United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-09-13

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 13 September, 1999

HEADLINES

Latest Developments
• Secretary-General welcomes Indonesian Government's decision to accept international assistance to restore peace and security in East Timor.
• UN human rights commissioner recommends international probe into East Timor violence.
• UN envoy reports "widespread and systematic" human rights violations against women in Afghanistan.
• Security Council approves three-month extension of UN mission in Western Sahara.
• UN police in Kosovo expand policing duties beyond capital.
• Secretary-General reappoints head of UN Children's Fund to second five- year term.

In a statement released Sunday after the announcement in Jakarta by Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, the Secretary-General said he was looking forward to the arrival in New York of Foreign Minister Ali Alatas to urgently finalize the details of the arrangements so the Security Council can take "rapid action" and the "uncertainty and suffering of the East Timorese people will not be prolonged."

The Secretary-General said that until there was a United Nations mandate for international forces, he expects the Indonesian authorities in East Timor and the Government of Indonesia to do their utmost to maintain order and security in accordance with the 5 May Agreements. Those Agreements had paved the way for last month's ballot on an autonomy proposal, which East Timorese voters rejected with a nearly 80 per cent majority.

The Indonesian Government's decision came after the Security Council on Saturday held a day-long open debate on the situation in East Timor. Many of the 52 governments that took the floor stressed the need for a multi- national force for the territory and strongly urged Indonesia to accept the offer of international assistance.

Speaking in Jakarta at the end of a weekend visit for a first-hand assessment of the human rights situation in East Timor, the High Commissioner said there was much evidence pointing clearly to the role played by parts of the Indonesian army, or TNI, in the rampant violence.

"According to the reports collected, there was collusion between the military and the militias," Mrs. Robinson said. "The Government has an important part to play in cooperating with a process of justice and accountability for the atrocities committed in East Timor."

The High Commissioner called for a speedy deployment of an international security force, saying the peacekeepers would help stop the "well-planned and systematic policy of killings, displacement, destruction of property and intimidation carried out by militia groups and elements of the security forces."

Mrs. Robinson had previously spoken in Darwin, Australia, with East Timorese and international staff with the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) who had been evacuated from the territory. Their accounts, she said, had brought home the importance of establishing accountability for the massive abuses committed particularly since the 30 August ballot.

"The deliberate attempt to drive out the world's eyes and ears in East Timor, namely the UN presence and the media, did not prevent the collection of a great amount of evidence -- names, places and facts," she said. "This will allow the international community to put the criminals responsible away, provided the resolve is there to do so."

Meanwhile in Geneva, Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the Indonesian Government's recent decision to allow an international security force into East Timor paves the way for a "feasible humanitarian operation."

"We are in a race against time to help save the lives of tens of thousands terrified people affected by weeks of wanton violence and forcible displacement," the High Commissioner said, adding that the UN humanitarian agencies are ready to help the displaced people in both East and West Timor.

Mrs. Ogata expressed concern about reports of forced relocation of some East Timorese to West Timor and demanded that all those uprooted by the violence must be allowed to return to their homes.

UNHCR said it had pre-positioned emergency supplies in the region and an aircraft was on stand-by in Australia's Northern Territory ready to fly in relief supplies into the East Timor capital of Dili on a few hours notice.

According to Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Rapporteur for Violence against Women, the Taliban's Department of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is the "most misogynist such entity in the world." She said its edicts about women are "completely unacceptable" and in complete violation of all international human rights norms and that the Department should therefore be disbanded.

Ms. Coomaraswamy's two-week visit was prompted by six years of allegations about violence against women in Afghanistan. Despite assurances by Taliban authorities of their unequivocal commitment to all international laws to which Afghanistan is a signatory, there were widespread violations of women's rights in Taliban-held areas, she said.

The Special Rapporteur said discriminatory activities against women included violations of physical security, including public beatings as well as the denial of education, health care and employment. Ms. Coomaraswamy said polygamy and forced marriages were key issues in family rights and that minority women were sometimes subject to forced displacement.

"I have never seen suffering like in Afghanistan," Ms. Coomaraswamy said. "Afghan women have shown tremendous resilience under the circumstances."

The extension of the mandate, which was recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his latest report to the Council, would also allow the implementation of confidence-building measures and the conclusion of all outstanding agreements needed to implement the Western Sahara Settlement Plan. In addition, the extended mandate would enable MINURSO to continue with the appeals process.

By today's action, the Council also requested the Secretary-General to report every 45 days on significant developments in the implementation of the August 1988 Settlement Plan, which established MINURSO in order to monitor a ceasefire and identify and register qualified voters for the referendum on whether the former Spanish colony will gain full independence or become a part of Morocco.

More than 500 UN international civilian police deployed to four sub- stations throughout the Pristina region - one of five provincial areas in Kosovo - and are now providing 24-hour policing services, Daniela Rozgonova told the press in Pristina city.

"The sub-stations are located in each major area of the Pristina region and are currently staffed with 60 to 90 officers each," she said.

To enhance security throughout the Pristina region, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has set up an around-the-clock emergency hot-line for civilians to report incidents directly to UN civilian police. The lines are staffed by dispatchers who speak both Serbian and Albanian.

Also, to address increasing traffic safety concern in areas of the capital, UNMIK police are now directing traffic and responding to accident reports.

Meanwhile, UNMIK reported today that 17 minority recruits, including six Serbs, have joined the first class of 200 trainees for an indigenous police force which began course work early last week.

"After various talks between the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Police School Director Steve Bennett and the minority students and community leaders, some students came back to classes," Ms. Rozgonova said.

The OSCE, which is charged with carrying out UNMIK's institution building activities, runs the Kosovo Police Service School.

"Over the past four and a half years Ms. Bellamy has served with distinction and devotion," Mr. Annan said. "The world's children will most certainly benefit from her continued leadership of this vital organization."

In a statement released in New York, Ms. Bellamy outlined some of her goals for the agency during her second term, which begins 1 May 2000.

"Although we have many successes behind us, we have many challenges still before us," Ms. Bellamy said. "The scourge of HIV/AIDS, the damaging consequences of conflict, and the asphyxiating effect of poverty and debt are all growing. It is our responsibility -- for the sake of children everywhere -- to overcome them."

In her coming term, the statement said, Ms. Bellamy will devote UNICEF to promoting a new "global agenda for children." She said that agenda would include recruiting leaders in government, civil society, academia, the media and the private sector to commit themselves to making sure that all children survive; that they grow up healthy in a protected environment; that they obtain a quality basic education; and that fewer women die during childbirth or from preventable causes.

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

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