United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-11-30

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 30 November, 1998

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General appeals to Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization to pursue lasting peace.
• In Tindouf, Secretary-General meets with POLISARIO leaders for talks on Western Sahara.
• Secretary-General welcomes formation of new coalition Government in Cambodia.
• Secretary-General says new level of multilateral cooperation needed for Africa's sustainable development.

"Regrettably, incidents of violence by elements opposed to the peace process have continued to cost lives and to mar progress," said Mr. Annan in a message on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. "I appeal again to the parties not to be swayed by such incidents, but instead, to redouble their efforts in pursuit of a lasting solution to the conflict."

The Secretary-General stressed that the parties must address not only the manifestations, but also the causes of violence, working together for a future of peace, cooperation and good-neighbourliness. He expressed earnest hope that the Wye River Memorandum signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization would be fully implemented, paving the way for negotiations to resume on all tracks.

A rapid improvement in living conditions in the Palestinian territories is an essential accompaniment to the peace negotiations, the Secretary-General said. In that connection, he drew attention to the serious financial situation faced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and called for intensified efforts to ensure that the quality and level of services for Palestine refugees was maintained.

The Secretary-General's message was read by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr‚chette at a solemn meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Committee Chairman Ibra Deguene Ka of Senegal expressed serious concern about the intensified settlement construction and other unilateral acts which sought to establish advantage on the ground in advance of the final status negotiations. Settlements embodied a policy of permanent occupation which ran contrary to the peace process.

The President of the General Assembly, Didier Opertti of Uruguay, said the Assembly had continued to reiterate the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the question of Palestine until it is fully resolved with fairness and justice. "It is incumbent on all of us þ- Members of this Organization -- to see to it that this objective is brought to fruition," he said.

The President of the Security Council, A. Peter Burleigh of the United States, said the Council fully recognized that a solution to the question of Palestine was a key element in achieving a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict within the framework of the Oslo accords. Ambassador Burleigh noted that soon, the UNRWA would host a pledging conference, and he called for tangible support to the Agency on that occasion.

Nasser Al-Kidwa, the Permanent Observer for Palestine, read a message from the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat. Mr. Arafat expressed hope that the independent state of Palestine on Palestinian soil would be declared and made a tangible reality in an atmosphere of cooperation, trust and mutual respect for all. While expressing satisfaction that the Israeli Government had begun implementation of the first stage of the Wye Memorandum, he stressed that a halt to all unilateral measures was still needed.

According to United Nations Spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva, the Secretary-General had flown to the Tindouf region, where POLISARIO is headquartered. After visiting the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Secretary-General flew by helicopter to the refugee camp at Smara, where he was greeted by POLISARIO Secretary- General Mohamed Abdelaziz, with whom he met one- one-one for almost an hour. Secretary-General Annan then met with leaders of families and clans from the refugee camps. "They expressed their frustration with delays in the peace process but pledged to continue cooperating with it," said the Spokesman.

On Saturday, the Secretary-General was in Paris, where he had attended the closing session of the Franco- African Summit. There, he had brought together the parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for what Mr. Annan had described as "frank and useful" discussions. In company with the Secretary- General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim A. Salim, and with French President Jacques Chirac, the Secretary-General had urged the parties to conclude a ceasefire agreement.

"In the end, they did find common ground," Mr. de Almeida e Silva said. "They agreed that they wanted the war to end through political agreement. They decided on a cessation of hostilities leading to a ceasefire. They are all aware of the urgent need for a political solution, and are expected to sign a ceasefire within the next two weeks or so."

"The Secretary-General welcomes the formation of the new coalition Government in Cambodia today, with Samdech Hun Sen as its Prime Minister," said Manoel de Almeida e Silva, a spokesman for the Secretary- General. "He looks forward to the early completion of the process to establish a Senate in accordance with the agreement reached earlier between the Cambodian People's Party and the FUNCINPEC party."

The Secretary-General also took the opportunity to extend his sincere wishes to the Royal Government and the Cambodian people on the auspicious occasion and to express his desire to see Cambodia resume its full role in the family of nations, Mr. de Almeida e Silva said.

"Threats to the coastal and marine environment are among the many environment challenges facing Africa," Mr. Annan observed in a message to the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea/South African Government Conference on Cooperation for the Development and Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa, held in Cape Town. The message was delivered on his behalf by Mr. Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Mr. Annan said the Cape Town gathering should be seen in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Since the Convention entered into force in 1994, most of its institutions had been put in place, including the International Sea Bed Authority in Jamaica and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Germany, he noted. Several countries had enacted laws and established institutions for the management of ocean space under their jurisdiction and were initiating programmes for the sustainable development of their coastal zones. "African participation in these global developments is vital and it is my hope that this conference will focus on ways of accelerating this process," said the Secretary-General.

He also noted that the deteriorating state of the world's oceans was among the primary concerns that led to the first United Nations conference on the human environment, in Stockholm in 1972, and then to the establishment of UNEP. In 1973, a programme was designed that would tackle the threats to the marine environment through a regional approach. "Today, of the fourteen regions covered world-wide by UNEP's Regional Seas Programme, four relate to the seas surrounding Africa," he said, stressing that regional cooperation was essential to a comprehensive approach to environmental issues.

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

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