United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-09-21

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 21 September, 1998

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• General Assembly opens annual general debate.
• United States President tells General Assembly that world must address scourge of terrorism.
• South African President says millions of people continue to suffer from wars and economic deprivation.
• President of Burkina Faso says Africa must prevent, manage and settle its conflicts.
• Secretary-General appeals for support to UN mission's effort to create multi-ethnic police services in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• International Atomic Energy Agency opens General Conference in Vienna.
• United Nations food agency begins distribution of food to residents of Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Medical supplies delivered to Iraq under enhanced "oil-for- food" programme.
• Secretary-General awarded Seoul Peace Prize.

Just prior to the opening of the general debate, the Secretary- General addressed the Assembly. He reported on achievements in the area of reform, saying that the Organization could not afford to rest on its laurels. "Reform is an ongoing process, and I shall continue working on ways to improve our performance," he said.

Mr. Annan said that the single greatest impediment to good performance was the "financial straitjacket" binding the United Nations. He appealed to those Member States that had fallen seriously behind with their contributions to follow the good example set by others. "There can be no substitute for full and timely payment of what is due," he stressed.

Looking forward to the Millennium Assembly, which will be held in the year 2000, the Secretary-General said it should serve as an opportunity to identify a select few of the world's most pressing problems and set a precise, achievable programme for dealing with them.

On the subject of globalization, the Secretary-General noted that millions of people are experiencing it not as an opportunity, but "as a force of disruption or destruction, as an assault on their material standards of living or on their traditional way of life." He said that the United Nations was prepared to work with international financial institutions in formulating a response which could address the financial, economic, social and political aspects of the problem.

The Secretary-General said that two situations were "especially on my mind in recent days," namely, the continuing conflicts in Afghanistan and Kosovo. He also referred to the "crumbling" peace process in Angola as well as the new conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which involved the forces of at least five other African States.

"I make no apology for ending on this bleak note," said Mr. Annan. "My intention is not to leave you in despair. On the contrary, if we in this hall really make up our minds to pool our resources, to set aside our differences, and to work together, there is almost nothing we could not achieve," he stressed.

President Clinton responded to those who believed that terrorism's principal fault line centred on what they saw as an inevitable "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. He called this view "terribly wrong" and stressed that his country would remain on a course of friendship and respect for the Muslim world.

President Clinton outlined a number of measures which States could take to combat terrorism, including enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention and signing anti-terrorism treaties. Pledging to address the sources of despair and alienation, he said the United States would continue its strong support for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights and Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank and the World Food Programme (WFP). "We also recognize the critical role these agencies play and the importance of all countries, including the Untied States, in paying their fair share," he said.

In his last address to the General Assembly as a Head of State, President Nelson Mandela highlighted, among other issues, the plight of millions of people who continued to suffer as a result of conflicts and poverty. Noting that this year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Mandela said that millions of people were denied the "very right to be human" as a result of poverty, the unavailability of basic necessities such as food, jobs, water, shelter, education, health care and a healthy environment. Many, he said, were still unable to exercise their fundamental and inalienable democratic rights.

The failure to achieve the vision contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, President Mandela said, found dramatic expression in the contrast between wealth and poverty which characterized the divide between the countries of the North and South and within individual countries. All these social ills which constituted an offence against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were the consequence of decisions which men and women took or refused to take, President Mandela said.

Addressing the session of the General Assembly, President Compaore who is also the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), spoke at length about the conflicts on the continent and the efforts to resolve them. He said that Africans had the advantage over all others in tackling the conflicts on the continent. What they needed, he pointed out, was support from the international community.

President Compaore said that the failure of the international community to restore peace to Somalia and prevent genocide in Rwanda, demonstrated that the United Nations had limits. That failure led to the acknowledgement that the United Nations could not do everything for the continent in its struggle to quell numerous hotbeds of tension and ensure its development, the President of Burkina Faso said. The OAU Summit of Heads of State and Government which met in Ouagadougou from 8 to 10 June 1998 devoted a greater part of its deliberations to this new reality which challenged and commanded Africa to take charge of itself, he said. The African leaders at that summit affirmed their willingness to focus fully on the prevention, management and settlement of African conflicts more than they had ever done before, President Compaore said.

In a new report on UNMIBH, the Secretary-General also emphasizes that the strong and consistent support of the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR) will continue to be critically important in providing adequate security arrangements for the successful implementation of UNMIBH's mandate.

The Secretary-General describes progress in police restructuring in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but adds that in the Republika Srpska, "there has been less progress." Future success in police restructuring will depend increasingly upon the assistance -- in the form of uniforms and equipment -- provided through the Trust Fund for the Police Assistance Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the report, there is a shortfall of $67 million for local police development programmes.

The Secretary-General notes that UNMIBH's mandate of police restructuring has grown to include independent investigations into human rights abuses by the local police and the identification of impediments to achieving a depoliticized judiciary capable of delivering impartial and neutral justice. "The quick recruitment of highly qualified legal experts for the Judicial System Assessment Programme was a positive development worth noting," he writes.

During the five-day Conference, delegates will be considering a range of topics on the peaceful development of nuclear technologies. Other subjects on the provisional agenda include measures against illicit trafficking in nuclear materials and other radioactive sources; implementation of the safeguards agreement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq.

Delegates are expected to approve the Agency's 1999 regular budget, which calls for total expenditures of $224.3 million. They will also decide whether to approve a target of $73 million for voluntary contributions towards the Agency's technical co-operation fund for 1999.

In his message to the General Conference, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the recent setback in global efforts aimed at nuclear non- proliferation was a powerful reminder that "the genie cannot be put back in the bottle." He called for a renewed focus on the driving forces behind the acquisition of nuclear weapons. "We must also reaffirm our course of action: no nuclear tests; no new weaponization or deployment of nuclear weapons; a working system of global and regional security; and nuclear disarmament at the earliest possible date," he said.

The Secretary-General welcomed the significant progress achieved in strengthening IAEA's safeguards system through the adoption of additional protocols to existing agreements. He said that substantial improvements had also been made in the area of nuclear safety. "I am pleased to note that you will, at this session, address further measures to strengthen international cooperation in nuclear, radiation and waste safety as well as safety of transport of radioactive materials," he said.

Mr. Annan said the IAEA must help the international community in addressing the "very real threat" of illicit trafficking in nuclear materials by criminals. IAEA also had a role to play in encouraging the involvement of civil society in international affairs. "We need to bring all United Nations organizations closer to the people for whom they were founded," he said. "Indeed, our fundamental strength should be the support of the general public."

The World Food Programme (WFP) said that on Monday a barge brought 358 tonnes of its food aid to Kinshasa from Brazzaville, the capital of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo.

WFP said that the distribution began as local feeding centres reported a dramatic increase in the number of admissions of severely malnourished children. The United Nations food agency said that the food would be used to provide three meals per day for one week to 10,000 malnourished children in the eastern districts of the capital which had been a scene of heavy fighting three weeks ago.

WFP said that the clashes disrupted small-scale farming of the residents of Mikondo, Kimbanseke, Masina and N'Djidli. Their situation was also made worse by the interruption of all commercial food supplies to Kinshasa, according to WFP.

Although commercial food deliveries to Kinshasa had resumed, essential food items like flour and rice were still in short supply and their prices remained high, said Stefano Porretti, WFP's Officer- in-Charge in Kinshasa. Through this immediate food assistance, the official said, WFP hoped "to prevent a further deterioration of the food situation in a city where tens of thousands of people cannot afford more than one meal a day."

"Given the complexity of the process, this shows the significant speed-up in deliveries in the health sector," said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Denis J. Halliday.

The shipment, which reached Ministry of Health warehouses, is part of a contract with a Malaysian company for the procurement of medicine and vitamins.

Some $366 million worth of medicines and medical equipment have arrived in Iraq since May 1997.

The prize is awarded every two years and comes with an honorarium of $200, 000. The Secretary-General has decided to give this money to the United Nations Trust Fund for Preventive Action. The Fund is used for political initiatives, such as the recent mission of a Panel of Eminent Persons appointed by the Secretary-General to examine the situation in Algeria.

The Award was established in 1990 in commemoration of the success of the 1988 twenty-fourth Olympic Games.

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

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