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United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-07-20
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOON BRIEFING
BY FRED ECKHARD
SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Thursday, 20 July, 2000
ANNAN TO HOST HIGH-LEVEL MEETING OF BUSINESS, LABOR AND CIVIL
SOCIETYHEADLINES
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will bring together
leaders from global business, international labor and civil society
organizations who will pledge their commitment to universally-accepted
human rights, labor and environmental principles.
HEADLINES
- Nearly 50 companies will attend the meeting at UN headquarters on
Wednesday, July 26. They included corporate giants such as DaimlerChrysler,
Unilever, Deutsche Bank, BPAmoco, Novartis, Ericsson and Nike, as well as a
significant number of corporations from developing countries.
HEADLINES
- All are committed to implementing the principles of The in their own
corporate management practices. "The Global Compact" was
announced by the Secretary-General at Davos, Switzerland, in January 1999,
when he first warned the business community about a mounting backlash
against globalization. .
HEADLINES
- Meanwhile, the United Nations issued today internal guidelines governing
its relations with the business community. These were deemed necessary as
the UN’s contact with corporations has increased dramatically, particularly
in the context of the Global Compact. These guidelines provide a useable
framework for the organization’s dealings with the private sector.
ANNAN OPENS SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON CONFLICT PREVENTIONHEADLINES
- This morning, the Secretary-General opened a Security Council public
meeting on the Prevention of Armed Conflicts.
HEADLINES
- "Prevention is multidimensional," Annan said. "It is not just a matter of
putting in place mechanisms such as early warning, diplomacy, disarmament,
preventive deployment, or sanctions -- necessary though all these may be.
Effective prevention has to address the structural faults that predispose a
society to conflict."
HEADLINES
- Twenty-six countries had signed up to speak during the meeting chaired by
Jamaican Foreign Minister Paul Robertson.
HEADLINES
- The Council is expected to adopt the longest-ever presidential statement,
seven pages single-spaced.
ANNAN HOPES FOR STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF DIAMOND BANSHEADLINES
- The five-member panel named last week to monitor the implementation of sanctions
against UNITA, including a ban on diamonds from UNITA-controlled areas in
Angola, is holding its first organizational meeting at United Nations
headquarters today.
HEADLINES
- Meanwhile, Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Fowler, who
is the chairman of the Angola sanctions committee, has returned from the
just-concluded World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, Belgium, and will be the
guest at the noon briefing on Friday.
HEADLINES
- The Secretary-General, in his address to the Council this morning praised
Council-imposed diamond bans, saying that he hoped "that the diamond bans
will from now on be more strictly enforced, and that the dealers will
respond by cleaning up their business." He added: "Greed may be one of the
driving forces behind some of today’s armed conflicts, but we are not
helpless in confronting it."
UNAIDS URGES GROUP OF EIGHT TO INCREASE SPENDING AGAINST HIV/AIDSHEADLINES
- The today called on the Group of Eight wealthy countries attending the
Okinawa Summit to show resolve and leadership on AIDS by radically stepping
up their spending to fight the disease.
HEADLINES
- "Rich countries can rewrite the history of the epidemic by taking a
decisive stand against AIDS and committing more resources to fighting it,"
said Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
HEADLINES
- This call comes in the aftermath of the 13th International
AIDS Conference held last week in South Africa and the resolution adopted
this week by the Security Council reiterating its concern about the spread
of HIV/AIDS and drawing attention to the risk posed by an unchecked
epidemic to stability and security.
HEADLINES
- In response to a question on UNAIDS’ reaction to the announcement
yesterday by the United States to guarantee $1 billion in loans for
developing countries to purchase HIV/AIDS drugs, the Spokesman said that
he’s sure that once the offer is firmed it will be warmly welcomed by
UNAIDS.
UNITED NATIONS CONTINUES EFFORT TO REVERSE TALIBAN EDICT HEADLINES
- Erick de Mul, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan,
who had traveled to Kabul in an attempt to reverse a Taleban edict banning
Afghan women from working with the United Nations and non-governmental
organizations, has returned to Islamabad, Pakistan.
HEADLINES
- During his stay in Kabul, he had meetings with the Council of Ministers
on Sunday and Monday. Not all of the relevant ministers were present. At a
meeting held early Thursday, the Taleban asked for more time to provide a
firm answer on the issue. De Mul asked the Taleban to provide him with an
answer in a week’s time.
HEADLINES
- He will meet with his UN colleagues on Friday to consult with them
regarding the latest developments. He is prepared to return to Kabul for
more discussions
HEADLINES
- Last week, de Mul was in Kandahar where he had received positive signals
from the Taleban foreign minister. He traveled to Kabul to discuss the
issue further with the Ministry of Planning, which had issued the edict.
HEADLINES
- The Untied Nations is very concerned about the edict’s impact on the
delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan.
KOSOVO: POLICE PATROLS IN MITROVICA RESUMEHEADLINES
- In Mitrovica, the 24 year-old Serb whose arrest on Monday had sparked
three nights of disturbances has been released by authorities.
HEADLINES
- Dalibor Vukovic appeared in front of an Albanian judge this morning and
charges of robbery and arson were presented against him by an international
prosecutor. Having no previous criminal record and after promising to
report to any subsequent hearing, he was freed on his own recognizance.
HEADLINES
- Full police patrols by the UN mission in Kosovo have now resumed in
northern Mitrovica
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
HEADLINES
- The Secretary General has received for his
consideration the distribution plan for Phase Eight of the. The Plan
arrived over the weekend and the annexes arrived Thursday. This plan
proposes spending just over $7 billion on the humanitarian needs of the
Iraqi people, including $600 million on the oil sector.
HEADLINES
- One of the members of the Joint UN-Organization of African Unity (OAU)
Commission of Inquiry on alleged human rights violations in Togo, Amadou
Ould-Abdallah of Mauritania, has withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts. He
will now be replaced by Issaka Souna of Niger, who joins Mahamat Hassan
Abakar of Chad and Paulo Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil. The three-member
Commission will hold its first meeting in Geneva from July 31 to August 4,
when it will adopt their methods of work, a work plan for the investigation
and decide on a schedule.
HEADLINES
- Today at 6:30 p.m. in the Visitor's Lobby, the Secretary-General will
officially open Open to the public until August 28, the exhibit showcases
130 winning and selected paintings from the Winsor and Newton Worldwide
Millennium Painting Competition -- the largest international art
competition ever held -- in aid of the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF).
HEADLINES
- The today issued an appeal for $8.4 million for its emergency assistance
program for 300,000 people forced from their homes by civil strife in three
provinces of Angola.
HEADLINES
- Lebanon has become the 102nd Member State to be paid in full
for the year 2000 regular budget. Lebanon made a payment of just over $168,
000.
- Today's guest at the noon briefing was John Ruggie, Assistant Secretary-
General in Annan's Office, who announced the next step in the Secretary
General’s plan for a with corporations, labor unions and civil society.
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