United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-03-19

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 19 March, 1999

HEADLINES

• Security Council hears calls for rapid end to fighting in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• UN Secretary-General receives letter from Libya agreeing to surrender two Lockerbie suspects.
• UN refugee agency reports 10,000 people fleeing Democratic Republic of Congo to Zambia and Tanzania.
• High Commissioner for Human Rights says world must do more to address gross violations of fundamental rights.
• On day to eliminate racial discrimination, UN Secretary-General calls for humanity free of racial barriers.
• UN mission reports lack of progress in human rights situation in Guatemala.
• In message to forum of city leaders, UN Secretary-General says urban revolution must work for people.
• UN health agency says polio "unlikely to ever occur again" in Western Pacific Region.
• First UN ship carrying urgently needed food aid arrives in Sierra Leone capital.
• Commission on Status of Women prepares for UN General Assembly special session on gender equality.
• Head of UN mission to Western Sahara to resign.
• UN issues stamps commemorating Australian world heritage sites.

In an intensive debate in which a total of 30 delegates took part, the 15 Council members were joined by representatives from other countries, including several from the Great Lakes region of Africa. Many delegates deplored what they described as threats to the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of States and violations of the principle of non- interference in a country's domestic affairs.

Several Council members deplored the chronic instability in the region and its tragic humanitarian impact. Others emphasized that all the parties to the conflict, including the rebels in the DRC, must demonstrate political will and hold a dialogue to end the fighting. They noted that the genuine security concerns of the DRC's neighbours, including the disarmament of rebels on their borders, must be addressed.

The Minister of Human Rights for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Leonard She Okitundu, said that despite all the concessions by his Government, negotiations had not led to a ceasefire. Mr. Okitundu said the determination of Uganda and Rwanda to remain on Congolese territory had been the sole obstacle to a peaceful solution the crisis. He called on the international community to become more aware of the search for a lasting peace and proposed the holding of a regional conference of the countries of the Great Lakes region under the aegis of the UN and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Patrick Mazimhaka of Rwanda said his government respected the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations. He called on the DRC to use its sovereign rights and "put its act together" to dismantle the dozen non- State armies being used to attack the territorial integrity of its neighbours. Rwanda was resolved to join others in a coalition against the recurrence of genocide and terrorism in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere, he added.

Amama Mbabazi, Uganda's Minister of State for foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, said that his country was committed to a peaceful and negotiated resolution and had neither territorial ambition nor economic interests beyond the normal course of trade between countries. There was a consensus that there should a national conference in the DRC involving all stakeholders to determine the country's political future, he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Annan welcomed South African President Nelson Mandela's announcement that Libya was ready to proceed with the transfer of the accused to the Netherlands.

In a statement by his spokesman, the Secretary-General said he was greatly encouraged by the development. He conveyed his warm appreciation for the efforts by President Mandela, Crown Prince Abdullah of Jordan and others to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion, in cooperation with Libyan authorities.

Reacting to the reported agreement, the representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, said the "most optimistic part of it is that it is confirmed." He cautioned, however, that one would have to wait until one saw the full statement and what the Libyan leadership said to the Secretary-General.

For his part, the representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Peter Burleigh, stressed that the key issue "is the turning over of the two accused to the Netherlands" to be tried under Scottish law.

UNHCR said that its staff estimated that 10,000 Congolese had fled into northern Zambia and almost 4,000 had crossed Lake Tanganyika into Tanzania. In Zambia 6,000 of the refugees were in Kaputa town while 4,000 had been taken in by villagers along the border between Kaputa and Sumbu. According to the agency, most of the refugees were from Moba and some of them came from as far away as Kalemie, 300 kilometres north of the border with Zambia.

In addition, several tens of thousands more Congolese were reported to be massing in the town of Pweto, on the border between Zambia and DRC. The refugees had told UNHCR staff that local authorities in Pweto were trying to stop displaced people from entering the town saying that it was already extremely crowded.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Ms. Robinson said the annual session of the Commission on Human Rights, which begins next week in Geneva, could be a time to take stock of the many achievements and setbacks this century. She cited the drawing up of important conventions and the work of the Special Rapporteurs on human rights as signs of real progress.

Ms. Robinson stressed, however, that more must be done to protect civilians in the front lines of internal conflicts. Individual accountability and responsibility must be reinforced and more attention given to early warnings by the Special Rapporteurs. If the report on situation in Rwanda in 1994 by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings had been heeded, more might have been done at that time.

Looking ahead to the Commission's upcoming session, Ms. Robinson said an important part of its work would be preparations for the world conference on racism planned for 2001. The conference was important because so many conflicts were caused by ethnic tensions, she said. Racist intolerance and xenophobia, the seeds of many human rights violations, were an increasingly serious problem in every region and every country.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement marking the occasion that although the twentieth century had been scarred like no other by the evil of racism, it had also witnessed a revolution in the relations between races. The Secretary-General went on to say that if globalization was creating a world community, it "should also give us a humanity free of the barriers of race".

As part of the observances, a round table on the theme, "Towards the World Conference against Racism" was held at the United Nations Office at Geneva. The discussions highlighted preparations by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) for a UN conference in 2001.

In its ninth report on the human rights situation in that country from April to December 1998, MINUGUA points out shortcomings in the system of public security and administration of justice. Those lapses, says the report, perpetuate impunity and undermine the effective exercise of the right to security of person and to due process of law.

While acknowledging that the majority of violations verified by MINUGUA were not the result of Government directives intended to cause or conceals them, the Mission recommends that the State implement a policy of promotion and protection of human rights and that it act decisively to ensure continued decline in human rights violations.

The report says that MINUGUA verified a number of murders, the circumstances and characteristics of which seemed to suggest that they were politically motivated and involved persons linked to State agencies or their acquiescence. In that connection, it reviewed the murder investigation by State organs of Monsignor Juan Gerardi Conedera, the former Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Guatemala and Coordinator of the Archdiocesan Human Rights Office. The report says that there were several acts that jeopardized the investigation and the due process of law.

The Secretary-General's statement was transmitted to the International Union of Local Authorities 34th World Congress, which opens Sunday in Barcelona and will continue through Wednesday. The theme is "Local Government Uniting in a Global Mission."

The Secretary-General says in his video message that the 1996 UN "City Summit" in Istanbul outlined a positive vision of urbanization aimed at giving people everywhere a voice and a choice in decisions affecting their daily lives. He also pledges the UN's continued partnership with local authorities in achieving better living conditions for city dwellers.

The Geneva-based agency, which is leading the international effort to rid the world of the disease by the year 2000, said in a statement it was unlikely polio would ever again occur in the most heavily populated region, which includes China.

Since the last case of polio was found in a 15-month-old girl in Cambodia in March 1997, there has been no trace of wild poliovirus in the region. The highly infectious disease most commonly affects children under five and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours. Interrupting the spread of wild poliovirus among the population is key to the global eradication effort.

The last case in the Western Hemisphere was recorded in 1991, and the area was certified polio-free in 1994, following a three-year period of intensive surveillance. Only three major areas of transmission remain in the world: South Asia, West Africa, and Central Africa. WHO's global polio eradication initiative was launched in 1988.

The vessel was carrying 500 tons of urgently needed food aid to civilians affected by the latest outbreak of fighting. The ship was carrying another 600 tons of rice donated by Italy to Sierra Leone. The food should be enough to feed 22,000 people for two months.

Since hostilities ended in the capital, the situation has gradual returned to normal with most markets and shops open, although many of the affected people cannot afford to buy food and must rely on assistance from aid agencies.

In January when fighting began, looters emptied WFP warehouses in Freetown and made off with about 2,300 tons of food. Reserve stocks in towns in the interior of the country were all but depleted.

The Commission is now acting as the preparatory body for the Assembly's special session entitled, "Women 2000: Gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century". It will assess progress in implementing the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategy and the Beijing Platform for Action.

On Friday, the Commission ended its own regular session after taking action on a number of important issues. One major achievement was the Commission's adoption of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Under the Protocol, individuals or groups of women can bring complaints about alleged violations of the Convention to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, an international body of 23 independent experts.

Other major issues addressed by the Commission included women's health, HIV/AIDS and the plight of women hostages during armed conflicts, Angela King, the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, told a press conference at UN Headquarters on Friday.

The Commission also held panel discussions on such topics as the impact of globalization and urbanization on women, partnerships between men and women to promote gender equality, women and leadership and gender-based violence.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan accepted with regret the resignation of Charles F. Dunbar, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Western Sahara. The Secretary-General praised Mr. Dunbarūs leadership and efforts to the cause of peace during his tenure as head of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Mr. Dunbar was appointed to his post in December 1997 by the Secretary- General to serve for about one year when it appeared that the referendum in Western Sahara would take place in December 1998. The referendum has since been delayed and Mr. Dunbar requested that his resignation take effect 31 March 1999 when his contract expires so that he may resume his profession and be reunited with his family, Mr. Eckhard said.

The set of six UN stamps and three prestige booklets portray such areas as the unique fossil landscape of the Willandra Lakes region, tropical rainforests in the country's north and the rich diversity of the Great Barrier Reef.

The stamps on the theme, "World Heritage - Australia", are the third in a series of United Nations stamps and prestige booklets focusing on either a specific World Heritage site or groups of sites in one geographical location.

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

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