United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-06-01

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 1 June, 1999

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General "encouraged" after talking to Prime Ministers of India, Pakistan about Kashmir.
• Delays in electoral process imperil UN mission in Central African Republic, UN report warns.
• UN system's regional activities top agenda of UN Deputy Secretary- General's visit to Bangkok.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York that Mr. Annan had spoken to both Prime Ministers over the long weekend.

"The Secretary-General hopes that they will be able to reach a diplomatic solution to that problem and reminds them that the Line of Control in Kashmir must be respected by all," said the Spokesman.

The Line of Control was defined by the 1972 India-Pakistan agreement, which followed, with minor deviations, the same course as the ceasefire line established in the Karachi Agreement of 1949. The decades-old dispute over Kashmir dates back to the 1940's, when the State of Jammu and Kashmir was one of the princely states which became free, under the partition plan and the India Independence Act of 1947, to accede to India or Pakistan. The accession became a matter of dispute between the two countries and fighting broke out later that year.

In his latest report to the Security Council on the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA), the Secretary-General details logistical, personnel and other recommendations for the Mission in support of the country's electoral process.

The Secretary-General urges the Council to endorse the electoral support plan submitted by the Mission to ensure an acceptable level of observation of the freedom and fairness of the election process. The deployment plans are "essential to make the election credible," he says.

The delays experienced so far, he says, have "seriously impaired" the degree to which MINURCA can assist the electoral process. Persistent distrust among the country's political leaders delayed the inauguration of the Mixed and Independent Electoral Commission, which is responsible for conducting the election, and has left little time to finalize and implement the planning required for the election.

Although the security situation in the Central African Republic has been calm, the Secretary-General reiterates his call for financial assistance to restructure the armed forces, police and gendarmerie. "Further progress in the establishment of a well-trained and adequately equipped security force is essential in view of the volatility of the situation within and around the Central African Republic," he says.

The Secretary-General also notes that the country's economy, following several reforms and steps to privatize State-run enterprises, has continued to perform below expectations.

During her visit, Ms. Frechette is scheduled to meet with top officials from various UN agencies represented in the region. The objective is to promote collaborative action to reinforce synergies and avoid overlapping.

The meeting is being hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the largest of UN's regional commissions.

Ms. Frechette arrived in Bangkok after her visit to the Philippines, where on Monday she addressed the World Conference on Governance in Manila.

Underscoring the need to strengthen the system of global governance, she noted that the financial crisis that had started in east Asia two years ago made everybody "painfully aware that one key aspect of global governance -- arrangements for the managing the world economy -- is currently less that perfect."

Ms. Frechette stressed that the United Nations system was "at the heart" of global governance. "International rules already extend to virtually every field of human endeavor, through more than 500 multilateral treaties that have been deposited with the United Nations," she said. "These agreements offer an exhaustive framework for global governance and progress - or would do, if only they were universally ratified and implemented."

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

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