United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-10-09

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 9 October, 1998

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• General Assembly examines follow-up action to Secretary- General's report on conflict prevention in Africa.
• Secretary-General calls on Angolan Government and particularly UNITA to avert "full-scale war".
• United Nations refugee agency reports that Sierra Leoneans continue to flee rebel attacks on villages.

The report, on the causes of conflict and the promotion of a durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, contains a number of recommendations aimed at generating economic growth. "While the burden of responsibility for Africa's fate lies in African hands, Africa's development partners can also do more and do better to assist Africa's struggle for lasting prosperity," the Secretary-General said. "I am pleased to say that there are indications that all sides have recognized the urgency of our common challenge."

Last month, Foreign Ministers of the Development Assistance Committee reaffirmed their support for the report's recommendations. Among the measures they discussed were the need to increase the volume and improve the quality of official development assistance and the need to consider converting all remaining official bilateral debt owed by the poorest African countries into grants. The Foreign Ministers also agreed with the Secretary-General that investments in Africa, which has largely been marginalized in the process of globalization, should be encouraged.

In his address to the Assembly on Friday, the Secretary- General said that earlier this week in a meeting with the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Robert Rubin, he had urged immediate and dramatic action on the debt situation facing Africa's poorest nations, "particularly in these dark days of global economic crisis."

Mr. Annan also announced that next week, he would be convening a discussion on debt relief by the Panel of High-level personalities on African Development. He closed by saying that the present crisis was a threat not only to Africa's prospects for growth, but to Africa's attempts to secure free and democratic societies. "We must succeed, for we cannot afford to fail," he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Organization of African Unity, Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso, stressed that the OAU was independently trying to find solutions to African problems, but its initiatives had to be supported by the United Nations. The OAU was planning to organize an economic summit for Africa next year with the aim of providing an innovative forum for dealing with the problems of impoverishment, globalization and famine. He looked forward to the support of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank in that endeavour.

Japan's representative, Masaki Konishi, said that later this month, his country would host the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development later this month. "It is anticipated that the Conference will adopt an agenda for action identifying critical development issues in Africa, articulating the goals and objectives of efforts to address those issues, and encouraging the international community to mobilize in order to achieve those goals," he said.

In his latest report to the Security Council, released on Friday, the Secretary-General says he has instructed his Special Representative, Issa Diallo, to maintain contacts with all concerned "in an attempt to give peace a chance." In the meantime, he recommends that the Council extend the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) for six more weeks to allow time for Mr. Diallo to revive the stalled peace process.

The Secretary-General warns that if the proposed extension expires without any significant movement on the peace process, MONUA would have to be redeployed to just six regional headquarters.

In the past few weeks, the Government and UNITA have broken all contacts, according to the report. The Government has recognized the "UNITA Renovation Committee" as the only legitimate interlocutor of the peace process. Although some UNITA members have disassociated themselves from UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, the UNITA leadership in Andulo has insisted that it remains the legitimate partner in the peace process. Efforts by Mr. Diallo to meet with Mr. Savimbi did not succeed. "While UNITA responded positively to this request [for a meeting], a Government representative declined to provide any security guarantees to Mr. Diallo and even warmed him that the Government would cease all contacts with the Special Representative if the meeting took place."

On the military side, the Secretary-General reports that the security situation in Angola continued to deteriorate in recent weeks, primarily as a result of persistent UNITA attacks on strategic locations. "The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) appear to be determined to defend the key provincial capitals, while seeking to recover control over the diamond-mining areas in Lunda Norte and in Malange provinces." Meanwhile, UNITA, allegedly assisted by armed elements from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, occupied several locations in the first half of September.

"The civilian population has continued to bear the brunt of military operations by both sides," reports the Secretary-General. Over the past few months, indiscriminate as well as summary killings, torture and harassment, abductions, destruction of property, forcible displacement and restrictions on freedom of movement have been reported in the course of attacks targeting entire villages. Although in some cases it is impossible to identify the attackers, a significant number appear to have been UNITA elements.

The humanitarian situation in Angola continues to deteriorate, the report states. Since January, an additional 220,000 people have been displaced from their homes. "This brings the total number of internally displaced Angolans to a staggering 1.3 million, or over ten per cent of the country's population." The Secretary-General notes that the resumption of hostilities would lead to a "far reaching human tragedy" and calls for special urgent measures to enable humanitarian organizations to continue functioning should that occur.

Spokesman Judith Kumin said the agency's staff in Guinea report that people are still crossing the border from northern and northwestern Sierra Leone, fleeing rebel attacks on villages which have chased 7,500 Sierra Leoneans out over the past two weeks. "Refugees are now arriving from several towns, frightened of further rebel raids around the village of Kukuna where houses were set afire and more than a dozen people killed on 28 September," she said.

The refugees are being taken to existing camps in Forecariah. Shelters are also being constructed as quickly as possible because the region is in its rainy season. "Many families were split up in the panic to get out of the villages, and medical staff on the spot have treated several people for bullet wounds," Ms. Kumin said.

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