United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-09-29

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 29 September, 1998

HEADLINES

• Security Council condemns attacks against United Nations personnel and staff of humanitarian organizations.
• General Assembly re-elects United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a further two-year term.
• Speakers in Assembly's general debate address regional conflicts, nuclear non-proliferation and development cooperation.
• Secretary-General calls for urgent attention to problem of United States arrears to United Nations.
• United Nations humanitarian agencies express concern about renewed fighting in southern Sudan.
• United Tajik Opposition resumes activities in Reconciliation Commission and Government in Tajikistan.

In a statement read out on behalf of Council members by its President, Hans Dahlgren of Sweden, the Council also condemned the attacks or use of force in conflict situations against refugees and other civilians, in violation of international law.

"The Council reaffirms the importance of pursuing a coordinated and comprehensive approach, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and principles and provisions of international law, in improving protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations," he said.

The Council also affirmed its intention to review a set of recommendations outlined by the Secretary-General in a report on the subject with a view to taking steps consistent with its responsibilities under the Charter.

The statement was adopted following an extensive debate involving all members of the Security Council, several other States and representatives of agencies working in the field of humanitarian relief.

Introducing the Secretary-General's report, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr‚chette characterized what is happening to civilians in today's war zones as an abomination. "Never before have we seen such widespread and deliberate attacks against people, who are massacred in their homes, have their villages flattened, have their schools and crops destroyed, and are essentially treated as 'the enemy'." As the number of civilian casualties rose, so did the number of workers who had been killed, wounded, kidnapped and assaulted while trying to carry out their humanitarian task.

She said that holding perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable would help in ending some of the most egregious abuses, and called for every effort to establish the International Criminal Court in order to end the culture of impunity. Combatants should be held financially liable when civilians are made the deliberate target of aggression. To this end, a trust fund to support reparations to victims should be established, she said.

The Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Stephen Lewis, noted that the Secretary-General's report contained a strong denunciation of the recruitment and use of children in hostilities in violation of international humanitarian law, but it made no reference to age. "UNICEF understands the sensitivities within the Council, and it is not our intention to aggravate them," he said. "But we feel morally obliged to say that until the age of 18 is universally embraced as the minimum age of recruitment, whether by way of an optional protocol or an amendment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, there will continue to be, in one sordid conflict after another, the reckless abuse of children as child soldiers."

Representing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sylvie Junod stressed that humanitarian action must not become the main instrument of foreign policy. "Humanitarian action should not be used as a means of diverting attention towards the symptoms and away from the disease itself." Further, any international military presence, such as a peacekeeping force, should have a clear and appropriate mandate and should not simply be a supplier of humanitarian assistance, which could easily lead to confusion and a distorted perception of humanitarian work.

Kofi Adomani, of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called for measures to ensure that refugee camps were located at a reasonable distance from international borders, that armed combatants were separated from refugees and other civilians, and that arms trade to conflict areas was adequately monitored and regulated.

The extension of her mandate followed a recommendation by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan based on the High Commissioner's request not to serve another full five-year term for personal reasons.

The re-election was announced in New York just as the High Commissioner was flying back to Geneva from her six-day visit to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania. On learning of her re- election for a third term, Mrs. Ogata said that she was deeply honoured by the trust placed on her by the international community and pledged to continue to the best of her ability to protect the refugees who are the world's most vulnerable people.

"But problems of forced displacement cannot be solved without decisive political action," the High Commissioner said, adding that part of her job was to alert the international community to the need for such engagement.

When Mrs. Ogata took office in 1991, the United Nations refugee agency was responsible for 15 million refugees. Today, it cares for 22.4 million people, including refugees, returnees and internally displaced people.

Addressing the Assembly's general debate, Mr. de Marco said that procedures which enhanced consultations between the two bodies were of immense value. "Improved methods introduced in recent years, while nurturing the symbiotic relationship that should bond the Council and the Assembly, prove that conferring does not hinder the Council's ability to intervene with required swiftness," he said.

A number of speakers discussed conflicts in their respective regions. Boris Shikhmuradov, the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, expressed grave concern about the situation in Afghanistan, which shared a long border with his country. Turkmenistan would continue to closely cooperate with the United Nations in the search for a solution, he said. "Interaction between Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, the United Nations, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and all the parties concerned should lead to the termination of one of the most protracted and violent conflicts of this century."

Syria's Foreign Minister, Farouk Al-Shara', said the entire Middle East peace process was on the wane so long as the Israeli Government rejected the land-for-peace principle, trying to impose a peace on the Arabs on the basis of occupation and settlement. "But Syria was and is still committed to peace, considering it a strategic option which requires the resumption of negotiations from the point at which they stopped on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and continuing to build on the commitments and the undertakings reached until a just and comprehensive peace is established in the region," he said.

The Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Nizar O. Madani, said if the present Israeli Government was serious in its efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians, all it had to do was to affirm its adherence to the signed agreements and restart the negotiations on unresolved issues.

Hungary's Foreign Minister, Janos Martonyi, expressed deep concern about the situation in Kosovo, which he said could have incalculable consequences for all of Europe. Hungary stood ready to contribute to international activities aimed at achieving long-term stability and establishing a state of law in the region, he said.

The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Tofik Zulfugarov, said the Minsk process for resolving the issue of Nagorny Karabakh had lost some of its dynamism as a result of internal political events in Armenia since October 1997. "Azerbaijan once again states its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and strict implementation of the ceasefire regime until an agreement on the settlement of the armed conflict is reached, hoping that the Armenian side will take the same approach," he stated.

Mustafa Osman Ismail, Sudan's Minister for External Relations, said his country had been "shocked by a grave act of terrorism" when the El- Shifa pharmaceutical plant -- which produced essential and life-saving medicines for children, women and the elderly -- was completely destroyed by the United States. "Some of the innocent employees of the factory lost their lives, while others were left injured and mutilated in ponds of blood. The families of the victims and the rest of the employees were deprived of their livelihood." He stressed that the factory "produced medicines and nothing but medicines" and that it had no link with Osama Bin Laden.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education and Technology of Fiji, Taufa Vakatale, recalled that his country had been the first to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). "My delegation calls on India and Pakistan to reconsider their nuclear pretensions and to become parties to the CTBT and to fully implement the provisions of the Treaty," he said.

This view was echoed by Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Water Resources, Shilaja Acharaya, who welcomed the recent declarations by the Prime Ministers for India and Pakistan to facilitate the CTBT's entry into force. But she expressed regret that the Conference on Disarmament had been unable to agree on the formation of a committee to begin negotiations on a programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework.

Speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States (AOSIS), Samoa's Ambassador, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, said those countries were at the front line of the climate change issue. While the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change had been an important first step, more work was required to clarify outstanding issues. Climate change was far too serious and too urgent a concern for all of humanity to be the subject of manipulation by industry interests determined to undermine credible scientific findings, he added.

Libya's Ambassador, Abuzed Omar Dorda, raised a number of questions in connection with the Security Council's recent resolution calling for a trial of the Lockerbie suspects at The Hague under Scottish law and by Scottish judges. He said that should direct negotiations to resolve the issues "prove impossible due to the opposition of the United States and the United Kingdom, these negotiations can be conducted through the Secretary- General of the United Nations."

Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mauritania, stressed the need for urgent measures to help relieve the external debt burden of developing countries. Kolawole A. Idji, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin, called for increases in development assistance. In that context, he reaffirmed the importance of United Nations operational activities for development.

Joseph Kokou Koffigoh, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Togo, said that conflicts and scourges in Africa had masked its successes, including a trend towards democratization which was marked by the adoption of new constitutions that had allowed for the holding of periodic elections, the seating of parliaments and national assemblies, the creation of independent juridical institutions, and the exercise of freedom of the press.

The Secretary-General acknowledged that it was normal to seek value for one's money, but added that without money, there could be no value. "I ask you, as good friends of the United Nations, to help convey this message far and wide," he said. "It is time to end this crisis and enable us to focus on the real work at hand."

The Secretary-General told the assembled U.S. business leaders that there was a growing awareness that the goals of the United Nations and the goals of business could and should be mutually supportive. "I look forward to our continued partnership as we find solutions to global problems -- solutions that reduce risk and spread prosperity and peace."

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday said that the extension of the ceasefire in southern Sudan would enable the humanitarian agencies to continue to provide assistance to the needy people in that country.

Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF, said that the ceasefire opened a window of opportunity, enabling the humanitarian community to address the crisis in southern Sudan. "Were that window now closed, the result would be continued suffering for the nation as a whole and, most particularly, for the children and women of southern Sudan," she said.

Catherine Bertini, the Executive Director of WFP, said that a three- month ceasefire covering the Bahr El Ghazal region, agreed upon between the Sudanese government and the insurgents in mid-July, had allowed WFP and other aid agencies easier access to millions of Sudanese who had suffered from the war. "Our fear is that the conflict could undermine the ceasefire and threaten the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid," Ms. Bertini said.

The two agencies underlined the need for a political solution to the conflict in the Sudan in order to establish peace and stability to the country which has faced devastation as a result of civil war.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that the decision followed intensive negotiations over the last few days between the President of Tajikistan, the Chairman of the Commission on National Reconciliation and other opposition members.

According to Mr. Eckhard, the government and the opposition also announced an agreement to set up a joint commission to oversee the investigation into the killing of Mtakhon Latif, a senior opposition leader who supported the peace process in Tajikistan, and to accelerate the integration of the opposition members into government structures.

The government and the United Tajik Opposition are engaged in efforts to maintain peace and foster reconciliation following the end of a civil war which started in 1992 in the wake of Tajikistan's attainment of independence. The country was one of the 15 republics of the former Soviet Union. The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan is assisting in the monitoring of the ceasefire agreed on in 1994 in this central Asian country.

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

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