United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-04-12

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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

FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

ANNAN WELCOMES E.U. SUPPORT FOR MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly

welcomes the European Unions (EU) strong support for his efforts to accelerate progress towards the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He is particularly heartened by the European Commissions proposal to establish ambitious targets for providing Official Development Assistance (ODA) targets that are consistent with the Secretary-Generals recommendations to the September Summit. These would not only trigger an estimated additional 20 billion euros by 2010; they would also bring EU countries closer to the target of ODA amounting to 0.7% of their Gross National Income by 2015.

The Secretary-General is also encouraged by EUs increasing emphasis on trade and other non-aid policies as a means of reaching the MDGs, and by the decision of the EU to focus on the needs of Africa.

He is confident that the September Summit will lead to a number of concrete actions, by developed and developing countries alike, to help them reach the Millennium Development Goals.

ANNAN COMPLETES SEPTEMBER SUMMIT ENVOY SELECTION

The

Secretary-General is pleased to announce the appointment of Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia, as his Envoy for the Summit to take place in New York in September 2005.

This completes the Secretary-Generals team of five envoys who have agreed to use their good offices to help him promote the comprehensive agenda outlined in his report In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all.

He has placed before world leaders an agenda for action in order to move our world decisively towards important goals: halving poverty in the next ten years; reducing the threat of war, terrorism and deadly weapons; and advancing human dignity in every land. He has also called for the most far-reaching reforms of the United Nations in its 60-year history.

President Vike-Freiberga joins the

other Envoys Dermot Ahern, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland; Ali Alatas, former Foreign Minister of Indonesia; Joaquin Chissano, former President of Mozambique; and Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico.

As Latvias head of state, President Vike-Freiberga has actively supported the need for UN reform. Elected to a second term in office in 2003, she has successfully guided her nation through a period of active reforms leading to full membership in EU and NATO.

The Secretary-General wishes to express his profound gratitude to Her Excellency for having agreed to take on this challenging assignment and invest her time, energy and political wisdom in assisting him in his efforts.

Asked whether the Secretary-General is concerned about growing divisions among countries about

Security Council reform, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General would see the heating up of the debate as an indication that Member States believe that this year offers a window of opportunity to achieve change. He said that the level of debate is intensifying, and the volume is rising, as a sign of the seriousness of the discussion.

The Spokesman, in response to further questions about whether progress in Security Council reform was being blocked, said that the Secretary-General has made his proposal, and it was still early in the process of discussing it, which Member States were doing with a vengeance. Now, he said, it was up to Member States to resolve their differences, while the Secretary-General would follow their discussions.

The Spokesman declined to comment regarding questions about public events in China regarding Japans bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council.

Asked about the criteria by which the Latvian President was chosen, the Spokesman noted the criteria for the Envoys were laid out in the Secretary-Generals statement. In response to a question about the treatment of ethnic Russians in Latvia, he said that was a profound issue that the Latvian Government is struggling with.

DONORS PLEDGE $4.5 BILLION FOR SUDAN

Participants at a two-day donors conference in Oslo in support of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan, which the

Secretary-General attended, pledged a total of some $4.5 billion for 2005-2007, according to the

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In his speech at the donors' conference on Monday, the Secretary-General had appealed to the participants to pledge generously. And when asked about the tendency of governments not to honor their pledges of assistance, he had quipped, Pledges are good but cash is better.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Sudan,

Jan Pronk, today attended the second and last day of the pledging conference and in the margins of the conference, he met with European Union (EU) representatives. The objective was to mobilize the EU countries to support the African Union (AU) in its deployment in Darfur.

Pronk also met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. They discussed the situation in

Sudan and US support for AU deploment in Darfur.

Pronk is heading tonight for Paris as part of a series of visits he is undertaking to European capitals, to mobilize support for the AU Mission in Sudan, as well as to invite European countries to contribute military observers to the UN mission.

IRAQI TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT WILL NEED SUPPORT

OF UNITED NATIONS, NEIGHBORS AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Monday afternoon, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for

Iraq,

Ashraf Qazi, briefed the

Security Council in an open meeting.

Qazi told the members of Council that the new Iraqi transitional government will need the continued and active support of the United Nations, its neighbors and the international community at large.

He added that virtually all sectors of Iraqi society want the United Nations to play a larger role as the country moves forward in its political transition to writing a new constitution and holding fresh elections. However, improved security is vital for any such expansion, Qazi added. Qazi also stressed the imperative for all sectors to take part in the transition, especially the task of writing a new constitution.

Also speaking in the open session was Ambassador Anne Patterson of the United States who briefed on the activities of the Multinational Force and Ambassador Sumaidaie of Iraq who read out a statement on recent political developments in his country.

Following closed consultations, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, speaking as President of the Security Council, said the members of the Council urged the new Transitional National Assembly to proceed without delay on the constitutional process. They also stressed the need for that process to be as inclusive, participatory and transparent as possible.

On the same issue, in anticipation of an official invitation to assist in constitutional work in accordance with the

Security Council resolution, the United Nations has done some preparatory work, including identification and deployment of some staff to the region. The man who will be leading that effort is a noted South African constitutional expert, Nicholas Fink Haysom. He has already been deployed to the region along with a small team.

SECURITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF MAY ELECTIONS

IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The

Security Council had on its agenda today consultations on the Central African Republic (CAR) and other matters.

The Representative of the Secretary-General for the CAR, Lamine Cissé, briefed on the latest developments.

In a statement to the press later, Council President Wang Guangya said the members of the Security Council unanimously welcomed the fact that the first round of presidential and legislative elections in the Central African Republic were held with respect for democratic values.

Council members underlined that the second round of presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for 1 May, will be an important step which will mark the end of the transitional process and the restoration of rule of law in the Central African Republic.

SECURITY COUNCIL URGES RWANDAN REBELS GROUP TO TURN

POSITIVE WORDS INTO ACTION

A formal meeting was then held to adopt a presidential statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo that was introduced last week.

The Security Council this morning welcomed the statement issued by the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in Rome, on 31 March, in which they condemn the 1994 genocide and commit themselves to renounce the use of force and cease all offensive operations against Rwanda.

"The Security Council calls on the FDLR to turn their positive words into action and to demonstrate their commitment to peace by immediately handing all their arms to the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and by taking part in the programme put in place for their earliest voluntary and peaceful return to Rwanda or resettlement, as well as by assisting the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha to fulfil its mandate, particularly with regard to the arrest and transfer to its custody of indictees who remain at large."

NEW U.N. PERSONAL ENVOY FOR SOUTHERN LEBANON ARRIVES IN BEIRUT

The Secretary-Generals new Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon,

Geir Pedersen, arrived in Beirut yesterday to take up his duties.

Today, he paid introductory calls on senior Lebanese government officials, including the President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Foreign Minister.

During the course of these calls he also expressed the United Nations continuing concern about aerial violations of the Blue Line, noting both the Hezbollah drone that breached Israeli airspace yesterday and the most recent Israeli overflights of Lebanese territory.

Pedersen urged all parties to maintain total calm along the Blue Line.

IDEAS FOR FYROM NAME ISSUE SUBMITTED TO BOTH SIDES

Matthew Nimetz, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative in the talks between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, issued a statement today, confirming that, on 29 March, he submitted to the parties a set of ideas for their consideration.

During the two weeks since that date, he has met with representatives of both of the parties, who have informed him of the views of their Governments.

Although Nimetz could not report that there would be an imminent breakthrough, given the continuing differences between the parties, both sides have strongly encouraged him to intensify his efforts based on the positions they have recently given him.

Discussions in future weeks will take place through discussions between Nimetz and each of the parties separately, as well as in more formal meetings involving both parties.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would be involved in the discussions between the parties, the Spokesman noted that the statement issued by Nimetz did not say that.

U.N. MISSION IN DR CONGO INVESTIGATING

POSSIBLE BREACHES OF CODE OF CONDUCT

The

UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is

investigating two separate incidents over the weekend for possible breaches of its policies on sexual exploitation and abuse.

In one of the incidents, Congolese police found two international civilian employees and a UN volunteer in a Kinshasa home with 13 Congolese women.

The staff involved have been suspended until the end of the investigation, which will determine whether theres been any breach of the Missions Code of Conduct and of the Secretary-Generals zero-tolerance policy.

Separately, soldiers of the Missions Nepalese contingent, based in Ituri, have been accused of having negotiated the services of prostitutes while on a supply trip to Uganda.

NO ANOMALIES REPORTED DURING ARMS INSPECTION IN COTE DIVOIRE

The

UN Operation in Cote dIvoire reports that an arms inspection in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 1584 was conducted in Man today at the headquarters of the Forces Nouvelles and two of its barracks. No anomalies were noted.

The mission also reported that peacekeepers yesterday moved in to quell skirmishes in a village in the zone of confidence in the west of the country, and restored calm there.

Asked whether South African President Thabo Mbeki had contacted the Secretary-General on Cote dIvoire, the Spokesman said that Mbeki and the Secretary-General had spoken by phone while the Secretary-General was traveling last week, but he could not confirm the contents of that call. [It was later announced that the subject of that call was Cote d'Ivoire.]

MORE THAN $30 MILLION NEEDED TO FEED THREE MILLION ETHIOPIANS

The

World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that the future of three million Ethiopians in need of food aid is in jeopardy, with malnutrition rates on the rise and funding for humanitarian operations in Ethiopia drying up.

WFP urgently requires $33 million to continue to feed 1.5 million people. It added that food commodities, particularly cereals and beans, could be bought on the local Ethiopian market as long as donors provided cash.

WFP reports that in the worst-off areas of the country, up to 6,000 children have already dropped out of school, as their families send them in search of food or work.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN STOCKHOLM, DISCUSSES U.N. REFORM

Deputy Secertary-General Louise Fréchette addressed a conference in Stockholm on "Conflict prevention and resolution: Challenges and Change for the United Nations", co-organized by Norway and Sweden in connection with the preparation of the 2005 General Assembly Summit.

She met with Hans Dahlgren, Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and other Swedish Officials. Her meetings focused on UN reform issues and the process leading to the September summit.

Today, she is also meeting with Laila Freivalds, Foreign Affairs Minister of Sweden; and Jan Petersen, Foreign Affairs Minister of Norway; as well as with the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania, H.E. Teodor Baconschi.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SELECTION OF NGOS FOR INCLUSION IN U.N. EVENTS A PERENNIAL PROBLEM: Asked about complaints from non-governmental organizations that they have been excluded from some UN events, the Spokesman said it was a perennial problem to decide which NGOs can participate in UN conferences, which the United Nations tried to handle in a fair way.

ANNAN CALLED JOHN BOLTON LAST WEEK: Asked whether the

Secretary-General had called U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton last week, the Spokesman confirmed that he had done so, but he did not give details of that phone conversation, which was private.

GLOBAL FORUM ON TECHNOLOGY STARTS IN DUBLIN TOMORROW: Tomorrow and Thursday, the UN task force on information and communication technologies will hold a global forum in Dublin to discuss how such technologies can improve education, especially in developing countries. Among the participants at the forum will be Under-Secretary-General for

Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo and the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser, Jeffrey Sachs.

NEW CHAIR TO BE ELECTED FOR AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR DISABLED PERSONS RIGHTS: The

General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee dealing with the rights of persons with disabilities is expected to elect Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand as its new Chair, succeeding Ambassador Luis Gallegos of Ecuador. The election will take place at noon tomorrow as part of the Committee's first organizational meeting for its sixth session.

COMMITTEE ON COMMODITY PROBLEMS OPENS AT FAO: The Committee on Commodity Problems

opened its 65th session at the headquarters of the

Food and Agriculture Organization yesterday. The

committee will examine food security in light of trade policy reforms, and will also discuss rising concern over low producer prices for many of the worlds major agricultural commodities, such as coffee, sugar, meat, oils and cotton.

UNEP NAMES SEVEN CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH: The

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has

named seven leaders in the field of environment as

Champions of the Earth for setting an example for the world to follow. Among the recipients are The King and people of Bhutan, and President Thabo Mbeki and the people of South Africa. The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 19 April, at UN Headquarters in New York.