United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-01-28

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 28 January, 1999

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General acknowledges need to use force as last resort to halt internal conflicts.
• Security Council extends mandate of UN Interim Force in Lebanon until 31 July.
• Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Georgia until 31 July 1999.
• Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Western Sahara until 11 February.
• Secretary-General ends official visit to Belgium.
• Talks begin in New York on UN proposals for autonomy for East Timor.
• World Food Programme airlifts food to stem growing humanitarian crisis in Brazzaville.
• Extensive search launched to locate missing relief worker in Ethiopia, says World Food Programme.
• UN official places Stolac Police Administration on three month probation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In a statement at NATO headquarters at Brussels, the Secretary- General said that the "bloody wars" of the last decade left no illusions about the difficulty of halting such conflicts "by reason or by force", particularly against the wishes of a sovereign state. "We may be reaching that limit, once again in the former Yugoslavia," he added.

Mr. Annan urged NATO members now deliberating on the future course of action in Kosovo to recall the lessons of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That means, he said, full and unconditional respect for the human rights of all citizens of Kosovo; unconditional acceptance of peaceful negotiation as the only way to resolve the conflict in Kosovo; and respect for the authority of the United Nations war crimes tribunals "throughout all of the territory of former Yugoslavia."

Ultimately, the Secretary-General said, that means providing the people of Kosovo with the degree of autonomy that is consistent with their need to live "free from terror and violence." What form such autonomy would take, he added, would depend not only on the wishes of the Kosovars, but also on the actions of the Yugoslav authorities. "We can only hope that they, too, have learned the lessons of Bosnia," Mr. Annan said.

UNIFIL was established in March 1978 to carry out a number of tasks, including confirming the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and assist the Lebanese Government to ensure the return of its effective authority in the area.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1223 (1999), the Council condemned all acts of violence, particularly against UNIFIL, and urged the parties to put an end to them.

The Council reiterated strong support for Lebanon's territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence within its internationally recognized boundaries. It also reiterated that UNIFIL should fully implement its mandate as defined in relevant resolutions, including resolution 425 (1978), which calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory.

After the resolution extending UNIFIL's mandate was adopted, Council President Celso Amorim of Brazil read out a statement expressing concern over the continuing violence in southern Lebanon. The Council regretted the loss of civilian life and urged all parties to exercise restraint.

In the statement, the Council stressed that all aspects of resolution 425 (1978) should be urgently implemented. It reiterated full support for the 1989 Taif Agreement -- by which Lebanese leaders undertook to achieve national accord -- and for the Government's efforts to consolidate peace, national unity and security, while successfully carrying out reconstruction.

The Council again asserted that all States should refrain from the threat, or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

In the statement, the Council noted with deep concern, the high level of UNIFIL casualties and paid special tribute to those who had given their life while serving with the Mission.

In resolution 1225 (1999) adopted unanimously, the Council said that the extension of the mandate of UNOMIG was subject to a review in the event of any changes that might be made in the mandate or in the presence of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force.

Expressing concern at the failure of the parties to conclude agreements on security and the non-use of force, the return of refugees and displaced persons and economic reconstruction, the Council urged the parties to resume bilateral negotiations to this end. It demanded that the parties widen their commitment to the United Nations-led peace process, continue to seek and engage in dialogue, expand their contacts at all levels, and display without delay the necessary will to achieve substantial results on the key issues of the negotiations.

The Council also demanded that both sides observe strictly all their obligations to refrain from the use of force and to resolve disputed issues by peaceful means only. It called on them to display greater resolve and willingness to make the Joint Investigation Group functional.

Expressing its continuing concern at the situation of refugees and displaced persons, resulting most recently from the hostilities of May 1998, the Council reaffirmed the unacceptability of the demographic changes resulting from the conflict. It also reaffirmed the "imprescriptible" right of all refugees and displaced persons to return to their homes in secure conditions in accordance with international law and a 1994 agreement on the voluntary return of those people.

The Council condemned the activities by armed groups, including the continued laying of mines which, it said, endangered the civilian population, impeded the work of the humanitarian organizations and seriously delayed the normalization of the situation in the Gali region.

The Security Council underlined the necessity for the parties to achieve an early and comprehensive political settlement including the political status of Abkhazia within the State of Georgia. It said such a settlement should fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders.

The referendum will decide whether the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara should gain full independence or become part of Morocco.

In unanimously adopting resolution 1224 (1999), the Council asked the Secretary-General to keep it informed of significant developments in the implementation of the Settlement Plan and the agreements between the parties -- the Government of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO). The Council also asked him to keep it informed, as appropriate, on the continuing validity of MINURSO's mandate.

MINURSO was established in accordance with the Settlement Plan of 30 August 1988 to undertake a number of tasks, including monitoring a ceasefire, verifying the reduction of Moroccan troops in Western Sahara and ensuring the confinement of Moroccan and POLISARIO troops to designated locations. It was also to identify and register qualified voters for the referendum.

Before leaving Brussels, the Secretary-General told journalists that he had an important audience with King Albert II and very constructive meetings with government and parliamentary leaders. He applauded Belgium's recent initiatives to combat chemical weapons, antipersonnel mines and the illegal trade of small arms, as well as its commitment to the establishment of an international criminal court and reinforcement of peacekeeping in Africa.

On Wednesday, the Secretary-General met with Belgian Prime Minister Jean- Luc Dehaene, who announced that his Government would contribute 15 million Belgium Francs, about $434,000 to UN demining and disarmament programmes. Foreign Minister, Erik Derycke, and the Secretary of State, Reginald Moreels were also at the meeting during which such issues as peacekeeping, UN reform, Kosovo, Iraq, and the Great Lakes region of Africa.

During his visit, Mr. Annan also met with the President of the European Union, Jacques Santer, and the Secretary-General of the Western European Union (WEU), Jose Pines Cutileiro.

The Secretary-General will travel to Luxembourg on Friday.

Ambassador Marker, who is chairing the talks, said they started with bilateral meetings with the Indonesian and Portuguese delegations. He described the atmosphere as good and said there was a determination to arrive at as much of an agreement as possible.

He said he had discussed with the Indonesian delegation reports on statements coming out of Djakarta regarding the possibility of independence for East Timor and was waiting for further clarification.

The Indonesian delegation is being led by the Director General of Political Affairs of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, Nugroho Wisnumurti. The Portuguese delegation is headed by the Director General for Special Political Questions at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fernando Neves.

The IPTF Commissioner Richard Monk acted in consultation with the Special Representative Elizabeth Rehn after an extensive review of police performance in Stolac, UN Spokesman Kelly Moore said in Sarajevo on Thursday.

Spokesperson Moore said the inspection grew from the "wholly inadequate response" of the police to more than 70 incidents of returnee- related violence and intimidation from March to December 1998. The investigation found clear evidence of a police station in disarray with an inadequate command structure that was subject to inappropriate external influences. Crime prevention and detection measures to deal with returnee-related violence fell significantly short of professional policing standards, the spokesperson said.

During the three-month probationary period, the performance and conduct of police officers would be continually assessed, the spokesperson said. IPTF would provide experienced monitors to help police improve their performance. Police officers who fail to demonstrate a significant improvement in their adherence to specified minimum requirements of professional policing would not be re-certified at the end of the probationary period, the spokesperson added.

WFP said that malnutrition and disease had reached critical levels in the north of the city, where the displaced people gathered after fleeing their homes. Continued insecurity in the city was discouraging people from leaving the sites, the agency added.

The agency began with an airlift of 1,000 tonnes of food from emergency food stocks that it had pre-positioned in the port city of Pointe Noire last August in anticipation of continued conflict in the region.

According to WFP, some of the food was being transported by barge from Brazzaville to Kinshasa to feed war-affected families in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. The airlift is expected to last for a week.

According to WFP, the humanitarian worker disappeared in Jijiga town while driving a WFP-marked vehicle. He had arrived on Wednesday afternoon for a field visit to assess food security in the Somali- speaking area of Ethiopia.

The UN food agency said that every effort was being made to locate the missing staff member and that local authorities, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other agencies were also assisting the search effort.

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

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