United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-10-16

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 16 October, 1998

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• Security Council members appeal to parties in Afghanistan to call a ceasefire and begin negotiations.
• Secretary-General appeals to conservatives in United States to breath new life into US-UN relations.
• Head of United Nations refugee agency welcomes agreement on Kosovo but notes that challenges remain.
• Asylum seekers from Somalia and Ethiopia continue to die as they try to reach Yemen by boat.
• Marking World Food Day, UN food agency says women are key to ending hunger.
• Secretary-General congratulates David Trimble and John Hume, co-winners of 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement to the press on behalf of Council members, its President, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom, expressed continuing deep concern at the humanitarian and human rights situations in Afghanistan. Council members called on all parties to respect humanitarian law and to observe basic human rights norms; to grant full access to international humanitarian organizations; and to guarantee security for United Nations and other international personnel.

According to Mr. Greenstock, members of the Council also expressed concern at the continuing use of Taliban-controlled territory for the cultivation of drugs and for the sheltering and training of terrorists.

Council members welcomed the progress made by the Secretary- General's Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, in his efforts to reduce tensions in the region and to improve the human rights and humanitarian situations in the country. They reaffirmed their very strong support and appreciation for Mr. Brahimi's continuing efforts to secure the implementation of the Council's resolutions on the matter, and they underlined the need for all parties to fully implement the commitments that they had already entered into.

Ambassador Greenstock said the Council would continue to follow events closely over the coming days. It would consider taking further action once Mr. Brahimi had reported back upon his return.

In an address to "Empower America" in Washington, DC, the Secretary-General debunked a number of myths about the United Nations, including that it intruded upon United States sovereignty. "The United Nations is where sovereign states can come together, of their own accord and free will, for pragmatic problem-solving and burden-sharing," he explained, noting that the United States had special veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council.

Among the other myths which he exposed was that the United States still stood alone at the United Nations, voting regularly in a minority against "a motley majority of autocrats and unsavoury regimes." The Secretary- General noted that over the past two decades the world has seen a wave of democratization that had increasingly, isolated tyrants and others who fail to submit to the will of the people. Moreover, according to the State Department's analysis of voting patterns, the U.S. and a majority of the General Assembly are on the same side of the issues as never before. "The convergence of views has been nothing short of startling," the Secretary- General said.

Mr. Annan explained that, "American values are UN values, American interests are UN interests, and vice versa." Among the issues of common concern were democracy, human rights, free trade and open markets, the value of the private sector, and the need to combat the scourge of illegal drugs.

The Secretary-General acknowledged that in the past, conservatives had felt that the United Nations was not delivering value for money. "Today I can say to you unreservedly that we have demonstrated our seriousness about reform for everyone with goodwill to see," he said. Through unprecedented reform efforts, the Organization was today a "leaner, more efficient, more effective United Nations." While the reform process was not finished, the need for reform could no longer be used as a justification for withholding your support, including financial support.

Speaking directly to the issue of United States funding, he said that even if the country managed to squeak by and avoid losing its voting rights in the General Assembly under Charter provision Article 19, the larger question of Washington's legal commitment and moral obligation to the Organization would remain open.

"Conservatives believe in the sanctity of treaties and contracts; they take a strong stand on responsibility and morality as well," said Mr. Annan. "I would like to think that you are as disturbed as I am by this outcome."

The Secretary-General expressed confidence that conservatives and the United Nations could "find our way to a new and mutually supportive relationship." He noted that global interdependencies bound all to a common fate. "The United Nations is here to serve. An urgent agenda awaits. Let's get on with it," he concluded.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata said that the agreement between Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the United States envoy, Richard Holbrooke, was an important first step toward a political settlement. Mrs. Ogata said that the agreement was also a step toward addressing the plight of about 300,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes.

She expressed the hope that the agreement would be implemented rapidly and completely. She said that since it was the implementation of the agreement which was important, her agency had to carefully observe the situation on the ground over the coming days and weeks to assess prospects for the return of the displaced persons. She underlined the need to reduce the level of fear and to firmly establish confidence in the implementation of the agreement before the displaced persons can return on a large scale.

Meanwhile, the agency said that it was intensifying delivery of humanitarian assistance to the displaced people and to those who had decided to return home. UNHCR said that assistance was badly needed since the first snow had fallen in Kosovo on Wednesday. The agency added that when its staff members visited Kisna Reka in the Drenica region that day, they saw 2,000 people still living in tents in the hills above the town. UNHCR said that vehicles were stuck in the mud and children were sick with bronchitis.

UNHCR said that large numbers of displaced people had been abandoning makeshift encampments in the hills and woods because of the onset of winter. The agency pointed out, however, that it was difficult to pinpoint the number of returnees.

The United Nations refugee agency said that the displaced people returning to their damaged or destroyed homes would need considerable assistance to repair those homes and to get through the winter. The agency recalled that in August it had appealed for $27 million for humanitarian assistance to Kosovo and to date it had received about $22 million. UNHCR expressed the hope that the shortfall of $6 million would be contributed soon to enable the purchase of shelter repair material.

The United Nations refugee agency said that 27 Somali and Ethiopian asylum seekers are known to have died during September and October this year as they tried to reach Yemen. UNHCR added that since the beginning of the year, 247 would-be refugees were known to have died at sea, but there might be many more casualties which had gone unrecorded.

UNHCR said that the asylum seekers used boats piloted by armed smuggler who refused to obey the orders of the Yemeni coast guard. The agency said that passengers were frequently ordered by the boat pilots to disembark at sea resulting in an unknown number of drownings, as the traffickers tried to evade coast guard patrols. According to the United Nations agency, there was often exchange of fire between the smugglers and Yemeni coast guards which sometimes resulted in casualties.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 9,400 boat people have arrived in Yemen. More than 1,400 arrived in September alone. UNHCR said that there were a total of 65,000 Somali refugees in Yemen, 10,000 of whom were being assisted by the agency in Al Gahin camp and Aden.

"This year's World Food Day draws international attention to the crucial role that women play," said Catherine Bertini, WFP Executive Director. Ms. Bertini said that her agency had a strong commitment to women because they were the key to feeding the more than 800 million people caught in the trap of lifelong poverty and hunger.

The United Nations food agency said that as the largest provider of food aid in the world, it implemented its assistance programmes with the objective of giving women control of food to improve the lives of their families and themselves. "Providing food to women puts it in the hands of those who use it for the benefit of the entire household, especially children," Ms. Bertini said.

For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that in the face of poverty, natural disasters and war, it was the resilience and ingenuity of women that enabled families and communities to survive. He said it was hard to do justice to the daily struggle of rural women and the multitude of obstacles and discriminatory practices they faced in accomplishing their daily workload. "What is even harder to convey are the opportunities lost for growth and development for many women, their families, and society," he said, adding that agricultural development polices still did not reflect the needs of women adequately.

Every year, the Secretary-General said, World Food Day was a reminder of a tragic reality that the war against hunger was still being fought. The Secretary-General said that of the more than 800 million people who suffer from chronic hunger or malnutrition, 200 million were children.

Mr. Annan said that the capacity for growth and daily activity was stunted by hunger since hungry people could not fulfil their human potential as individuals, nor as a society. "And yet, the world has enough food and the technological capacity to nourish everyone," the Secretary-General said, adding that what was needed was the collective political will.

In a statement issued through his Spokesman, the Secretary- General said the award was a tribute to their personal courage and leadership and their contribution to putting Northern Ireland on the path to peace by facilitating the signing of the landmark Northern Ireland Peace Agreement last April.

"He wishes the co-recipients of the 1998 award every success as they continue to work for peace in Northern Ireland," said Spokesman Hiro Ueki, adding that the Secretary-General hoped the award would also encourage those who may still have reservations about the agreement to now lend their unremitting support to the peace process.

In a related development, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, received the news with "great joy." The former President of Ireland noted that for the past 30 years, "we have seen both terrible violations of human rights and constant attempts at reconciliation in Northern Ireland."

Ms. Robinson paid tribute to the enormous personal courage on the part of the many individuals and communities which had brought about the Good Friday peace agreement. "I know that John Hume and David Trimble will have this in mind as they accept the prize and I congratulate them warmly on their leadership and well-deserved recognition," she said.

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

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