United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-06-03

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 3 June, 1999

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General cautiously welcomes Belgrade's acceptance of NATO peace proposal.
• UNHCR says return of Kosovo refugees hinges on "realities on the ground".
• UN human rights expert cites evidence of systematic killings by Serb forces in Kosovo.
• UN aid agency seeks funds to avert breakdown of emergency food deliveries in central Africa.
• "Global Commons" forum in Tokyo set to review environmental challenges in 21st century.
• Worst drought in decades wreaks havoc on Jordan's crops, UN food agencies warn.

The Secretary-General and the Pope met at the Vatican to discuss the situation in the Balkans and the prospects for building peace in the region.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, the Secretary-General praised the efforts of President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, who is the European Union's Envoy for Kosovo, and of the Russian envoy Victor Chernomyrdin, who took the peace plan to Belgrade.

While noting that he was very pleased with the announcement, the Secretary- General said, in response to a reporter's question, that "without knowing the details, without knowing the reaction of President Milosevic ... it is too premature for me to jump for joy." Once the details are known and clarified, the next step would probably be a Security Council resolution, Mr. Annan said.

The Secretary-General, who was flying back to UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, was expected to be briefed today by President Ahtisaari, according to a UN spokesman.

Meanwhile, UN contingency planning for implementation of the plan is accelerating, said Spokesman Fred Eckhard. Bernard Miyet, the Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, returned last night from Europe, where he conferred with officials from NATO and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as with Carl Bildt, the Secretary- General's Special Envoy for the Balkans.

Mr. Miyet reported that there was a convergence of views with the OSCE on the civilian component of the proposed international presence. "It's of course still not clear who would do what, and we're waiting for those details to be firmed up," said Mr. Eckhard.

Special Envoy Carl Bildt issued a statement in Geneva welcoming news of the agreement. "We must seek to clarify the principles and as soon as possible start to implement them," he said, adding a note of caution, "We know from bitter Balkan experiences that there are devils hidden in every detail."

UNHCR said it believes that the complete pullout of Serbian forces, coupled with a strong international contingent, were necessary for refugee return. The agency's staff are ready to deploy as soon as possible to assess conditions on the ground and conditions for return.

A UNHCR planning team was being dispatched to the region to link up with other humanitarian and aid agencies preparing for the movement of hundreds of thousands of refugees after the Kosovo conflict ends -- a daunting task for the international community requiring massive resources.

Meanwhile, UNHCR reported that on Wednesday an estimated 450 Kosovars arrived at the Morini crossing in Albania, including 200 men who had been freed from a prison in Kosovo. More than 500 refugees crossed into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, many of them slipping through mountain passes.

Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, was speaking at a press conference in Geneva about her recent mission to Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In a report summarizing her findings, she said international monitors and the media must be allowed into Kosovo to investigate human rights abuses and expose the entire reality of the situation on the ground.

Ms. Jahangir said she had received testimonies of human rights violations, including systematic extrajudicial killings mostly carried out by forces under direct or indirect state control, including identified members of units of the Serbian police, the Yugoslav Army or paramilitary forces.

There could be no impunity for crimes such as those reported from Kosovo, said the Special Rapporteur. Stressing the need to investigate and prosecute those directly responsible at the international and national levels, she encouraged the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to continue its investigations.

According to Ms. Jahangir, the international community faced a great challenge in the wake of the Kosovo conflict. She said the vicious cycle of reprisals must end, confidence must be restored among ethnic groups, and civic society must be rebuilt and the norms of responsible citizenry instilled in a scarred and traumatized community.

WFP said existing stocks will be exhausted by the end of July and fresh supplies are not scheduled to arrive until September. The new donations will be used to purchase 20,000 metric tons of food and pay for shipping and distribution costs. In the meantime, field staff will immediately reduce rations 20 to 30 percent in order to stretch out existing stocks.

Irene Lacy, WFP Representative in Tanzania, said the refugees there are particularly vulnerable to reduced rations because so many are already in fragile health and they are still in the malaria season. "In some of the camps they are suffering from anemia, and this, combined with malaria, will put them in a seriously weakened state," she said.

Pointing out that pulses, or dried peas and beans, have already been reduced from their rations, Ms. Lacy warned that further cuts could lead to violence in the camps. "We've already had rioting on previous occasions when we have had to cut back the rations," she said. "Continued reductions are extremely dangerous."

The UN food agency is virtually the sole source of food for more than one million people in four countries, providing rations to some 900,000 internally displaced and war-affected people in Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda and to 360,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees in Tanzania. WFP has been conducting an emergency operation for the victims of the Rwanda genocide since 1994.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) spoke at the World Conference on Global Commons, which is a follow-up to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), popularly known as "Earth Summit." The Tokyo conference has been also timed to coincide with the observance of the World Environment Day on 5 June.

In his opening address, Mr. Toepfer highlighted the need to change the global paradigm about market economies, saying "we must embrace a life- cycle economy" -- one that integrates the handling costs of products like wastes and packaging.

Mr. Toepfer stressed the need to ask questions about the important relationships between trade and environment and trade and development. He also emphasized the importance of increasing cooperation and coordination among United Nations agencies, governments and civil society to deal with environmental issues in an integrated manner.

Participants at the Global Commons conference are expected to review current environmental problems and challenges, and exchange opinions on the preservation of the global environment as "global commons" in the 21st century. Discussions will centre on financial, scientific, technological and urban environmental issues.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the "unprecedented" drought -- which has cut rainfall by up to 70 percent -- has decimated cereal and other food crops and that sheep farmers are facing financial ruin.

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission that visited Jordan in April and May said some 180,000 drought-affected people -- mostly small- scale herders and landless members of rural households -- are "of particular concern." They will need an estimated 14,400 tons of wheat and 1, 300 tons of pulses in emergency food assistance over the next eight months.

In its report, the joint mission forecasts a domestic cereal harvest of just 13,000 tons, enough to cover less than one percent of domestic need instead of the usual 10 percent. Fruit and vegetable production is severely reduced, while the livestock sector has also been hit hard, with red meat and milk production 40 percent below usual levels.

The report recommends establishing and distributing appropriate seed stock for rainfed cereal production as well as providing seed, pesticides, fertilizers and recovery packages for vegetable and fruit growers. It also warns that vaccines will be needed for possible outbreaks of livestock diseases and calls for increased credit to help farmers.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article