United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-02-04

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

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, February 4, 2000

UN REPORTS RISE IN ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN KOSOVO

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) reported a rise in ethnic violence in Kosovo, less than two days after the rocket attack on a bus operated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) left two Serb civilians dead.

Mitrovica experienced an extremely violent night and remains tense, UNMIK reported. Information from the scene is still sketchy, but according to preliminary information, at least six people have been killed and another 20 injured.

There were reports that grenades were thrown in a cafe frequented by Serbs in northern Mitrovica, injuring an unconfirmed number inside. Two hours earlier, an elderly couple was shot and killed. A crowd then went on a rampage, breaking into Albanian homes in northern Mitrovica. Two Albanians were killed in that violence. One UNMIK officer witnessed the murder of his landlady.UNMIK reported late Friday that two more people -- an Albanian boy and Albanian woman -- died as a result of injuries sustained in the violence.

UNHCR reported that explosives ripped off the doors on the homes of ethnic Albanians living in predominantly Serb area of northern Mitrovica overnight and the residents were told to leave the area. The High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata expressed alarm over the violence that has resulted in new expulsions of ethnic Albanians. For press release, click here.

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) has taken control of the situation, and imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

UNMIK condemned the vicious outbreak of violence and announced that the Secretary-General's Special Representative Bernard Kouchner is cutting short his visit to Japan to return to Kosovo.

Asked about the possibility that the number of KFOR troops may be reduced, the Spokesman said the United Nations has been concerned about plans to reduce KFOR's size and has discussed the issue with NATO officials and individual Governments.

Asked about what KFOR and UNMIK can do to contain the violence, Eckhard noted that KFOR has tried to compensate for a shortfall in civilian police; the UN Civilian Police currently number fewer than 2,000, out of nearly 5,000 for which the United Nations has asked. "We are terribly reliant on KFOR, and we have to be concerned about any plans for them to reduce drastically their numbers," he said.

He noted that most UN peacekeeping missions require police, but there is a finite number of police that can be made available for UN operations. The United Nations has tried to obtain more police by allowing retired policemen to serve, but still cannot obtain the number it needs, he said.

TOP HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL WELCOMES ACTION ON HISSENE HABR&Eacute;

Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the decision taken in Senegal to indict Hissene Habr&eacute;, former President of Chad, with charges of torture.

Robinson said, "The message sent by the decision in Dakar is clear: Those who commit, order or tolerate torture and other gross human rights violations can no longer be sure of a peaceful retirement. The decision is further confirmation that torture is an international crime subject to universal jurisdiction."

She added, "Survivors of human rights abuses the world over can take heart in knowing that impunity for torture and other human rights violations is no longer the norm, even when those accused are the highest representatives of the State."

UN OUTLINES CAPACITY OF PROPOSED CONGO FORCE

The Security Council did not hold any meeting today, although Council members are meeting with the Secretary-General for their monthly luncheon with him.

On Thursday afternoon, the Security Council met in consultations and heard a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations H&eacute;di Annabi on the Secretary-General's most recent report on the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Council members discussed the report for nearly three hours and expressed their support for the Secretary-General's recommendations in a press statement following the session. They also voiced concern at reports of massacres in the eastern part of the DRC and condemned all human rights violations in that country.

The Secretary-General recommended the deployment of a total force of 5,537. This force will be deployed in four reinforced protected infantry battalion groups numbering a total of 3,400 troops.

Annabi said that the proposed force would not serve as an interposition force, nor would it be expected to extract military observers or civilian personnel by force. It would not have the capacity to protect the civilian population from armed attack.

Annabi recalled that in November 1996, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a multinational force in what was then eastern Zaire, where refugee camps were coming under attack, it was made clear that the 10,000-member force would not be in a position to disarm combatants, to separate armed elements from refugees or to interpose itself. He said it would not seem reasonable to expect more of a much smaller UN force working under much more complex and potentially dangerous circumstances.

FORENSIC INVESTIGATION CONTINUES IN EAST TIMOR ENCLAVE

Investigators recovering bodies from a mass gravesite in East Timor's Oecussi enclave today uncovered the first body with gunshot wounds. The pathologist working with the team said the wounds to the victim's skull indicated an execution.

So far the team, led by two forensic experts, has recovered 26 bodies and six incomplete remains. They are working on 25 gravesites in a 400-meter area along the border with West Timor.

The forensic experts said the evidence gathered so far shows that most of the victims suffered several injuries to their bodies and skull fractures, most likely resulting from blows by machetes. According to the experts, the fractures suggest a tremendous use of force.

The investigators are piecing together what happened and have learned that on September 9, some 70 East Timorese men from two villages were marched by militia across the river into West Timor. That evening, the militia tied the men in pairs with their hands behind their backs and marched them back across the river.

Once inside the enclave, the attack began with militia members hacking their victims with machetes. Some men are believed to have survived the attack. In the morning, militia brought nearby villagers and ordered them to bury the bodies.

The United Nations believes those responsible for the massacre are still in West Timor. Click here for today's briefing notes from Dili.

UN AFFIRMS PROSECUTOR'S SOLE AUTHORITY FOR PROSECUTIONS

The "Mothers of Srebrenica" met today in The Hague with Carla Del Ponte, Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

In response to questions about the visit, the Spokesman said: "According to the statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Prosecutor is the sole authority with the power to initiate investigations and prosecutions of persons before the Tribunal. There is no procedure, similar to the one existing in some national jurisdictions, whereby private citizens can initiate private prosecutions before the Tribunal."

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about the Russian ship seized in the Persian Gulf this week, the Spokesman said that the Security Council has authorized the interception missions and individual Member States are carrying it out. As long as those states act within their mandates, he added, there is no reason for the Secretary-General to be involved.

India has become the 47th Member State to be paid in full for this year's regular budget. Today it submitted a check of just over $3 million.

In response to a question about Member States that lose their voting rights in the General Assembly because of non-payment of dues, the Spokesman noted that such countries do not lose their voting rights in the Security Council.

In the briefing notes from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today, UNHCR says that the effort to evacuate nearly 2,300 refugees from a makeshift camp near the Angolan border to safer sites in Zambia has been completed. The agency is now turning its attention to a more isolated camp, where some 8,000 refugees are trapped in an insecure zone near Angola.

The UN Office in Vienna issued a press release, noting the visit by the Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jacques Klein, to address the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The Office of the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan noted the spread of a measles epidemic in the remote district of Darra Souf. The epidemic has been linked to the deaths of at least 100 people.

The World Health Organization issued a release announcing the beginning next Wednesday of a conference in Oslo, Norway, on the regulation of tobacco products.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea announced that it would reach a judgment on Monday in the case of a Panamanian fishing vessel detained by France at R&eacute;union Island.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7

The Security Council is scheduled to hear a briefing from Benon Sevan, Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme, on the humanitarian programme in Iraq and the needs of Iraq's oil industry. The Council is also expected to hold consultations and a formal meeting to consider the expansion of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone.

The pre-sessional working group of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women meets through Friday.

In Geneva, the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery meets until Thursday.

The Executive Board of the World Food Programme opens its first regular session for the year in Rome.

In Hamburg, Germany, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will deliver its judgment in the case of the "Camouco," a Panamanian fishing vessel seized by France and currently detained at R&eacute;union Island.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

The Secretary-General departs from New York to begin his Asian trip. During that trip, he will visit Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Australia and New Zealand.

The UN Population Fund will be hosting a press conference at 11:00 to introduce the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for Botswana, Miss Universe Mpule Kwelagobe.

The Committee for Social Development holds its 38th session through February 17.

In Washington, D.C., the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) and the United States Congress will co-host a summit meeting on Drug Control, ending on Wednesday. This is a yearly meeting to discuss common drug-control problems. Invited participants include Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy; Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the US House of Representatives; Pino Arlacchi, ODCCP Executive Director; and former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.

Carla Del Ponte, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, will begin a visit to Arusha, Tanzania, where she will work at Tribunal headquarters for the rest of the month.

From today until Thursday, there will be a meeting on population ageing at UN Headquarters, bringing together international experts on ageing issues. The meeting will include a forum at 10:30 a.m. today, moderated by Barbara Crossette of The New York Times.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

The Security Council has scheduled an open debate on the protection of UN and humanitarian personnel in conflict zones. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fr&eacute;chette will be among the speakers.

At 11:15 a.m., Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, President of the 54th Session of the General Assembly, will hold a press conference.

In Oslo, Norway, the World Health Organisation will be hosting an international conference on the regulation of tobacco products. Public health experts and policymakers will meet to consider technical and legislative options to regulate tobacco products, as part of the continuing negotiating process for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which began last year.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10

The Security Council will hold informal consultations on the UN Mission in the Central African Republic.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11

During his visit to Bangkok, Thailand, the Secretary-General will deliver a speech on peacekeeping upon receiving an honorary degree from Thamassat University and will deliver remarks to the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in Bangkok, on the eve of the Tenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

This is the last day of the fourth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development's Intergovernmental Forum on Forests.