United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-05-14

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 14 May, 1999

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General to visit Balkans next week to show UN solidarity with Kosovo refugees.
• Secretary-General calls on UN agencies and private relief organizations to focus on improved response in Balkans.
• UN refugee agency reports virtually no new movement of Kosovo refugees into neighboring countries.
• Secretary-General approves revised plan to allow Iraq to spend oil-for- food revenue on telecommunications.
• UN official says funds needed for humanitarian programmes in Republic of Congo.
• Nigerian re-elected for fifth term as head of UN World Meteorological Organization.

"I will be going to show my solidarity and that of the entire United Nations with the suffering of the Kosovo Albanian people and to assure them that all our efforts are directed towards their safe and speedy return to Kosovo," said Mr. Annan.

The Secretary-General's comments came at a press conference after he chaired a two-day high-level meeting of top UN officials and non- governmental organizations operating in the Balkans. The meeting had made real progress in identifying "where we can do more, where we can do better, where we can unify our efforts and where we can expand them," said Mr. Annan.

As part of his effort to intensify the UN response in Kosovo, Mr. Annan named the UN's Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, as regional coordinator for the UN Assistance in the Balkans. Mr. Griffiths, who will be based in Skopje, will ensure any gaps in assistance are covered and that the UN is prepared for immediate needs and medium-term developments, the Secretary-General said.

The UN humanitarian assessment mission would go to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on Saturday to evaluate conditions in Kosovo and the rest of the country, said the Secretary-General. The mission, which will be led by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, had a delicate and difficult task but, if supported by all sides, it would be able to give a fresh and frank report on the humanitarian consequences of the Kosovo crisis, Mr. Annan said.

The Secretary-General was addressing the final day of a high-level meeting in Geneva attended by the heads of UN agencies, programmes, and funds and representatives of non-governmental organizations active in the Balkans.

Outlining the priorities facing the international relief community, Mr. Annan said winterization of the refugee camps was an immediate necessity whether or not a speedy political solution was found. Another important issue, the Secretary-General said, was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registration of Kosovo Albanians to protect their citizenship and property rights.

Mr. Annan also briefed the two-day meeting on the latest political developments and prospects. His two Special Envoys for the Balkans, Carl Bildt and Eduard Kukan, would facilitate efforts by others. The overall goal was to try and work out an approach that could receive Security Council support.

Any future international civilian presence in Kosovo would need to concern itself with human rights, humanitarian demands, reconstruction, institution and police matters, the Secretary-General said. "We would hope to see an integrated operation, with an efficient military-civilian coordination. We must not repeat the mistakes of Bosnia," he said.

The Secretary-General stressed that an international military force, which is "credible and will be able to show force in order not to use it", is the condition for the "safe, unconditional and complete return of every man, woman and child expelled from Kosovo".

However, the UN agency reported that a group of about 30 Kosovo refugees who crossed into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia claimed they had a difficult time crossing the border, and that many others were trying to get across.

Meanwhile, UNHCR has signed an agreement with the Albanian Government to help local families who are hosting refugees. Each month, the families will receive the equivalent of $10 in local currency for each refugee and up to $120 per family. The agency is setting aside $8 million for three months to cover the costs of caring for 35,000 families. The cash arrangement, retroactive to 1 April, will be implemented once host families have been registered.

In a letter to the President of the Security Council, Secretary- General Kofi Annan says that his approval of a new plan concerning telecommunications expenditures, if properly implemented, should enhance the humanitarian programme throughout Iraq, according to Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

The United Nations sent technical teams to Iraq last year to work with the relevant authorities on a revised plan after the Secretary- General withheld approval of that part of Iraq's distribution plan for the last two six-month periods -- known as Phase IV and Phase V -- of the humanitarian programme, said Mr. de Almeida e Silva.

The Iraqi Government has proposed spending $92 million during the current Phase V, said Mr. de Almeida e Silva. The actual amount available will depend on the final revenue raised from oil sales during Phase V, which ends 24 May, and the programme's priorities.

The Office of the Iraq Programme says that it has already received five contracts from French and Chinese companies worth a total of $88 million for telecommunications equipment. These contracts will be processed and circulated to the Security Council committee overseeing the programme, said Mr. de Almeida e Silva.

Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters, the country's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Georg Charpentier, said one alarming aspect of the crises in the Republic of the Congo had been the enrolment of approximately 15,000 youths in militias and the lack of funds to resettle them.

A positive development, said Mr. Charpentier, was President Sassou Nguesso's encouragement to internally displaced persons to return to the southern suburbs of Brazzaville. That had prompted a movement of internally displaced from the poor region -- or the southern region surrounding Brazzaville -- towards the city.

The humanitarian community and the authorities in Brazzaville were shouldering the responsibility of returning and resettling internally displaced people, mainly in the southern suburbs of Brazzaville, he said. One programme aimed to ensure that people could begin a normal life immediately. There was also a programme to buy up arms from the militia and enrol youngsters in rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. However, the two initiatives were being launched at a time when there was insufficient funds for the next three to six months.

Over 500 participants from Member countries and international organizations are attending the 13th World Meteorological Congress, which is held every four years.

In accepting the appointment, Dr. Obasi stressed the ever-growing challenges in atmospheric sciences, hydrology, the environment and related areas. "We must transform such challenges into opportunities for the further enhancement and strengthening of the national Meteorological and Hydrological Services of all nations," he said.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in an address to the Congress that the WMO's role will be even more important in the future, as throughout its history the agency has promoted a better understanding of weather, water and climate. "You have helped others understand that these phenomena know no national boundaries -- that they vitally affect the health and well- being of all life on this earth," he said.

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

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