United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-05-12

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 12 May, 1998

HEADLINES

• Members of Security Council express concern at precarious security situation in Tajikistan.
• In meeting with Secretary-General, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister reaffirms commitment to weapons inspections.
• In Paris, Secretary-General meets with President Jacques Chirac and other officials.
• Secretary-General says United Nations mission in Georgia is facing difficulties.
• Secretary-General of Disarmament Conference says India's nuclear tests emphasize need for more efforts in arms negotiations.
• UN Drug Control Programme chief visits Myanmar and China to discuss anti- narcotics efforts.
• UN envoy gets commitments from Government and rebels in Sri Lanka to protect children during armed conflict.
• Poverty cited as major factor in ill-health at opening session of World Health Assembly in Geneva.
• General Assembly's budget committee begins review of administrative and financial functioning of UN.
• Land freed from river blindness will feed millions of West Africans, says United Nations agriculture agency.
• United Nations information department launches Internet home page in Russian.

Following consultations on the situation in that country, the President of the Security Council for the month of May, Ambassador Njuguna Mahugu of Kenya, told the press that the members of the Council were concerned about the violation of the ceasefire in Tajikistan.

Council members welcomed the intensified contacts between the Government of Tajikistan and the United Tajik Opposition and called on the parties to undertake "vigorous" efforts to implement the General Agreement on the establishment of peace in Tajikistan, including the Protocol on Military Issues.

Ambassador Mahugu said that the Council was considering a draft resolution to extend the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan for another period of six months.

Meeting in Paris, the two men reviewed the status of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between Iraq and the United Nations which they had negotiated last February. The agreement concerns inspections by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which is charged with overseeing the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

After the Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed Iraq's commitment to unimpeded access for inspectors, the Secretary-General said he would live up to his part of the bargain so that Iraq might see light at the end of the tunnel concerning the sanctions regime.

At a press conference following their meeting, the Secretary-General expressed satisfaction that the Iraqi authorities had lived up to their obligations. "They want to cooperate with UNSCOM and the United Nations to get the inspections behind us as quickly as possible," he said.

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister confirmed this view. "We are working with these people in good faith and in an objective manner," he said, stressing, "We have made this commitment and we reiterate this commitment."

The Secretary-General had reported on his recent trip to Africa to France's Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, and its Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, on Monday evening. At a dinner meeting, they also touched on issues outside the African continent, including the Middle East, particularly Iraq, Kosovo, United Nations reform and the prospects for the creation of an international criminal court.

On Monday afternoon, Mr. Annan visited the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where he met with its Secretary-General, Donald Johnson. They discussed OECD's programme and its relations with the United Nations system, particularly the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The promotion of a culture of peace was discussed by the Secretary-General at a meeting at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), where he met with its Director-General, Federico Mayor, on Tuesday.

In his latest report on UNOMIG, the Secretary-General cites such reasons as the holding of "local elections" in Abkhazia, Georgia, the implementation of a "privatization law" and proposed changes of place- names there, as well as recent problems in the normal functioning of the working groups of the Coordinating Council.

The Secretary-General also says that there have been difficulties encountered on Georgian controlled territory relating to the normal operation of UNOMIG or the provision of humanitarian and other assistance to Abkhazia. "The long blockade of the Inguri main bridge is an example," the Secretary-General adds.

Secretary-General Annan invites the parties to the conflict to abstain from any action that might undermine efforts under way, to do their utmost in support of the peace process and to display the necessary political will in order to get concrete results on the central issues of the return of refugees and the political status of Abkhazia which has tried to separate from Georgia.

Mr. Annan expresses concern at the personal safety of unarmed United Nations military observers, following the hostage-taking incident on 19 February. He proposes that the Security Council consider the provision of a self-protection unit to guard each of the Mission's facilities, except in Tiblisi. The Secretary-General suggests for the Council's consideration several options regarding UNOMIG's future operations.

Vladimir Petrovsky, who is also the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, said additional efforts were needed to maintain continuity in disarmament negotiations and preserve the result-oriented dialogue on security and disarmament currently under way in the Conference.

Mr. Petrovsky recalled that in March, the Conference President had indicated that he would give priority to the issue of the cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament. At that time, the Conference had broken a year-long deadlock over its agenda, enabling it to begin its substantive work. Mr. Petrovsky said those decisions should generate new momentum in the Conference, which would continue making efforts to check the spread of nuclear weapons while addressing various aspects of conventional disarmament as well.

Meanwhile in New York, the Security Council discussed India's nuclear tests on Tuesday in a closed session. The current President of the Council, Ambassador Njuguna Mahugu of Kenya, told reporters that the Council was deliberating on how to respond to Monday's development in India.

In Yangon on Monday, Mr. Arlacchi discussed anti-drug efforts with General Kyun Nyunt, a member of Myanmar's ruling State Peace and Development Council. On Tuesday, Mr. Arlacchi travelled to the northeastern part of the country to discuss the scope of future United Nations assistance to the region with leaders of local ethnic groups.

Mr. Arlacchi arrived in Myanmar following a four-day trip to China which allowed him to evaluate what he termed "the full success of the various initiatives which the Government of China is taking in the field of drug control." Among the projects he witnessed first-hand was the Kunming Rehabilitation Centre, which treats more than 5,000 drug addicts each year.

Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, was speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, following his return last Saturday from a week- long mission to Sri Lanka.

Mr. Otunnu said the Government had reiterated its commitment not to recruit or deploy children below the age of 18 years, despite press reports before his arrival that it was on the verge of embarking on a major recruitment drive in schools.

The leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which, he said, had been accused of using child soldiers, said it would no longer use children below 18 years in combat or recruit children below 17 years. It had also agreed not to interfere with the delivery of humanitarian supplies and to allow the setting up of arrangements to monitor those commitments.

Mr. Otunnu said he had also raised the issue of freedom of movement for civilians. The LTTE leadership had promised him it would not prevent displaced persons from returning to government-controlled areas, nor to stop Muslims who wanted to return to their homes. The Government, for its part, had agreed to review procedures for civilian permits to travel in conflict areas and also to expedite the approval and delivery of supplies.

The LTTE leadership had acknowledged his serious concerns about the deliberate targeting of civilians and undertook to review its strategies and tactics, Mr. Otunnu said. However, he had not been able to get a commitment from either the Government or the LTTE leadership to stop using landmines, an issue he said he intended to pursue with both sides.

Dr. Nakajima was speaking on Tuesday in Geneva at the opening ceremony of the fifty-first World Health Assembly -- WHO's supreme decision-making body. Over 1,200 delegates, including many Health Ministers from the 191 Member States of WHO, are attending the six-day Assembly, which meets annually to approve WHO's biennial programme budget and decide on major policy matters.

Although poverty was a major factor in ill-health and lack of access to health services, Dr. Nakajima said, new approaches to health development and cooperation could significantly reduce the problem by making better use of existing resources and human potential.

Referring to WHO's responsibility to represent the interests of all peoples' health, Dr. Nakajima said: "We have to insist that the pursuit of profitability and resource generation does not overrule the requirements of safety and justice."

Bahrain's Minister of Health, Dr. Faisal Radhi Al-Mousawi, who was elected President of the Assembly, said the greatest challenge facing countries was the impact of cuts in government allocations for health projects and services at a time when demand was increasing. When economies were liberalized too quickly, health service for the poor and other vulnerable groups could be harmed.

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Flavio Cotti, told delegates at the opening ceremony that in spite of many accomplishments in health care, there were still massive differences between regions. "The bitter truth," he said, "is that in spite of all efforts so far, health care remains the privilege of those who can afford it. Disease is just another name word for misery, social handicap and underdevelopment." The issue of poverty must be addressed more than ever, he added.

Representatives on the Administrative and Budgetary (Fifth) Committee discussed a proposal by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to redirect savings in administrative costs to a Development Account.

The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, told the Committee that the current amount of $13 million in the Development Account was a relatively modest sum. The projects proposed for funding through the Account had been aimed at networking for development and were designed to show results both in the long and short term, he said.

The Committee is meeting in a resumed three-week session which began on Monday. The session is expected to focus primarily on the financing of some 18 United Nations peacekeeping operations.

In addition, the Committee will consider reports on reform initiatives proposed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, including a revolving credit fund, and the note on the impact of the implementation of pilot projects on budgetary practices and procedures.

Other items on the Committee's sessional agenda include administrative and budgetary aspects of peacekeeping operations. In that context, the Committee will discuss such issues as the United Nations support account for peacekeeping, the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, and death and disability benefits. It will also take up matters related to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, human resources management, and appointments to the United Nations Staff Pension Committee.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that onchocerciasis, which is caused by parasitic worms transmitted to humans by biting flies, has virtually been eliminated as a public health problem. According to FAO, the areas which used to be plagued by the black fly are now facing the problem of erosion caused by deforestation and extensive cultivation.

The United Nations agency added that the repopulation of these areas had been so rapid that measures were needed to conserve the already fragile ecosystems of the river valley.

The Onchocerciasis Control Programme was launched in 1974 and provided some $600 million over twenty years to control the flies that carry the disease- causing larvae. The programme was sponsored by FAO, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. As a result of the intensive effort, some 25 million hectares of fertile land have been freed from river blindness which was both a major public health problem and an impediment to socio-economic development.

Created in cooperation with the Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, the Russian web site is part of the promotion of multilingualism in accordance with the General Assembly's request. United Nations documentation and information material is now available on the web site in four official languages.

With this initiative, DPI is leading the way in its continuing commitment to making information available to as wide an audience as possible in the most cost-effective manner.

The new site features basic information about the United Nations and its organs, the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice. It also contains recent reports of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization and the reform process, as well as resolutions of the Security Council and statements by its President.

The Russian web site, which can be located at http: //www. un. org/russian includes final documents of major events and many declarations and conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The United Nations launched its web site in 1995 and uses the Internet as one of the most powerful tools of communication. The United Nations Home Page currently receives more than 6.5 million accesses per month from over 135 countries.

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

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