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14 August, 2004
 

Table Of Contents

 

Security Council Unanimously Renews UN Mission In Iraq For Another Year 1

The Security Council on 12 August unanimously renewed for a further year the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), whose tasks include coordinating various humanitarian operations and helping the war-torn country to organize elections by the end of January and draft a new constitution.

Reaffirming that the UN should play a leading role in assisting the Iraqi people and government in the formation of institutions for representative government, the 15-member body said it would review UNAMI's mandate in 12 months or sooner if requested by the Iraqi Government.

The mission was initially established for a 12-month period by Security Council resolution 1500 of 14 August 2003, when Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for it to have a staff of over 300, both international and local.

Last month Mr. Annan named Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, as his Special Representative for Iraq. Mr. Qazi is expected to make his first visit to the country some time this month, but in his latest report on the situation Mr. Annan last week stressed that staff security remained the overriding constraint for all UN operations in Iraq.

With the risk to UN personnel in Iraq categorized as "high to critical," UNAMI and UN agencies will continue to limit their activities inside Iraq to essential tasks, the report said.

 

Both Israelis, Palestinians Undermining Prospects For Peace, Security Council Told 2

Both Israelis and Palestinians are undermining prospects for peace, with the former failing to end settlement expansion and carrying out collective punishment, the latter failing to end violence and combat terror, and civilians on both sides suffering, according to the latest United Nations briefing on the Middle East on 11 August.

"For each side to cite the actions of the other does not in any way excuse it from fulfilling its own obligations," Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Council in what he called a "depressingly familiar" monthly briefing that reported no tangible progress towards resuming the peace process.

"There can be no preconditions to the observance of humanitarian law and international agreements," he added, calling on Israel to end "illegal" extrajudicial killings and house demolitions and to freeze settlements, and on the Palestinian Authority to end all attacks, including a recent rash of rocket assaults, and reform its security services.

Mr. Prendergast stressed that the Road Map sponsored by the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States represented the best way "to move out of the current hopeless situation," but that both sides had failed to meet their minimum obligations under the plan, which calls for a series of parallel and reciprocal steps leading to two states living side-by-side in peace by 2005.

"The Palestinian Authority, despite promises made by its President, has made no progress on its core obligation to take immediate action on the ground to end violence and combat terror," he said. "The Israeli Government, despite its commitment, has made no progress on its core obligation immediately to dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001 and to move towards a complete freeze of settlement activities.

"Until and unless both the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel take the necessary first steps to restore momentum towards peace, the stalemate will continue and there will be no lasting ceasefire," he added. "So far, I'm sorry to say, there is little reason to believe that we are about to witness the taking of such steps by either side, let alone both."

He noted that 54 Palestinians were killed, and 400 Palestinians and 23 Israelis injured over the last month, bringing the total since the outbreak in September 2000 of the most recent violence to 3,553 Palestinians and 949 Israelis killed _ and the total casualty toll to 34,770 Palestinians and 6,102 Israelis.

He called the recent increase in the launching by Palestinian militants of rockets into Israel followed by Israeli helicopter missile strikes and ever deeper incursions into Gaza a "new and worrying pattern." He said the scale of destruction by Israel raised concerns about collective punishment and termed its demolitions of houses of people not charged with a crime a form of such punishment.

Mr. Prendergast also noted that there had been several recent incidents where, despite prior coordination, areas where UN staff were present came under Israeli fire. "We are deeply concerned over the unacceptably high number (of incidents)…Israel has an obligation to protect humanitarian workers and facilitate their efforts," he stressed.

On the economic front he cited Israel's closure policies on the West Bank and Gaza as the primary cause of what the World Bank has called "one of the worst recessions in modern history," with an unemployment rate of 34.4 per cent.

"The Palestinian economy is in tatters and stands little chance of recovery unless immediate action is taken," he added.

 

On Anniversary Of Hiroshima Bombing, Sec-Gen Urges Elimination Of Nuclear Arms 3

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 6 August voiced hope that countries meeting next year to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will take action to eliminate nuclear arsenals in their entirety, six decades after atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"The goal of a nuclear weapons-free world is still a long way off," Mr. Annan said in a message delivered by Nobuyasu Abe, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, to the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima, the Japanese city struck by an atomic bomb 59 years ago on 6 August. Three days later, a second bomb leveled the city of Nagasaki.

He noted that while there has been progress in disarmament, especially since the end of the Cold War, tens of thousands of nuclear weapons remain in arsenals around the world, and there have been worrying indications that efforts are underway to develop new types of nuclear arms.

"The continued existence of nuclear stockpiles leaves the shadow of nuclear war hanging over our world _ particularly given the existence of clandestine networks dealing in nuclear materials and the prospect of terrorists with extreme ambitions gaining access to these materials," Mr. Annan said.

He voiced his hope that next year's review conference in New York of the parties to the NPT will not only reconfirm the undertakings already made by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of nuclear weapons, but that words will also be turned into deeds.

"On this day of remembrance, let us renew our vow that the horrors experienced by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 will never be repeated, and that, one day, we will live in a world free of the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons," he declared.

 

Appointments 4

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 6 August announced the appointment of Robert Orr, a veteran United States expert in foreign affairs, as the new United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning.

Mr. Orr, who succeeds Michael Doyle, also from the United States, was most recently Executive Director of the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Before that, he served as Director of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

From 1996 to 2001, he held senior posts in the US Government, including Deputy to the US Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke and Director of Global and Multilateral Affairs at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs.

Prior to government service he worked for the International Peace Academy in New York and with non-governmental organizations in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr. Orr, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, received a doctorate of philosophy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

***

Judge Asoka de Silva of Sri Lanka has become a permanent judge of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda, replacing his compatriot, Judge Asoka Gunawardena, who resigned in June.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Judge de Silva to the 

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) last week after an exchange of letters with the Security Council and the General Assembly. The new judge's term expires in 2007.

The 58-year judge has served on Sri Lanka's Supreme Court since August 2001. Before that he was a judge on the Court of Appeal for six years, eventually rising to become that chamber's President. Judge de Silva also has extensive experience as a government lawyer and prosecutor.

***

A Thai law professor with extensive international human rights experience has been named as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Vitit Muntarbhorn has a history of work with the UN, including, from 1990-1994, working as its expert calling attention to abuses related to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of a UN fund which disburses grants to help promote human rights.

Mr. Muntarbhorn, a Professor of Law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok specializing in human rights and humanitarian issues, has participated in numerous related activities around the world. He has also published widely both locally and internationally on subjects ranging from rights in the Asia-Pacific region to refugee law, child rights, women's rights and humanitarian law.

As Special Rapporteur on the DPRK, he is mandated to investigate and report on the human rights situation in the country, including compliance with its obligations under both international human rights instruments and international humanitarian law.

***

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 12 August announced the appointment of two women to senior posts in the United Nations dealing with gender issues and humanitarian affairs.

Rachel Mayanja, currently the Director of the Human Resources Management Division at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is slated to become Mr. Annan's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, moving back to the UN from the Rome job that she had held since July 2000. She succeeds Assistant-Secretary-General Angela King, who retired earlier this year.

Ms. Mayanja joined the UN shortly after the 1975 UN World Conference for Women. She holds law degrees from Makerere University in Uganda and Harvard Law School in the United States.

The new Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator will be Margareta Wahlstrom. She most recently served as the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in charge of relief, reconstruction and development. From 2000 to 2002 Ms. Wahlstrom was a consultant on emergency response issues and strategic and organizational development.

Ms. Wahlstrom succeeds Carolyn McAskie, who is now Mr. Annan's Special Representative for Burundi and chief of the UN Operation (ONUB) in the Central African nation. She holds a degree in Economic History, Social Anthropology and Political Science. 

 

Côte d'Ivoire President Signs Power-Sharing Decree S-G Helped To Draft 5

President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire has signed a new power-sharing decree giving some of his responsibilities to Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, a United Nations spokesman said on 10 August.

"The language of that decree was worked out with the Secretary-General's help at the recent summit in Accra, Ghana," Fred Eckhard said at the daily briefing, adding that the signing was a welcome development fulfilling part of the "Accra III Agreement," the deal signed at the end of that meeting late last month.

Under the deal, the transitional government and opposition parties pledged to implement the January 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, which ended bitter fighting between factions in the north and the south, but which had caused a four-month political stalemate.

The deal, whose exact clauses have not been made public, also calls for a new nationality code that would expand the field of political candidates to include people of immigrant descent and for rebel forces to disarm by mid-October.

The West African country has been roiled by unrest that started with a failed coup against Mr. Gbagbo in 2002.

***

The latest deal binding leaders of Côte d'Ivoire's political parties to implement a 2003 peace agreement, which ended bitter fighting, calls for the establishment of a monitoring group that would submit a progress report every two weeks to the United Nations, the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).

The parties agreed to establish the tripartite monitoring mechanism and make fortnightly reports on progress as part of the so-called Accra III Agreement on Côte d'Ivoire, adopted at a summit of West African leaders last month in the capital of Ghana. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had called the meeting in a bid to break the deadlock in the country's peace process.

The pact, the text of which was published on 11 August at UN Headquarters in New York, emphasizes those clauses of the 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Agreement that became "obstacles" to consensus and implementation. In that regard the leaders made new pledges on such areas as eligibility for a presidential candidacy, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process (DDR) for rebel combatants, and delegation of some powers by the President to the Prime Minister "until the elections scheduled for October 2005."

The country is currently divided in two, with peacekeeping forces from the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) stationed between the opposition-held north and Government-controlled south.

The political struggle began with the elections of 2000, when prominent political leaders, including northerner Alassane Ouattara, were disqualified. 

Mr. Ouattara, leader of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) whose members won a majority in municipal elections, was eliminated over questions of nationality. In a court ruling, the present incumbent, President Laurent Gbagbo, leader of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) was given the victory over 1999 coup-maker Gen. Robert Gueï of the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI).

In 2002 there were two promising developments: Mr. Gbagbo formed a government of national unity and Mr. Ouattara was awarded a certificate of Ivorian nationality. On 19 September, however, soldiers said to have been recruited mainly during General Gueï's tenure staged a protest about job security. Government forces quickly regained control of the main city in the south, Abidjan, but Mr. Gueï, his family and some of his allies were killed and many migrants and refugees were chased out of the country.

Some rebel forces coalesced into the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI), led by former student leader Guillaume Soro, but soon two more anti-Gbagbo parties emerged, the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Great West (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP), both claiming to want to avenge Mr. Gueï.

Mr. Ouattara, Mr. Soro and eight other Ivorian opposition leaders signed the Accra III Agreement late last month.

 

UNODC Hails New Decree Against Narcotics In Afghanistan 6

The senior United Nations anti-drug official in Afghanistan on 9 August welcomed the issuance of a religious decree condemning narcotics and related activities.

Mohammad Reza Amirkhizi, Country Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said the fatwa signed by Afghanistan's Council of Ulemas earlier this month sends a "clear message that opium poppy cultivation _ even if it is not consumed by Muslims or if it is done out of poverty _ is illegal." 

The religious decree stresses to the Government and Afghan people that cultivation, processing, trafficking and consumption of drugs must be prevented.

While Afghans have long understood that Islam prohibits the consumption of narcotics, there has often been confusion about whether or not cultivation of opium poppy was haram, or strictly forbidden. UNDOC said the new fatwa clarifies that cultivation is indeed haram. 

 

Salman Ahmad Meets the Press 7

UNIC and UNAIDS organized a press meet with Salman Ahmad, (co-founder of Junoon

Rock Band). Salman Ahmad shared his views on HIV/AIDS in South Asia and his experience at the recent International AIDS conference in Bangkok.

A recorded message endorsing Salman's contribution to the epidemic from Mr. Shashi Tharoor, UN Under Secretary _ General for Communications and Public Information was screened, along with "Ghoom Tana" the latest music video of Junoon.

l-r: Mr. Kenneth Wind-Andersen, Country Coordinator, UNAIDS, Salman Ahmad and Dr. Maxine Olson, UN Resident Coordinator and Chair of Theme Group on HIV/AIDS

 

UNEP: May The Olympic Games Inspire A Recommitment To Preserving Nature 8

The United Nations environmental agency on 10 August called for the Olympic Games, starting in Athens this week, to serve as a source of inspiration for an international recommitment to the cause of preserving nature.

"Respect for nature was a feature of ancient Greek civilization," UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said of the return of the Games to the country where they originated more than 2,500 years ago. The modern Olympics began in 1896 in Athens.

"In those early Games victors were crowned with an olive wreath. The olive wreath remains as an Olympic symbol to this day, a reminder of the precious link between humankind and the natural environment that we must learn to better preserve and cherish," he added. 

As part of its Sport and the Environment Programme, UNEP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee (ATHOC) in June to implement a series of public awareness activities. An anti-littering campaign, co-signed by UNEP and ATHOC, is currently being broadcast on Greek television and will continue in various forms throughout the Games. Brochures will be distributed at all venues to underline the connection between sport and the environment.

ATHOC has also agreed to prepare a compilation of "Environmental Challenges and Achievements" of the 2004 Olympic Games. This will offer a detailed account of the environmental perspective of all aspects of the Games _ including specific assessments for the various venues.

In recent years the environment has gained increased prominence within the Olympic Movement and is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the third dimension of Olympism, alongside sport and culture. Environmental issues are now an important part of the review process of Olympic bids.

"It is important that the 2004 Games set the stage for a wider discussion on the comprehensive integration of environmental considerations in future Games," Mr. Toepfer said. "It is my hope that these assessments will be a valuable tool for other host cities of the Olympic Games. The Games in Athens should spur efforts by other countries to do more to ensure that their Games are organized in an environmentally friendly way so that the environment is indeed seen as the third pillar of Olympism."

 

UNCTAD Hails Increase In Developing Countries' FDI 9

Annual direct investment by developing countries into other rising economies has grown faster than that by developed countries in the past 15 years, reflecting the recognition by companies that in a globalizing world economy it is important to have a portfolio of locational assets in order to be competitive, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on 10 August.

Pointing to China's Hong Kong _ which now has a larger outward foreign direct investment (FDI) position than Sweden _ as an example of the phenomenon, UNCTAD said: "Its transnational corporations _ along with those from Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and, more recently, South Africa _ figure prominently among the developing world's TNCs."

Ranking FDI by developing continents, UNCTAD said Asia, led by the south, east and southeast, was by far the largest outward investor in the developing world, followed by Latin America.

UNCTAD said overall, it was predicting that the share of developing countries in outward FDI could be expected to rise as developing-country businesses become more competitive and their governments allow or even encourage outward FDI, thereby strengthening the "emerging new geography of investment."

 

FAO Warns Against Overfishing In Asia-Pacific 10

Asian-Pacific fisheries, a vital source of food and crucial for the economies of the region, are threatened by overfishing and a resulting decline in the abundance of more valuable species, according to a new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The region is the world's largest producer of both farmed fish and captured fish _ accounting for 91 per cent and 48 per cent of total world production respectively _ and improved management is required in order to secure the sector's future, says the report, presented to the Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission last week in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

FAO cites a study by the WorldFish Centre, an international resource organization belonging to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which suggests that over the last 25 years the amount of fish available in some Asian-Pacific areas has declined by between 6 and 33 percent. In a few instances, the drop has been as steep as 40 percent over five years.

Changes in the composition of fish resources have also occurred, FAO notes. The abundance of larger, more valuable species has declined, while the proportion of smaller fish lower down the food chain, sometimes referred to as "trash fish," has notably increased _ a phenomenon known as "fishing down the food chain."

Recent studies estimate that the amount of trash fish being landed now exceeds 60 per cent of the total marine production from the South China Sea, about 60 per cent of the catch in the Gulf of Thailand, 30 per cent to 80 percent in Viet Nam, and 50 per cent in trawl catches from western Malaysia.

"Demand is fast outstripping supply and prices are expected to rise, resulting in greater incentives to target these fish and aggravate the over-fishing problem in the area," FAO says.