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27 March, 2004
 

Table Of Contents

 

Secretary-General Strongly Condemns Israeli Assassination Of Hamas Leader 1

United Nations officials on 22 March strongly condemned Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in a move that also resulted in the deaths of eight others, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan warning that intensified clashes could ensue.

Mr. Annan "is concerned that such an action would lead to further bloodshed and death and acts of revenge and retaliation," a UN spokesman said in a statement.

"He reiterates that extrajudicial killings are against international law and calls on the Government of Israel to immediately end this practice," spokesman Fred Eckhard added. "The only way to halt an escalation in the violence is for the parties to work towards a viable negotiating process aimed at a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement."

Speaking directly to the press, Mr. Annan said, "I do condemn the targeted assassination of Sheikh Yassin and the others who died with him. Such actions are not only contrary to international law, but they do not do anything to help the search for a peaceful solution."

He also appealed to "all in the region to remain calm and avoid any further escalation in tensions."

With the diplomatic Quartet of the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States meeting in Cairo, the Secretary-General said the assassination "has complicated issues." He added that he spoke to his envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, who is in Egypt with the other representatives, and they were assessing the impact of the latest actions.

"As I have indicated earlier, it doesn't really facilitate the task of peacemakers," Mr. Annan said.

Mr. Roed-Larsen himself also issued a statement strongly condemning Israel's action. "In addition to the killing of so many, the assassination of Ahmad Yassin threatens the tenuous steps currently underway to revive the peace process," he said.

"Only a viable peace process can bring about a halt to violence," stressed Mr. Roed-Larsen, the UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

 

US Veto In Security Council Defeats Resolution Condemning Killing Of Hamas Leader 2

The United Nations Security Council on 25 March failed to adopt a resolution that would have condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, with the United States vetoing what it called a one-sided text.

The resolution, sponsored by Algeria and Libya, garnered 11 tallies in favour, with the United States casting the sole vote against it. Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom abstained.

Speaking before the vote, Ambassador John D. Negroponte of the United States explained that his country opposed the resolution because it was "silent about the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas," did not reflect the realities of the conflict in the Middle East and "because it will not further the goals of peace and security in the region." 

Ambassador Negroponte said the United States was "deeply troubled" by the killing of Sheikh Yassin. "Israel's action has escalated tensions in Gaza and the region, and could set back our efforts to resume progress towards peace," he said.

But he added that events must be considered in their context and the Council "does nothing to contribute to a peaceful settlement when it condemns one party's actions and turns a blind eye to everything else occurring in the region."

Following the vote, Algeria's Ambassador, Abdallah Baali, said the result was as if the Security Council concluded that it had no say in the terrible tragedy unfolding in that part of the world. "By not condemning the extrajudicial killing of Sheikh Yassin, the Security Council is not sending the right message to the world which has unanimously condemned this crime," he said.

Ambassador Baali added that the Council was not sending the right message to those who sincerely believed that it was the custodian of international law. "But it is certainly sending the wrong message to Israel, whose representative boasted two days ago in this very chamber about the crime and vowed to continue the unlawful policy of extrajudicial killings," he said.

If adopted, the text would have condemned "the most recent extrajudicial execution committed by Israel, the occupying Power," that killed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin along with six other Palestinians outside a mosque Monday in Gaza City, and called for a complete end to such killings.

The draft expressed the Council's grave concern at the continued deterioration of the situation on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, as a result of the escalation of violence and attacks, and condemned all terrorist attacks against any civilians as well as all acts of violence and destruction.

The draft also called on all sides to immediately undertake an unconditional cessation of acts of violence, including all acts of terrorism, provocation, incitement and destruction.

In a related provision, the Council would have called for the end to all illegal measures and practices and for respect for and adherence to international humanitarian law. Both parties would have been called on to fulfil their obligations under the Road Map and to work with the Quartet to implement it, in order to achieve the vision of the two States living side-by-side in peace and security.

 

Security Council Meets On Killing Of Hamas Leader Yassin 3

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East following 22 March assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, the Security Council held an open meeting on 23 March with nearly 40 speakers scheduled to take part in the debate.

Speaking at the outset of the session, which was convened at the request of Palestine and the Arab Group of States, the Permanent Observer of Palestine, Nasser al-Kidwa, described the killing of Sheikh Yassin as a "war crime," and held the occupying power and the Israeli leadership legally and politically responsible for committing that crime, as well as for the consequences that it entailed.

On the other hand, Mr. al-Kidwa said he valued the wide international condemnation of the crime and the decisive calls made to Israel to refrain from perpetuating other extra-judicial killings and abide by international humanitarian law. He also valued the readiness and desire of the majority of Council members to take a clear position on what had happened, but regretfully it was not possible for the 15-member body to take an urgent position in the form of a presidential statement.

"We hope that the Council will be able, after taking more time to consider this," to adopt a draft resolution submitted by the Arab Group of States, he added. "There is no doubt that this is a matter of the utmost importance."

Israel, Mr. al-Kidwa said, was an outlaw State, regularly violating the provisions of the UN Charter, international law and international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and Security Council resolutions. Israel had completely destroyed the life of the Palestinian people and deprived them of their rights, and its policies were not an attempt to counter terrorism but a major reason for the terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.

Ambassador Dan Gillerman of Israel told the Council that the Palestinian leadership had proved "beyond any doubt" that it had no intention of taking a single measure to fight terrorism, as it was legally and morally obliged to do. It was the basic obligation of the Government of Israel _ like any government _ to protect the lives of its citizens from the threat of terrorism.

Ambassador Gillerman said the Israeli Government made every effort, under excruciatingly difficult conditions, to minimize harm to civilians. It recognized its responsibilities, but Israel "would not negotiate by day and bury our dead by night." By removing Sheikh Yassin from the international stage, "we send a very strong message to the terrorists: `When you kill our civilians, you are not immune,'" the Israeli delegate said.

He said the Palestinian leadership had a choice: It could continue to "get into bed with terrorists and tyrants," or it could prove to the world that it was ready to assume responsibilities, not just assume privileges. It could show that it was ready to establish a democratic society that would respect the rights of its people, and the rights of its neighbours, and not another terrorist dictatorship in the heart of the Middle East.

The Security Council also had a choice, Ambassador Gillerman said. It did not have to continue to send a message that put the response to terrorism on trial, instead of terrorism itself. It did not have to pander to initiatives that defended the terrorist rather than his victims. "Which message will you send today, to our region and to the rest of the world?" he asked.

Earlier on 23 March, the Council's President, Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, was asked by reporters why there was no Council statement on the killing. He said consensus was required and despite "difficult" discussions among experts that began on 22 March, "it was not possible to reach a consensus."

 

Top UN Human Rights Body Condemns Assassination Of Hamas Leader 4

The top United Nations human rights body on 24 March strongly condemned the continuing grave violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin earlier this week.

The Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights voiced its condemnation in a resolution adopted by a roll-call vote of 31 in favour, two against _ Australia and United States _ and 18 abstentions after a special sitting to discuss the situation resulting from Monday's killing of Sheikh Yassin by Israel.

The resolution also noted with grave concern the implications of such targeted assassinations, liquidation and murder of political leadership by the Israeli occupation forces on the overall situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the possibility of a fresh wave of violence.

The Commission called on Israel to accord fullest respect to the principles of international humanitarian law and to desist from all forms of violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory.

 

Sec-Gen Informs Key Players Of UN's Intention To Send Team Back To Iraq 5

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has communicated to key players his intention to dispatch United Nations officials to Iraq to help with the transfer of sovereignty later this year.

"I have written to the Security Council and to the Iraqi Governing Council and the CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] advising them that I do intend to send a team back to Baghdad, led by [Special Adviser Lakhdar] Brahimi, to work with the Iraqis on the political transitional arrangements leading to the formation of a government on June 30th," Mr. Annan told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on 19 March.

The Secretary-General's decision came in response to letters from the President of the Iraqi Governing Council, Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, and CPA Administrator L. Paul Bremer, who have also requested UN assistance with the preparation of direct elections before the end of January 2005.

In transmitting the letters to the President of the Security Council, the Secretary-General says he will ask Mr. Brahimi and his aides as well as an electoral assistance team to return to Iraq as soon as possible.

Responding to press questions, the Secretary-General noted that several options for the political transition are under consideration. Mr. Brahimi, he said, would discuss these widely with the Iraqis in an effort to forge a consensus on the most viable course of action.

The envoy, asked about the role of the United States in backing Iraq's request, stressed that "we are not looking for a job and we are not dying to go to Iraq, and that if the United Nations is not needed, I think that is perfect from our point of view." 

At the same time, he noted that, "from everything we know, the overwhelming majority of the people of Iraq, within and outside of the Governing Council, are really demanding and pressing the United Nations to come back to play a role."

In conjunction with the anniversary of the Iraq war, Mr. Annan was asked about the world body's relevance in helping the country. "The UN has a unique legitimacy no other organization has," he pointed out. "The UN has a capacity of bringing countries from around the world to work together and, in fact, most governments have indicated, as much as they are interested in helping see peace and stability in Iraq, they would want to do it through the UN."

"That's an affirmation of their trust and belief in the Organization," he added.

Mr. Annan also stressed the capacity of the Iraqi people to help themselves. "When we talk of the UN, we're talking of the international community, donor community, the neighbours of Iraq, all of us coming together and working with the Iraqi people to make Iraq a peaceful, stable and democratic country."

 

Security Council Hails Dispatch Of UN Teams To Help With Political Transition In Iraq 6

Ahead of the planned transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on 30 June, the Security Council on 24 March strongly supported Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to send United Nations experts to Iraq to help with the handover of power and future elections.

"The Security Council calls on all parties in Iraq to cooperate fully with these United Nations teams, and welcomes the security and other support provided to them by the Iraqi Governing Council and the CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority," the current Council President, Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, said in a statement delivered at an open meeting.

The Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi and his aides, along with an electoral assistance team, will head to Iraq "as soon as possible," according to the statement.

They will assist the Iraqi people in the formation of an interim Iraqi Government to receive sovereignty on 30 June while supporting preparations for direct elections "to be held before the end of January 2005," the President said.

Mr. Annan's decision to return the UN to Iraq came after an exchange of letters last week with the Iraqi Governing Council in which the interim President of that body, Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloom, wrote of its continuing belief that the world body must play an important role in Iraq.

The Secretary-General also received a similar letter from the Administrator of the United States-led CPA, L. Paul Bremer, expressing the belief that the UN has a significant role to play in assisting Iraq. Both letters voiced hope that the UN would return to the country as soon as possible.

 

Secretary-General Sends Letter To Security Council On Oil-For-Food Programme 7

A United Nations spokesman announced on 19 March that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a letter to members of the Security Council in connection with the "Oil-for-Food" humanitarian aid programme, which has been the subject of press reports alleging corruption.

While the contents of the letter have not been made public, Mr. Annan told reporters this morning that there would be a probe. "I've been in discussions with Council members for some time now to discuss the scope and the extent of the investigation," he said in response to questions.

"It is highly possible that there's been quite a lot of wrong-doing, but we need to investigate and get to see who was responsible," he added, pointing out that the massive relief effort had involved "so many companies [and] so many countries" that a great deal of information would be needed.

"Whoever undertakes the investigation would need quite a bit of cooperation from others," he said. "But at least, we will go ahead full-speed on our own staff, and hopefully, it can be expanded to other areas."

The Secretary-General also noted that the Iraqis themselves say they are organizing a probe and voiced hope that relevant documents would be shared with the UN.

Asked whether a Security Council resolution would be necessary to authorize an investigation, he replied, "if not necessarily a resolution, an agreement, an understanding that they will cooperate and get others to cooperate to make the report."

"Don't forget that the 661 Committee also oversaw the Oil-for-Food" programme, he added, referring to a panel of all Security Council members set up in 1990 to monitor the sanctions imposed on Iraq for invading Kuwait.

"Their cooperation is going to be essential," he stressed.

 

Kosovo 8

The deployment of extra international troops has helped to calm the situation in Kosovo after the recent deadly violence, but there are still reports of looting and unrest, the United Nations mission to the province reported on 19 March.

Additional troops from the United Kingdom, the United States and France have joined KFOR (the Kosovo international security force) after clashes between ethnic Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo have killed more than two dozen people and injured hundreds of others.

UN Police report that at least 28 people died in the clashes, the worst violence since the UN assumed administration of the province almost five years ago. Hundreds of others, including 55 KFOR soldiers, have been injured.

UNHCR is attempting to deliver aid to more than 1,000 members of ethnic minorities _ mostly Serbs _ who were evacuated from the Pristina, Gnjilane and Pec/Peja areas by KFOR soldiers. But access is now severely restricted because of security concerns.

***

The top United Nations envoy to Kosovo pledged on 22 March to make sure that the thousands of people who fled their homes in the province last week because of ethnic violence will be able to return.

After a tour of houses and religious buildings damaged or destroyed during the rioting, Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) would help the estimated 3,200 displaced people _ mostly ethnic Serbs _ to return.

"You have the right to return,"
Mr. Holkeri told people in the town of Lipljan, where several houses were burnt during last week's riots. "Every citizen has a human right to have a home and to live there protected in peace with prosperity."

Mr. Holkeri said police are investigating the riots and acts of violence, adding the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Asked by reporters whether the purpose of last week's violence was ethnic cleansing, Mr. Holkeri said labels were not the most important issue at this time. "Every lost life is one too many. Every destroyed home is one too many. Every destroyed holy site is one too many." 

During a tour of damaged apartments in the capital, Pristina, with Mr. Holkeri, Kosovo's Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi promised to provide funds to repair the damage caused by last week's violence.

***

Harri Holkeri, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, called on the people of Kosovo to play their part individually to make sure that violent events do not re-occur.

Some 28 people were killed and hundreds injured after violence erupted across the province following the drowning of three ethnic Albanian children in the town of Cabra. At least 30 religious sites, mostly churches, were destroyed and more than 300 homes were burnt.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that 3,200 people _ mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma _ fled their homes because of the attacks.

A UNHCR spokesman said the agency had distributed mattresses, blankets, jerry cans and food supplies to the evacuees, who are either living with host families or staying temporarily at KFOR bases.

Mr. Holkeri visited the towns of Obilic and Gracanica to inspect the damage caused in the rioting, and also met with Bishop Artemije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.

The envoy said the province had experienced "ethnically motivated violence" that may have started spontaneously but was orchestrated by extremist elements.

Mr. Holkeri added he would seek international help to re-build churches and other religious sites damaged during the violence.

His deputy, Charles Brayshaw, travelled to Prizren to inspect homes and religious sites damaged in that town and to talk to some of the people who had to flee their homes last week.

The head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has also condemned the violence, particularly the damage to Kosovo's cultural and religious heritage.

Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, said it is not just the monuments but "a memory and cultural identity that are being destroyed."

***

Voicing shock and outrage, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 24 March condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the killing of two United Nations police officers in Kosovo, coming less than a week after the worst ethnic clashes since the world body took over administration of the province nearly five years ago.

"The current violence and instability in Kosovo cannot be tolerated," Mr. Annan said in a statement released in New York on the "inexcusable" shooting of the two officers, one from Ghana and one from Kosovo itself, while they were carrying out routine work in a marked car near Podujevo, in the Pristina region. A UN language assistant who was also shot is in serious but stable condition.

Speaking in Pristina, the Kosovo capital, Stefan Feller, Police Commissioner for the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), said he did not wish to link the shooting with last week's riots, which killed 28 people, injured hundreds, displaced over 4,000 more and destroyed 30 religious sites, mostly churches, and more than 300 homes.

"But I must mention that an effort by certain groups of people to perpetrate public disorder in the last few days has contributed to promote an environment that potentially encourages criminal activities," Mr. Feller added.

"Let the death of these police officers be a wake-up call for people everywhere in Kosovo," he warned. "Each one of us must play a part in rooting out violence by identifying the perpetrators to the police and helping to bring them to justice."

In his statement, Mr. Annan called on all inhabitants of Kosovo to cooperate with UNMIK and the international security force KFOR to support the police investigation, so that those responsible will be brought to justice. The top UN envoy in Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, reiterated UNMIK's full commitment to the establishment of "a multiethnic, tolerant, democratic society in a stable Kosovo."

The shooting came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) intervention that forced the withdrawal of Yugoslav troops from the province following fierce ethnic fighting and led to the UN taking over its administration in June 1999.

 

S-G Appeals For End To Fighting Between Government And Communists In Nepal 9

Voicing concern at the escalation of fighting in Nepal with its mounting toll of civilian casualties and human rights abuses, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the government and communists to end their conflict and offered his good offices in helping to reach a solution.

In a statement issued by his spokesman on 22 March, Mr. Annan said the continued conflict was having an increasingly devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people.

"Civilian casualties and serious human rights violations are a routine occurrence, and the country's economic and social development is being seriously hampered," he added.

Discounting a military solution to the conflict, he appealed to the government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) "to take immediate steps to end the fighting and resume the peace process with the participation of all political and civil forces in the country."

Mr. Annan added that he "continues to be available to assist the search for a solution in any manner the parties consider useful."

 

S-G Recommends That UN Mission Stays Another Year In Afghanistan 10

Peace and security remain elusive for many Afghans, especially in rural areas, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says as he calls for another 12-month extension to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

In a report to the Security Council released on 24 March, Mr. Annan says "much remains to be done" outside Afghanistan's cities and it cannot be claimed that there is "one successful social or economic project in every district."

"Many Afghans still feel that the peace is not irreversible and act accordingly," he says. The report comes as voter registration continues across Afghanistan and preparations are under way for an international conference, to be held in 

Berlin next week, on the future of the country.

Mr. Annan identifies several issues as crucial: extending the effective authority of the central government across the whole country; jointly deploying Afghan and international security forces more widely; and disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating local militia.

But he says many advances have been made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, including the successful running of the Constitutional Loya Jirga at the end of last year.

"The fact that the very serious differences that emerged during the Constitutional Loya Jirga were managed, and compromise and consensus reached, is testimony to a new will to engage in the democratic process," he writes.

Introducing the report to the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi said the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections _ scheduled for later this year _ presents an enormously complex challenge for UNAMA and the Afghanistan Government.

So far voter registration has been restricted to the country's eight biggest cities, but in May it moves to rural areas, with 4,200 registration sites across the country to be established for the month. Some areas remain unsafe, and will have to be secured by international or Afghan forces, Mr. Annabi told an open briefing of the Council.

 

IAEA Chief Urges New Rules To Fight Spread Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction  11

Declaring that nuclear proliferation is now "a different ball game" in which "either we all will win or everybody would lose," the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has called for international cooperation to devise new rules to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"The non-proliferation regime right now is absolutely under growing stress," Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said at the end of a three-day visit to Washington on 18 March, during which he conferred with President George W. Bush and other top United States officials.

"We are facing now the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction which is everybody's fight," Mr. ElBaradei said in an interview on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television.

"What we have seen with A.Q. Khan associates, the black market, what we have seen with some of the Al-Qaida people interested in nuclear weapons, makes it clear that this is a different ball game and we have to revise the rules, and that really was the focus of my discussion with President Bush yesterday," he added, referring to the Pakistani scientist blamed for the spread of nuclear technology to other countries.

"I think the message I'm getting from Washington this week (is) that we really need to put our heads together, not just the US and IAEA, but everybody in the international system." 

Drawing an analogy with the fight against terrorism, he said defeat would spell widespread doom. "It's either we will win or everybody would lose."

Calling on the international community to look at the big picture, Mr. ElBaradei declared: "There's a lot of measures we need to take, control of the nuclear material, better export control, better authority for the Agency, less countries having enrichment and reprocessing."

 

Cyprus Talks Tops Agenda Of S-G's Trip To Europe 12

Resolving the Cyprus problem will top the agenda as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan travels to Europe and North Africa this weekend for a two-week, four-nation visit.

The Secretary-General will head first to the village of Bürgenstock, near Lucerne, Switzerland, where the latest stage of negotiations on his plan to reunify Cyprus before its entry into the European Union on 1 May got under way on 24 March.

According to a UN spokesman, the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers have joined the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot delegations in Bürgenstock, with the Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Alvaro de Soto, scheduled to meet each of the four by the end of the negotiations on 24 March.

Speaking in Bürgenstock, Mr. de Soto told reporters that discussions between the parties had already been held either in bilateral meetings or with him shuttling between the two sides, and that work continued in Cyprus to finalize agreement on technical issues.

"We are coming to the point, we hope, of convergence," he said. "The Cypriots have never, in the past three years, been so close to actually coming to a settlement and we hope that they will also take advantage of this opportunity."

Starting 19 February the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos, met in Cyprus for face-to-face talks in a bid to reach agreement on modifications to the Secretary-General's plan, which would then be submitted to separate referenda on 20 April for approval by the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.

After the talks stalled, Mr. Annan invited Greece and Turkey last week to lend a hand in Bürgenstock. The two countries' Prime Ministers are expected to join the discussions on Sunday. Should this last push fail to resolve disagreements, Mr. Annan would then step in to use his discretion to complete the plan, which would ultimately create a federation of two constituent states _ a Greek Cypriot state and the Turkish Cypriot state _ and contains some suggestions for security arrangements between Greece and Turkey.

 

Sec-Gen Calls On West Africa To Break With Authoritarianism 13

West Africa's problems stem from abuses of the region's governance, human rights and transparency obligations, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council on 25 March.

"Until they are addressed with real resolve, until there is a fundamental break with authoritarianism and the culture of violence, exclusion and impunity, I fear that whatever inroads we manage to make in handling cross-border problems will remain just that _ temporary inroads _ and fragile, at best," Mr Annan said.

He was kicking off a Council debate on a report he issued earlier this month on "Ways to Combat Sub-Regional and Cross-Border Problems in West Africa." 

He urged the Governments in the region to establish solidly democratic institutions and effective regional institutions.

"West Africa is blessed with a vibrant civil society that has wide-ranging experience in conflict-prevention, peace-building and development," Mr. Annan said. "States must draw on their experience in addressing their problems."

In a multi-faceted approach, special attention should be paid to the proliferation of small arms, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the use of child soldiers and mercenaries, as well as to roadblocks that impede the movement of people and goods in the sub-region, he said.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Jan Egeland said the sub-region's capacity to handle the massive movements of refugees now being experienced is limited.

"Guinea currently hosts over 100,000 refugees, while over 100,000 Guineans have returned from Côte d'Ivoire. Other countries in the sub-region, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, suffer from the spillover effects of these conflicts. For example, over 340,000 people have returned to Burkina Faso from Côte d'Ivoire over this past year alone," he said.

He noted that such critical areas for refugees as protection, health and education have been seriously under-funded despite appeals, with Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea receiving little or no funding for appeals launched in 2003.

 

Security Council Reviews Steps To Facilitate Cross-Border Operations In West Africa 14

Weighing Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendations to reduce conflict in West Africa, the United Nations Security Council on 25 March said it would consider facilitating cross-border operations and strengthening cooperation among the UN peacekeeping missions in the region.

The measures would include "the possibility of `hot pursuit' operations, joint air patrolling, shared border responsibility, the establishment of a sub-regional reserve force, the possible reinforcement of airspace monitoring and joint planning for the repatriation of foreign combatants," Pierre-Andre Wiltzer, Minister for Cooperation and La Francophonie of France, which holds the rotating Council presidency, said in a statement adopted at the conclusion of a debate on the issue.

The 15-member Council will review further recommendations from Mr. Annan after he has consulted with the governments involved and, meanwhile, encouraged States in the region to organize joint patrols along common borders, according to the statement.

These countries were also urged to ensure that arms embargoes are fully implemented, Mr. Wiltzer said, voicing the Council's intention "to continue to consider whether any further restrictive measures are necessary to stop the illicit flows of arms to conflict zones."

Recognizing the need to address both the supply and demand side of the weapons equation, the Council invited governments to take steps in response to private companies selling "illegal arms or security services."

The Council also invited the Secretary-General and the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) to improve the coordination of UN and ECOWAS activities in West Africa, Mr. Wiltzer said.

ECOWAS was encouraged to "name and shame" those in the region who engage in the black-market arms trade or use mercenaries and child soldiers.

 

Proposal To Break UN General Assembly Main Session Into Two Parts 15

Six facilitators have proposed that the New York-based United Nations General Assembly break with decades of tradition and divide its burdensome autumn workload into two parts to be covered in the fall and spring, the spokeswoman for Assembly President Julian Hunte said on 19 March.

The economic and financial committee (second) and the social, humanitarian and cultural committee (third) would meet from September to December, spokeswoman Michele Montas told journalists.

The committee dealing with disarmament matters (first), that covering decolonization and special political questions (fourth) as well as the legal (sixth) committee would meet in the spring. The UN budget committee (fifth) would convene during both sessions.

The informal proposals, submitted by the representatives of Algeria, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Singapore, Slovenia and South Africa, came in response to an Assembly resolution in December calling for widespread reform of that body's work.

The Assembly will consider these proposals, along with recommendations by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and make decisions by July.

 

UN Marks Climate Change Treaty's Anniversary By Hailing Savings Of Going Green 16

Fighting climate change makes economic sense in the long run because using energy more efficiently will ultimately produce enormous financial and green benefits, the head of the United Nations' environmental agency said in a message marking the 10th anniversary on 21 March of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which came into force in March 1994.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), noted that re-insurance agents last year estimated that the cost of climate-related disasters reached $65 billion.

"Then there are other economic impacts as a result of a continued, inefficient use of carbon-based fuels, including those on human health and habitats and ecosystems, like forests and lakes," he said.

Mr. Toepfer called on governments, businesses and citizens to show "imagination, vision and, above all, courage" to harness new technologies that can use energy more efficiently and cause less damage to the environment.

He said the world is on the cusp on another industrial leap forward, with fossil fuels such as coal and oil going the way of the typewriter and the punch-card machine _ to be replaced by modern conventional power stations and alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

Mr. Toepfer used his anniversary message to urge countries to ratify the treaty's Kyoto Protocol, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to earlier levels.

Describing the reduction targets in the Protocol's first phase as "modest to say the least," Mr. Toepfer said the losses resulting from not adhering to that pact outweigh the costs of compliance.

Echoing this view, Secretary-General Kofi Annan cited several examples of greener technologies emerging partly because of the Convention's entry into force. They included the increased use of wind farms, the introduction of so-called hybrid vehicles and added investments in hydrogen and carbon technology.

The Secretary-General said signing the Kyoto Protocol is urgent given "the increased incidence of drought, floods and extreme weather events that many regions are experiencing."

The Protocol, which sets legally binding targets and timetables for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, will only enter into force after it has been ratified by at least 55 countries, including industrialized countries accounting for 55 per cent of their group's 1990 level of CO2 emissions. Although the Protocol has 121 parties, including the European Community, the vast majority are developing countries and it has not entered into force.

 

Draft UN Treaty On Global Electronic Commerce Moves Forward 17

The chief United Nations body overseeing international trade law policies has taken a step closer to a treaty that would create a unified legal regime for worldwide electronic commerce, removing barriers and lowering costs for companies using the Internet to conduct business.

The recommendation on a draft text adopted on 19 March at the conclusion of a week-long meeting by the UN Commission on International Trade Law's (UNCITRAL) Working Group on Electronic Commerce will be submitted to the Commission's next full session in June. The text focuses on areas such as legal electronic transactions, data exchanges and e-mail messages.

"This work will benefit world trade as it will enable and encourage the greater use of e-commerce," said the group's chairman, Jeffrey Chan of Singapore. He noted that more trade transactions are being conducted through electronic means, and the Internet in particular has grown to be a powerful tool for business.

"The problem is that, in international business, different countries have different legal rules for contracts," creating uncertainty when the same transaction is conducted across international borders, Mr. Chan added. Companies often must hire lawyers in different countries to advise them, adding to the cost of doing business.

The chairman said that with a treaty to create a uniform legal regime for such transactions, confidence in e-commerce would get a boost and costs could be cut. "With this, there can be an expansion of international trading transactions," he said.

 

13 Rich Countries Seek Exemption From Ban On Ozone-Destroying Pesticide 18

Thirteen developed countries will ask for transitional exemptions to the ban on the ozone-destroying and highly toxic pesticide methyl bromide as delegates gather for a three-day United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting starting on 24 March in Montreal, Canada.

At the talks on the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the requests to employ methyl bromide for "certain critical uses" after the phase-out date of 1 January 2005 for industrialized countries will come from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, UNEP said.

"Granting limited exemptions to the (Montreal) Protocol's increasingly strict controls will ensure that the transition to ozone-friendly solutions does not cause farmers and other users of methyl bromide undue economic pain," UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said today.

Methyl bromide is used as a fumigant for high-value crops, for pest control and for the quarantine treatment of agricultural commodity exports, UNEP said. Meanwhile, any destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer allows ultra-violet-C (UV-C) and increased levels of UV-B radiation to reach the Earth's surface.

Possible dangers to human beings from UVs include more melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, more eye cataracts and weakened immune systems, according to UNEP. Risks to animal and plant life include reduced plant yields, injury to ocean ecosystems and reduced fishing yields, adverse general effects on animals and damage to plastics.

The requests for exemptions from the 13 countries total some 17,000 tons. Of this amount, the UNEP Technology and Economics Assessment Panel (TEAP) is recommending approval of 12,900 tons. The Parties to the Protocol met last November in Nairobi, Kenya, to consider the exemptions, but were unable to finalize a list.

In 1997 total world consumption was 37,640 tons, of which 75 per cent was used in the developed countries. The figure dropped to 15,073 tons in 2002, about half of which was used by the developed countries, UNEP said.

The agency predicts that the ozone layer will return to normalcy in about 50 years, but only if the Montreal Protocol's phase-out schedules are fully respected.

 

WHO: TB Treatment Campaign Shows Accelerated Growth Worldwide 19

With some 8.8 million new tuberculosis cases each year, about half of them infectious, the number of patients diagnosed and treated under DOTS, the most effective control strategy, is now rising much faster than at any time since its expansion in 1995, growing by 50 per cent in two years, according to a new United Nations report.

"DOTS' expansion is one of the major public health success stories of the past decade, one that is saving thousands more lives every day," UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Lee Jong-wook said of the strategy that includes directly observed treatment of patients taking anti-TB drugs, access to adequate drug supplies and monitoring and accountability for every patient diagnosed.

"But to reach the 2005 targets for detection and treatment, the challenge now is to add another 1 million TB patients to DOTS programmes each year. Many of these new cases will be recruited from the hospitals and private health sector in Asia, especially China, and from beyond the present limits of health systems in Africa," Dr. Lee added in presenting the study to the second Stop TB Partners' Forum in New Delhi.

The WHO's 2004 Global Tuberculosis Control report confirms that DOTS programmes are now treating 3 million patients every year, an increase of more than 1 million patients compared to just two years ago. That increase is nearly double the average annual increment of 270,000 patients during the previous six-year period.

India is leading the surge with more than a quarter of all additional DOTS cases being treated, followed by smaller but significant increases in five other key countries with high rates of TB: South Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

In a video message to the Forum noting that TB kills more than 2 million people each year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for investing in new diagnostics, drugs and vaccine "so that eventually we can eliminate TB as a public health threat altogether."

The global 2005 targets for TB control are to detect 70 per cent of all infectious cases and cure 85 per cent of those cases. According to the report, the detection rate has risen to 37 per cent and cure rates to 82 per cent. Meeting the 2005 targets will put the world's TB control programmes on the path to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the global TB burden by 2015.

The TB Partners' Forum is a periodic gathering of donors, technical agencies, NGOs and ministers from the 22 high-TB burden countries under the umbrella of the global Stop TB Partnership.

 

UNFPA: Anti-Poverty Goals At Risk If Reproductive Health Care Not Funded 20

The lack of donor support for reproductive health services is jeopardizing progress towards meeting global anti-poverty goals, the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warned on 22 March.

At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo, Egypt, developed countries agreed to provide an annual $6.1 billion by 2005 for reproductive health, including family planning. But they have fallen short by about $3 billion, according to UNFPA.

The developing countries mobilized $11.7 billion last year, out of their domestic target of about $12.4 billion, the agency says.

"A world that spends $800 billion to $1 trillion each year on the military can afford the equivalent of slightly more than one day's military spending to close Cairo's $3 billion external funding gap to save and improve the lives of millions of women and families in developing countries," said UNFPA chief Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.

Ms. Obaid warned that if the funding gap is not closed, "it is unlikely that any of the world's Millennium Development Goals will be met." Those targets, set at a 2000 UN Summit, aim to tackle a range of global ills by the year 2015.

She noted that there has been some progress, including the fact that "more and more women and couples are able to choose the number and spacing of their children," but cautioned against premature optimism. "The reality is that progress is uneven," she said. "At the mid-point of the Cairo Programme of Action, we need the strength and endurance of a marathon runner to meet our goals during the next decade."

 

To Boost Child Survival, UN Agencies Launch Global Plan To Promote Breastfeeding 21

Calling on governments to promote and protect breastfeeding, two United Nations agencies on 23 March jointly launched an international plan to promote the practice and secure children's health.

The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding presented by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) pinpoints the main problems associated with the matter and identifies approaches to their solution.

"There is no better way than breastfeeding to make sure that a child gets the best start in life," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "The strategy is an invaluable roadmap for governments to create supportive environments where women can make informed choices about feeding their children."

Breastfeeding alone provides the ideal nourishment for infants for the first six months of life as it furnishes all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones, immune factors and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive, the agencies said. It also protects babies from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections while stimulating their immune systems.

The strategy calls for a dramatic increase in the number of infants who are exclusively breastfed. Currently, WHO and UNICEF say no more than 35 per cent of infants worldwide are exclusively breastfed during even the first four months of life.

The effects reverberate into the future. "The long-term impact of poor feeding practices in infancy and early childhood include poor school performance, reduced productivity and impaired intellectual and social development," Ms. Bellamy noted.

 

Urgent Action Needed To Counter Nutrition Deficiencies In Developing World 22

Up to a third of the world's people do not meet their physical and intellectual potential because of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and without urgent action to fortify and supplement foods children in developing nations will remain at risk of underachieving, according to a new United Nations report released on 24 March.

"The overwhelming scope of the problem makes it clear that we must reach out to whole populations and protect them from the devastating consequences of vitamin and mineral deficiency," UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy said of the report jointly published by her agency and The Micronutrient Initiative, a not-for-profit organization based in Ottawa, Canada.

Unless action against vitamin and mineral deficiencies moves to a new level, the UN will not achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of eradicating extreme poverty, improving maternal health and reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, the report concludes.

The severe effects of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, such as anaemia, cretinism and blindness, have long been known, but the report sheds new light on other problems caused by less extreme deficiencies, such as a lack of iron which impairs intellectual development in young children and lowers national IQs.

Other problems include vitamin A deficiency, compromising the immune systems of approximately 40 per cent of children under five in the developing world and leading to the deaths of 1 million youngsters each year, and iodine deficiency in pregnancy, which causes as many as 20 million babies a year to be born mentally impaired.

The report calls for the food industry to develop, market and distribute low-cost fortified food products and supplements, and for governments to control vitamin and mineral deficiency through education and legislation.

Methods that have worked in industrialized nations are now so inexpensive and available that they could control vitamin and mineral deficiencies worldwide, Ms. Bellamy said. These include adding essential vitamins and minerals to regularly consumed foods and providing children and women of childbearing age with vitamin and mineral supplements.

 

Poor Countries Can Do More To Stem Effects Of `Brain Drain,' Experts At UN Say 23

Developing countries should set up strategies to reverse their "brain drain" _ losing highly skilled citizens to jobs in more affluent, developed countries _ and turn it to their own economic advantage, population and migration experts said today at United Nations Headquarters.

As the UN Commission on Population and Development meets in New York, experts attending the session said that developing countries need to act fast as many will soon be requiring foreign labour because so many of their own citizens have left for other States.

Brunson McKinley, Director-General of the Geneva-based International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that in developing countries, it is usually "the best educated, the most dynamic" portion of its citizenry that migrate to work in wealthier nations.

Mr. McKinley said population experts and organizations such as IOM are helping many poor countries to turn their brain drain into a "brain gain."

He said States need to encourage citizens who have left to return to start their own businesses or professional practices, or by investing their wealth to create jobs in their homeland. Skilled migrant workers also have contacts in developed countries that can be tapped into to benefit the home country, Mr. McKinley added.

He said another major debate in the population community is whether people move to jobs or jobs move to people _ spotlighting the issue of outsourcing, or transferring a company's jobs to a country with lower labour costs.

In another development, the UN Population Division on 24 March released its new estimates and projections of urban and rural populations for major areas, regions and countries of the world, large urban agglomerations and capital cities. The results, depicted in two wall charts, Urban and Rural Areas 2003, and Urban Agglomerations 2003, show that globally, some 3 billion people lived in cities in 2003, but that figure is expected to rise to 5 billion by 2030.

 

UN Report On China's Progress On Anti-Poverty Goals Finds Mixed Gains For Women 24

Despite China's impressive economic achievements, the country's elderly women suffer disproportionate poverty rates, the incidence of female suicide is rising, and the skewed gender balance among newborns will have severe future demographic consequences, according to a United Nations report published on 25 March.

The 45-page report, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), China's Progress, notes that the country will probably achieve most of the MDGs by 2015, the target date for reaching goals ranging from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.

Some targets such as primary education have already been achieved, 13 years ahead of schedule. But China may not be on track for halting and reversing HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality and providing safe drinking water to its rural populations.

The development picture for women is also mixed, the report notes. Gender gaps are widening, and the aging of Chinese society is posing an increasing challenge because the elderly are disproportionately poor and female, with widows and unmarried, childless women among the most economically vulnerable.

The widely noted increase in the margin of newborn boys over girls "has serious implications for the future," the report warns. Sexual predetermination of newborns is illegal in China, but widespread and the government estimates that the sex ratio is about 116 boys for every 100 girls. 

 

Sec-Gen Creates New Advisory Board On Water And Sanitation 25

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has used this year's observance of World Water Day to announce the establishment of an Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, which aims to galvanize global action on these issues as part of international efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan has agreed to serve as Chairman of the Board, which will also include a wide range of eminent persons, technical experts, and other individuals with proven experience in inspiring people, moving the machinery of government, and working with the media, the private sector and civil society.

Mr. Annan has asked the Board to use the unique expertise of its members to raise awareness of water and sanitation issues, to help mobilize funds for water and sanitation projects, and to encourage new partnerships.

At the UN's Millennium Summit in 2000, national leaders from across the globe pledged to halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who are unable to reach, or to afford, safe drinking water. They also pledged to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources by developing water management strategies that promote equitable access and adequate supplies.

A similar goal _ to halve, also by 2015, the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation _ was adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. This target placed access to sanitation at the centre of the poverty-eradication commitments. World leaders have also agreed to develop, by 2005, integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans.

An estimated 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion people are without basic sanitation. The UN estimates that in order to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for water, 270,000 new connections will have to be made each day, and more than twice as many to meet the goal for sanitation.

In addition to Mr. Hashimoto, Board members include Mahmoud Abou Zeid, Egypt's Minister of Irrigation and Water; Michel Camdessus, Special Representative of the President of the Republic of France for Africa; Juanita Castaño, Former Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia; Uschi Eid, Parliamentary Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany; Angel Gurria, Former Minister of Finance of Mexico; Ronnie Kasrils, Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry Department of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa; Olivia la O' Castillo, President Philippine Pollution Prevention Roundtable; Eric Odada, Director, Department of Geology, University of Nairobi; Gérard Payen, Senior Executive-Vice-President, Suez; Judith Rees, Deputy Director, London School of Economics and Political Science; Christine Todd Whitman, Former Administrator Environmental Protection Agency of the United States; and Peter Woicke, Executive Vice President, International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C.

 

ILO Suggests Reforms To Nurture Small Businesses 26

In answer to entrepreneurial complaints that small and micro-enterprises are sometimes stifled by red tape, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has carried out a new study highlighting steps governments can take to nurture small businesses and help create jobs.

In Viet Nam, a law introduced in 2000 reduced the time and fees needed to start a business to 17 days and $30 from 99 days and $60. With that incentive, the number of enterprises registered annually jumped to 15,000 from 5,000, ILO said. 

In Chile, under reforms of 2001 a micro or small enterprise (MSE) with nine or fewer employees that breaks labour laws can opt to take a compulsory training programme instead of paying a fine.

"The number of procedures required to start up an enterprise varies, ranging from two in Canada to 20 in Bolivia, with the world average around 10," it said.

ILO carried out the study, "Policies for Small Enterprises: Creating the Right Environment for Good Jobs," in seven countries — Chile, Guinea, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania and Viet Nam.

"The findings presented in the book have potential application far beyond the seven countries studied," says Gerhard Reinecke, who co-authored the study with Simon White.

"Besides more communication and transparency in policies for small enterprises, we need national business laws, taxation and labour regulations that are fair and put MSEs on an equal footing with larger enterprises," he added.

 

100 Countries Have Now Signed UN Tobacco-Control Treaty 27

One hundred countries representing 4.5 billion people have signed the global treaty aimed at curbing tobacco use, which now claims nearly 5 million lives every year and causes an estimated annual net loss of $200 billion in treatment and lost productivity, the United Nations health agency reported on 25 March.

The milestone was reached with last week's signatures by Ecuador and the Republic of Congo of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires countries to restrict tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, set new labelling and clean indoor air controls and strengthen legislation to clamp down on tobacco smuggling.

The tobacco epidemic is still expanding, especially in developing countries where currently seven out of every 10 tobacco-related deaths occur, according to WHO. At current rates, the total number of tobacco users is expected to rise to 1.7 billion by 2025 from 1.3 billion now.

The European Community (EC) has also signed the treaty as a regional economic integration organization, while its
member states sign and ratify the treaty individually.