United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-06-11

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 11 June, 1998

HEADLINES

• United Nations Secretary-General welcomes Pakistan's announcement of moratorium on nuclear testing.
• Eight countries issue joint declaration outlining practical steps to achieve a nuclear-free world.
• Head of United Nations refugee agency calls for immediate end to violence in Kosovo.
• Secretary-General recommends extension of mandate of mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina until 21 June 1999.
• United Nations and Red Cross once again appeal for helicopters to aid earthquake victims in Afghanistan.
• World Food Programme delivers long-awaited wheat flour to hunger-stricken villagers in Afghanistan.
• Security Council members condemn attempted military coup in Guinea Bissau.
• Secretary-General urges all states that have not done so to sign and ratify Convention banning land-mines.
• Secretary-General says parties in Cyprus have not heeded appeals to reduce defence spending and troops.
• United Nations spokesman says governments must begin work to implement global strategy adopted at UN drug summit.
• United Nations Secretary-General appoints new Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs for Sudan.
• International Court decides it has jurisdiction in boundary dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria.

The Secretary-General noted with satisfaction that, with the statement by the Indian Government committing itself to refrain from conducting nuclear testing, a de facto moratorium on nuclear testing appeared to have been established in South Asia.

"The Secretary-General hopes that both India and Pakistan will now also take the necessary steps to join the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, " the statement said.

The declaration entitled "Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: the Need for a New Agenda" was read on behalf of the foreign ministers of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden.

The declaration calls for the nuclear-weapons States and the three nuclear- weapons-capable States to undertake a clear commitment to the speedy, final and total elimination of their nuclear weapons and their nuclear weapons capability.

The eight foreign ministers said the measures leading to the total elimination of nuclear weapons would begin with those States that have the largest arsenals. They also stressed that those with lesser arsenals should join in the process at the appropriate juncture.

The declaration outlines a number of practical steps to be taken immediately, pending the actual elimination of nuclear arsenals. These include the deactivation of nuclear weapons and the removal of non- strategic weapons from deployed sites.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, called on all sides to give up violence in Kosovo, which, she said, was forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, and bringing suffering upon many women and children.

She appealed to all parties to put an end to the cycle of violence in Kosovo and prevent forced displacement, and warned that further displacement could destabilize the entire region. "Nobody wants another Bosnia," she said.

"The conflict is affecting many civilians -- Albanians, Serbs and others," Mrs. Ogata said, adding that she was also worried about some 13,000 refugees, mainly Serbs from Croatia, staying in Kosovo. Some of these refugees, she said, have had to flee again.

The UNHCR estimates that in the latest phase of the conflict in Kosovo, 12, 000 people have fled to northern Albania across "treacherous" mountains. The agency says that children had to walk barefoot for days to northern Albania which is one of Europe's poorest regions, posing enormous challenges to relief efforts. The UNHCR points out that there is also an increasing security concern in the area, including arms trafficking which threatens to fuel violence in and around Kosovo.

Mrs. Ogata said that it was most distressing that since March, around 65, 000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Kosovo. She said this was happening while her agency and the international community were working hard to solve the situation of 1.8 million people still displaced from the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

The High Commissioner thanked the Government and local authorities of Albania for receiving the refugees from Kosovo and for doing whatever they can to help then. "I appeal to the international community to support the Albanian government's efforts and together to look for solutions which would enable the refugees to go home," Mrs. Ogata said.

In a report, the Secretary-General says that the extension would be on the assumption that there would be no significant changes in the security arrangements being provided by the Stabilization Force (SFOR) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Mr. Annan points out that an extension would demonstrate the international community's long-term commitment to the peace process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He says that based on the security provided by SFOR and with the political and financial backing of the Member States, UNMIBH can make a decisive contribution to peace in the country by helping to establish a multi-ethnic and democratic police serving all citizens, and a judicial system that provides justice without discrimination.

The Secretary-General notes with regret that the last three months have seen an increase in violent incidents aimed at returning refugees and displaced persons, particularly those belonging to minority groups. At the same time, he adds, resistance towards integrating minority officers has continued, especially in the Croat-controlled areas of the Federation and in the Republika Srpska.

"Even in the Federation cantons where police forces have been inaugurated, a number of operational difficulties have slowed the realization of multi- ethnic police forces," the Secretary-General points out.

The Secretary-General says that a decisive effort will be needed over the next months to begin to reverse this situation. He pledges that UNMIBH, and in particular the International Police Task Force, will do everything in his power to further advance the restructuring of the local police forces in order to help create confidence for returning minorities.

"However, it would be overly optimistic to expect a decisive change before the nation-wide elections scheduled for 13 September 1998," says the Secretary-General.

The two organizations said on Thursday that the response to an earlier appeal was totally insufficient. They said despite agreements to provide ten more helicopters, none have appeared so far.

"This is unbelievably frustrating. In fact, it's scandalous given that so many lives are at stake," said Alfredo Witschi-Cestari, United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan. He pointed out that deals and contracts have been made, yet, eleven days after the earthquake, only a tiny fleet of helicopters was operating.

Mr. Witschi-Cestari said that the delay was slowing down the whole relief operation and preventing humanitarian workers from delivering help to people in desperate need of clean water, food and shelter.

According to the Coordinator for Afghanistan, companies were giving a variety of reasons for failing to deliver ranging from concerns about the terrain to sudden demands for cash before delivering aircraft. He said this was happening in spite of initial agreements that the aircraft would depart immediately and be on the ground ready for use within 72 hours after agreement had been reached.

The two organizations point out that the deals have mostly been made with private companies in the former Commonwealth of Independent States, the most logical region to hire helicopters because of its proximity.

Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies are struggling to deliver assistance to the affected area by all means possible. In addition to three Tajik helicopters hired by ICRC and one lent by the UN peacekeeping operation in Tajikistan, hundreds of donkeys are now transporting goods along mountain paths. However, the affected area is vast and the animals cannot come close to carrying the large volume of supplies needed by the villagers, according to the United Nations and the ICRC.

Mr. Witschi-Cestari said that the extra helicopters were desperately needed, that donors were coming forward with money to pay for them and that there were supplies in Afghanistan to deliver the relief assistance. He called on governments and companies in the region to offer the helicopters.

WFP said that four convoys of trucks went through the front lines of warring parties to deliver the flour to two areas controlled by the parties. The first convoy dispatched from Kabul and Bamyan crossed the frontlines on 28 May to deliver 600 tonnes of wheat to parts of Wardak and Ghazni provinces in the Hazarajat region. WFP had determined that some 167, 000 people were running out of food in that area.

At the same time, 110 tonnes of wheat were delivered to the Ghorbund Valley, a Taliban-held enclave surrounded by factions of the opposition Jamati Islami and Hezbi-Wahdat, WFP said.

The agency said that the villagers were so overjoyed at the first food aid to reach their area since the blockade began over one year that they pelted the convoys with flowers.

The WFP mission followed an announcement by Taliban last month that 1,000 tonnes of food aid would be allowed to penetrate the year-long blockade of the Hazarajat region to reach hundreds of thousands of villagers cut off from food sources. WFP said the delivery of the food was made possible by the "excellent" cooperation on the part of the Taliban and Hezbe-Wahdat authorities.

A WFP programme officer said that there had been some delays at the beginning as the agency and the Afghan parties were ironing out the logistics of running two separate operations simultaneously in two far flung regions. "But everyone on both sides of the front line was very cooperative in resolving those problems , and since then everything has run smoothly," said Fayyaz Shah.

WFP says that it is now urging Northern Alliance leaders to guarantee security along routes to its warehouses in Termez, Uzbekistan, where its food stocks are earmarked for central and northern Afghanistan.

In a statement to the press following consultations, Council President Antonio Monteiro of Portugal said the Council stressed that within a democracy, disputes should only be settled in compliance with democratic principles and calls for the early restoration of normal and constitutional dialogue within the country.

Ambassador Monteiro said the Council called for rapid re- establishment of constitutional order and security within Guinea Bissau to prevent further bloodshed. The Council commends the efforts by Guinea Bissau authorities to avoid any further loss of civilian life and to ensure the protection of foreign citizens.

The Security Council, he said, expresses its support for statements by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the OAU Summit of Heads of State and calls on all sides to ensure the safety and of all international workers in Guinea Bissau and to refrain from actions which may endanger the lives of civilian personnel.

On Kuwait, Ambassador Monteiro said the Council expresses its strong concern about statements made recently by the Vice President of Iraq calling into question Security Council resolution 833 concerning the demarcation of the boundary between Kuwait and Iraq.

Speaking at a ceremony held in New York to announce the release of a comic book to raise the awareness of the children of Costa Rica to the dangers of landmines, the Secretary-General stressed the need to keep the focus on land-mines and all other small arms and light weapons.

"I shall never forget the terrible suffering that I have seen, first-hand, on all continents, caused by anti-personnel mines," he said. He added that he was continually saddened to think of all that has been lost in the years in which some of the best minds and vast resources were devoted to create ever more "ingenious and stealthy ways to kill."

The Secretary-General underlined the power of comic books. "Politicians have long feared the barbs of editorial cartoonists. But children, as usual, are wiser than we give them credit for." Mr. Annan said that children know that comics can educate even as they entertain, and that however fantastic the stories and creatures, the feelings and fears are all too real.

Mr. Annan said the comic book being released will save lives in Central America, "and for that the international community is grateful." He called for more initiatives of a similar nature.

"Let us hope that in the future, comics -- and the children who love them -- can leave the grisly subjects of landmines behind," the Secretary-General concluded.

In his latest report on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Mr. Kofi Annan says that the military forces and armaments in Cyprus continued to be expanded, upgraded and modernized by both sides.

"There has also been no progress concerning the package of reciprocal measures proposed by UNFICYP to reduce tension along the ceasefire line," the Secretary-General points out. He says that UNFICYP will continue its efforts to facilitate early agreement to and rapid implementation of these measures in accordance with the calls of the Security Council.

"It is regrettable that Turkish Cypriots were not allowed to participate in bi-communal activities sponsored by UNFICYP and others," Mr. Annan notes. Stressing the value of direct contacts between the divided Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, the Secretary-General urges, in particular the Turkish side, to facilitate arrangements within which such contacts can take place uninterrupted and without formalities.

The Secretary-General observes that during the last six months, the situation along the ceasefire lines in Cyprus was relatively calm despite continued tension and frequent minor violations. He says that although both sides continued to respect the ceasefire arrangement of 1974, they also continued to challenge the delineation of the ceasefire lines in certain areas and UNFICYP authority in the buffer zone.

Concluding that the presence of UNFICYP on the island remains indispensable to maintain the ceasefire, Mr. Annan recommends that the Security Council extend the mandate of the Force for a further period of six months until 31 December 1998.

Sandro Tucci, spokesman for the UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), said the adoption of the strategy by the special session of the General Assembly on Wednesday night reflects the international community's determination to do more to fight drugs and its conviction that its goal are achievable.

The spokesman rejected press articles describing the drug summit as a rehash of old rhetoric and failed programmes and said there was never any war on drugs. There is "a new plan on the table", he said, and it is now time for governments to sit down and work out how they are going to implement it.

Mr. Tucci said UNDCP Executive Director Pino Arlacchi is determined to begin work immediately on the three major issues which emerged during the summit. These include the need to reduce drug demand by 50 per cent within 10 years, to provide alternative development to reduce illicit crop production by 2008 and better laws to cope with money laundering.

Government leaders from 150 countries attended the three-day special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem.

The Secretary-General announced on Thursday that he has appointed Tom Vraalsen, the current Ambassador of Norway to the United States to the post. Mr. Vraalsen will succeed Robe Schaik, former Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, who has announced his resignation effective on 15 June 1998.

The appointment of Ambassador Vraalsen comes at a time when international humanitarian relief efforts conducted through Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) are focused on the crisis in the Bahr El Ghazal region and other areas of southern Sudan. An estimated 900,000 people in these areas have been seriously affected by the combined effects of drought and renewed hostilities.

At the same time, according to a statement from the Office of the Secretary- General's Spokesman, the United Nations and other international non- governmental organization working within OLS have been encouraged by recent decisions by the Sudanese Government to allow unrestricted access to these areas.

Ambassador Vraalsen plans to visit the Sudan and neighbouring countries shortly to consult with concerned paries on additional ways to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of affected populations in all areas of Sudan, the statement announced.

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday that it is urgently seeking to expand its operation in southern Sudan to provide bigger food rations to hundreds of thousands more people suffering the effects of war and drought. WFP said new demands for relief assistance continue to surface, making it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the people.

Citing reports from field staff who have travelled deeper into southern Sudan, WFP said there is an increasingly alarming situation caused by continued insecurity, unpredictable population movements, growing poverty and prospects of a poor harvest.

"We must add 300,000 new people to our feeding operation and give a bigger food ration to thousands of others we're already reaching," said David Fletcher, WFP coordinator for the southern sector of Sudan.

Mr. Fletcher said that WFP plans to feed 1.2 million southern Sudanese, including more than 700,000 in Bahr El Ghazal Province. The food will come from relief bases in Kenya, Uganda, and El Obeid in central Sudan.

He points out, however, that the United Nations food agency does not have sufficient funds and food for Sudan because its operation is under- funded. "While we can firmly state that more food has to be rapidly delivered to the affected areas of Sudan, it simply won't be possible unless we receive a quick, massive injection of food and cash," Mr. Fletcher said.

Cameroon has asked the Court to determine the question of sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula and the islands in Lake Chad, and to specify the course of the land and maritime boundary between itself and Nigeria. The 1994 application refers to declarations by both Cameroon and Nigeria accepting the Court's jurisdiction as compulsory.

In December 1995, Nigeria raised eight preliminary objections challenging the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissability of Cameroon's claims.

The Court indicated that, contrary to Nigeria's assertions, a dispute exists between Cameroon and Nigeria, regarding the legal bases of the boundary as a whole. The exact scope of the dispute cannot be determined at present.

The ICJ rejected Nigeria's argument that Cameroon had no right to invoke its declaration as a basis of jurisdiction. The fact that both countries tried to resolve their dispute bilaterally did not exclude either one from bringing it before the Court.

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

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