United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-01-05

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN

HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, January 5, 2004

ANNAN WELCOMES MEETINGS BETWEEN INDIAN, PAKISTANI LEADERS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement, welcomed meetings held in Islamabad Sunday and today between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India with President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali of Pakistan.

He considers that these meetings represent another important step forward in the continuing bilateral efforts to improve relations and resolve outstanding issues between the two countries.

The Secretary-General urged both sides to continue with these efforts and hoped the summit meetings will give a new impetus to serious and sustained dialogue.

ANNAN SAYS ADOPTION OF AFGHAN CONSTITUTION IS HISTORIC

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Secretary-General expressed his pleasure at the Constitutional Loya Jirga's agreement on Afghanistan's new Constitution and congratulated the delegates to the Constitutional Loya Jirga on the completion of this difficult and complex process.

This historic achievement represents the determination of the Afghan people to see their country make a transition to a stable and democratic state. This is another important step in the peace process that justifies the commitment of the Afghan people and the international community to date and which must be sustained, if not increased.

The Secretary-General is gratified that the United Nations has been able to contribute to this achievement and wishes to commend his Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, for the vital role he has played.

LAKHDAR BRAHIMI CONGRATULATES AFGHANS, STEPS DOWN FROM POST

Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative who heads the UN Mission in Afghanistan, on Sunday welcomed the passage of the new Afghan Constitution, telling the delegates in Kabul that they have every reason to feel proud of what they have achieved.

Brahimi added that the Constitution, however, is just a piece of paper, and will need to be translated into a living reality by the Afghan people. He told the women of Afghanistan, Your cause is just, and urged them to continue in their struggle for equal rights with dignity and with courage.

He confirmed, as the Constitutional Loya Jirga closed, that his assignment in Afghanistan is now finished and he will be leaving the country shortly. Brahimi told the delegates that his central government in New York had asked him to leave, adding, If I dont, then I will be called a warlord for refusing the instructions of the central government.

Until a replacement for Brahimi is appointed, the Secretary-General has decided that Jean Arnault, Brahimis deputy for political affairs, will be the Officer-in-Charge of the UN Mission in Afghanistan.

UNITED NATIONS PREPARES AID APPEAL FOR IRAN QUAKE VICTIMS

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland is on his way to Iran and the devastated city of Bam. It is in Bam that, this Thursday, the United Nations will, jointly with Iranian authorities and the International Red Crescent Society, launch a flash appeal for the relief effort.

United Nations and other humanitarian officials are currently on the ground in Bam to assess the populations most immediate needs. The flash appeal will cover various areas, including food, shelter and health, for the next 90 days.

The latest financial figures logged by the United Nations show that more than $74 million has been pledged towards the ongoing relief efforts. This covers both cash and in-kind donations.

CELL PHONE COMPANIES RESPOND TO RELIEF NEEDS IN IRAN

Mobile phone companies Ericsson and Turkcell dispatched to Bam mobile communications equipment to assist in the relief efforts.

When natural disasters hit, the communications systems are often crippled or quickly overwhelmed. This severely undermines the ability of rescue workers to communicate with those in need and with one another. Phone and radio equipment were installed in Bam within 24 hours of the quake and accommodated some 5,000 users.

Ericssons and Turkcells efforts are in response to the Secretary-Generals First on the Ground initiative, which he launched in his Millennium Report. The initiative aims to create effective partnerships between the UN and the private sector to assist in humanitarian relief operations. The partnership between the United Nations and Ericsson was facilitated by the UN Fund for International Partnerships and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISCUSSES IRAQ MEETING WITH U.S. OFFICIALS

In response to questions, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General, while on vacation over the past two weeks, had been in contact with senior U.S. officials on a range of subjects, and had mentioned his preference that a January 19 meeting in New York on Iraq be a three-way one, involving the United Nations, the Iraqi Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Those phone conversations, he added, included more than one call between the Secretary-General and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS PROGRAM OF WORK ON TUESDAY

There are no meetings or consultations of the Security Council as a whole scheduled for today.

The President of the Security Council for the month of January, Heraldo Muņoz, the Permanent Representative of Chile, is holding bilateral meetings today.

The first consultations of the year are scheduled for Tuesday. Ambassador Muņoz is scheduled to brief the press on the January program of the Security Council following those consultations, at around 12:30 p.m.

SUDAN: UN REFUGEE AGENCY PREPARES FOR REFUGEE REPATRIATION

Aid workers from the UN refugee agency are in Sudan to prepare for what it believes will be one of its largest refugee repatriation operations this year pending the signing of a peace agreement between the Government and southern rebel groups. It is estimated that the 20-year civil war in Sudan has uprooted some 4 million people inside the country, while a further 570,000 are living in neighboring states as refugees.

While visiting both Khartoum and southern Sudan last November, High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers warned that the return of refugees must be sustainable, and that considerable help would be needed by a host of partners to establish rehabilitation and reconstruction activities throughout the impoverished country. Sudan is roughly five times the size of France.

SARS CASE CONFIRMED IN GUANGDONG, CHINA

Dr. Julie Hall, the head of the World Health Organizations SARS group in China, today told UN Radio that a case of SARS has been confirmed in the Chinese province of Guangdong.

She said that the patient, a 32-year-old television producer, remains isolated in the hospital, and his condition is stable and improving. All of the people whom he had been in contact with have been traced, she added, and are all said to be well.

An epidemiological investigation is continuing in Guangdong Province, with a WHO team on a joint mission there with Chinas Ministry of Health.

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

All other inquiries to be addressed to (212)

963-4475 or by e-mail to: inquiries@un.org

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