United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-03-08

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

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SPOKESMAN'S NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

ASSOCIATE

SPOKESWOMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

ANNAN: PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IS EVERYONES RESPONSIBILITY

Today is

International Womens Day.

In a

message to mark the day,

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that this year marks a milestone in the movement for gender equality and the advancement of women, with the 10-year review of the

Beijing Conference and Platform for Action.

As a result of the conference, the world has recognized that gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation, the Secretary-General said, adding that that now, ten years on, theres been tangible progress on many fronts, and women are not only more aware of their rights; theyre more able to exercise them.

He also urged the international community to remember that promoting gender equality is not only womens responsibility it is the responsibility of all of us.

In addition, the UN system has marked the day all over the world, from Iraq to Colombia, with various events.

These include, in Rome, the

World Food Programmes launch of a Catherine Bertini Award in honour of the agencys previous Executive Director to a WFP country office that has most successfully strengthened the place of women at the center of food security, and a conference in Moscow,

organized by the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for Afghan, Iraqi and Nigerian refugee women to discuss their return options and work opportunities with a hairdressing contest as part of a training project to help them become more self-reliant.

Asked about how satisfied the Secretary-General is regarding womens advancement in senior UN positions, the Spokeswoman said that the Secretary-General, in his recent comments, recognized that a lot had been achieved but more can be done.

Also, the Secretary-General made a statement at the UNs 2005 Manager of the Year Awards presentation, today at Headquarters. The awards are organized by the Group on Equal Rights for Women in the UN, and are given to managers according to criteria which include the promotion of work-life balance and gender sensitivity.

U.N. ENVOY DISCUSSES LEBANON RESOLUTION WITH E.U. OFFICIALS

The Secretary-General Special Envoy for the implementation of

resolution 1559,

Terje Roed-Larsen, was in Brussels today as he makes his way to the

Middle East.

While there, he discussed in detail the full implementation of the resolution with the European Unions (EU) foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. Roed-Larsen said he would debrief Solana on his return from Syria and Lebanon.

Roed-Larsen also met with the EUs Policy and Security Committee, on which the 25 EU Permanent Representatives sit. Roed-Larsen was assured that he has the full backing of the European Union for his difficult mission.

Asked whether Roed-Larsen would visit other Arab countries on his trip, the Spokeswoman later said that Roed-Larsen may make other stops in the region, but those have yet to be confirmed.

U.N. TEAM TO JOIN A.U.-LED PEACEKEEPING ASSESSMENT OF DARFUR

The UN

Department of Peacekeeping Operations is dispatching a UN team to join an African Union-led assessment of peacekeeping requirements in Darfur.

The team will include experts in military and police planning, logistics and humanitarian assistance. They will make an assessment, as a matter of urgency, to determine what more is needed in order to improve the security environment in Darfur.

The Secretary-General mentioned this mission in his statement issued following his meeting with Security Council members on

Sudan. [The Secretary-General later spoke to reporters about the mission.]

And on the humanitarian front, the UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, will be the guest at the briefing tomorrow to talk about his four-day trip to Sudan.

Asked how many UN experts were going to Sudan, the Spokeswoman said it would be about 10 experts from peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance, who would be joined by their colleagues in the region. That team, she said, would travel on March 10 to assess the situation.

Asked how the team would report back, Okabe said that she understood that the African Union would be in the lead in putting out a combined report. The UN team, she added, would likely be in the region for a week to 10 days.

SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFED BY WEAPONS INSPECTOR CHIEF

The

Security Council was briefed this morning from Demetrios Perricos, the active Executive Chairman of the

UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Perricos presented to Council members UNMOVICs 20th quarterly

report.

The report touches on the issues of the continued monitoring of weapons sites in Iraq and also discusses the uncertain fate of biological seed stocks.

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES POLITICAL PROGRESS IN SOMALIA

Late yesterday afternoon, the

Security Council, reaffirming its commitment to a comprehensive and lasting settlement in Somalia, welcomed progress made in the Somali national reconciliation process, and took note of the need to expand the United Nations presence in that country, as proposed by the Secretary-General in his latest report.

The

presidential statement was read out following a briefing in consultations by Winston Tubman, Head of the UN Political Office in Somalia.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS BERLIN; SPEAKS ON U.N. REFORM

Deputy Secretary-General

Louise Fréchette is in Berlin today, where she is now speaking to the Friedrich Ebert Institute, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary as an organization promoting peace and human rights.

She thanked the Institute for the active and constructive support it has provided for the work of the

High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.

She noted that, a few weeks from now, the Secretary-General will place before Member States a report setting out proposals for far-reaching reforms of the international security system and for the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals. That report, in turn, will draw on the work of the High-Level Panel.

The Deputy Secretary-General also met earlier today with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, with whom she discussed the UN reform agenda, the Millennium Development Goals, Sudan, sexual exploitation allegations in certain peacekeeping missions and the

oil-for-food program.

She then participated in a roundtable discussion with some 70 officials from Germanys Federal Foreign Office on the UN in 2005: Challenges and Perspectives.

She also addressed a roundtable discussion with representatives of civil society and the media, dealing with topics that included UN reform and peacekeeping reform.

ANNAN: WORLD SENSES MOVEMENT TOWARDS MIDDLE EAST PEACE

The long cherished dream of a vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians has been to live a normal life in peace and security. At long last, all of us can sense a newfound movement towards that dream.

Those remarks are part of a

message from the Secretary-General to an international meeting being held in Geneva today, to discuss the International Court of Justices

advisory opinion on Israels separation barrier in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Secretary-General also urges both parties and the international community to refrain from any actions that would be detrimental to the

Road Map.

SUPPLIES DELIVERED TO FLOOD-STRICKEN AFGHAN REFUGEES IN PAKISTAN

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has

distributed 1,000 tents to Afghan refugees living in Pakistans Baluchistan province, who had been made homeless by heavy rains and flooding.

UNHCR says that some 50,000 of the 300,000 Afghan refugees living in Baluchistan have been affected by the bad weather, which has damaged houses and washed out roads. The refugee agency is continuing to monitor the situation and is on standby to provide assistance.

SOUTH ASIAN MEETING REFLECTS SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL COMPACT

The United Nations

Global Compact began its first major regional meeting in South Asia today in Jamshedpur, India. The two-day Global Compact Regional Conclave in South Asia brings together more than 200 senior representatives of companies, civil society and the UN from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In a

message, the Secretary-General welcomed todays meeting as a strong expression of support for the Global Compact, a voluntary corporate citizenship initiative based on universal values in human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption.

He says the meeting is also a contribution to the wider process of change and renewal at the United Nations.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS DECLARATION ON CLONING: The General Assembly this morning

adopted by a vote the United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning. The Declaration calls on Member States to prohibit all forms of human

cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. It also calls on Member States to adopt all measures necessary to adequately protect human life in the application of life sciences, and to prohibit the application of genetic engineering techniques that may be contrary to human dignity.

FISTULA FORTNIGHT REACHES 545 WOMEN: During the recent Fistula Fortnight campaign in Nigeria, initiated in part by the UN Population Fund, a total of 545 women were

treated for obstetric fistula. For two weeks, national and international volunteer doctors joined forces to perform surgery on women suffering from the pregnancy-related disability. The campaign raised awareness in rural communities that treatment for the condition is indeed available.

DRUG COMMISSIONS SESSION GETS UNDERWAY: The 48th Biennial Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

began yesterday in Vienna and will run until 14 March. Speaking in Vienna, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, addressed progress made in the global fight against illegal drugs, drug trafficking, and drug abuse. He also rejected the notion that strong drug control measures cannot coexist with policies designed to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS.

POST-TSUNAMI FISHERIES IN FOCUS THIS WEEK: Finding ways to responsibly

rebuild fisheries in tsunami-struck countries is one of the issues being discussed by the

Food and Agriculture Organizations Committee on Fisheries (COFI), which is meeting this week at the Organization's Rome headquarters. Over 300 participants are attending the

meeting, which runs through 11 March.