal obligations, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council today.

Delivering an open briefing on the Middle East to the Council, Prendergast said that there has been no tangible progress during the past month towards resuming the peace process there.

He said that a new and worrying pattern has recently emerged, in which Palestinian militants launch rocket attacks into Israel, followed by Israeli helicopter missile strikes into the Gaza Strip and incursions into areas adjacent to Israel.

Prendergast noted five incidents where, despite prior coordination, Israeli forces fired on areas where UN staff were present, and two incidents where they refused to allow UN staff caught in an exchange of fire to move to safety. He said that the United Nations is deeply concerned over the unacceptably high number of security incidents involving UN staff caused by Israeli action over the last few weeks.

He added that progress on the implementation of Palestinian reforms continues to be slow, and mostly cosmetic.

The Council afterward held consultations, also on the Middle East.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS UN MISSION FOR IRAQ

At 3:00 p.m., the Council will hold consultations on Iraq, to consider the Secretary-Generals recent report on the UN Mission in Iraq. It will also consider a draft resolution to extend the mandate of that mission, which is set to expire on Saturday.

The Council has scheduled a formal meeting Thursday for a possible vote on that resolution.

IAEA TOLD ABOUT POWER PLANT ACCIDENT IN JAPAN

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday received information from Japanese nuclear regulatory authorities about an accident in the steam generator turbine circuit of the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant. According to the Japanese nuclear authorities, this is a non-radioactive part of the plant.

The Japanese authorities reported that four contract employees died and seven were injured, and stated that there was no release of radioactivity.

The IAEA continues to be in contact with the Japanese authorities and expects to receive updates on a continuous basis. No request for IAEA assistance has been received at this time.

GLOBAL YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES ALL-TIME HIGH

mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family: Youth unemployment has skyrocketed worldwide over the past decade to some 88 million youths. This is an all-time high, with young people aged 15 to 24 now representing nearly half the world's 186 million jobless, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization.

mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family: The report also found that rising unemployment has especially affected young women and that those who can find work often face long hours, short-term or informal contracts, low pay and little or no social protection, such as social security.

The report notes that tackling youth unemployment would be a significant contribution to the global economy.

UNITED NATIONS TO MARK INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY

Thursday will be International Youth Day, and the UN will mark the event at UN Headquarters with an event starting at 11:00 a.m. in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium.

It will be attended by New York City Youth Commissioner Jeanne Mullgrav, on behalf of the Mayor, and basketball star "Speedy" Claxton. They will award the prize to the winner of the citywide Youth Day logo contest. In addition, there will be dance and step performances, as well as a youth basketball tournament.

Around 150 youth leaders and students from New York City schools are expected to attend.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

CANDIDATES CONFIRMED FOR AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: The Joint Electoral Management Body in Afghanistan announced today that eighteen candidates have been confirmed as eligible to contest the Presidential election scheduled for October 9. The UN Mission in Afghanistan has transmitted the list of presidential candidates that was announced today.

TEXT OF ACCRA AGREEMENT ON COTE DIVOIRE RELEASED: The text of the Accra Three Agreement on Cote dIvoire, signed on July 30 at the summit meeting co-chaired by the Secretary-General and Ghanaian President John Kufuor, has been released today. In that agreement, the Ivorian parties agreed to a number of measures, including legal reforms and disarmament, to put the peace process firmly back on track and ensure the sustained implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement.

UN ENVOY VISITS BURUNDI: The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, today visited the village of Gitega and paid tribute to the 700 Ethiopian troops that are deployed there.

ANTI-POLIO DRIVE ENDS IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: The UN Childrens Fund and the World Health Organization have wrapped up a week-long, door-to-door anti-polio drive in the Central African Republic. The campaign, conducted along with that nations Government, was designed to administer a final, second dose of an anti-polio vaccine, the first dose of which was given last winter. For this latest campaign, health officials trained some 1,500 local volunteers to administer the vaccine properly.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

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All other inquiries to be addressed to (212)

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