United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-07-12

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

Monday, 12 July, 1999

HEADLINES

• Security Council members welcome signing of accord on Democratic Republic of Congo, urge rebels to follow suit.
• In speech at OAU summit, Secretary-General says Africa's bid for democracy and economic reform bearing fruit.
• Human Development Report says globalization must work for people not just profits.
• Plight of minorities in Kosovo a prime concern of UN mission.
• UNICEF survey finds half of Kosovo's primary schools destroyed or severely damaged.
• Secretary-General proposed three-day postponement of registration for ballot on future of East Timor.
• UN reports lack of progress in talks between Croatia and Yugoslavia over Prevlaka dispute.
• UN crime fighting agency offers aid to Lebanon, Jordan to combat illicit drugs.

At the same time, Council members voiced their "dismay" with the failure of the leaders of the rebel movements to sign the accord and urged them to resolve their differences and to sign the agreement "as soon as possible."

In a press statement issued after a briefing by the UN Secretariat, members of the Council emphasized that earnest efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should not be held hostage to the internal division among the rebels.

Recognizing that the United Nations had a key role to play in encouraging the rebel leaders to sign the agreement, Council members also called on the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda and other countries that have influence to make "all the necessary effort" so that the rebel movements join accord signatories.

The ceasefire agreement was signed in Lusaka, Zambia, on Saturday by the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the Minister of Defense of Angola.

In an address to the opening of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Algiers, the Secretary-General said most African's were confronting their problems with courage and imagination and the overall picture was nowhere near as gloomy as it seems to those elsewhere.

He cited a recent report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Chamber of Commerce, showing that Africa brings a higher return to United States and Japanese investors than any other region in the world.

Africa had also posted impressive rates of economic growth in recent years, which was remarkable given the effects of conflict, the Asian crisis and depressed commodity prices, said Mr. Annan. He noted that most chief executives of multi-national corporations tend to see a continent in crisis rather than look in detail at the prospects of any African country. "All of us have an obligation to help change that reality and a strong interest in doing so," the Secretary-General said.

Stressing that healthy development was the best long-term conflict prevention, Mr. Annan recalled that his special report on Africa last year had recommended that African states reduce their purchases of weapons and ammunition to 1.5 per cent of gross national product and impose zero growth on their defence budgets for 10 years. However, in too many states things are still moving the opposite way, he said.

The Secretary-General, who is on an official visit to several African nations, was in Nigeria over the weekend where he met with the country's newly-elected President, General Olesegun Obasanjo. They discussed the peacekeeping arrangements for Sierra Leone, following the recent peace agreement there.

This year's report, the tenth in a series commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme, says the human elements have been left out of a narrow, financially-based view of globalization. Markets have been allowed to dominate the process and the benefits and opportunities have not been shared equitably.

The result is a "grotesque" and dangerous polarization between people and countries, says the report. The fifth of the world's population in the highest income countries has 86 per cent of world gross domestic product, 82 per cent of the world's export markets and 74 per cent of telephone lines. The bottom fifth in the poorest countries has just one per cent in each category.

The report argues that technological advances such as the Internet benefit the relatively well-off and educated: 88 percent of users live in industrialized countries with just 17 per cent of the world's population. Money also speaks louder than need in defining the biotechnology research agenda. "Cosmetic drugs and slow-ripening tomatoes come higher on the list than a vaccine against malaria or drought resistant crops for marginal land, " says the UNDP survey.

The report ranks 174 countries according to quality-of-life indicators, such as income, health, education, life-expectancy and literacy. According to its findings, Canada tops the list of best places to live, followed by Norway, the United States, Japan, Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Netherlands, Iceland, United Kingdom.

Among the hardest places to live are Sierra Leone, Niger, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Mali and the Central African Republic.

The Report offers a number of recommendations aimed at capturing opportunities in the global marketplace and translating them more equitably into advances for people.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative, visited the Roma, who have been displaced from their homes and are living in a school in Kosovo Polje on the outskirts of Pristina. A UN spokesman who visited the location, described it as "truly an appalling site". Plans are underway to move the Romas to a new tent village being erected by KFOR, the international military force, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

During the meeting, Roma representatives stressed that they could not imagine resuming life in Kosovo because of the fear of continued victimization. While acknowledging that the Roma had been targeted, Mr. Vieira de Mello emphasized that every effort was being made to encourage the Albanians, who had just suffered through great terror, to restrain themselves and not to resort to violence.

Mr. Vieira de Mello underscored that it was up to the Albanian leadership to demonstrate their commitment to a Kosovo where human rights and the rule of law for all was protected or they risked losing the international community's commitment and support. He said that the presence of KFOR and the United Nations was a testimony of an enormous investment made by the international community in the effort to ensure respect for human rights in Kosovo.

In other developments, a UN human rights expert told reporters in Pristina that the International community could not allow acts of vengeance to continue and stressed the importance of bringing perpetrators of crimes to justice.

Jiri Dientsbier, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, said that more needed to be done to establish freedom of movement and clarify the issue of property rights. Mr. Dientsbier, who has just finished a five-day visit to Kosovo, said he would intervene with the authorities in Belgrade on behalf of Kosovo Albanians in Serbian prisons.

Meanwhile, in what my prove to be a model for efforts to reconstitute the workforce in Kosovo's public institution, 58 Albanians and 54 Serbs resumed work in Pristina's municipal building. They are the first of 400 workers who will be returning to work over the next 90 days under an agreement which provides for the return to work of members of various ethnic groups.

So far, UNICEF has surveyed schools in 16 of Kosovo's 29 municipalities and found 95 percent need some form of repairs. After looting and destruction of furniture, schools have requested 28,000 desks, 58,000 chairs and 2,000 blackboards.

There are around 1,000 primary schools in Kosovo, serving children between 7 and 14 years of age. UNICEF, which will survey the remaining schools this month, has committed itself to providing every primary school age child in Kosovo the opportunity to attend classes at the beginning of the academic year in September.

In a letter sent to the Security Council over the weekend, the Secretary- General said that in rescheduling the launch of registration to 16 July he had to weigh his determination to move ahead against the conditions prevailing on the ground.

"It is essential that steps be taken to ensure that the people of East Timor are able to participate in safety and free of intimidation in the popular consultation," the Secretary-General wrote, noting that despite some improvements in the capital, Dili, in East Timor as a whole and especially in western districts the security situation remained "serious".

Mr. Annan stressed, however, that he remained fully confident that the Indonesian authorities had the capacity to take meaningful steps in a short period of time that would allow him to make a determination to proceed with the operational phases of the consultation process.

Meanwhile in East Timor, Mr. Annan's announcement was the subject of a meeting Monday morning between Secretary-General's representatives in the territory with the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Ali Alatas, and other senior Indonesian officials concerned with the upcoming ballot.

According to UNMET, Minister Alatas said that a number of people were being investigated by the Indonesian authorities for their alleged involvement in the recent incidents in Maliana and Liquica and that action would be taken to prevent illegal roadblocks being set up in East Timor.

On Wednesday, Ian Martin, the Special Representative of the Secretary- General is scheduled to meet with the Indonesian Task Force to assess the progress in addressing the security situation.

In a just released report on the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), Mr. Annan says a whole set of UN instruments, including his good offices, were at the disposal of the parties. Alternative mechanisms such as sending an international observer to bilateral talks between the two countries and international mediation or arbitration could also be considered. In addition, Member States with influence in the region should use their bilateral contacts to urge the parties to pursue constructive talks, he says.

The Secretary-General also reports that the UN military observers have not been able to patrol "fully or freely" in their area of responsibility on either the Croatian or Yugoslav side of the demilitarized zone. He asks both parties to allow unrestricted access to all areas of the demilitarized zone.

Given the importance of ensuring that the situation on the ground remained stable and as free of tension as possible, Mr. Annan recommends that the Security Council extend Mission's mandate for a further six months, until 15 January 2000, without changing its current concept of operations.

UNMOP monitors the demilitarization of the Prevlaka peninsula and neighbouring areas of Croatia and the Republic of Yugoslavia. The Mission of 27 military observers from 24 countries, conducts foot vehicle and foot patrols on either side of the border and also meets regularly with local authorities to reduce tensions, improve security and promote confidence.

During his visit to Lebanon from 9 to 11 July, Mr. Arlacchi met with President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss and Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister al-Murr as well as other top officials.

He praised the country's efforts and achievements in the fight against crime and illicit drugs and particularly welcomed the Lebanese government's support for development in the Bekaa.

Mr. Arlacchi pledged an additional $4 million for the third phase of an ODCCP assistance programme in the Bekaa. Over the past five years, the ODCCP has carried out a $4.7 million rural development project to spark alternative income in this valley.

Recently, the ODCCP signed a new multi-sectoral project to provide equipment and training for the Lebanese Police Forces as well as study the extent and patterns of the country's rising drug abuse problem, so that countermeasures can be taken.

On his visit to Jordan, from 8 to 9 July, Mr. Arlacchi noted the country's remarkable success in combating the rise of organized crime and transit drug trafficking, and offered to assist Jordan's continuing efforts to fight these rising problems.

Officials in both Jordan and Lebanon agreed that transnational drug trafficking could only be tackled regionally and that joint efforts in combating these problems would contribute significantly to progress and stability in the Middle East.



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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article