United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-07-15

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 15 July, 1998

HEADLINES

• Security Council extends UN Mission to Prevlaka, southern Croatia, for additional six months.
• Security Council members express serious concern over safety of UN personnel in Lebanon following recent incident.
• Secretary-General urges Cambodian authorities to foster electoral process that is free of fear and intimidation.
• Security Council members condemn killing of UNOMIG employee in Georgia.
• Security Council extends deadline for nomination of judges to International Tribunal for Rwanda.
• Head of UN programme on Iraq criticizes delays in projects to provide electricity to Northern Iraq.
• Secretary-General, in Uruguay, praises contributions of small states to international cooperation.
• UN food agency welcomes announcement of cease-fire by Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA).
• United States argues for government control over prosecution of war crimes by international court.

In a formal meeting extending the mandate until 15 January 1999, the Security Council called upon the parties in that area to take further steps to reduce tension and improve safety and security.

The Council adopted the recommendations set out in the Secretary- General's report of 26 June. The report stated that for the first time, a formal proposal for a final settlement of the disputed Prevlaka peninsula had been presented.

According to the report, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia retained their divergent interpretations of the Prevlaka dispute. For Croatia, it was a security issue, whereas the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia regarded it as a territorial issue.

The persistence of those divergent interpretations, the report noted, presented an obstacle to a final resolution of the dispute. However, both parties have reiterated their firm commitment to a negotiated resolution, in accordance with the Agreement signed in Belgrade in 1996.

UNMOP was established on 1 February 1996 and consists of 28 United Nations military observers, headed by a Chief Military Observer, Colonel Harold Mwakio Tangai of Kenya.

Its principal function is to monitor the demilitarization of the peninsula, which lies at the southernmost tip of Croatia, along the border with the Yugoslav province of Montenegro.

Members of the Security Council also said they were seriously concerned over the safety of UN personnel in Lebanon.

"They also fully supported the strong protest which UNIFIL made to the Israeli authorities regarding that incident," said Security Council President Ambassador Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation in a statement read to reporters outside the Council chambers.

Security Council members also called upon Israel to fulfil its commitment of July 1996 to respect the safety zones around UNIFIL positions.

UNIFIL was established in 1978 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, to restore international peace and security and to assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.

In a written statement, Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted with satisfaction "the freedom of movement and access accorded to international observers." The Secretary-General went on to say that he remained concerned about discrepancies in the access enjoyed by opposition parties to the media and by persistent reports of intimidation and impunity.

Elections are scheduled in Cambodia in less than two weeks.

Speaking to reporters on background, a senior UN official said on Wednesday that while opposition parties have been able to campaign freely, "there have been five or six killings which we feel may be politically motivated."

There are currently 15 United Nations political monitors in Cambodia, whose work is financed by voluntary contributions. Their function has been to monitor the safe return of opposition leaders and the full resumption of electoral activities in that country.

In addition to the political monitors, the United Nations also has a team of 25 human rights monitors in Cambodia, headed by the Special Representative for the Secretary-General Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg.

Maria Magdalena Wewiorska was shot dead on Tuesday by unidentified attackers. "She had sustained gunshot wounds to the head, the chest and the legs," according to Fred Eckhard, the Spokesman for the Secretary- General.

"Members of the Security Council condemn this terrorist act," said Security Council President Sergey Lavrov of the Russian Federation, in a statement read to reporters outside the Council chambers. "They also remind both parties in Georgia about their obligation to ensure safety and security of UNOMIG personnel," Mr. Lavrov said.

The woman, Maria Magdalena Wewiorska, 31, was found at the entrance to her apartment in the capital Tbilisi. She had been working as a secretary to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Georgia and Head of Mission, Mr. Liviu Bota.

One of the main functions of UNOMIG under the current mandate is to monitor and verify the Agreement on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces signed in May 1994 by the Government of Georgia and the Abkhaz authorities.

The Secretary-General made his proposal in a letter dated 8 July after only five nominations had been received from Member States. The minimum number of nominations required is 18.

The deadline of 4 August 1998 coincides with the deadline for nominations for judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Speaking to reporters at a press stakeout following his briefing to the Security Council, Mr. Benon Sevan said the most significant delays were affecting the repair of two dams.

Asked by reporters who he thought was responsible for the delays, Mr. Sevan said "the delays are on our part." "We have to be self- critical of our own performance," he added.

"We are going to review the programme for the electricity projects in the north, for the two dams, and if need be change the executing agency," he said.

The two dams in question are in the Derbandikan and the Dokan dams.

Mr. Sevan said that one gate of the Derbandikan dam may soon cave in, causing the whole structure to go down.

"The small states of the world," the Secretary-General said in a meeting of the Parliament of Uruguay, "are the very glue of progressive international cooperation for the common good."

Mr. Annan praised Uruguay for being a steady contributor of peace- keeping troops, along with other small states such as Denmark, Nepal and Fiji.

"The exceptional contributions of small states also extend to the UN regular budget," Mr. Annan said, drawing attention to the per capita contributions of countries such as Andorra, the Netherlands, Dominica, Cameroon, the Seychelles, Finland and Cameroon.

Human rights, the environment and disarmament were other areas in which small states have made a major difference, Mr. Annan said.

Prior to delivering his speech, the Secretary-General had met with the President of Uruguay, Julio Maria Sanguinetti, and the Foreign Minister, Didier Opertti. Among the topics discussed were Uruguay's contribution's to UN peace-keeping, and its support for the Secretary- General's reforms and for the establishment of an international criminal court.

On Wednesday evening the Secretary-General leaves Montevideo for Buenos Aires, to begin his official visit to Argentina.

The purpose of the cease-fire is to facilitate deliveries of relief supplies to civilians in southern Sudan.

A comment issued by the WFP office in Nairobi, Kenya, stated that "it is essential that similar initiatives be taken by all sides."

Last week, WFP's Executive Director, Catherine Bertini, called on the international community to end the fighting in southern Sudan. "The fighting in Sudan is perpetuating untold anguish among the millions of people we are trying to save, " Ms. Bertini said in her appeal.

The United States delegation to the Rome conference wants to amend the draft statute of the court to stop the prosecutor from acting against anyone from or in a country that hasn't accepted the court's jurisdiction by ratifying its statute.

"It is absolutely essential that this document not purport to extend this jurisdiction of the court to the nationals of non-State parties," said the chief negotiator for the United States, David Sheffer. Mr. Sheffer said prosecution should only be allowed with "either the consent of those Governments, or as a consequence of a decision by the Security Council to refer a matter to the court."

Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Mr. Sheffer said that it would be naive to think that the Court could be effective without the willing support of states.

Meanwhile, the Conference Committee on Wednesday approved, among other things, an article to locate the seat of the Court in the Hague.

It also adopted an article on "non-retroactivity", meaning that no person could be found criminally responsible for conduct prior to the entry into force of the Court's Statute.

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

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