United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-04-29

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 29 April, 1998

HEADLINES

• Security Council extends mandate of mission in Angola until 30 June 1998.
• Nations need to adjust to new concept of international security and disarmament, says Chairman of Disarmament Commission.
• UN staff hold silent march in Geneva to protest treatment of aid workers worldwide.
• Twenty countries sign Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
• Crime Commission will consider measure to control illicit firearms traffic.
• UN Deputy Secretary-General in Colombia for fiftieth anniversary of Organization of American States.
• Conference on Urbanization and Ageing begins in New York.
• United Nations children's agency joins in mourning of Guatemalan human rights campaigner.

In unanimously adopting resolution 1164 (1998), the Council called, in particular, on the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to complete all remaining obligations under the Lusaka Protocol and Council resolutions. They include the normalization of State administration throughout Angola as well as disarmament of the civilian population.

The Council reiterated its demand that UNITA stop its "pattern of delays and linkages" and cooperate immediately and unconditionally in normalizing state administration throughout the territory, particularly in Andulo and Bailundo.

The Council strongly condemned attacks by members of UNITA on MONUA and other international personnel and Angolan authorities, including the police. It demanded that UNITA immediately stop such attacks and urged MONUA to investigate promptly the recent attack in N'gove.

Further, the Council called on the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation and, in particular UNITA, to unconditionally guarantee the safety, security and freedom of movement of all United Nations and international personnel.

The Council reiterated its belief that a meeting in Angola between the President of Angola and the leader of UNITA could facilitate the successful conclusion of the peace process and accelerate the process of national reconciliation.

The Council endorsed the Secretary-General's recommendation to deploy 83 additional civilian police observers. It also took note of his recommendations regarding the drawdown of military observers and civilian personnel and the termination of MONUA. It expressed its intention to take a final decision by 30 June on the mandate, size and organizational structure of MONUA or a follow-on UN presence after that date, based on progress in the peace process and in the light of the Secretary-General's report expected by 17 June.

The Council welcomed some of the steps taken by the Angolan parties to complete the peace process. The steps include promulgation of the law granting special status to the leader of UNITA, the appointment of the remaining governors and vice-governors nominated by UNITA, agreement on a list of ambassadors nominated by UNITA, cessation of broadcasts by Radio Vorgan, and the arrival in Luanda of senior officials of UNITA to prepare for the establishment of UNITA headquarters in the capital.

Sergey Martynov of Belarus told United Nations Radio on Wednesday that the Disarmament Commission was unable to agree on the holding a special session of the General Assembly on disarmament because the issues of disarmament "touch upon the very national interests of each and every state."

The Chairman said that in the area of security and disarmament, the world "is so much different today from what we used to have even five years ago and not to speak of fifteen years." In the past, the international community concentrated, "and rightly so," on averting a nuclear conflagration and diminishing factors contributing to it. However, he added, the international community now has to deal not only with the nuclear threat, "which remains to a much lesser extent than before", but also with conflicts in other areas of the world and with conventional disarmament.

Mr. Martynov said that states and nations need more time to adjust their thinking to this "changing paradigm of international reality." In his view, eventually they would be "up to their task" because, even from the economic point of view, they would gain more from a peaceful environment around the world than from "fanning even the conventional arms race" in their regions and localities.

The Commission concluded its 1998 substantive session on Tuesday during which it focused on three issues: the establishment of nuclear- weapon-free zones; the development of guidelines on conventional arms control, limitation and disarmament; and preparations for the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.

Mr. Martynov said that on the first two issues, the Commission was able to produce documents which will form a basis for the final year of consideration of these issues. These issues were in their second year of a three-year cycle of consideration.

The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, led the marchers -- mainly staff from the United Nations and other agencies based in Geneva, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The spokesman said the marchers, who wore yellow ribbons, also wanted to express their outrage at the plight of Vincent Cochetel, who was abducted 90 days ago in North Ossetia, in the Russian Federation, where he headed UNHCR operations.

Mr. Cochetel's children took part in the march and carried a placard reading, "Please release my father". The marchers stood for one minute of silence after which the children released a caged dove.

Meanwhile, United Nations staff in New York appealed to members of the media on Wednesday to do what they could to help win the release of Mr. Cochetel.

Over 140 civilian UN staff members have been kidnapped or abducted all over the world and at least 55 colleagues are being held in detention or are missing. One staff member, Alex Collet, has been missing for 13 years.

The Kyoto Protocol was opened for signature on 16 March 1998. It contains legally binding emissions targets for developed countries for the post-2000 period. Together, they must reduce their combined emissions of six key greenhouse gases by an average of at least 5 per cent over the five-year period 2008 to 2012.

The European Union and 15 of its member countries as well as Brazil, Norway, Monaco, Australia and Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol on Wednesday, joining the 14 other countries who have already done so. Signing the Protocol is a symbolic act, indicating the intention of the country to seek ratification, usually through its national legislature. To date, no country has ratified the Protocol.

Cuts in the three most important gases -- carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- will be measured against a base year of 1990 (with some exceptions). Reducing emissions to 5 per cent below 1990 levels, by the year 2010 will result in levels nearly 30 per cent below what they would have been without the Protocol.

Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), told correspondents on Wednesday that he was "very satisfied" with the Commission's work so far. He noted that the Commission had agreed to consider drafting a convention on transnational crime and it should be finalized by the year 2000.

On the final day, the Commission is also expected to adopt a draft resolution on measures to regulate firearms. The measure, which is sponsored by 30 countries, calls for the elaboration of an international instrument aimed at "combatting illicit traffick in firearms".

In reply to a question on the UN position on firearms, Mr. Arlacchi said that the UN expressed the will of its Member States and did not have an independent point-of-view. He welcomed the decision by the Commission to consider the possibility of regulating the illicit traffick in firearms, but stressed that the UN limits itself to being an instrument of the will of its members.

At the celebration ceremony, Ms. Fr‚chette will make a statement on behalf of the United Nations, following opening statements by the President of Colombia, Ernesto Samper and OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gavira.

While in Bogota, she will hold separate meetings with several foreign ministers, as well as with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique Iglesias, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jos‚ Ocampo. Ms. Fr‚chette will also meet with the heads of UN organizations and agencies based in Bogota. She is due back in New York on Friday.

The theme of the conference is "Aging and Urbanization: Challenges and Opportunities -- Towards a Community for All". It will bring together experts in the fields of architecture, finance, media, technology, government, design, health and public/private partnerships. They will examine urbanization and ways to ensure the participation of older persons in decision-making on economic, gender-related and political issues.

The number of people aged 60 and over, is projected to increase by 240 per cent between 1980 and 2020. They will number 1.4 billion by the year 2030, when 70 per cent of the world's population will live in urban areas.

The Conference is being organized by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and the secretariat for the International Year for Older Persons, in cooperation with the International Council for Caring Communities.

Monsignor Gerardi, General Coordinator of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala was killed on Sunday in Guatemala City. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) condemned "in the strongest possible terms this brutal and cowardly act."

UNICEF's Executive Director, Carol Bellamy said that the killing was an offense not only against the Catholic Church and the people of Guatemala, but against people around the world who believe in justice, peace and respect for human rights.

Monsignor Gerardi played a leading role in the compilation of a report on human rights violations in Guatemala. The report, "Guatemala Never Again" was the product of three years of exhaustive work of collecting thousands of testimonies of atrocities committed during the years of armed conflict in Guatemala.

"According to the report, many of those who fell victim to the acts of violence committed during those years were children," Ms. Bellamy said. The United Nations agency was especially saddened by the extensive indications of children's rights violations that the report contains, she added. Ms Bellamy said her agency will continue to support the efforts of the people of Guatemala in their efforts to build a just and peaceful society which values and protects the rights of each child.

On behalf of UNICEF staff, Ms Bellamy extended most heartfelt condolences to the family of Monsignor Gerardi, his colleagues in the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese and the Catholic Church, and the people of Guatemala.

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

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