United Nations Daily Highlights, 02-10-25

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, October 25, 2002

ANNAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO LATE U.S. SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement, said, "The sudden and tragic death of Senator Paul Wellstone, along with his wife, his daughter and several campaign workers, comes as a personal shock to me."

He noted that Wellstone was among the first to greet him on my initial visit to Washington as Secretary-General in 1997 and joined him on two occasions when Annan visited the Senator's home state of Minnesota.

The Secretary-General said, "He was a profoundly decent man, a man of principle, a man of conscience. His passing is a loss not only for his family, friends and constituents, but also for friends of the United Nations."

ANNAN EXPECTS RESOLUTION AS SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS ON IRAQ

Upon entering the UN Headquarters' building this morning, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at a brief press counter, was asked about the prospects for a Security Council resolution concerning Iraq, and he said, I do expect a Council resolution and I expect it to be unanimous. Theres hard discussions going on, and I hope in the end they will be fruitful, and that the inspectors will go back to Iraq with the support of a united Council behind them.

In response to a question about the progress of the negotiations, he said, Its democracy in practice; it takes a bit of time, but with patience, well get an optimal decision.

The Secretary-General also commented on the hostage situation in Moscow, saying that it is unreasonable and adding, We cannot accept that innocent civilians should be trapped in this situation. He reiterated his demand for their release, adding his hope that, in the end, the perpetrators would also be made to account.

The Security Council began consultations this morning on Iraq.

Asked when those discussions might end, the Spokesman said that was entirely in the hands of the Security Council.

UN SURVEY NOTES RISE IN AFGHAN OPIUM POPPY PRODUCTION

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime today launched its Opium Survey for Afghanistan for this year, which confirmed a considerable level of opium production in that country, with 90 percent of opium poppy cultivation concentrated in five provinces: Helmand, Nangahar, Badakhshan, Uruzgan and Kandahar.

The total opium production in Afghanistan for this year is estimated to amount to some 3,400 metric tons, which is 25 percent less than the record levels of opium produced in 1999, but considerably higher than the 185 metric tons produced there last year.

Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the Office, who launched the report in Rome today, said the high level of opium cultivation this year was not a sign of the failure of the Afghan authorities to fight drug trafficking. Rather, he said, the planting of this years crop took place during the total collapse of law and order during the autumn of 2001, before the present government was in place.

The survey adds that it would not be appropriate to see Afghanistan as a country entirely dependent on illegal activity, since a high level of economic dependency on opium poppy cultivation is limited to a few provinces that have not complied with the Government ban issued this January on opium production.

ANNAN EXPLORING USE OF NOBEL MONEY FOR EDUCATION FUND

On United Nations Staff Day, Deputy Secretary-General Louis Fréchette paid tribute to the 57 peacekeepers and 6 civilian staff who have lost their lives since Staff Day last year.

In her remarks at Memorial Ceremony, she said that the Secretary-General was exploring the possibility of using the money from last years Nobel Peace Prize to establish a UN Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Trust Fund, for the education of children of staff members who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

In another address to mark Staff Day, the Deputy Secretary-General noted that this was a tense and troubled moment in the world affairs, and said that the car bombing in Bali underscored both the degree to which the fight against terrorism has quickly become one of the main priorities of the United Nations, and the importance of international cooperation in that struggle.

She then listed some highlight of the Secretary-Generals report on UN reform. Together, they add up to a very different way of doing business, she said.

UN ENVOY BRINGS CONGOLESE PARTIES TOGETHER IN PRETORIA

At the initiative of the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy Moustapha Niasse, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo and the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma agreed to hold informal consultations beginning today in Pretoria, South Africa, on an all-inclusive transitional political arrangement in the DRC.

Niasse is set to meet those three groups separately today and together over the weekend and into early next week. He will also be meeting representatives of other armed groups, as well as political parties, throughout next week.

These consultations are being held in close cooperation with the Presidency of the African Union and with the active support of the Government of South Africa.

The consultations follow extensive discussions and contacts with the Congolese parties undertaken by Niasse through shuttle diplomacy since June 2002.

The talks are part his efforts to help the Congolese parties reach, on an informal basis, an all-inclusive transitional arrangement. Such an arrangement, once reached, will be formally endorsed by the Inter-Congolese Dialogue under the chairmanship of its Facilitator, former Botswanan President Ketumile Masire.

UN VOICES CONCERN AT HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN DR-CONGO

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remains concerned about the situation in Ituri Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There are an estimated half a million displaced persons in the area, including over 130,000 in Bunia alone.

The health situation is precarious. There is little or no access to health centers due to insecurity and lack of income; fifteen health centers have been looted or destroyed; and a cholera epidemic has broken out in Bunia and other localities.

Where nutritional centres are accessible to the population, the number of malnourished children seeking aid has in increased. Water systems have been sabotaged, and drinking water is insufficient throughout Ituri. In addition, food production has been drastically reduced because of population movements.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is very concerned about the situation of 17,000 Sudanese refugees following the occupation of a Sudanese refugee settlement by a rebel faction in northern DRC. Rebel presence in the locality caused panic among local and refugee populations who fled to the bushes. Since Monday, most of the 17,000 refugees have gone into hiding. UNHCR is unable to reach the refugees as fighting continues nearby.

In a statement, Iulia Antoanella Motoc, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights for the DRC, expressed her concern about the increase of violations of human rights during the withdrawal of foreign forces from that country. She underscored that the withdrawal of foreign troops must not be an opportunity or a pretext for the commitment of human rights violations and appealed to all the parties to respect human rights.

UNAIDS CHIEF NOTES RESPONSE TO CRISIS, CALLS FOR MORE EFFORT

Peter Piot, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today addressed a joint meeting of the General Assemblys second and third committees, telling them that, 16 months after the General Assemblys unprecedented special session on AIDS, already there are signs it was a turning point in the global response to the epidemic.

But he cautioned, Historys judgment on the session still hangs in the balance. While there has been progress in increasing the global momentum in the fight against AIDS, Piot warned, the response is not yet strong enough to turn the epidemic back.

He notes that a report by the Secretary-General over the gains of the past 16 months shows that leadership in responding to the epidemic has undoubtedly increased, but so far, too many of the efforts against AIDS are still small-scale efforts rather than nationwide comprehensive programs. He asserted, The most emphatic lesson in over 20 years of fighting AIDS is that half measures do not work.

UN NOTES PEOPLE ARE BEING MADE HOMELESS IN COTE DIVOIRE

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Abijdan, Cote dIvoire, people continue being displaced from their homes, especially among shantytown residents. Some people have been made homeless overnight. Bulldozers, guarded by police officers, have demolished structures made out of wood planks, plastic sheeting and adobe.

Meanwhile, people displaced by the recent fighting continue to arrive in Abidjan, although exact numbers are not yet available. However, the risk of epidemics due to population movement is imminent. Health organizations are considering planning immunization days nationwide, with security for the teams becoming a main concern.

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are making their ways with immediate assistance to Bouaké and Yamoussoukro, as well as to the transit centers in Abidjan.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

A General Assembly document on the interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights dealing with Sudan concludes that the overall human rights situation in Sudan has not improved and that the implementation of the peace agreement is key.

The latest report from Andreas Mavromiatis, the Human Rights Commissions Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iraq, welcomed the dialogue Mavromiatis has been able to have with the Government of Iraq but adds that the level of cooperation, although improved, did not attain the level, detail and substance he had expected.

The World Food Programme said that, in addition to Guatemala and Honduras, it had now added El Salvador to its list of Latin American countries facing food problems.

A team of international biosafety experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) has completed an inspection of a smallpox research laboratory in Koltsovo, part of Russias Novosibirsk Region, and has concluded that the laboratory can safely be used for work with the Variola virus, which causes smallpox. The team said all previous safety recommendations for the site have been implemented.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS Monday, October 28 The Security Council will hold an open meeting on women, peace and security.

Tuesday, October 29 The Secretary-General is to speak at a seminar, sponsored with the International Peace Academy, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel.

The Security Council intends to hold private meetings with the President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Gilbert Guillaume, and with the Presidents of the International Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, Judges Navanethem Pillay and Claude Jorda.

The Global Mountain Summit will begin in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The guest at the noon briefing will be Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, who will discuss international migration.

Wednesday, October 30 The Secretary-General is to address the General Assembly on his report on UN reform.

The Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by consultations, on Afghanistan.

Thursday, October 31 The Security Council expects to hold consultations on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

Friday, November 1 The presidency of the Security Council will rotate from Cameroon to China, and new Council President Wang Yinfan of China is expected to hold bilateral consultations with Council members on its program of work for November. * The guest at todays briefing was Mahmoud Kassem, Chairman of the Panel of Experts on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who discussed the groups latest report to the Security Council.

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

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