United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-09-13

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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

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

There was no briefing today because of a scheduled press conference by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

His press conference is now scheduled for 5 p.m. today.

KOFI ANNAN MEETS WITH MEMBER STATES

AS THEY NEGOTIATE U.N. REFORM DOCUMENT ON EVE OF SUMMIT

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today continued talks with Member States as they tried to come to a conclusion on a draft outcome document for the 2005 World Summit that begins on Wednesday.

The Secretary-General met with the Core Group of Member States who are working on the document this afternoon, and he expects to hold a press conference later today.

Meanwhile, General Assembly President Jean Ping was working with Member States to put out a final draft and to end the Assembly's 59th session. That would clear the way for the start of the 60th session, under new President Jan Eliasson, later today.

ANNAN: UNITED NATIONS AND ASEAN MUST WORK HAND-IN-HAND

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in an address to the leaders attending the ASEAN-UN Summit today, stressed the importance of close cooperation between regional organizations and the United Nations in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the world, and outlined a wide range of areas of cooperation between the two organizations.

The Secretary-General also expressed his concern about the threat posed by the current avian flu epidemic. "I am glad that a number of ASEAN governments have taken firm action to improve surveillance, identify infections and control the disease at its source," he said. "Many governments, notably Malaysia and Thailand, have prevented human infection. But we must all remain vigilant. Human influenza pandemics exact a terribly high human and economic cost. Early warning of a transmissible human flu virus is vital."

He went on to say that "I understand that some governments are working closely with civil society and private entities on prevention and preparation, and that is indeed the way we should move forward. Those efforts deserve strong international support, including from the United Nations system."

SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTIONS

ON ERITREA/ETHIOPIA AND AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council today unanimously approved two resolutions. It

extended the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until 15 March 2006, and also approved the reconfiguration of the Missions Military Component.

It also approved a resolution extending the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force in

Afghanistan for a period of 12 months, ending on 13 October 2006. The Council then went into consultations to consider the draft of its annual report to the General Assembly.

U.N. ENVOY MEETS IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for

Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, met on Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Vice President Ghazi el-Yawar, among other senior Iraqi officials.

Qazi discussed the latest developments regarding the draft constitution and UN efforts to facilitate voter registration prior to the referendum scheduled for 15 October.

ANNAN PLEASED AT ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA STRIP

In a statement issued on Monday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his pleasure that all Israeli military personnel and installations have been withdrawn from the Gaza Strip and praises the determination and political courage shown in this regard by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

He congratulates the Palestinians and commends President Mahmoud Abbas, who has played an important role in ensuring that the withdrawal was carried out in a peaceful and coordinated manner.

The Secretary-General hopes that the withdrawal, and the cooperation and coordination between Israelis and Palestinians which made it possible, can lead to the revitalization of the peace process in the framework of the Road Map. He is also looking forward to discussing the role that the Quartet can play when they meet next week.

FUEL SHORTAGE CUTS FOOD DELIVERIES TO SOUTHERN SUDAN

The World Food Programme (WFP) today said that a crippling shortage of jet fuel for its air hub at El Obeid had slashed its ability to airlift and airdrop food aid in Sudan at the height of the annual hunger season.

Deliveries of food to the south have thus been cut by half at the worst time of the year. The agency is now worried about a reported increase in malnutrition cases in southern Sudan.

Meanwhile, the UN mission in Sudan reports that the security situation in Darfur continues to be characterized by increased banditry, attacks on humanitarian convoys and villages and fighting in recent days.

NEW CAMPAIGNS TO FIGHT POLIO IN HORN OF AFRICA

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative - spearheaded by the World Health Organization, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and other partners today launched an ambitious new series of polio immunization campaigns to prevent the re-establishment of the disease in the Horn of Africa.

The new plan comes as a polio case is confirmed in Somalia, which had been polio-free since 2002. The campaigns will be coordinated across eight countries between September and November and will reach more than 34 million children.

UNITED NATIONS HELPS PACIFIC ISLANDER POLICE CHIEFS FIGHT A.I.D.S.

Twenty one police chiefs from the Pacific today joined forces with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to tackle the disease among the regions police forces.

The ceremony, which saw the signing of a Declaration of Partnership, took place during the 34th Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Conference in Fiji. The Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police represents 75,000 police personnel from twenty-one nations across Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.

U.N. STUDY FINDS ASIA JOB GROWTHS DISAPPOINTING

Despite encouraging progress in cutting poverty and improving the working lives of people in Asia under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), unemployment reached a new record high in the region while jobs growth remained "disappointing", says a new report from the International Labour Office (ILO) issued here today.

The report, "Labour and Social Trends in Asia and the Pacific 2005", says new data show that some three quarters of the worlds poor or close to 2 billion people subsisting on less than the equivalent of US$ 2 a daylive in Asia .

UNESCO AWARDS PEACE PRIZE TO SENEGAL PRESIDENT

The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today announced that it has chosen the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, as winner of its 2004 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize.

The agency cited Wade, "for his contribution to democracy in his country and for his mediation in political crises and conflicts in Africa." The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize - created in 1989 and awarded by UNESCO annually - honours people, organizations and institutions which have contributed significantly to the promotion, research, safeguarding or maintaining of peace, mindful of the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO. The Prize is named after the first president of Côte dIvoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL LAUNCHES HIGH-LEVEL COMMISSION ON LEGAL EMPOWERMENT OF THE POOR

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette will be giving the closing remarks today at the launching of the High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor"(HLCLEP). The event is to start at 6:00 p.m. The HLCLEP is a new, independent, global intergovernmental initiative that sets out to explore how nations can reduce poverty through reforms that expand access to legal protection and economic opportunities for all.

The Commission is being launched by a group of developing and developed countries. The Commission, which will complete its work by late 2007, is co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto.

The Deputy Secretary-General is to give an address today at the opening of the Roundtable Forum on "Innovation and Investment: Scaling Science and Technology to Meet the MDGs". The event starts at 2:30 p.m. The roundtables objective is to enable policy makers to deliberate on the role of innovation and technologies in the achievement of the MDGs. It is aimed at amplifying the recommendations of the Report "In Larger Freedom" and at building partnerships to support the UN Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force ahead of the World Summit on the Information Society.

ANNAN SPEAKS AT HOLY FAMILY CHURCH

The Secretary-General went on Monday afternoon to New Yorks Holy Family Church, where the yearly service prior to the start of the opening of the General Assembly was held.

He referred to the start of the 2005 World Summit, saying, "Whatever is achieved or not in the next few days, let us not imagine that it represents the end of the process. Rather, it is a beginning." He asked for prayers that the leaders attending the Summit "will find the wisdom to guide the human family towards a better, safer, fairer and healthier future."

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMME CREATES "GREEN ROOM"

The UN Environmental Programme has created a "green room" at UN Headquarters and on its website to provide environmental information throughout the World Summit. The move is a collaborative effort by a range of partners from the UN family, the NGO community and beyond, to communicate the central role of environmental sustainability in development planning.

The physical Green Room provides a meeting space to exchange information and ideas, and develop effective strategies for communicating the central role of environmental sustainability in development planning. In parallel to the physical Green Room, a virtual Green Room is a "one-stop shop" which lists upcoming events, contains press releases and reports, and other media information.

**For additional Summit-related events, please visit:

http://www.un.org/summit2005/events_schedule.pdf

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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