United Nations Daily Highlights, 05-10-18

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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 STEPHANE

DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

UNITED NATIONS DELIVERS AID TO PAKISTAN QUAKE SURVIVORS

TRAUMATIZED BY CONTINUING AFTERSHOCKS

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), aftershocks are

continuing to traumatize earthquake survivors in northern regions of Pakistan, and have triggered further landslides in already remote and high altitude areas.

Relief supplies are starting to arrive, although around 20 per cent of hard-hit areas have not yet been reached. Over the next three days, assessment missions will be flying into those areas to evaluate peoples needs. Currently, there is still a huge need for winterized tents. And the World Health Organization

warns that the lack of safe drinking water has become a major health risk for the victims.

Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

reports that at least three cargo flights arrived overnight in Islamabad from Dubai and Jordan, and a fourth is expected today. In addition, a joint UNHCR-World Food Programme 47-truck convoy carrying tents, plastic sheets, blankets and jerry cans from warehouses in Kabul arrived last night in the town of Peshawar and is being offloaded for onward distribution.

For its part, the UN Population Fund has

sent six mobile units to two hard-hit towns, all including female doctors, nurses and midwives, and serving an average of 250 patients per day. One of the teams delivered three babies in its first day of operations at a government-run field hospital.

So far $60 million has been pledged or committed to the UN

flash appeal. That is less than a quarter of what the United Nations requested. The UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, will hold a high-level meeting in Geneva on 26 October, to garner more financial support for the appeal.

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan had a tete-a-tete meeting at breakfast at his residence this morning with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Spokesman said in response to a question about that meeting.

The Secretary-General, he said, briefed Rice on his meetings with Latin American leaders at the Ibero-American Summit in Spain, while Rice discussed her meetings with officials in Europe. They also discussed Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Asked whether they discussed the call by Lebanese Members of Parliament for an international tribunal in that country, the Spokesman said that was an issue that would be discussed by the Security Council following the issuance of Detlev Mehliss report.

U.N. STAFF MEMBER TEMPORARILY MOVED FROM LEBANON

In response to questions about the removal of Nejib Friji, head of the UN Information Centre in Beirut, from Lebanon, the Spokesman said that Friji continues to hold his job, but had been temporarily taken out of Lebanon for his own safety.

This was a decision taken by UN Security in response to the ongoing situation in Lebanon, he added, noting that the situation had been deemed serious enough to warrant Frijis removal.

Friji, Dujarric said, is currently assisting the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, and would then travel to Tunis.

Asked about the drawing of a border between Syria and Lebanon, the Spokesman said that the United Nations has encouraged those two countries to elaborate a border, but was not aware of any request for assistance by those nations.

Asked when Terje Roed-Larsen would submit his report to the Secretary-General, the Spokesman said that Roed-Larsen was expected back in New York on Wednesday and would submit the report at some point after that.

IRAQI AUTHORITIES LOOKING INTO FRAUD CHARGES

Asked about allegations that the referendum in Iraq had been marked by vote rigging, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was not in a position to reach a conclusion about fraud, but that Iraqs Independent Electoral Commission was looking into the allegations.

The organization of the referendum, Dujarric added, is by the Iraqis, and the United Nations will support them in any way it can.

Asked about the involvement of the United Nations in the negotiations on amending the Iraqi constitution after initial publication, the Spokesman said the United Nations did not participate in those negotiations but was kept informed. The head of the UN Office for Constitutional Support, Nicholas Fink Haysom, had participated in the process of elaborating the Constitution.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would back the Independent Electoral Commission in the face of Sunni opposition to the referendum, the Spokesman said that we need to let the Commission do its work. It is not up to the United Nations to validate the Commissions results, he added.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO BE BRIEFED ON HAITI

The Security Council at 3:00 today will hold a formal meeting, followed by consultations, on

Haiti. Council members will receive a briefing by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for that country, Juan Gabriel Valdes.

The Security Council is expected to adopt a Presidential Statement on Haiti.

The Council is also scheduled this afternoon to vote on a resolution on Cote dIvoire, extending the mandate of the Group of Experts dealing with sanctions in that country.

Yesterday afternoon, Council members came out with a

statement to the press welcoming the Iraqi referendum as an important step in that countrys political process.

U.N. SANCTIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN HEADS TO COTE DIVOIRE

The Chairman of the UN Sanctions Committee for

Cote dIvoire, Adamantios Vassilakis, arrives in Abidjan today for a three-day visit. He will meet with a wide variety of official and unofficial groups in several areas of the country.

By

Resolution 1572, passed last year, the Security Council has authorized targeted sanctions against anyone found to have violated human rights, broken the UN arms embargo there, blocked the peace process or incited hatred. Thus far no sanctions have been applied.

Vassilakis will return to New York later this week, and report to the Security Council.

ERITREAN HELICOPTER BAN COMPLICATES MEDICAL EVACUATION

The following is an example of how peacekeepers from the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) are being affected by the Eritrean ban on UN helicopter flights.

Three UN peacekeepers from the UN Mission were injured, one in the head, in a road accident yesterday in the Temporary Security Zone. Following the accident, the UN Mission requested Eritrean authorities for permission for an aerial medical evacuation on humanitarian grounds. As of this morning, there had been no response from the Eritrean authorities.

The evacuation of the soldiers therefore had to be undertaken by road for an eight-hour trip under very precarious conditions.

The group reached Asmara earlier today and the peacekeepers are being treated at the UN hospital.

Asked about a seeming discrepancy between the Secretary-Generals comments on Monday, indicating that UNMEE may have to pull out if it cannot do its work, and those by his Special Representative Legwaila Joseph Legwaila today, saying that the troops were not being withdrawn, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had been taking a more long-term view.

Legwaila, he noted, said a decision had not yet been made to pull out the peacekeepers, but he, like the Secretary-General, noted that they may have to withdraw if they cannot operate freely. Legwaila, he added, said we are not at that point yet.

He noted, in response to a further question, that the UN Mission had announced on Monday the thinning out of its troops in remote border posts.

Asked how long the United Nations can stay in this situation, the Spokesman said that it is taking a hard and critical look at its usefulness in saying. He added, in response to a question about the rhetoric coming from Ethiopia and Eritrea, that the United Nations urged both sides to refrain from propaganda and find a political solution.

PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD TIGHTEN STAFF RULES

ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND SEX ABUSE

Available today is a document that proposes changes to existing staff regulations on the issue of

financial disclosure and

sexual abuse.

As part of a continuing effort to increase accountability of UN staff and ascertain potential conflicts of interest, the new rules will call for financial disclosure forms to be completed by any one at the director level and above.

In addition, the Secretary-General would be granted the authority to ask staff who are at a lower grade but who work in the finance or procurement fields to also fill out such forms.

On sexual abuse, the rules would clarify that sexual abuse and sexual exploitation constitute serious misconduct. The current rules specify that the Secretary-General may summarily dismiss any staff member found to have committed serious misconduct, but does specifically mention sexual exploitation or abuse.

The changes now need to be considered and approved by the General Assembly so that they can come into force on January 1 2005.

Asked about the level of detail on the financial disclosure forms, the Spokesman noted that the forms are to cover not only disclosures about staff members but about their spouses and dependent children.

Asked whether the amended rules address all the problems having to do with financial disclosure, the Spokesman said that no organization can have a complete assurance that it is not vulnerable to fraud. Yet, he added, new financial disclosure rules and better training by staff on ethics, as well as the work done by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, help to tighten the system and increase probity.

Asked whether the United Nations would consider national vetting of financial disclosure statements, the Spokesman said he did not believe the United Nations has the powers to allow such a step, which may not be in conformity with existing legal conventions.

Asked about penalties for nondisclosure, the Spokesman said that, if a staff member does not fill out the UN forms properly, it is a violation of staff rules that could ultimately lead to dismissal. If a crime were committed, he added, the United Nations can hand over the matter for national authorities to investigate.

EL SALVADOR: HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY NOT OVER YET

According to an

update from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on El Salvador, which has been dealing with flooding, landslides and a volcanic eruption. the emergency is still not over, and further international assistance is still required.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is working with the Government and military to plan for a second round of food distributions. And the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have worked with the Government to provide psychosocial care to nearly 15,000 survivors and to establish a network of nutritionists to address food safety and prevent food poisoning.

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has distributed chlorine tablets and oral rehydration salts, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to build housing for hard-hit families, and a mission from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to arrive on 26 October for a long-term damage assessment.

FOOD AID TO DISPLACED AZERBAIJANIS TO STOP

IF ADDITIONAL FUNDS NOT URGENTLY PROVIDED

The World Food Programme (WFP)

warned today that due to a shortfall of $4 million, food aid to 130,000 Azerbaijanis displaced by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could come to a complete halt in just three weeks time.

Meanwhile, in Chad, WFP is

concerned about refugees from the Central African Republic. The agency already has an operation in place to feed about 32,000 long-term refugees. However, an influx of as many as 11,000 new arrivals since June this year has stretched resources to the point where an additional $930,000 is now required to ensure adequate supplies for all until the end of January of next year.

U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

This morning the General Assembly is holding informal consultations of the plenary on the Human Rights Council, at which Member States are discussing the possible mandate and functions of the Council.

At yesterdays informal consultations on the Peacebuilding Commission, there was a positive spirit and constructive dialogue by video-link with senior officials from the field, including the Special Representatives from Burundi, Haiti and Liberia. Interventions were made by a number of countries that have recently experienced conflict, including Guatemala, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Tomorrow the two Co-Chairs, the Ambassadors of Denmark and Tanzania, are expected to send a letter to all delegations along with a paper setting out various options for the Commission. We will make that available to you. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday morning.

Most of the Main Committees are continuing their work today. In the Sixth Committee, informal consultations are being held on a comprehensive convention on measures to eliminate international terrorism. The Working Group on that issue is expected to present its report to the Sixth Committee this Friday, 21 October.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

U.N. ELECTORAL CHIEF AT WORK IN IRAQ: Asked about Carina Perelli, Director of the Electoral Assistance Division, the Spokesman said she is working in Iraq now. Her interaction with the Office for Human Resources Management is continuing.

NO ADVERSE FINDINGS AGAINST U.N. STAFF MEMBER: Asked whether the Secretary-General accepts the findings of the Volcker report concerning staff member Wagaye Assebe, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General continues to accept the reports findings, and stressed that there were no adverse findings against Assebe.

ANNANS VIEWS ON ZIMBABWE CLEAR: Asked about the Secretary-Generals response to recent comments made by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in Rome, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General had made his views on

Zimbabwe clear when he handed over the

report by his Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka.

ANNAN REPORT FOCUSES ON HOW TO PROTECT WOMEN FROM WAR: The Secretary-Generals

report on women, peace and security is available today. The report makes very specific recommendations for all UN agencies on how they can better implement the

resolution passed in 2000 aimed at protecting women from the impacts of war and insecurity. It also specifies areas where interagency and intergovernmental action would be most effective.

U.N. ENVOY HEADS TO BOLIVIA: Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo will travel to Bolivia tomorrow, in his capacity as the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy to that country, to assess the current situation and the ways that the United Nations can support the country. Ocampo will meet with the President of Bolivia, as well as with presidential candidates and leaders of civil society organizations. He is to return by the end of the week.

INCREASED BANDITRY REPORTED IN DARFUR, SUDAN: There has been a marked increase in banditry in both North and South Darfur, according to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). In West Darfur, meanwhile, there is little or no movement on the roads due to the prevailing security situation. The United Nations is carrying out an ongoing assessment of the security situation in West Darfur.

ELECTRICAL DEFECTS PLAGUE U.N. HEADQUARTERS: Some of the electrical equipment in the Secretariat Building has been overheating, which makes it necessary to reduce power consumption in the building. Elevator service has been reduced, as have heating, ventilation and air-conditioning from the 21st floor through the 40th floor, until further notice. As soon as the situation permits, the UN will gradually restore services.