United Nations Daily Highlights, 06-07-27

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARIE OKABE

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Thursday, July 27, 2006

IRAQ: INTERNATIONAL COMPACT IS LAUNCHED

The Government of Iraq and the United Nations today announced, in a joint statement, the formal launch of the International Compact with Iraq. This Compact is an initiative of the Government of Iraq for a new partnership with the international community.

The Compact, jointly chaired by the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the United Nations, with the support of the World Bank, will, over the next five years, bring together the international community and multilateral organizations to help Iraq achieve its National Vision.

The Governments vision is that five years from now, Iraq shall be a united, federal and democratic country, at peace with its neighbors and itself, well on its way to sustainable economic self-sufficiency and prosperity and well integrated in its region and the world. Guided by the Millennium Development Goals, the Government will work to meet basic needs, protect the rights of all citizens and ensure the optimal use of the countrys resources for the common good.

To achieve this vision, the Government of Iraq has undertaken to make progress on political inclusion and consensus building, on the rule of law, and on the establishment of professional security forces. The Government of Iraq is committed to tackling corruption, creating a transparent and efficient oil sector, developing a solid budgetary framework, improving governance, and building and consolidating effective national institutions. The United Nations is committed to support and facilitate the Compact, through its mission and agencies in Iraq and the good offices of the Secretary-General and his representatives.

The Government of Iraq recognizes that good governance and resolution of security and political challenges are pre-requisites for progress in all other areas, including economic revival and normalization. It will therefore make every effort in the coming period to realize these conditions, with the assistance of regional and international partners, in order to achieve the Compacts primary focus: building a framework for Iraqs economic transformation and integration into the regional and global economy.

In their capacity as co-chairs, the Government of Iraq and the United Nations have appointed an executive committee that will also include the World Bank, IMF, and other regional financial institutions, and which will manage the process towards the adoption of the Compact and beyond. The Executive Committee will assist the Government to formulate a strategy for economic regeneration and fundamental reforms for integrating Iraq within the regional and global communities.

The co-chairs will also work with a preparatory group of countries and organizations to develop the Compact via a consultative process. This group will provide support, advice and guidance on the Compact. In September, broader consultations with the international community will take place in New York at the next meeting of the UN General Assembly, followed by an update to Finance Ministers at the annual World Bank/IMF meeting in Singapore.

It is envisaged that the finalized Compact, including key priorities, benchmarks, and commitments, will be presented by the Government of Iraq by the end of 2006. We invite the international community to commit their support to the process that we have begun today and, ultimately, to join as valued partners in the International Compact with Iraq.

LEBANON: HEAVY EXCHANGES REPORTED ALONG "BLUE LINE"

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports that there were three incidents of firing close to UN positions in the last 24 hours from the Israeli side. It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions.

While heavy exchanges of fire continue to take place along the Blue Line, the UN Mission says that more than 600 civilians from Naqoura and other neighboring villages were sheltered inside the UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura yesterday, and provided with food and water.

On the humanitarian front, we are planning two additional humanitarian convoys to go to southern Lebanon tomorrow. Those convoys, which are being organized by the World Food Programme, are to go to the towns of Jezzine and Sidon, and we also hope to go deeper into the south in the following days.

Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpers question on why the United Nations had operated its outpost in Khiam even amid the fighting, the Spokeswoman noted that UNIFIL has been present in the area since 1978, on a UN Security Council mandate.

She noted that the military observers at Khiam were posed in a well-marked and established outpost. Also, the United Nations had received repeated assurances that they would not be attacked, and repeated calls were made by UNIFIL, by officials in New York and by the Secretary-General to Israeli officials concerning the safety of UNIFIL personnel.

Ultimately, she said, the United Nations had guarantees that the outpost would not come under fire.

Asked about the Secretary-Generals reaction to the failure, so far, by the Security Council to adopt a Presidential Statement on the death of the observers at Khiam, the Spokeswoman said that he was disappointed that the Council was not able to pronounce itself on an important statement on the death of the four observers.

Asked whether the Secretary-General would retract his Tuesday statement about the apparently deliberate targeting of the outpost, given an e-mail that allegedly counters the United Nations understanding of the events, the Spokeswoman responded, No.

Asked whether UNIFIL observers had a mandate to observe movements between Lebanon and Syria, she referred to the relevant resolutions on the Forces mandate.

Asked about the protocol for UNIFIL in informing Israel about firing incidents close to its positions, the Spokeswoman said that UNIFIL is in constant contact with the Israeli authorities.

She added, in response to a question about previous firing incidents at Khiam, that a senior UN peacekeeping official made it clear on Wednesday that the series of calls made on 25 July by UN officials to their Israeli counterparts were the result of hours of close firing by Israel on the UN outpost.

U.N. TEAM ARRIVES IN NEPAL TO ASSIST COUNTRY'S PEACE PROCESS

A UN team headed by Staffan de Mistura has now arrived in Nepal. It is seeking to forge a common understanding among various groups in Nepal about the scope and nature of the UN role in that countrys peace process.

As part of that effort, the team will meet with representatives from the Government of Nepal and the countrys Communist Party, as well as civil society, the media and Parliament.

The UN team which includes experts in political affairs, military and police matters, electoral assistance and human rights will work mainly in Kathmandu, but its members may also carry out visits to the interior of the country.

After completing its work the Mission will report to the Secretary-General on its findings.

SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET TODAY ON LEBANON

[The Security Council is scheduled to meet in closed consultations on Lebanon at 3 p.m. with a view to a meeting.]

The Security Council held consultations this morning on a variety of topics. It first heard a briefing on Eritrea and Ethiopia by Dmitry Titov, Director of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Africa Division.

Following that, the Council was briefed by Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, the chairman of the Sudan sanctions committee, on that committees work.

The Council then held consultations on Georgia, with Assistant Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute briefing.

SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERNED ABOUT COTE DIVOIRE, AFGHANISTAN

The Security Council yesterday adopted press statements on Cote dIvoire and Afghanistan.

On Cote dIvoire, the Security Council members condemned the recent surge in violence aimed at obstructing the normal functioning of the mobile courts, and expressed their full support for the Prime Minister in his effort to implement the roadmap and the agreement signed by all Ivorian parties in Yamoussoukro on 5 July.

On Afghanistan, the Security Council members voiced their concern over the worsening violence, and reaffirmed their support for the Government and the armed forces in their effort to maintain security. The Security Council members also welcomed the continued efforts of the Afghan Government and the international community to address the challenges in Afghanistan, including the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics.

D.R. CONGO: REBELS LAY DOWN ARMS IN U.N.-BROKERED DEAL

In a major UN-brokered development ahead of the 30 July elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Mission in that country reports that the rebel coalition Mouvement Revolutionnaire Congolais (MRC) has agreed to lay down its weapons.

The Mission says the move will facilitate the movement of displaced persons in the eastern Ituri District and increase their participation in the elections.

A formal agreement was signed yesterday in Bunia by the Congolese government and the MRC in the presence of UN officials. William Lacy Swing, the special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC, welcomed the agreement as a major step forward in the electoral process and toward to peace. He urged other rebel groups to follow the MRCs example and lay down their weapons.

SOMALIA: U.N OFFICIAL URGES ISLAMISTS TO ATTEND PEACE TALKS

The Special Representative of the Secretary General for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, today wrote to Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu, reaffirming his appeal for the Islamic Courts to send a delegation to Khartoum for a second round of peace talks with the Somali Transitional Federal Government. In his letter, Fall also assured Sheikh Ahmed of the UNs commitment to pursue all avenues for the restoration of peace and reconciliation in Somalia through dialogue.

Earlier today in Nairobi, Fall met with ambassadors and senior representatives of the international community, including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the League of Arab States, and briefed them on his latest mission to Somalia, which was completed on Tuesday. Participants in the meeting also exchanged views on the current situation and discussed various initiatives to help restore peace though dialogue in Somalia.

SPOKESMAN CONFIRMS ARREST OF U.N. STAFF MEMBER

In response to questions about the arrest of a UN staff member on a drug-related matter, the Spokeswoman confirmed that the United Nations had cooperated fully with U.S. authorities in the arrest on Wednesday of Osman Osman, a Somalian national who works in the UN mail unit.

She noted that the United Nations has an interest in preventing its premises from being misused for criminal purposes.

Asked about Osmans status, she said that, in accordance with standard practice, he would be placed under special leave with pay while this case proceeds.

The United Nations is currently studying the indictment in that case, she added.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

FUNDS RELEASED TO CLAIMANTS IN IRAQ COMPENSATION SCHEME: The United Nations Compensation Commission, dealing with claims made after Iraqs 1990 invasion of Kuwait, has made available today a total of more than $396 million to four Governments for distribution to 31 successful claimants.

U.N. DRUG OFFICE AND NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL TO TIGHTEN DRUG ENFORCEMENT: The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the NATO-Russia Council

agreed today to cooperate in training law enforcement officers in Central Asia and Afghanistan in fighting the narcotics trade. The $927,000 project will target the borders between the regions, which are easily exploited by traffickers and provide a major challenge to police and customs.

ANNAN EXPECTED BACK IN NEW YORK TODAY: Asked about the Secretary-Generals return from Rome, the Spokeswoman said that he would be back in New York this afternoon and was expected back at UN Headquarters on Friday.