United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-08-13

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

Friday, 13 August, 1999

HEADLINES

• UN mission in Kosovo issues regulation to deter violence and ensure public security.
• Two months after its return to Kosovo, UNHCR says 750,000 refugees have been brought home safely.
• Secretary-General voices deep concern at abduction of aid workers by armed group in Liberia.
• Preparatory Commission for International Criminal Court concludes second session.
• New report reviews status of preparations for referendum in Western Sahara.
• UN to set up office in Angola to help in search for peace.
• Campaigning for UN-supervised autonomy ballot in East Timor to start Saturday.
• Budget estimates released for provisional expansion of UN mission in Sierra Leone.
• Secretary-General welcomes decision by Tajik Supreme Court legalizing opposition political parties.
• UN inter-agency team investigating depleted uranium in Yugoslavia.
• Despite delay in Central African Republic elections, UN officials hope process will end by mid-November.
• Head of UNAIDS calls for greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Regulation No. 2, which was signed in Pristina Thursday evening by Dr. Bernard Kouchner, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), authorizes KFOR and UN civilian police to deny individuals access to or remove them from a troubled location.

"The Regulation is a preventive tool," Hansjoerg Strohmeyer, one of Dr. Kouchner's legal advisers told a news briefing in Pristina today. He added that it was a mechanism to deter public unrest and violence. "Practically speaking, it allows us to remove people who are instigating, through hate speech or other forms of provocation."

Noting that this was a common practice in many countries, particularly in Europe, Mr. Strohmeyer said that the Regulation meant that a person would be removed beyond the city limits or in certain cases beyond Kosovo. He stressed, however, that it was "a preventive tool, not an enforcement mechanism for criminal action."

The move came after UNMIK determined that the Mitrovica unrest had been stirred up by agitators brought in from the outside, first by the Serbs and then by the Albanian Kosovars. UN officials in Pristina stressed that the Mitrovica events underscored the need for KFOR and UN civilian police to be able to respond adequately to similar situations throughout Kosovo to secure public peace and order.

All but 50,000 refugees who fled to other countries in the region have now returned to Kosovo, UNHCR spokeswoman Judith Kumin told a press briefing in Geneva. Nearly one-third of the some 91,000 evacuated to more distant countries have also returned.

During the same period, however, about 130,000 Serbs and Roma have fled Kosovo, mostly to other parts of Serbia and to Montenegro, Ms. Kumin said. Those newly displaced have joined roughly 50,000 non-Albanians displaced from Kosovo since tensions began to rise in the province in March 1998.

Yesterday, Dennis McNamara of UNHCR, who heads the humanitarian "pillar" of the UN mission in Kosovo, visited displaced Serbs and Roma in the Kralijevo area of southern Serbia, where some 90,000 displaced from Kosovo have congregated.

The purpose of that trip, as well as of Mr. McNamara's scheduled meetings on Friday with Yugoslav authorities in Belgrade, was to evaluate the needs of the displaced and to discuss overall humanitarian situation in Serbia and Montenegro.

The six expatriates and three national staff working with different non- governmental organizations in Liberia were taken hostage by gunmen three days ago in the town of Kolahun. Around 50 remaining aid personnel have been temporarily withdrawn to neighboring Guinea.

In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Annan deplored the "serious incident" and called on the armed group to release all hostages immediately and without any conditions.

The Secretary-General said he welcomed the Liberian Government's efforts to seek the earliest release of all hostages and to ensure the safety and security of international personnel in its territory.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), dozens of gunmen attacked the town of Kolahun on Wednesday and stopped the nine aid workers as they tried to leave. Most other UN and non-governmental staff got away to nearby villages.

The hostages were working for three aid agencies -- Merlin, the International Rescue Committee and MSF-Belgium -- that are partners with UNHCR in caring for 20,000 Sierra Leonean refugees in the area.

Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Kirsch of Canada said the Preparatory Commission's task was to create conditions that will allow the Court to function effectively as soon as its Statute enters into force.

The Court will be established when 60 countries ratify its Statute adopted last year at a UN diplomatic conference in Rome. Eighty-four countries have signed the Statute indicating their intention to ratify. So far, only four States have ratified it.

By the end of June 2000, the Commission has to complete its work on the rules of procedure and evidence and the elements of crimes, a document that will help the Court interpret the crimes listed in its Statute, said Ambassador Kirsch. It also has a mandate to enhance the effectiveness and widen acceptability of the Court, he added.

The Chairman said the Commission, which will meet again in November, maintained the balance between the different legal systems to be reconciled. "Irrespective of any substantive differences it is quite difficult to just reconcile civil law and common law for purposes like this, " he said.

Mr. Kirsch said discussions on the elements of crimes had focused on war crimes, which include attacks against civilians and humanitarian and peacekeeping personnel. There was also very good progress in relation to sexual crimes, he added.

According to the report, the UN Mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is continuing to identify members of the so-called "contested tribes" and conduct an appeals process for those identified but deemed ineligible to participate in the referendum.

MINURSO and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are also stepping up preparations to repatriate refugees to the territory, says Mr. Annan. "It is now important that confidence-building measures be implemented promptly through the establishment of communications facilities and visits."

However, delays in solving certain issues in the identification operation, the staggered opening of the appeals centres and staffing shortages, have affected parts of the timetable for the referendum process, says Mr. Annan. The UN is making special efforts to increase staffing to the required levels, but because of the amount of work ahead, additional resources may be needed to keep to the current timetable.

Noting that the two parties -- Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO -- have expressed cautious optimism for the next stages of the implementation of the Settlement Plan, the Secretary-General stresses that their full cooperation with the UN Mission remains essential.

In a letter to the Security Council, the Secretary-General says the new office will be staffed by 30 professionals who will liaise with Angolan political leaders, military, police and other civilian authorities. Administrative and support personnel will also be provided.

The Secretary-General says he will initiate practical arrangements for the early establishment of the office and the conclusion of a status- of- mission agreement with the Angolan Government as soon as possible.

The new UN office will also assist the Angolan people in capacity- building and promoting human rights.

The tripartite discussions are focusing on UNAMET's role during phase II, the period after the scheduled 30 August vote and before the implementation of the ballot's results, which would either grant East Timor autonomy within Indonesia or begin a process that would lead to the territory's independence.

Saturday marks the start of the political campaign period for the so-called popular consultation. In Dili, the territory's capital, the United Front for East Timor Autonomy is expected to hold a rally at the Merdeka field in Comoro village, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the National Council of the Timorese Resistance (CNRT) notified the UNAMET Chief Electoral Officer that it had named seven representatives to sit on the regional campaign coordination committees in Dili, Ambino, Suai, Baucau, Viqueque, Los Palos and Maliana. The CNRT office in Suai was expected to open Friday morning, the spokesman said.

In an addendum to last month's report to the Security Council, Secretary- General said the financing would cover a ten-month period through June 2000 and fund the gradual phase-in of 140 additional military observers. The costs would also cover the expansion of the Observer Mission by 59 international civilian personnel and 21 local staff.

The Secretary-General had recommended strengthening UNOMSIL so that it can help implement the recent peace agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary United Front.

In addition to the major disarmament and demobilization effort, implementation of the 7 July agreement will require substantial numbers of peacekeepers throughout the country and the deployment of additional UN military observers.

The Court's decision on 12 August came after the UTO had publicly declared the disbandment of its armed forces on 3 August.

In a statement issued today at UN Headquarters in New York, a spokesman for the Secretary-General called the decision "another significant step further in the implementation of the peace agreement in Tajikistan."

Since 3 August, the group from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Swedish Radiation Institute has been collecting and collating information on uranium-tipped bombs dropped by NATO during the Balkans crisis.

A meeting of the organisations is planned for 1 September in Geneva to review the group's work. A decision will be made then whether to send a full-scale assessment mission to the region to examine in detail the depleted uranium issue, the UN spokesman said.

The postponement of the elections until 12 September was announced by the country's Mixed and Independent Electoral Commission Thursday evening.

MINURCA was established in April 1998 to assist in maintaining and enhancing security and stability in the capital, Bangui. The Mission is also to play a supportive role in the presidential elections, as it had done during the legislative elections held at the end of last year. MINURCA's mandate is expiring on 15 November 1999.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to report to the Security Council on the situation in the country by the end of September, the UN spokesman said.

Last month, in his latest report on the developments in Central African Republic, the Secretary-General called attention to the increasingly tense situation there and requested 148 additional troops for MINURCA.

Dr. Piot was in Warsaw on Friday to address the Ninth International Conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS. He said people with HIV must play an integral role in prevention and care programmes in order for them to be truly effective.

Involving people with HIV in the fight against the epidemic is one of the best ways to overcome prejudice and discrimination, said Dr. Piot. "When infected people have names and faces, it is easier to understand that people with HIV are our sisters and brothers, our children and parents, and AIDS becomes an issue we must all address."

While in Warsaw, Dr. Piot will meet with key government and community leaders to discuss progress against the epidemic. At a meeting yesterday with Professor Antoni Sulek, Secretary of State and Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister on Social Issues, Dr. Piot expressed support for the Government's strategy of involving non-governmental and community organizations in the fight. He also stressed the importance of fully educating young people about sexual health and life skills for HIV prevention.

The number of HIV infections in Eastern Europe has increased nine- fold in just three years, from less that 30,000 HIV infections in 1995 to an estimated 270,000 infections by December 1998. Approximately 80 per cent of infected individuals inject drugs. Ukraine has been the most dramatically affected, and Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation also have growing HIV epidemics, according to UNAIDS.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article