United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-11-20

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 20 November, 1998

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General recommends extending oil-for-food programme for six more months; Iraq wants only two.
• United Nations food agency warns of looming famine in Somalia.
• United Nations refugee agency says rebels continue to terrorize Sierra Leonean civilians.
• United Nations refugee agency repatriates Ethiopian refugees from Kenya.
• United Nations food agency delivers food aid to isolated remote communities in hurricane-hit Honduras.
• Secretary-General calls for end to military operations by all sides in East Timor.
• Africa Industrialization Day marked under theme "poverty alleviation through industry".
• Deputy Secretary-General, closing World Television Forum, expresses hope that participants will use their power responsibly.
• Group of Palestinian journalists completes training organized by the United Nations.
• Special Political and Decolonization Committee concludes work for current General Assembly session.

For its part, Iraq, in a letter from its Foreign Minister to the President of the Security Council, asked that the programme be extended only for two months.

The Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Council, notes that because of low oil prices, only $1.98 billion was available for the oil-for- food-programme. This, he says, is "far short" of the $3.1 billion target. If the enhanced distribution plan which the money had been allocated for had been fully implemented, further deterioration of the humanitarian situation may have been prevented.

"Nevertheless, the programme has continued to help provide a more adequate food basket to the Iraqi people," the Secretary-General observes. There has been sustained improvement in lowering rates of infant malnutrition in the three northern governorates. "However, in the centre and south of Iraq, infant malnutrition while not worsening, continues to be a grave concern." Those regions continue to suffer major shortages of supplies, while food prices on the open market have risen, to the disadvantage of the poor. By contrast, food production in the three northern governorates has increased substantially and the food prices on the open market have continued to decline.

The Secretary-General reports that an increasing influx of health supplies to Iraq has expanded the range of available treatment and drugs. Preventive health care, however, has not received appropriate attention. "The full range of urgently needed essential drugs is still not available on a regular basis, mostly because of poor procurement planning and stock management," he notes.

The deterioration of the electricity, water and sanitation sectors has continued, according to the report. Increased quantities of chlorinated water are being produced, but because the distribution network is in decay, there is no guarantee of safe drinking water. Water-borne diseases continue to be a major threat.

The enhanced distribution plan has started to address the need for more electricity. "However, because of limited funding, there can be no short- term solutions to the accelerating deterioration in the power generation and distribution systems," the Secretary-General writes, predicting that consumers will experience worse power cuts next year than at present.

The report also points out that Iraq's oil industry is in a "lamentable" state. The previously authorized sum of $300 million for spare parts and equipment to repair the country's deteriorating oil infrastructure was sufficient only for the most essential and urgent needs. He expresses hope that the Security Council Committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq would expedite the approval of applications essential for the increase of oil production and exports.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said that the first signs of a major food crisis in Somalia appeared as at least 7,000 hungry Somalis, driven by drastic food shortages in their home areas, moved en masse to coastal areas of their country and the Kenyan border.

A WFP Representative for Somalia said that coupled with last year's severe floods which devastated the agricultural sector, the crop failure was creating life-threatening food shortages for hundreds of thousands of people. "We know that the situation has reached a critical level when people start to migrate in search of food," said Burke Oberle.

It is estimated that 700,000 Somalis are facing imminent food shortages, with some 300,000 in central Somalia most at risk.

As part of a joint United Nations appeal for $18 million launched in Geneva today, WFP is asking for 12,000 tonnes of food at a cost of $12 million to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people until June 1999. The United Nations food agency has already started to move 850 tonnes of maize and lentils from the port of El'maan in southern Somalia for 100,000 people. The agency plans to move an additional 2,000 tonnes by December.

Burke Oberle said that the food crisis in Somalia had been compounded by heavy factional fighting in the southern part of the country which made delivery of food and other relief items into the interior complex and costly.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that five Sierra Leonean refugees had their hands cut off by rebels when they returned from a camp in Guinea to their home village to harvest their crops. The agency said that the five refugees, who were able to return to Guinea and were treated at a hospital this week, had been with 15 other refugees who suffered similar atrocities. The others are still missing, the agency said.

UNHCR said that rebels, resisting forces of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), have mutilated and raped thousands of Sierra Leonean civilians. The United Nations agency said that it had registered nearly 500 victims of mutilations in Guinea alone.

UNHCR said that it had moved Sierra Leonean refugees from sites near the border in Guinea in order to keep them away from rebels who had also crossed into the country in search of food. The United Nations agency said that so far, 6,000 people had been shifted from camps closest to the border.

210,000 Sierra Leoneans have fled into Guinea as the violence raged on in their country, according to UNHCR. The agency said that there were 350,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and another 90,000 in Liberia.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that this week it began flying 5,000 Ethiopians back to their homeland from the camps at Dadaab to Moyale in Ethiopia where they took local transport eastward to their home areas.

According to UNHCR, some of the refugees had not seen their homeland since they fled in 1977. The United Nations refugee agency said that among the returnees were many older men and women who had first fled to Somalia when the Ogaden war erupted between Ethiopia and Somalia. These refugees then joined the exodus of thousands of Somalis who in 1991 flocked to Kenya where they lived in the Dadaab camps for the last seven years.

UNHCR said that each of the returnees was receiving food aid and $60 to assist with transport to their home areas and to reestablish themselves.

The United Nations refugee agency estimates that there are currently 186, 000 refugees down from 420,000 in 1992 in Kenya. They are mainly from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday that the first food aid since the onslaught of the hurricane arrived this week in the Mosquitia area where many of the residents are indigenous people.

"People are wandering through the hills of dried mud, the dirt and the dust, searching for their relatives, water, food and their belongings," said Guiseppe Lubatti, WFP Country Director for Honduras. The WFP official said that these people were completely isolated because of the broken bridges, boats, power and phone lines. "I have seen dramatic situations in Angola and Burundi, India and Bangladesh, but this is so terrible it stands alone, " Lubatti said.

The WFP Mosquitia operation began with the delivery of small quantities of between 200 and 300 kilogrammes on helicopters lent by the Canadian and Venezuelan air forces. The food is targeted at 50,000 people in the area.

The United Nations food agency said that it was planning to charter a 1.7 tonne plane to deliver larger amounts of food to the people who live in very small communities scattered across the region.

WFP has appealed for $58 million to help the more than one million most vulnerable victims of Hurricane Mitch which left at least 8,500 people dead and over 12,000 missing.

"The Secretary-General is seriously disturbed by reports of rising tensions and casualties involving civilians in certain areas of East Timor," said his Spokesman, Fred Eckhard. He added that the United Nations was trying to establish the veracity of those reports and to establish the facts.

"In the meantime, the Secretary-General once again underlines the need for maintaining stability and peace in East Timor so that the progress made in the negotiations conducted under his auspices can be sustained and a peaceful negotiated solution can be achieved," said Mr. Eckhard. "He calls for an end to military operations by all sides and for respect for the safety and security of unarmed civilians."

Through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General also called on the Indonesian armed forces and the East Timorese armed resistance to show maximum restraint.

"Without a doubt, the ability of the African private sector to take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalization and liberalization will determine the prospects for overall development," United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr‚chette told a commemoration of the Day in the General Assembly Hall. This year's commemoration of Africa Industrialization Day came at a critical juncture in the global economy, she said, warning that if a global recession resulted in a further fall in commodity prices, the impact on Africa and the least developed countries could be severe.

The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized that for a country to be competitive, it must have the proper infrastructure, governance, skills and technology. Those were dependent on the state working in partnership with the private sector.

African States must take the lead in promoting private sector-led industrial transformation. "We in the international community, and the UN system in particular, will continue to play our catalytic role," she said. "But ultimately, only Africa's own initiative and imagination will make the difference between poverty and prosperity."

The President of the General Assembly, Didier Opertti of Uruguay, noted that Africa, as a whole, had experienced economic growth of 4 per cent annually over the past three years, but difficult challenges lay ahead. The effects of the global economic crisis were manifesting themselves in the region, while official development assistance, already on a downward trend, was expected to decline further.

In order to cope with those challenges, decisive national action and international cooperation were required, he emphasized. African countries needed to maintain sound macro-economic policies and move ahead with economic reforms, while the international community must do more to show its support for Africa's efforts. "The United Nations family itself must work more closely together to mobilize resources and expertise in support of Africa's development," he said.

The Day's commemoration in New York was broadcast live to ministers attending the twentieth session of the Industrial Development Board at the headquarters of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna.

"We are all in some danger, these days, of suffocating under a deluge of information," she said. "Our chance of emerging from that deluge as better informed citizens and decision-makers depends in large measure on the service you give us."

Better communications could promote global solidarity by bringing attention to the plight of the world's poor, said Ms. Fr‚chette. Improved communications infrastructure could help link developing countries to the global economy, she added.

"The challenge now is to make information available to all," said the Deputy Secretary-General. She pointed out that the "information gap" was becoming yet another line dividing "haves" and "have nots." She said that with the help of the media, "we can build a planet on which no one is left behind."

Also on Friday, a number of panels were held as part of the Forum, including one on the impact of digital television. The Japanese network NHK demonstrated high-definition television technology with a video entitled "From the Nagano Games to the Space Shuttle."

The United Nations provided a live webcast of the entire Forum -- the first live webcast of any event covered by the high-definition television.

This was the fourth programme designed to assist the Palestinian people in building and strengthening their media capability. During the programme, the journalists attended briefings by officials of the United Nations and specialized agencies, along with representatives of media organizations in the United States.

Participants also attended two weeks of special classes at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in New York. In addition, they received on-the-job training by serving as temporary United Nations correspondents, covering United Nations meetings and activities on behalf of their media organizations.

The resolutions deal with a broad range of issues concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

By one of five texts on the report of the Committee on Israeli Practices, the General Assembly would express concern about the deterioration of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, as a result of Israeli practices and measures, and the difficulties confronting the Middle East peace process. The resolution to investigate Israeli practices was approved by a recorded vote of 72 in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States -- with 55 abstentions.

By another draft, the Assembly would reaffirm that the Geneva Convention on the treatment of civilians in wartime was applicable to the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967. That resolution was approved by a recorded vote of 127 in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States -- with Swaziland abstaining.

Another draft, approved by the same voting pattern, would have the Assembly demand the cessation of the construction of the new settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim and of all Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. Israeli settlements were deemed illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development.

Under another draft, the Assembly would call upon Israel, the occupying Power, to accelerate the release of all remaining Palestinians arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, in line with agreements reached. It would call for complete respect by Israel, the occupying Power, of all fundamental freedoms of the Palestinian people, pending the extension of the self- government arrangements to the rest of the territory. That draft was approved by 126 votes in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States -- with 2 abstentions, Swaziland and Zambia

In another draft, approved by 127 votes in favour with Israel against and Swaziland, the United States and Zambia abstaining, the Assembly would call upon Israel to desist from changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and in particular to desist from the establishment of settlements. It would determine that all legislative and administrative measures and actions of Israel purporting to alter the character and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan were a flagrant violation of international law and of the Geneva Convention.

By one of seven draft resolutions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the Assembly would reiterate its deep concern regarding the persisting critical financial situation of UNRWA as outlined in the Commissioner- General's report. It would urge all Member States to extend and expedite aid and assistance with a view to the economic and social development of the Palestinian people and the occupied territories. That draft was approved by a vote of 122 in favour, with Israel voting against and the United States abstaining.

A related resolution, approved by consensus, would have the Assembly ask the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA to continue its efforts to mobilize resources for a further one-year period.

Under the terms of another text, approved by a recorded vote of 122 in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States --with no abstentions, the Assembly would express hope for an accelerated return of displaced people through the mechanism agreed upon by the parties in their 1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements.

Another draft, approved by 126 votes in favour to none against, with Israel abstaining, would have the Assembly strongly appeal to the international community to augment the special allocations for grants and scholarships to Palestine refugees.

The Assembly would call upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to accept the de jure applicability of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and to abide scrupulously by its provisions, under a draft which was approved by 124 in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States, with Zambia abstaining. The Assembly would also call upon the Israeli Government to compensate UNRWA for damage to its property and facilities resulting from actions by the Israeli side.

By another draft, approved by 123 votes in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States -- with no abstentions, the Assembly would urge the Palestinian and Israeli sides to deal with the important issue of the properties of Palestinian refugees and their revenues, in the framework of the final status negotiations of the Middle East peace process.

A draft resolution on a University of Jerusalem "Al-Quds" for Palestine refugees was approved by 125 votes in favour to 2 against -- Israel and the United States -- with Zambia abstaining. By its terms, the Assembly would emphasize the need to strengthen the educational system in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, including Jerusalem, and would call upon Israel to cooperate to remove the hindrances that it had placed in the way of establishing the University of Jerusalem "Al-Quds".

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

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