United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-09-22

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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, September 22, 2004

ANNAN CONDEMNS SUICIDE BOMBING IN JERUSALEM

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a

statement issued by his Spokesman, strongly condemned the suicide bombing that took place today in Jerusalem.

He extended his condolences to the Government of Israel and the families of the victims and wishes speedy recovery for the wounded.

The Secretary-General also urged the Palestinian Authority to take all necessary measures to put an end to terror and to bring to justice the organizers of such heinous crimes.

ANNAN SADDENED BY LOSS OF LIFE IN HAITI FOLLOWING FLOODS

The

Secretary-General said he is deeply saddened by the heavy loss of life and destruction suffered by the people of

Haiti after the recent devastating floods, according to a

statement issued through his Spokesman.

He extended his deepest condolences to the families of the hundreds who have been killed or injured in the floods, especially in the hard-hit northwestern city of Gonaives.

The United Nations is supporting Haitian authorities in the crisis and are increasing efforts to deliver food, shelter, health care and clean water to those most affected by the flooding.

The Secretary-General also urged the international community to quickly provide Haiti, one of the worlds poorest countries, the support it needs to recover from this devastating natural disaster.

FIRST HUMANITARIAN CONVOY ARRIVES IN FLOODED GONAIVES, HAITI

The

World Food Programme has

sent the first humanitarian convoy to Gonaives.

The convoy of 12 all-terrain trucks carrying 40 metric tons of supplies reached the city last night, and a second convoy is due to leave Port au Prince later today.

As well as leaving the whole of Gonaives submerged, the floods also hit Port de Paix in the northwest, where a joint UN assessment team has reported one third of the city under water.

Haitian authorities estimate the total number of dead currently at 691 for the northern region, and the number of missing at some 1,050.

The first part of a

UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team arrived in

Haiti today, and the second part of the team arrives tomorrow. The team is there to support the Government of Haiti in their response to the emergency and will work with international aid agencies to make certain critical needs are met as efficiently as possible.

ANNAN: U.N. PEACE OPERATIONS ARE AN EXCELLENT INVESTMENT

The

Security Council held a ministerial meeting on Civilian aspects of conflict management and peace building chaired by Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain.

In addition to the Council members, speakers include senior representatives of the African Union, the European Union and the League of Arab States.

The Secretary-General spoke first. Peace-building can be successful, the

Secretary-General said, referring to El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Namibia and East Timor.

But, he

said, it requires a clear strategy, developed and executed by professionals, grounded in local conditions, reflected in realistic mandates, and supported by the Security Council and all parts of the UN system.

He urged the Council to sustain its interest and focus on each and every peace operation, and referred to the bitter consequences of failed peace building in Haiti and Liberia. We must not repeat those mistakes, he said.

Saying that UN peace operations are an excellent investment, he noted that in the entire history of the United Nations, just over $30 billion has been spent in peacekeeping just one-thirtieth of the amount spent last year alone on global military expenditures.

Stressing the need for adequate security, he appealed for support when he proposes new security measures to the

General Assembly.

KOSOVO MEETING RESULTS IN SUPPORT FOR AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY

In a

statement released today, the

Secretary-General said consultations held at UN Headquarters on Monday with key member states and partner organizations dealing with Kosovo resulted in a general understanding of, and support for, an integrated strategy.

He said there was broad agreement on the need to focus on the economy, on security, on the need to engage with Belgrade and to bring the Kosovo Serbs into the process, and on the importance of the standards process.

The

UN Mission in Kosovo will work to identify areas of further transfer and deeper engagement with Kosovos Provisional Institutions of Self-Government and the Secretary-General will consider the results of Mondays consultations in preparing his recommendations to the

Security Council.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY CONFLICT IN DARFUR RISES TO 1.8 MILLION

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Sudan, Jan Pronk, was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was meeting with African Union (AU) officials to discuss how the United Nations and the AU could better work together in Darfur.

The

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the number of people affected by conflict in Darfur has climbed to 1.8 million, of whom 1.45 million were

internally displaced persons (IDPs). The new figures represent an increase of 220,000 IDPs since 1 August.

ANNAN NAMES NEW ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED

The Secretary-General has tasked Walter Kälin, a law professor at Bern University, to act as his Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons.

Supported by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kälin will serve as an independent Expert and will work in close cooperation with the Emergency Relief Coordinator and, in particular, the Division on Internal Displacement within the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

He is currently a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and was also one of the key drafters of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

U.N. ENVOY CONCERNED OVER ISRAELI AIR VIOLATIONS OVER LEBANON

In a statement issued today, the Secretary-Generals Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon,

Staffan de Mistura, expressed his serious concern at the nine Israeli air violations that have taken place over the past 24 hours.

The United Nations renews its urgent call on Israel to cease these violations and reminds all parties that one violation cannot justify another.

Asked how the

Secretary-General responded to a request, made today by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, for Syria to withdraw immediately from Lebanon, the Spokesman declined to comment, noting that the Secretary-General was expected to report on the matter to the

Security Council in about 10 days.

LIBERIA SET TO SIGN 18 TREATIES, MOST ON PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS

At 3:00 p.m., the Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, Charles Gyude Bryant, is scheduled to sign, ratify or accede to 18 treaties, most of them concerning the protection of civilians.

Liberias actions are part of the Focus 2004 treaty signing event this week at UN Headquarters, where world leaders are signing and ratifying a substantial number of treaties on the protection of civilians.

Tuesday, the event began when six countries (Bahrain, Burundi, Estonia, Lichtenstein, Malawi and Slovakia) took action on 12 different treaties.

CONCERN EXPRESSED AT SLOW PACE OF FUNDING FOR LIBERIA

In a communiqué issued after the first meeting of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, United Nations and Economic Community of West African States Coordination Mechanism, the parties expressed concern at the slow pace at which funding is being made available for

Liberias reconstruction and recovery.

To date, only $253 million has been received from the $520 million pledged by donors in February 2004.

GOVERNMENTS URGED TO PROTECT FARM WORKERS FROM PESTICIDES

The

Food and Agriculture Organization and the

UN Environment Programme are

calling on governments to strengthen the protection available to agricultural workers in order to contain or better yet reduce the number of

pesticide poisonings that farmers suffer.

An estimated one to five million cases of pesticide poisoning occur every year, resulting in several thousand fatalities among agricultural workers.

Most of these poisonings occur in the developing world where safe health standards can be inadequate or non-existent.

Although these countries use only 25% of global pesticide production, they account for 99% of the related deaths.

ANNAN TO HOST LUNCH ON DR CONGO, MEETING ON MIDDLE EAST TODAY

The Secretary-General is hosting a lunch with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Prime Minister Bernard Makuza of Rwanda, along with members of the Regional Support Group, to discuss how to enhance bilateral relations between the DRC and Rwanda.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General will be hosting an informal meeting of the Middle East diplomatic

Quartet.

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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