United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-03-25

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 25 March 1998

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General calls on Israel and her adversaries to commit to principle of land for peace.
• Appealing for end to Haiti's political impasse, Security Council stresses that next elections must be free and fair.
• United Nations Secretary-General condemns attacks by opposition groups in Tajikistan.
• World Bank says development aid to poor countries is hurt by financial crisis in East Asia.
• United Nations Compensation Commission pays out over $490 million to claimants affected by Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda hears motions by defence to drop indictments against genocide suspect.
• Governments are urged to ratify convention on safety of United Nations personnel.

Addressing the Israeli Foreign Relations Council and the United Nations Association of Israel, the Secretary-General said it was therefore "essential that Israel -- and her adversaries in the region -- commit themselves to a comprehensive peace based on the principles enshrined in resolutions 242 and 338, and reflected in the Oslo accords - - most fundamentally, land for peace."

Stressing that he spoke as a friend of Israel, the Secretary-General said, "I want Israel and its partners to make the difficult choices required for peace." He called attention to the fact that the great majority of States regard Israel as having been responsible for provocative acts that undermine goodwill and spark hostilities. Among those, he cited slowness to fulfil obligations under the Oslo agreements; expansion of old settlements, as well as the creation of new ones; closures, roadblocks and other restrictions that aggravate the economic and humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians; and other actions that take from Palestinians their homes, their land, their jobs, their residence permits -- "their very dignity".

"Friends -- I ask you to accept that the great mass of world opinion, including many countries that are sympathetic to Israel and to the Israeli dilemma, genuinely feels that Israel is doing a great disservice to its cause and to its standing by persisting with these practices," Mr. Annan said. "I ask Israel to accept that, just as you are entitled to ask your Palestinian partners to do their best to live up to their side of the bargain under the agreements reached, so they too are justified in asking you to fulfil your obligations."

The Secretary-General stressed that the status quo before the Oslo talks was untenable, and that there is no viable alternative to Oslo. Further, he warned of "potentially grave consequences" should the process fail.

Noting that the United Nations is regarded by many as biased against Israel, the Secretary-General said it was time to usher in a new era of relations between the two. In particular, he called for dealing with the fact that Israel is not a member of any United Nations regional group. "This anomaly should be corrected," he said. Mr. Annan further expressed the conviction that there was great potential for Israel's increased participation in all that the United Nations seeks to achieve in peace and development.

The Secretary-General had begun the second day of his official visit to Israel with a breakfast meeting with the Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert. He had then visited the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, where he laid a wreath in Remembrance Hall. Accompanied by his wife, Nane, he had viewed the tree planted in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, and had walked through the Memorial to Children killed in the Holocaust. On exiting, he had speculated what would have happened during the Second World War if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had existed. "Would it have given courage to the victims to resist?" he asked. "Would there have been more Raoul Wallenbergs?"

The Secretary-General had then proceeded to the Knesset where he had met with the Speaker, Dan Tichon, and then with members of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. The Secretary-General also met with the Chairman of the Labour Party, Ehud Bark, and other members of the opposition. They had discussed in depth the status of the peace process and the proposed Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Through a statement read out by the Council President, Abdoulie M. Sallah of the Gambia, the Council stressed that the next parliamentary and local elections in Haiti must be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner in order to allow the broadest possible voter participation, consistent with Haitian law.

Noting that a substantial effort would be required to ensure the success of the elections, the President said the Council looked forward to the steps taken by the Haitian Government towards that end. It also urged the international community to be ready to provide electoral assistance if requested.

On the overall need for economic rehabilitation and reconstruction, the Council stressed that a sustained international commitment to development in Haiti is indispensable.

The Security Council reaffirmed that the people and Government of Haiti bear the ultimate responsibility for national reconciliation, the maintenance of a secure and stable environment, the administration of justice, and the settlement of contentious issues peacefully and democratically. According to the Council, "a prompt solution of these issues in Haiti will facilitate economic development and the provision of international assistance."

Welcoming "significant progress" made by the Haitian National Police, the Council expressed hope that its achievements would be matched by progress in the development of a functioning judicial system in the country.

In another action on Wednesday, the Security Council responded to a shortfall in the sale of oil for the first 90-day period of the current phase of the oil-for-food programme. By unanimously adopting resolution 1158 (1998), the Council authorized Iraq to sell $1.4 billion worth of oil products within the current 90-day period starting to make up the shortfall, which was caused by a delay in the resumption of oil sales and a drop in oil prices.

In a statement issued by his Spokesman, the Secretary-General said that the attacks had led to the deterioration of the situation over the last 24 hours, noting that numerous casualties were reported.

The Secretary-General called on the leaders of the United Tajik Opposition to withdraw their personnel. He also urged the government and the opposition to work together in order to restore law and order, in accordance with their commitments under the peace accord.

Hostilities broke out in Tajikistan in 1992 after the country became independent the previous year. In 1994 the Tajik parties reached an agreement on political dialogue and national reconciliation. The agreement led to the formation of the Joint Commission to monitor the ceasefire, assisted by the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT).

In a just-released report, the World Bank says that private capital flows to developing countries accelerated in 1997 before "colliding" with the East Asian financial crisis. That crisis led to turmoil in global stock markets and a general retreat from new investments in emerging markets.

The report, entitled "Global Development Finance 1998," predicts that a combination of factors, including wariness of investors and uncertain prospects for recovery in East Asia, is likely to reduce net long-term private flows to developing countries in 1998.

The World Bank points out, however, that if the crisis bottoms out, this decline would be tempered by the continued robust health of the global economy, investors returning to markets in countries with strong economic fundamentals, and changes in the composition of capital flows.

The Bank's report examines the causes and evolution of the East Asian financial crisis which began with sharp currency depreciations in Thailand in July. It also analyzes how the combination of financial crisis and falling stock market prices and restricted access to international capital markets quickly spread throughout the region, and affected other regions such as Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The resolved claims relate to two categories: category "A" are claims for departure from Iraq or Kuwait, and category "C" are for individual losses of up to $100,000. The third category, "B", deals with claims for death or serious personal injury.

The funding for the payments being made comes from the 30 per cent share of the revenue derived from petroleum Iraq is allowed to sell under Security Council resolutions.

Claimants are to receive an initial payment of up to $2,500 each. For the awards which exceed this figure, additional payments are to be made later.

The Commission's Governing Body has determined that all successful claimants in categories "A" and "C" should receive their awards before any payments may be made from the Compensation Fund to corporations, Governments or individuals whose claims for losses exceed $100,000.

The suspect, Lieutenant Samuel Imanishimwe, former Commander of Cyangugu Barracks in the Rwanda Armed Forces, is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. He has pleaded not guilty to seven counts.

Marking the Day of Solidarity with Detained Staff Members (25 March), Rosemarie Waters told United Nations correspondents in New York that ratifying the Convention would be one way of protecting United Nations staff who have come under increasing attacks in recent years.

Ms. Waters also urged the press to assist in raising security awareness by reporting on situations in which United Nations staff are in danger, and by highlighting the perils of peacekeeping missions throughout the world.

Recalling a recent statement by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Ms. Waters said that United Nations staff "were increasingly becoming the targets of aggression and violence." Since 1992, she pointed out, 219 civilians had lost their lives in the field. In 1994, she added "the particularly despicable act of hostage-taking became common, with 130 staff members affected in 43 separate incidents."

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

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