United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-04-17

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 17 April, 1998

HEADLINES

• Facing "total absence" of Government cooperation, Secretary- General withdraws investigative team from Congo-Kinshasa.
• Security Council authorizes deployment of 10 military liaison and security advisors in Sierra Leone.
• Security Council renews mandate of UN Mission in Western Sahara until 20 July.
• Secretary-General recommends that Security Council allow Iraq to spend $300 million to repair oil infrastructure.
• UN refugee agency says exodus from Sierra Leone is reaching "alarming proportions".
• Early warning is of little use without early action, Secretary- General says in just-released report on Africa.
• Secretary-General regrets that Pol Pot's death rules out his trial for crimes against humanity.
• Secretary-General pleased at large POW exchange between Iran and Iraq.
• Secretary-General to travel to California and Texas, United States.
• First high-level meeting of Economic and Social Council and Bretton Woods institutions set for Saturday.
• Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect surrenders to International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia.
• Battle against "river blindness" in West Africa winding down after 25 years.

"In the light of the total absence of cooperation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in allowing the investigative team to carry out its work, and following a careful assessment made by a mission sent by the Secretary-General for this purpose, the Secretary- General has decided to withdraw the investigative team with immediate effect," his Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said on Friday.

The team had been established to bridge the impasse caused by the refusal of the Kinshasa Government to allow a Joint Investigative Mission of the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the allegations. Although the team was sent in August 1997 to secure the Government's cooperation, it has since "constantly met a series of obstacles by the authorities, despite repeated assurances by the Government that the team would be allowed to carry out its work." Attempts by forensic experts to excavate suspected sites of mass graves were blocked, and the authorities harassed and intimidated witnesses who provided testimony to the investigators.

In explaining the Secretary-General's decision, Mr. Eckhard cited the most recent incident, which occurred on 7 and 8 April when the country's authorities expelled a member of the investigative team from Goma and subsequently detained him at Kinshasa airport. "Confidential United Nations documents in the possession of the staff member were seized, searched and assumed to have been photocopied by the authorities in complete disregard of the obligations of Member States under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," the Spokesman noted.

The Commission on Human Rights, under its mandate, will continue to monitor the question of allegations regarding serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, called the team's withdrawal "a grave setback in this battle against impunity." She stressed that the people of Congo-Kinshasa were entitled to a future free from the violence and abuse of past decades. "An essential step in realizing such changes lies in ending the cycle of impunity which has only encouraged inter-ethnic and other violence," she said.

Council President Hisashi Owada of Japan told the press on Friday that Council members were deeply disappointed about the failure of the Congolese Government to comply with its commitment to cooperate fully with the team. "Support was expressed by the Council members for the Secretary-General's decision to withdraw, based on concern for the integrity of the investigation and the safety of team members," Mr. Owada said after the Council consulted on the matter.

He stressed that Council members demanded that the Congolese Government ensure the safety of United Nations personnel, and refrain from harassing those who had provided information to the team. They expressed hope that the team would complete its report on the basis of the findings which had been made so far, he added.

Meanwhile the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations in New York, Andre Mwamba Kapanga, told reporters that his Government deplored the decision because it had never asked the United Nations to withdraw the investigative team. He said that up until the present, the country had been trying to provide good conditions for the team to carry out its work. "The Democratic Republic of the Congo takes note of the decision of the United Nations and remains, as always, open to collaboration with the United Nations consistent with its search for peace and justice in the interest of the Congolese people in particular and the international community in general," he said.

The officers will also help the Economic Community of West African States Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) finalize future tasks such as the design of a disarmament plan and the identification of former combatants to be disarmed. They will work under the authority of the Secretary- General's Special Envoy, Francis G. Okelo, and coordinate closely with the Sierra Leone Government and ECOMOG.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council emphasized the need to promote national reconciliation in Sierra Leone, and encouraged all parties to work together towards that objective. It welcomed efforts by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah since his return on 10 March, to restore the democratic process, re-establish effective administration and embark on reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The Council also welcomed discussions under way between Mr. Okelo, the Government and ECOMOG on the further elaboration and implementation of ECOMOG's operations. It urged States and international organizations to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone and all called for contributions to the Trust Fund which had been established to support peacekeeping and related activities in the country. The Council also encouraged participation in the longer term tasks of reconstruction and development in the country.

Acting unanimously on a resolution, the Council called on the parties -- the Moroccan Government and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) -- to cooperate constructively with the United Nations, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Charles Dunbar, and the Identification Commission, to complete the identification of voters phase of the settlement plan and the agreements reached for its implementation.

The 1988 Settlement Plan provides for a transitional period during which the Special Representative, assisted by MINURSO, would have responsibility over all matters relating to the referendum, including identification and registration of qualified voters. The referendum would offer the people of Western Sahara the choice between independence and integration with Morocco.

The Council again expressed its intention to consider positively the request for the remaining additional military and police assets for MINURSO proposed by the Secretary-General, as soon as he reported that the identification process had reached a stage where their deployment was essential.

It called on the Governments of Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania to conclude respective status-of-forces agreements with the Secretary- General, and recalled that pending the conclusions of such agreements, the model status-of-forces agreement dated 9 October 1990 should apply provisionally.

The Council asked the Secretary-General to report every 30 days on the progress of the implementation of the settlement plan and the agreements reached between the parties. It also asked the UN leader to inform the Council regularly about significant developments in the interim, and on the continuing viability of MINURSO's mandate.

The Secretary-General's recommendations, contained in a report to the Security Council released on Friday, are based on the work of oil experts dispatched by the Council to determine whether Iraq can export more oil under an expanded oil-for-food programme. The Council had expanded that programme in February under resolution 1153 (1998), which allowed Iraq to export up to $5.2 billion worth of oil every six months - - up from $2 billion under the current arrangements.

The experts, along with two United Nations oil overseers, visited Iraq from 12 to 22 March and concluded that the country's oil industry "is in a lamentable state". If the required spare parts are furnished immediately and oil prices stay constant at the current price level of $10.50 per barrel, Iraq could only export a maximum of $3 billion during a six-month period, according to the experts. By December, they predicted, that figure could rise to $3.9 billion, based on a projected two-dollar increase in the price of a barrel of oil.

Both the external experts and the United Nations overseers found Iraq's request for $300 million worth of spare parts reasonable, stating that this reflects "only the most essential and urgent needs of the Iraqi oil industry."

In making his recommendation to the Council, the Secretary-General says it should "authorize the export to Iraq of the equipment necessary to enable Iraq to increase most urgently the export of petroleum and petroleum products."

A UNHCR spokesman said Friday that well over 100,000 people had fled fighting and instability in Sierra Leone since January. Many are suffering from malnutrition. They have been on the road for months and say there is very little food left in the country. Large numbers were continuing to cross into Guinea in the Kissidougou area. In recent months, an estimated 60,000 refugees have arrived in border towns with over 1,000 a day arriving in the last week.

According to recent arrivals, tens of thousands more refugees were on their way to the towns of Forokonia and Kobikoro in Guinea, reportedly the only border crossings where the Sierra Leone ex-junta and the border terrain allow passage.

The report moves beyond past calls for early warning systems, noting that in recent years, the United Nations has already improved its ability to predict conflicts. "The critical concern today is no longer lack of early warning of impending crisis, but rather the need to follow up early warning with early and effective action."

When grievances arise, governments and their opponents must reject the all- too-common immediate resort to violence, Mr. Annan cautions. In cases when conflict does erupt, he notes, political options must be exhausted prior to any escalation. "Before international action is required, I urge governments in situations of potential or actual conflict to consider the appointment of special mediators or special commissions to look into the sources of the dispute, build confidence, and recommend practical solutions."

The Secretary-General points out that diplomatic efforts are cost- effective and quickly deployed. He says the United Nations stands ready to do its part to prevent conflict in Africa, in consultation with regional organizations. "Where a peace process is needed, it is the role of the United Nations, with the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU), to help create one," he writes. "Where obstacles obstruct further progress, it is our role to help remove them. Where a basis for agreement exists, it is our role to help facilitate it."

The report, titled "The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa", was requested by a ministerial-level meeting of the Security Council held last September. Council members and other interested States are scheduled to discuss it in an open session beginning on Friday, 24 April.

A UN spokesman said the Secretary-General shared the continuing anguish of the Cambodian people who suffered terribly under Pol Pot's rule, as well as their wish that justice ultimately be served on those who share his guilt for one of history's most notorious reigns of terror.

The Secretary-General hoped the situation of remaining POWs would be resolved very soon, the spokesman said. Mr. Annan wanted to take the opportunity to commend the humanitarian role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in facilitating the important matter.

In San Francisco, the Secretary-General will be the keynote speaker at a luncheon jointly sponsored by the Commonwealth Club, the World Affairs Council and the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA/USA). At the University of California, Berkeley, he will be awarded the Berkeley Medal and will deliver a speech before that University's School of International and Area Studies. The Berkeley Medal is the highest honor conferred by the University upon individuals.

In Los Angeles, the Secretary-General will speak on the subject of today's "humanitarian challenge" at an event co-sponsored by two civic organizations: the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall Los Angeles. After a meeting with sports figures, including basketball Olympic star Magic Johnson, the Secretary-General will be the guest of honour at a reception hosted by Jack Valenti, President of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Before leaving Los Angeles, the Secretary-General will deliver a keynote address on the subject of conflict prevention and receive the UCLA Medal during a ceremony organized by the Center of International Relations. Like the Berkeley Medal, the UCLA Medal is the highest honor bestowed upon individuals by the University of California at Los Angeles.

In Houston, the Secretary-General will address the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University on the subject of conflict prevention. Before returning to New York, the Secretary-General will meet with former United States President George Bush.

In the course of this four-day trip, the Secretary-General will be the guest of three former United States Secretaries of State: George Schultz, in San Francisco; Warren Christopher, in Los Angeles; and James Baker III, in Houston. He will also meet with three mayors -- Willie Brown of San Francisco, Richard Riordan of Los Angeles, Lee Brown of Houston -- as well as with other American political and civil leaders.

The meeting is scheduled to take place this Saturday at United Nations Headquarters in order to coincide with the semi-annual meeting of the Bretton Woods institutions and take advantage of that gathering of officials at World Bank Headquarters in nearby Washington, D.C.

"Our purpose in the United Nations is not to do the type of detailed negotiations of financial arrangements that could only take place in the relevant financial fora, but to inject into those considerations the type of long-term development considerations that do play a prominent role here, " Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, told reporters on Friday. He said providing a political platform for discussion and consensus-building was the Organization's business.

Ambassador Paolo Fulci of Italy, Vice-Chairman of the Economic and Social Council and Acting Chairman of the meeting, said the event would constitute a free-flowing dialogue on the opportunities, challenges and risks posed by global financial integration. He expressed the hope that the meeting would mark the beginning of regular dialogue between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods Institutions.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will address the gathering, which will then hear from a panel of experts. Also scheduled to contribute to the dialogue are the Managing Director of the IMF, Michel Camdessus, and the Managing Director of the World Bank, Sven Sandstrom.

The action followed weeks of media reports that Zoran Zigic, who has been publicly indicted for crimes against humanity, was prepared to surrender himself voluntarily to the Tribunal's jurisdiction. He was in prison in Banja Luka serving an unrelated sentence. On Thursday, investigators from the Tribunal, with the support of troops of the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR), served a copy of the arrest warrants to the prison authorities, who released Mr. Zigic into the Tribunal's custody. His first public hearing is scheduled for 20 April at the Tribunal's seat at The Hague.

Mr. Zigic is named in an indictment for crimes allegedly committed between May and August 1992 against Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians at a makeshift camp where Serb forces "killed, raped, assaulted, beat and otherwise mistreated the prisoners." He is also named in an indictment covering the same period for crimes at another camp where Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats were "killed, sexually assaulted, tortured, beaten and otherwise subject to cruel and inhuman treatment."

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported Friday that the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa (OCP) will terminate in the year 2002. The Programme has protected over 40 million people from the disease, including 60,000 who would have become blind, and allowed the reclamation of 25 million hectares for food production.

In the past, up to 50 per cent of people over 30 years of age in rural West Africa suffered from "the disease at the end of the road". Onchocerciasis is transmitted by the bite of the black fly which releases tiny worms into the blood. They cause unbearable itching, skin disfiguration and blindness. Treatment must be maintained for 15 years until the adult worms die.

The WHO is proposing the creation of a subregional watchdog, which will use OCP's sophisticated infrastructure for epidemiological surveillance of onchocerciasis and other infectious diseases. The OCP programme was sponsored by WHO, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (OAU).

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

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