United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-09-12

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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 STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

ANNAN TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW AT 10:30 A.M.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will hold his annual press conference prior to the start of the General Assemblys General Debate tomorrow morning, at 10:30, in this room.

Because of the Secretary-Generals press conference, there will be no regular noon briefing by the Spokesman tomorrow.

FRENCH AND SPANISH PEACEKEEPERS EXPECTED IN LEBANON

The Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major-General Alain Pellegrini, met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and expressed his hope that Israels withdrawal would be completed soon and that the Lebanese Armed Forces will then be able to deploy throughout the South.

UNIFIL reports that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are today in the process of withdrawing from several towns in the central part of southern Lebanon, including At Tayyabah and the areas west of Hula.

UNIFILs Indian Battalion set up a number of checkpoints and is carrying out intensive patrolling in the area to confirm the IDF withdrawal. The Indian Battalion will coordinate the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces into the area tomorrow.

Speaking after his meeting with the Prime Minister, Pellegrini said that he informed the Prime Minister on the expected arrivals of the French and Spanish contingents in the next few days, thus ensuring that UNIFIL will reach 5,000 officers and soldiers very soon.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of resolution 1701, the Spokesman said that the report is expected to go to the Security Council this afternoon.

The Spokesman declined to comment, when asked by a reporter, about Hezbollahs call for the Lebanese Government to step down, saying that he would not comment on the internal dynamics of that Government, which includes Hezbollah members.

LEBANON AIR AND SEA TRAFFIC NEAR PRE-WAR LEVELS

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, since the lifting of the Israeli blockade, air traffic is quickly resuming to pre-conflict levels.

The lifting of the sea blockade has allowed commercial vessels to return as well; 8 ships have now docked in Beiruts port, carrying wheat, cars, and raw products for manufacturing. Import and export activity is not expected to return to normal, however, for another 3 to 4 months.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says it will conduct a damage and needs assessment mission in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors this month. FAO says that, because of the blockade, some 8,000 fisherman had been unable to take their boats to sea. Farmers suffered as well, since imported pesticides and seeds became scarce or more expensive. In addition, possible unexploded ordnance contamination could pose serious challenges.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council held consultations this morning on Cote dIvoire. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi briefed Council members on the meeting last week on Cote dIvoire.

A French draft resolution on the panel of experts for Cote dIvoire was also circulated.

Security Council members this morning also voted to extend the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Later in the day, the Security Council members held their monthly luncheon with the Secretary-General.

ANNAN URGES SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE IN KOSOVO TALKS

Secretary-General Kofi Annans latest report on Kosovo is out on the racks today.

In it, he says that he is pleased that the political process to determine the future status of Kosovo is proceeding with the active and high-level participation of both sides. At the same time, however, he is disappointed that little common ground has been identified between the positions of the Serbian and Kosovo delegations and calls on both sides to engage in these talks in a spirit of compromise.

The Secretary-General adds that, despite the generally stable security situation, he remains concerned by incidents of violence targeting people or religious sites, and he strongly condemns them, particularly those that are inter-ethnic. Those responsible must be brought swiftly to justice, he says.

HUMANITARIAN CHIEF ENDS AFRICA MISSION,

HOPEFUL TO SECURE RELEASE OF UGANDAN ABDUCTEES

Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, this morning concluded an eight-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Southern Sudan with a press conference in Nairobi. Calling the situation in the DRC and northern Uganda the worst humanitarian tragedies of our generation, Egeland said that he was optimistic about the emerging opportunities to end some of the conflicts in the region.

Egeland arrived in Nairobi from a visit to Juba, in southern Sudan, where he met with Salva Kiir, the President of South Sudan, and his first Vice-President, Riek Machar who is mediating peace negotiations between the Government of Uganda and the rebel Lords Resistance Army.

Egeland met with both Ugandan Government and LRA officials in a bid to obtain the release by the LRA of women and children abducted during the conflict. On the Juba talks, Egeland said that it was an opportunity to end one of the worst nightmares in modern history, a conflict which saw some 20,000 children abducted and scores of innocent civilians mutilated.

Egeland, who spent the night in a local refugee camp to get first-hand understanding of living conditions in the camps, said that he was hopeful that UN efforts to obtain the release of the LRA abductees would yield positive results.

RIVAL LEADERS IN D.R. CONGO AGREE TO MEET UNCONDITIONALLY

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports that the situation in Kinshasa remains calm as it continues its activities aimed at reconciling the positions of President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.

As part of these efforts, South African President Thabo Mbeki and the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana held meetings in Kinshasa with Congolese leaders in a bid to boost national unity and restore confidence ahead of the run-off presidential election planned for 29 October.

The Mission notes that the mediators have reported that both Kabila and Bemba agreed to meet unconditionally, and that as a confidence-building gesture, the Congolese government this morning restored the broadcasting signals of two television stations owned by Bemba.

U.N. STAFF TARGETED IN SOUTH DARFUR

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) says two UN vehicles, with three international staff members on board, were shot at by two armed men while travelling from El Fasher to Nyala, in South Darfur on Sunday. The armed men missed the two vehicles, and no one was injured.

The mission adds that it has received reports indicating that a government aircraft bombed six villages in the Tawilla area of North Darfur. There was an unknown number of civilian causalities, and the African Union Mission in Sudan is to investigate the report.

SPOKESMAN EXPLAINS HOUSING SUBSIDY RULES FOR U.N. STAFF

Asked about the UNs policy on housing subsidies for UN staff, the Spokesman said that it has been the long established practice by a few Member States to provide some type of housing subsidy to their nationals who serve as senior UN officials.

The Secretary-General, he said, has on an exceptional basis approved these arrangements at the request of the Member States. Currently there is one senior UN official at headquarters who benefits from such an arrangement from his national government and, as a result, receives none of the housing subsidy he would otherwise be entitled to from the United Nations. The Spokesman declined to name that official.

Other than this one case, Dujarric said, there are no senior UN officials at headquarters receiving any form of housing subsidy, whether from a government or private entity.

There are a few cases, outside of headquarters, of senior officials serving in UN missions who receive housing from the host government for operational reasons.

Any senior official receiving a subsidy is required to declare it on their financial disclosure form.

The Spokesman said that the United Nations continues to expect all staff members and Member States to abide by article 100 of the Charter.

He noted that a letter had gone out to US Ambassador John Bolton, responding to questions from him about this policy.

REFUGEE AGENCY TO HELP SUDANESE RETURN HOME FROM D.R. CONGO

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

help some 400 Sudanese refugees currently in the north-eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) return home to

South Sudan tomorrow.

The refugees will be in a UNHCR convoy leaving from Aba in the Congos Oriental Province, where most of the South Sudanese refugees in the DRC are housed.

Out of some 5,000 Sudanese refugees accommodated in Aba, UNHCR and its partners have so far registered 3,200 refugees who have expressed a wish to return.

DRUGS OFFICE CHIEF URGES ROBUST ANTI-NARCOTICS EFFORT IN AFGHANISTAN

The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, today called for robust military action by NATO forces to destroy the opium industry in southern Afghanistan.

Presenting the 2006 UNODC Annual Opium Survey in Brussels, he said that counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics efforts must reinforce each other in Afghanistans turbulent southern region, so as to stop the vicious circle of drugs funding terrorists and terrorists protecting drug traffickers.

Costa invited coalition countries to give NATO the required mandate and resources for this task.

INSECURITY PREVENTING REFUGEE AGENCY WORKERS

FROM ENTERING CAMP IN AFGHANISTAN

Asked about the lack of UN presence at a camp for displaced persons in Afghanistan, the Spokesman noted that some 200 new families have just arrived at the Zhari Dascht camp for internally displaced persons in that country, and that UNHCR is pre-positioning relief supplies, in support of the Afghan Governments efforts to help these new arrivals.

However, he said, insecurity is preventing UNHCR from delivering these supplies or physically going to the camp. Last year, in the same area, a local non-governmental worker was attacked and five aid workers were killed.

With regards to the original residents, the Spokesman said, UNHCR is providing services through its humanitarian partners in the areas of health care, education and income-generating activities.

Asked how the United Nations determines how to provide safety to those who need it, the Spokesman said it is always a difficult choice to make. A delicate balance needs to be struck, he said, since the safety of UN staff needs to be considered, and it is assessed by the UN security team on the ground.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

MEMBERS STATES MUST TAKE THE LEAD ON U.N. REFORM: Asked about comments from U.S. Ambassador John Bolton about the urgent need for UN reform, the Spokesman noted that the ambassador said that much of the onus is on Member States, and the Secretary-General would agree with that. He said that, although the Secretary-General had taken a considerable amount of action under his own authority, the General Assembly needs to do more work, including on management reform.

FOOD AGENCY PLEADS FOR ACCESS TO THE NEEDY IN SRI LANKA: The World Food Programme (WFP) is renewing its appeal to the fighting parties in Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian actors to access the civilian population. WFP has said that reaching some groups is proving challenging due to displaced persons being on the move, violence and restrictions on access in the rebel LTTE-controlled north.

ANNAN: WORLDS INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE MUST PREVAIL: In a message to the Second Congress of World and Traditional Religions that took place in Astana, Kazakstan, today, the Secretary-General says relations between adherents of major world religions have been particularly affected by increasing intolerance, extremism and violence. He hopes the Congress will encourage all members to spread the message of dialogue and peaceful coexistence to all communities.