United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-09-17

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 17 September, 1998

HEADLINES

• Security Council members call for immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of foreign forces in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Secretary-General recommends extending term of Sadako Ogata as UN High Commissioner for Refugees for two more years.
• Secretary-General plans meeting on Afghanistan with key foreign ministers in New York next week.
• Warning that globalization is not politically neutral, Secretary-General calls for renewed focus on good governance, liberty, equity and social justice.
• At high-level General Assembly meeting, participants discuss how to chart globalization's uncertain future.
• United Nations convoy ambushed in Angola, resulting in some minor injuries and damages to vehicles.
• World Food Programme will provide emergency food aid to more than 5 million flood victims in China.
• United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator welcomes anticipated entry into force of landmine ban.
• Public opinion polls show growing support in United States for United Nations.
• Director-General of United Nations Office at Geneva reports on improved efficiency through reform.

In a statement to the press on behalf of Council members, its President, Hans Dahlgren of Sweden, cited the need for respect for human rights and humanitarian law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as access for humanitarian organizations in the field. They also expressed concern at the continuing flow of arms to the conflict area.

Referring to "the sense of urgency" caused by the deteriorating situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Council members reaffirmed the obligation to respect the country's territorial integrity and national sovereignty. They also reaffirmed the need for all States to refrain from interference in each others' internal affairs, Ambassador Dahlgren said.

According to a note published on Thursday, Mrs. Ogata, whose current term will expire on 31 December, has expressed her preference, for personal reasons, not to serve another full term. In the light of this, and in view of her distinguished contribution to the United Nations, the Secretary- General proposed that the Assembly extend her current term through the end of the year 2000.

The Assembly is expected to act on this proposal within the next two weeks, according to a United Nations spokesman.

Mrs. Ogata was originally elected to the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 1991. In 1993, her term was subsequently extended for five more years.

The meeting, to be held on Monday, 21 September at 4:30 pm, will bring together the "six-plus two" group, namely Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China, plus the Russian Federation and the United States.

"The Secretary-General felt that the situation was serious enough that it required this high-level attention, so he called this meeting," explained Spokesman Fred Eckhard.

The Secretary-General pointed out that economic integration in an interdependent world is neither all-powerful nor politically neutral. "It is seen in strictly political terms, particularly in times of trouble, and so must be defended in political terms," he said.

The Secretary-General pointed out that in the early 1990s, savage wars of genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda had cruelly mocked the political hubris attending the end of Communism. He said that today, the political hubris attending the heyday of globalism was equally mocked by a period of economic crisis and political conflict.

During globalization's glory years, extraordinary growth rates "seemed to justify political actions which otherwise might have invited dissent," he said. Autocratic rule which denied basic civil and political rights was legitimized by its success in helping people escape centuries of poverty. "What was lost in the exuberance of material wealth was the value of politics," the Secretary-General said. "And not just any politics: the politics of good governance, liberty, equity and social justice."

But, he said, the "the day the funds stopped flowing and the banks started crashing, the cost of political neglect came home."

The Secretary-General debunked the fallacy that trade precludes conflict, and warned that without addressing that point, globalization cannot succeed.

"Some of globalization's proponents believed too much in the ability and inclination of trade and economic growth to foster democracy," he noted. But, he stressed, democracy must be accepted as the "midwife of development, and political and human rights must be recognized as key pillars of any architecture of economic progress."

The Secretary-General said that as the sole international organization with universal legitimacy and scope, the United Nations had an interest -- indeed an obligation -- to help secure the equitable and lasting success of globalization.

Ms. Frechette stressed the importance of open markets, while also calling for improvements in the level and character of official development assistance (ODA). She said that all development partners must ask themselves what forms international assistance should take, and where efforts should now be concentrated.

"With over one billion people living in dire poverty, and the gap between rich and poor both within and between nations widening every day, the international community cannot afford to wait," she said. "This is perhaps the most important challenge we face as we approach the new millennium."

Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, Ali Alatas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, observed that "globalization is by no means an evil force but it is a blind one."

Mr. Alatas advocated the creation of a mechanism -- similar to the World Trade Organization for matters of international trade -- to monitor financial and monetary flows. That would help to mitigate the unpredictability and dire effects of globalization, he said.

Carlos Dotres Martinez, Cuba's Minister of Health, called attention to the "shocking" development disparity between North and South. For example, 800 million people in the developing world lacked access to health services, while 90 per cent of the world's 23 million people infected with the HIV virus lived in developing States. He said that "world peace and stability have also become global issues," adding that "mammoth military expenditures are still crimes by default against humankind's development and health." Wars, in turn, were fueled by an unjust economic and political order capable of destabilizing and ruining a country, he added.

Georg Lennkh, Director General of the Department for Development Cooperation of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Austria, said many feared that globalization endangered environmental and social standards and regional and cultural diversity. Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, he emphasized that market forces alone would not resolve the problems of globalization. Universal acceptance of certain societal values was also required, he said, adding that the United Nations provided a unique platform for such "global housekeeping."

Brian Atwood, the Administrator of the Agency for International Development of the United States, said there had been tremendous gains in the global economy over the past 50 years as a result of successful development efforts and globalization. The countries that embraced globalization most effectively were the ones that would prosper in the years ahead. However, he stressed, globalization must take place in a context in which people could express their social and political aspirations.

The convoy was comprised of six trucks belonging to the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) and 10 trucks belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP). It was being escorted by the Indian contingent of MONUA in the northern part of the country when armed bandits attacked.

According to the Spokesman, the Indian soldiers returned fire. During the incident, three local employees of a contractor were injured, although not seriously, and three MONUA trucks were damaged. "MONUA is investigating the incident," Mr. Eckhard told reporters in New York.

The four-month relief operation, estimated to cost $87.7 million, is urgently needed, according to WFP. "Millions of people have been forced to flee from their homes by floodwaters," said WFP Deputy Executive Director Namanga Ngongi. "They are living in temporary shelters or dikes and public buildings and are in desperate need of international relief assistance," he said.

Continuous rains since March have caused vast flooding in central China, affecting some 223 million people -- one fifth of the country's population. By the end of August, some 1.3 million hectares of crops and five million houses were totally destroyed, according to government estimates.

"The aim of WFP's emergency operation will be to provide food to help these people rebuild their homes and local infrastructure," said Mr. Ngongi. WFP will provide free food rations to the flood victims for the first month of the relief effort. When the floodwaters dry up about mid- October, WFP will then pay half the targeted population in food to construct shelters, restore drinking water facilities, clear land, clean irrigation channels and rebuild damaged roads in their communities.

Mr. de Mello observed that for far too long, the international community has witnessed the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the indiscriminate use of landmines. "Every month, over 2,000 people, mainly innocent civilians, are killed or maimed by mine explosions around the world, mostly in countries already suffering from conflicts and poverty." He noted that landmines not only inflict physical, psychological, and socio- economic damage to the victims and their families, but also obstruct economic development and reconstruction.

Paying tribute to the 40 States which had ratified the Convention, Mr. de Mello said they had made a significant step towards ending the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines. He thanked the International Campaign to Ban Landmines for its work in drawing the world's attention to the scourge, and appealed to all Member States to ratify the treaty.

Meanwhile, at a press conference in New York, representatives of countries which had made the ban law celebrated the fortieth ratification. Ambassador Robert Fowler of Canada said the achievement had demonstrated the power of partnership between governments, non- governmental organizations and international organizations.

"While this is a time to celebrate, it is also a time to re-commit ourselves to working together to maintain this momentum of ratification," he said. Ambassador Fowler noted that so far, 130 countries had signed the treaty, and he expressed hope that all would ratify it shortly while still others would sign.

John C. Whitehead, Chairman of the UNA-USA's Board, said that with the United States "on the brink of losing its vote in the General Assembly, which will happen quite soon unless Congress appropriates some of these back dues," 60 per cent of the American public thought the United Nations was doing a very good job, while 72 per cent thought it was a "very important organization."

A majority of United States citizens who classified themselves as "conservative Republicans" believed that the United Nations was doing a good job and should be supported, he said. Those overall figures were up by about 10 per cent over previous years.

Mr. Whitehead pointed out that the poll showed that most United States citizens reported that all things being equal, they would consider, when voting, the position of members of Congress on paying back dues to the United Nations.

Jeffrey Laurenti, UNA-USA's Executive Director of Policy Studies, pointed out that the 60 per cent "good job" performance rating was the highest the United Nations has received since 1959 and the second highest in its history. Three out of four Americans believed the loss of voting rights in the General Assembly would be at the very least an embarrassment, and almost 40 per cent said that it would severely affect America's ability to do business with other countries at the Organization, he added.

In a new report the reform of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Petrovsky describes how the Office has managed to become a "more modern and responsive organization serving the needs of Geneva's international community" despite the fact that its workforce has been reduced.

The report estimates that streamlining and productivity improvements resulted in savings of some 20 per cent in dollar terms for the programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999. For example, the current two-year budget of the Office of the Director-General is $4,404,000, down from $5,130,000 in 1996-1997.

Technological innovation has been used to provide better information services and to make the Secretariat's work more efficient and reduce costs, according to the report. United Nations documents are now kept on file electronically and printed only on demand, thus eliminating high print runs and excessive storage. Plans are also under way to test remote interpretation, by which interpreters in one city could service a conference in another.

The report underlines that reform is a continuous process, and stresses that the Office is constantly adjusting its priorities to the rapidly changing international environment.

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

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