United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-12-01

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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

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, December 1, 2006

ANNAN: AIDS IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE OF OUR GENERATION

Today is World AIDS Day, and this years theme is accountability, and the idea, as Secretary-General Kofi Annan puts it in his message for the occasion that all world leaders and politicians should realise that AIDS stops with me.

Speaking at a ceremony marking World AIDS Day at St. Bartholomews Church last night, the Secretary-General said that, in the quarter-century since the first AIDS case was reported, the epidemic has killed 25 million people, and infected 40 million more. It has become the greatest challenge of our generation, he said.

The Secretary-General noted that he would soon be stepping down from his post, but he pledged, as long as I have strength, I will keep spreading that message on the need to fight AIDS.

SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES ELECTION MONITORS FOR NEPAL

After brief consultations this morning, the Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement on Nepal, welcoming the signing of the peace agreement and noting the request for UN assistance in implementing key aspects of that agreement. The Council supports the Secretary-Generals intention to send a technical assessment mission and to deploy monitors and electoral personnel in Nepal.

Todays meeting was the first one under Qatars Council Presidency during the month of December.

Qatari Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser is expected to talk to you about the Councils programme of work for the coming month on Monday, in a briefing at about 1:00.

AFRICAN UNION TO CHART THE WAY AHEAD IN DARFUR AFTER KEY SUMMIT

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping said in Abuja last night after delivering the Secretary-Generals message, the African Union Peace and Security Council now has all the information it needs to determine its position on the way ahead in Darfur.

No official communiqué from that meeting is yet available.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has received a $10 million emergency relief grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a variety of health, education, water and sanitation projects aimed at supporting the return and reintegration of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people to devastated Southern Sudan.

And the refugee agency has also airlifted 110 tonnes of emergency relief supplies from our regional stockpiles in Ghana into the Chadian capital of N'Djamena as part of an urgent effort to replace some $1.3 million of relief items looted from its main warehouse in the eastern town of Abeche last weekend.

ASSESSMENT TEAM STUDIES DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

IN CHAD AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Asked about comments made by Chadian officials on accepting plans for a UN force on the border between Chad and Sudan, the Spokesman said that he understood that those statements were made following meetings between Chadian and French officials, not following any meeting with the United Nations.

He said that the United Nations was looking at a variety of options on dealing with the situation in Chad, as well as in the neighbouring Central African Republic, and noted that a UN team has been visiting both those countries to explore options. That team will report back to the Secretary-General afterward.

Asked about a UN regional approach to the crises in the region, the Spokesman said that the United Nations continues to work actively, through its mission in the Central African Republic and Chad and through its efforts to win approval for a hybrid UN-African Union force in Darfur. He noted the negative effects that the situation in Darfur has had on security throughout the region.

ANNAN SAYS ANY SOLUTION TO LEBANON CRISIS MUST BE PEACEFUL

Asked about the UNs reaction to the demonstrations taking place in Lebanon, the Spokesman said that the United Nations was watching developments with concern and stressed that only a political solution can resolve the situation in that country. He said that the Secretary-General has emphasized that any solution in Lebanon must be peaceful.

Asked about the work being done by a UN team about the Shebaa Farms, the Spokesman said that was part of the UNs efforts to implement

resolution 1701.

He noted that the Secretary-General would report to the Security Council on the implementation of resolution 1701, in a letter that is likely to go to the Security Council later today.

Asked about the work of the Secretary-Generals facilitator on the issue of Israeli and Lebanese prisoners, Dujarric said that work was continuing, and he would not make ant interim announcements about that work.

U.N. POLICE TAKES THE LEAD IN TIMOR-LESTE LAW ENFORCEMENT

The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste today signed an agreement with the Timorese Government which gives the Mission prime responsibility for police operations throughout the country.

The agreement, known as the Police Supplemental Arrangement, details the operational arrangements and command and control procedures through which the UN Police contingent should discharge its new task as interim law enforcement body for Timor-Leste.

The signing of agreement was set to coincide with todays ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of a joint headquarters for the UN and the Timorese police forces in the capital Dili.

ANNAN SAYS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IS A THREAT TO SIERRA LEONES STABILITY

Available today is the Secretary-Generals latest report on Sierra Leone.

In it, the Secretary-General says that Sierra Leone continues to make progress in peacebuilding, in particular in its poverty reduction and peace consolidation strategies, and that the parliament is improving its oversight functions.

On the security front, the Secretary-General says that the high level of youth unemployment remains a serious threat to the countrys stability.

FLOODS LIMIT ACCESS TO AFFECTED PEOPLE IN KENYA

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that nearly 700,000 people have been affected by flooding in Kenya -- which more than doubles the initial estimates.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has an assessed caseload estimated at 563,000 affected persons. According to WFP, of that total, 339,000 are already being assisted under the drought Emergency Operation, as are Somali refugees in camps in Kenya.

Meanwhile, the flooding continues to hamper access to some areas, limiting assistance the affected population. We have more details in a press release upstairs.

UNITED NATIONS OFFERS SUPPORT TO PHILIPPINES IN TYPHOON RESPONSE

The UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines has offered the United Nations full support to the Philippines National Disaster Coordinating Council, in the wake of Typhoon Durian, which first made landfall yesterday.

The Philippines authorities have informed us that 198 people are confirmed dead and 260 missing, with more than 25,000 people affected in ten different provinces. Floodwaters have reportedly reached 10 feet in some areas.

We have been requested by the Philippines authorities to provide satellite imagery of landslide-affected areas.

YUGOSLAVIA TRIBUNAL CONCERNED AT SUSPECTS REFUSAL TO EAT

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia says it is gravely concerned at the actions of the accused suspect Vojislav eelj, who by refusing to accept food, medicine, and medical care while in the custody of the Tribunals Detention Unit is seriously jeopardizing his own health.

The Tribunal says that it moved eelj, who agrees to drink water but refuses any solid foods since November 11th, from the Detention Unit to a prison hospital in The Hague.

The Tribunal also reports that Stanislav Galic, a former Serb Army Commander, was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the campaign of sniping and shelling against civilians in Sarajevo from September 1992 to August 1994.

This is the first time that the Tribunal has sentenced an accused to the maximum penalty under its statute.

.OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNITED NATIONS URGES SOMALI PARTIES TO RESUME DIALOGUE: Asked about the United Nations; role in working in areas in Somalia controlled by the Union of Islamic Courts, the Spokesman said that UN officials have met with representatives of the Islamic Courts and encouraged them, as well as their counterparts in the Transitional Federal Government, to return to the negotiations that began in Khartoum. Meanwhile, he added, the United Nations also continues its humanitarian work.

ANNAN FAVOURS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IRAQ: Asked about work on an international conference for Iraq, the Spokesman said that is an idea that the Secretary-General favours, adding that discussions are ongoing on that matter. Any conference, he said, would have to involve all the parties in Iraq, as well as neighbouring states.

EVENTS AND BRIEFINGS COMMEMORATING WORLD AIDS DAY HELD AT U.N. HEADQUARTERS: At 1:00 this afternoon, Bill Roedy, President of MTV Networks International, and Dali Mpofu, Chief Executive Officer of South African Broadcasting Corporation, briefed reporters on the Global Media AIDS Initiative. At 6:30 today in the Visitors Lobby, the opening of the first International HIV/AIDS Cartoon Exhibition. And next Monday morning, the New York AIDS Film Festival will hold a closing screening at the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium, starting at 9:00.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, December 2

Today is International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

Sunday, December 3

Today is the International Day of Disabled Persons.

Monday, December 4

The Security Council will hold consultations on the monthly work programme. Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar, President of the Council, will hold a press conference at 1:00.

The annual four-day Force Commanders and Heads of Military Components Conference begins today at UNHQ. The gathering offers an opportunity to share experiences in peacekeeping operations with the senior managers and staff at DPKO and carry out detailed deliberations on a variety of issues affecting peacekeeping operations.

At 11:00, President Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana will hold a press conference on the Report of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The Secretary-General is expected to address the UN High-Level Conference on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN and NGO Personnel which is taking place at the Millennium Plaza Hotel. At 2:00, Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; Kathleen Cravero, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the UN Development Programme; and Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children-United Kingdom, will brief the press.

On the occasion of the International Day of Disabled Persons, the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will hold a panel discussion on E-accessibility at 1:15 in Room 4, followed by the first meeting of the Global Initiative for Inclusive Technologies at 3:30.

The World Health Organizations Intergovernmental Working Group on Innovation, Public Health and Intellectual Property, will hold its first session in Geneva.

Tuesday, December 5

Today is International Volunteer Day.

At 11:00, the report Global Audit of Web Accessibility will be launched at a press conference.

At 1:00, the United Nations Universitys World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) will brief on a research project entitled, Global Distribution of Wealth.

The World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) will hold its fifth Ordinary Session in Dakar Senegal, beginning today until 9 December.

Wednesday, December 6

Thursday, December 7

Today is International Civil Aviation Day.

The Secretary-General is expected to preside over the meeting on the Central Emergency Response Fund. Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, will be the guest at the noon briefing to discuss the Fund.

The Turin-based United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) will hold a one-day conference on enhancing security at major world events.

Jose Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, will host a two-day seminar on Policy Space for Developing Countries in a Globalized World.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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