United Nations Daily Highlights, 04-01-12

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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 12, 2004

ANNAN WELCOMES LIBYAS DECISION TO RATIFY

NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN, CHEMICAL WEAPONS TREATIES

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a

statement issued through his Spokesman, welcomes Libya's decisions to ratify the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to accede to the

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The Secretary-General considers these decisions as positive steps that can help strengthen global efforts to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction in both these deadly categories. He urges all states to accede to all disarmament treaties, and to implement them in full.

SECURITY COUNCIL REVIEWS WORK OF AL QAEDA SANCTIONS COMMITTEE

Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz this morning briefed the Security Council, in an open meeting, in his capacity as chairman of the

Sanctions Committee dealing with al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

He reported on the trips he had undertaken as Chairman of that Committee, the reports presented by the Member States, as well as the evaluation by the monitoring group of the implementation of the sanctions by Member States.

The ambassador pointed out that about half the Member States had not yet submitted reports as mandated by the Council. He also drew attention to the difficulties encountered in implementing the sanctions, in particular the arms embargo.

IRAN EARTHQUAKE APPEAL PRESENTED TO DONOR COUNTRIES

This morning at headquarters, Jan Egeland, the

UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator, highlighted the recent

flash appeal for Bam to representatives of the donor community.

Egeland will discuss the importance of supporting the appeal, especially as the story of the devastating earthquake fades from the front pages of newspapers.

Later in the afternoon, Egeland, along the deputy Permanent Representatives of Iran and Belgium, briefed the press on todays proceedings.

U.N. ENVOY RECOMMENDS RELOCATION OF SUDANESE REFUGEES IN CHAD

Tom Eric Vraalsen, the Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs for

Sudan, advised moving Sudanese

refugees in Chad farther from the border and speeding up the distribution of aid.

Vraalsen made these recommendations after getting a first-hand look at the conditions in which the refugees live and meeting with officials from the Chadian Government and UN relief agencies at Abeche, some 100 kilometres from Chads border with Sudan.

Compounding the difficulties of the refugees are the remoteness of the region and weather conditions, which could make the delivery of aid to the region almost impossible when the rainy season begins in June.

RESCUED LIBERIAN REFUGEES JOIN TIDE OF RETURNEES

More than 200 Liberian refugees have been rescued by

UN peacekeepers in Liberia from their stalled boat and repatriated to Liberia, joining a growing number of spontaneous returnees from the region.

As the 225 Liberian refugees, including children born in exile, arrived back home Saturday as planned, family members and friends were on the beach to welcome them.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees agency received the returnees and trucks were waiting to bring them home.

Meanwhile, the Interim Police Training Course, an initiative of the International Police Service of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), was launched today at the Liberian National Police Academy, with the enrollment of the first class of 24 men and one woman.

ANNAN HAS WIDE RANGING DISCUSSION ON JANUARY 19 IRAQ MEETING

Asked if the Secretary-General had been encouraged by his discussions with U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte on Friday regarding the January 19th meeting on

Iraq, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General felt that it had had a good-wide ranging discussion. The meeting, the Spokesman added, was a preliminary one and the Secretary-General expected to have more contacts with the United States during the week.

Asked if during the meeting, the Secretary-General was focused on a possible role for the United Nations prior to the transfer of sovereignty on June 30th, the Spokesman said the Secretary-General sought clarity for a possible UN role both prior and after June 30th. The Secretary-General, the Spokesman added, is not ruling out anything at this point.

Asked if the Secretary-General or the Libyans had requested the meeting this morning, the Spokesman said that the Libyan mission had requested the meeting with the Secretary-General.

Asked if there had been any update on the level of the U.S. delegation at the January 19th meeting on Iraq, the Spokesman said there had been no developments since Friday afternoon when Negroponte said an appropriate U.S. delegation would attend.

Asked to confirm reports that the Secretary-General was going to appoint former UN Afghan Envoy Lakdar Brahimi as his Special Advisor for Iraq, the Spokesman said that Brahimi was flying to New York today and that he was scheduled to see the Secretary-General later this week. Not until that meeting takes place, the Spokesman added, nothing would, if at all, be announced.

AFRICAN REPRESENTATIVES GATHER TO PREPARE GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE

Representatives of seven African countries are meeting today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to prepare for the International Conference on the Great Lakes region.

The representatives of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, are reviewing the calendar for the International Conference which is to promote peace, security, democracy and development in the region. The meeting is chaired by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative Ibrahima Fall.

Asked whether other African countries would be attending the International Conference on the Great Lakes region, the Spokesman later noted that membership was currently limited to the core countries listed. Other countries such as Angola, Congo and the Central African Republic had applied to become core members but the criteria on admissions were still being clarified.

UNESCO OPENS YEAR-LONG COMMEMORATION OF SLAVERY STRUGGLE

The

International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition was officially launched on Saturday in Cape Coast (Ghana), historically one of the most shameful centres of the slave trade and today, a World Heritage site.

Speaking at Cape Coast, the Director General of

UN Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization, Koichiro Matsuura, noted that this act represented a duty to remember the victims of a terrible injustice, but also a duty of concern towards those who still do not enjoy basic rights and freedoms.

HEALTH MINISTERS DISCUSS NEW GLOBAL ANTI-VIOLENCE EFFORT

The World Health Organization (WHO) is today co-hosting a meeting of health ministers in Geneva that is designed to create the basis for a new

Global Alliance Against Violence, which, WHO says, causes 1.6 million deaths a year.

WHO Director-General Lee Jong-Wook says that interpersonal violence kills 1,400 every day and causes untold injuries and suffering.

In response, todays talks are to lay the foundation for the Global Interpersonal Violence Prevention Alliance, and to determine ways to implement the recommendations of a 2002 WHO report on violence.

U.N. AGENCY PROPOSES MEASURES AGAINST MAD COW DISEASE

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has put forward

six precautionary measures for governments and industry to reduce the risk of mad cow disease.

The measures include a ban on feeding meat and bones to farm animals and a ban on mechanically removed meat.

FAO says that many countries still dont have enough control measures for mad cow disease and many countries arent applying the recommended measures properly.

FAO adds that the recent discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the US highlights the need for strengthened measures.

GLOBAL DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT REMAINED FLAT IN 2003

Global foreign direct investment flows remained virtually flat last year at $653 billion according to estimates released today by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The 2002 figure was $651 billion.

Foreign direct investment flows to developed countries and to the Asia-Pacific region increased marginally last year while inflows to Africa rose by 30 percent to $14 billion.

The Latin America and the Caribbean was again the most negatively-affected region in the developing world with inflows falling for the fourth consecutive year.

UNCTAD predicts that foreign direct investment flows will rebound next year, boosted by factors such as the improving global economy and growing investor confidence.

ANNAN URGES STEPPED UP RATIFICATION INT'L CRIMINAL COURT TREATY

The pace of ratification for the treaty setting up the International Criminal Court needs to be stepped up in some regions, the Secretary-General said in a message to a regional conference on democracy and human rights delivered Sunday in Sana'a, Yemen.

Democracy, justice and accountability matter in all parts of the world, he said, but are particularly vital in the Middle East, where deficits of freedom, womens empowerment, education and knowledge continue to impede the creative potential of societies.

ANNAN TO DELIVER FIRST ROBERT BURNS MEMORIAL LECTURE

Tuesday evening, the Secretary-General is scheduled to deliver the inaugural Robert Burns Memorial Lecture at a gala dinner in the Delegates Dining Room, and he will discuss the Brotherhood of Man.

The lecture is an initiative of the British Executive Service Overseas, which will use funds raised from the event to help send more Scottish volunteers on assignments to share their experiences and skills in developing countries.

A background briefing on the speech will be given Tuesday by a senior UN official.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNAN RESPONDS TO LETTER ON CYPRUS: Asked if the Secretary-General had sent a letter to Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos, the Spokesman confirmed the letter had been sent and said it was in line with the Secretary-General well known position on the

Cyprus issue. He added that the letter was in response to a letter sent by Papadopoulos late last year. Asked if there had been other letters sent to the parties, the Spokesman said he was not aware of any.

EXPERTS REVIEW DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN: The 23 experts who make up the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) began

work today in New York. At this session, CEDAW will be reviewing reports from Belarus, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Germany, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Nigeria.

VOTER REGISTRATION PROCESS UNDERWAY IN AFGHANISTAN:

The UN Mission in Afghanistan

says that so far, women comprise 22 percent of the more than 320,000 Afghans who have registered as voters. As the voter registration process continues, the mission is also pushing ahead with civic education to raise awareness about that process, with nearly 20,000 face-to-face meetings already having been conducted.

EUROPEAN FERTILITY DISCUSSIONS BEGIN IN GENEVA: The causes and consequences of low fertility in Europe, universal access to reproductive health services and the health challenges facing Central and Eastern Europe are some of the issues up for discussion at the

European Population Forum 2004 organized by the

UN Fund Population Fund, which began today in Geneva.

ANNAN SENDS MESSAGE TO WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC UNION: In a message to the Summit of the West African Economic and Monetary Union in Niamey, Niger, marking the 10th anniversary of its creation, the Secretary-General says that the full implementation of the Unions vision is an important factor for the economic and social development of the region, and for the realization of the objectives of the

Millennium Development Goals.

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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