United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-12-17

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 17 December, 1998

HEADLINES

• Chief UN arms inspector says his report on Iraq is honest, factual and objective.
• Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Western Sahara until 31 January 1999.
• General Assembly President says consensus prevailed during the Assembly's 53rd session.
• United Nations to decide on its peacekeeping role as conflict continues in Angola.
• UN health agency issues guidelines to address risk of tuberculosis transmission during air travel.
• UNICEF warns that reduced malnutrition does not end food crisis in southern Sudan.

Richard Butler, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), stressed that the report was based on findings of UNSCOM's experts. "It danced to no one's tune. It was not written for anyone's purposes including ... for the United States. It was my report, as promised, on time, based on the facts".

He had no doubt about the accuracy of the report's conclusion, that Iraq had not kept its promise of full cooperation, Chairman Butler continued. UNSCOM's mandate was to determine whether or not Iraq had cooperated fully. "The answer, I deeply regret, is no it did not," he added.

Mr. Butler said he accepted full responsibility for the report, which he drew up after consulting with the chief inspectors in the field. "We did some work, but it was not what we are expected to do and that is why I said to the Council we were not able to do the substantive disarmament work that you have charged us to do".

Mr. Butler said suggestions that the timing of the report and the purpose was in some way structured to suit the United States were utterly wrong. He said he told the Security Council on 24 November that it would take two to three weeks to test Iraq's cooperation and he had delivered his report to the Secretary-General on 15 December.

In reply to a question as to why the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was more positive, Mr. Butler said that agency had a different job. It never dealt with a completed weapon's programme, but with one in the making. UNSCOM had to deal with missile, chemical and biological weapons and that was a very different situation.

The referendum will decide whether the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara should gain full independence or become part of Morocco. According to a report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the identification of applicants from certain tribal groupings has been a constant source of contention between Morocco and the Frente Popular para la liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y del Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO).

The Council adopted resolution 1215 (1998) unanimously to allow for further consultations in the hope they would lead to agreement on the Secretary- General's package of measures.

The package contains draft protocols on the appeals process for already identified applicants and identification of applicants from contested tribal groupings who want to present themselves individually. It also addressed preparations by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the repatriation of refugees and other Saharans eligible to vote. It proposes a December 1999 referendum date.

The Council called on parties and interested States to sign as soon as possible the proposed refugee repatriation protocol with the UNHCR. It urged Morocco to formalize the UNHCR presence and asked both parties to take concrete action to enable the agency to carry out preparatory work for the repatriation of Saharan refugees who are eligible to vote, and their families, according to the Settlement Plan.

In an overview on the eve of the end of this year's plenary session of the General Assembly, Didier Opertti of Uruguay said that the Assembly and its committees had a very intense rhythm of work. He said that the proof of the spirit of cooperation in the Assembly was the adoption by consensus of 190 resolutions and decisions.

Among the resolutions he highlighted as an "eloquent illustration" of the spirit of understanding and tolerance in the international community was the resolution on the dialogue among civilizations. The Assembly President said that although no substantive progress was made on the question of equitable representation on the Security Council, concessions and compromises existed on the issue.

He said that the Assembly also paid particular attention to problems affecting peace and security on the African continent and adopted a resolution on the causes of conflicts and the promotion of lasting peace and sustainable development on the continent.

In the areas of disarmament and international security the Assembly focused on nuclear issues due to events this year. He highlighted one resolution which condemned the nuclear tests in South Asia.

The Assembly also deliberated and took decisions on various other issues including, economic and financial matters, decolonization, United Nations reform, coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance and the strengthening of the United Nations system.

On the financial crisis of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly expressed the hope that the most important States which owed back dues would make their required payments without conditions and that the next sessions would not face financial limitations.

The General Assembly is expected to conclude its current session on Friday 18 December 1998. It will resume its work next year.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, the Secretary-General expressed deep concern about the outbreak of fighting in central Angola despite his several public appeals. He said that the current hostilities were a further setback to the efforts of the international community to reactivate the peace process and had resulted in a rapidly spreading humanitarian crisis.

The Secretary-General reiterated that a lasting solution to the conflict in Angola could only be achieved through full and unconditional implementation of the Lusaka Protocol and genuine dialogue. He urged the parties to stop the fighting and to ensure respect for human rights and humanitarian principles, including access to the people in need.

The Secretary-General expressed dismay at the public statements attributed to senior Angolan Government representatives which blamed the United Nations for the recent aggravation of the security situation in the country and the failure of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) to demobilize its forces. He reminded the Angolan parties that all major decisions concerning the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, including disarmament, were made by consensus between the Government, UNITA, the United Nations and the three observer countries to the peace process.

The Secretary-General said that the United Nations was proud to have, over the past four years, contributed to giving the Angolan parties an unprecedented period of relative peace and the unique opportunity to achieve national reconciliation. Regretting that the Angolan parties had not seize this historic opportunity, he stressed that it "was and it still is their main responsibility to uphold this challenge vis-a-vis their own people."

In view of the precarious security situation in Angola, the serious constraints imposed on the United Nations mediation and verification activities, and in keeping with the explicit request of the Government, the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola had been regrouping its personnel to safer areas, the Secretary-General said.

"Tuberculosis and Air Travel: Guidelines for Prevention and Control" were produced in collaboration with international TB experts, civil aviation authorities and airline company representatives. They recommend tracing and informing passengers and crew members of an infectious person aboard a commercial flight on which people remain on board for more than eight hours, including ground delays.

The guidelines were prompted by increasing reports of TB outbreaks on airlines. According to WHO, in studies conducted between 1992 and 1996, involving seven patients with active TB and 2,600 passengers and crew, the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found only a few cases of TB transmission. However, lack of proper mechanisms for airlines to follow up passengers made it difficult for the CDC to reach all passengers on the flights where transmission had occurred, WHO says. The United Nations agency adds that consequently, there may be many additional unreported cases.

WHO says that the guidelines have been welcomed by the airline industry which expects more than two billion passengers per year in scheduled air traffic during the next decade.

UNICEF's offices in Khartoum and Nairobi said that recent nutritional surveys conducted by Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) lead by UNICEF, revealed a significant improvement in the nutritional condition of the displaced people in the Bahr al Ghazal region.

The agency pointed out, however, that the surveys also found that child malnutrition in several locations remained unacceptably high and that the population's condition remained "extremely fragile." The agency said that progress made during the last several months could be reversed by a renewed outbreak of fighting, lack of access to arable land, livestock, food and medical assistance.

The surveys which also involved non-governmental organizations and local authorities found 9.6 per cent malnutrition among displaced people, returnees and local residents in Wau town as compared to 43.4 per cent recorded in August. "While OLS is very pleased with the reduction in malnutrition, we must remain vigilant and be prepared to expand our operations at any time," said Mohammed Bendriss Alami, Chief of Field Operations at UNICEF-Khartoum. He said that Bahr al Ghazal remained a potentially insecure area where thousands of families depended on humanitarian assistance.

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

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