United Nations Daily Highlights, 00-02-23

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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

Wednesday, February 23, 2000

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER

Secretary-General Kofi Annan's two-day visit to New Zealand began today when he met with the Prime Minister Helen Clark. During the meeting, the Secretary-General personally thanked Prime Minister Clark and her government for its assistance in East Timor and for the work being done in Cambodia on de-mining.

The Secretary-General also expressed his hope that the Prime Minister would attend the Millennium Summit in September.

Immediately after their meeting, Annan and Clark held a joint press briefing where both took the opportunity to publicly talk about the strong relationship between the United Nations and New Zealand.

At the press briefing, the Secretary-General commented on issues such as the impact of sanctions on the Iraqi people, the ongoing process of reforming the United Nation, and the United Nations' ability to respond rapidly to crises.

On the matter of sanctions, the Secretary-General mentioned the concept of "smart sanctions," which he said can take such forms as restrictions of foreign bank accounts and travel rights of targeted leaders and their families. In April, the Secretary-General said that the Security Council will be having a discussion on sanctions and added that he hoped to be able to come up with some new ideas.

Annan also met today with Phil Goff, the New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister. He also called on the Governor General and delivered a short address at Victoria University.

UN FORCE REPLACES INTERFET IN DILI

The International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) was formally replaced by the UN peacekeeping force in Dili today, after UN Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello, INTERFET Commander Gen. Peter Cosgrove and UN Force Commander Jaime de los Santos signed a declaration on the replacement of INTERFET. The remaining administrative and financial transfer will occur at midnight on February 28.

At the hand-over ceremony, de Mello thanked the Security Council, Australia and other troop-contributing countries for their swift response, which brought an end to the killings of civilians and widespread destruction following the August 30 ballot.

Praising the seamless transition from the multinational force to the UN peacekeepers, de Mello said, "Our military component will remain the highest deterrence and reaction capacity in East Timor, which I would not advise anyone to test."

The United Nations Transitional Administration, on behalf of East Timor, signed with Australia today an agreement on gas exploration in the joint zone of the Timor Gap area, known as Byun Undan. According to the agreement, Philips Petroleum of the United States will lead the consortium of six companies from Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom.

While the exploration is only expected to start in January 2004, if the reserve of liquid gas, such as propane and butane, proves to be significant, it would become a major source of revenue for East Timor in the long run.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES SOMALIA, GUINEA-BISSAU

The Security Council began its work today with a briefing on Somalia by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast. He discussed recent peace efforts on Somalia, including the initiative of the Government of Djibouti, as well as on the humanitarian situation there.

After that briefing, the Council went into informal consultations on Guinea-Bissau, on which they were briefed by Samuel Nana-Sinkam, Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Peace-Building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau. The Peace-Building Support Office helped organize two rounds of elections in Guinea-Bissau, culminating in a run-off vote on 16 January. The results of the voting led to the inauguration last week of newly-elected President Kumba Yala, marking the restoration of multi-party democracy in the country.

Tuesday, the Council made further progress in narrowing differences over a draft resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Council members are scheduled to meet this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in informal consultations to discuss the proposed expansion of the UN Mission there to more than 5,500 military personnel.

UN ISSUES APPEAL ON MOZAMBIQUE FLOODS

The United Nations today issued an appeal to address the devastation caused by recent floods in Mozambique, which is considered to be the worst in 30 years. The United Nations is appealing for $13.6 million, in order to provide emergency assistance over the next six months to some 300,000 people affected by the floods.

Carolyn McAskie, the Acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, emphasized that "it is imperative to speed up the delivery of assistance to Mozambique at this critical stage, to prevent the loss of more lives, additional damage to essential infrastructure and the spread of disease."

In a related matter, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a press release on the impact of the worst floods in four decades on southern Africa including such countries as Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa, as well as Mozambique.

COUNCIL WELCOMES INDONESIAN ACTION ON RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The President of the Security Council, Ambassador Arnoldo Manuel Listre of Argentina, in a letter to the Secretary-General made available today, said that the Council welcomes the Government of Indonesia's commitment to bring those responsible for rights violations in East Timor to justice through its judicial system.

The Council encouraged Indonesia to "institute a swift, comprehensive, effective and transparent legal process, in conformity with international standards," and added that accountability for those responsible would be a key factor in ensuring East Timor's stability.

The members of the Council encouraged the Secretary-General to consult with the Indonesian Government on any assistance it may need from the United Nations in its judicial process.

TRUTH COMMISSION ESTABLISHED IN SIERRA LEONE

The Parliament of Sierra Leone established on Tuesday a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which had been called for by the Lom&eacute; Peace Agreement. The Commission will be composed of three international and four national commissioners.

The objective of the Commission is to create an "impartial historical record of violations and abuses of human rights and humanitarian law related to the conflict in Sierra Leone, from the beginning of the conflict in 1991 to the signing of the Lom&eacute; Peace Agreements." It also is intended to promote reconciliation and healing to prevent a repetition of the violations.

Experts were provided by Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to help draft the statute of the Commission.

TRIBUNAL PROSECUTOR CALLS FOR TRIALS IN YUGOSLAVIA AND RWANDA

Carla Del Ponte, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said this morning at a press conference in Arusha, Tanzania, that holding trials within Yugoslavia and Rwanda would help make the tribunal more visible to the local communities. The trials are currently being held in Arusha and The Hague, headquarters of the two tribunals.

Paul Risley, the Prosecutor's Spokesman in The Hague, explained to reporters that her proposal is to hold portions of trials and specifics hearing in those countries, including the hearing of testimony by specific witnesses.

NARCOTICS CONTROL BOARD ISSUES ANNUAL REPORT

The Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1999 was issued today, with a launch in Vienna and a presentation by Ambassador Herbert Okun, the United States member of the Board.

The report calls for certain controlled drugs -- including opioids like morphine -- to be made more available for legitimate medical purposes, including the easing of excessive pain and suffering. It recommends that opioid manufacturers increase their availability in the developing world, subject to monitoring by the Board, the World Health Organization and the UN International Drug Control Programme.

The report also highlights developments in drug control and production throughout the world.

Asked about drug trafficking by small countries, the Spokesman noted Okun's comments on the need to control drug trafficking, particularly in countries, including Albania and Haiti, where there has been a large international presence.

HEAD OF DRUG CONTROL OFFICE VISITS CUBA

Pino Arlacchi, the Head of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, was scheduled to meet today with President Fidel Castro and other Government high officials during an official visit to Cuba, which began on Monday.

Arlacchi said that the conversations with the Government have been very constructive so far. He is scheduled to leave Cuba on Thursday.

On Tuesday evening, he signed a project with the Government of Cuba for $1.3 million. About half of the amount has already been secured through a donation from Italy. The project, which will last two years, mainly concerns enforcement activities against drug trafficking and demand prevention through education.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked about the situation in Kosovo, the Spokesman said that Mitrovica was "relatively quiet, apart from a few student demonstrations." He noted the establishment two weeks ago of a safety zone to the north and south of the Ibar River in Mitrovica, to improve the security situation there.

In London this morning, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy launched a UNICEF report entitled "Growing Up Alone: The Hidden Cost of Poverty." The report estimates that 100 million children around the world are growing up without a family environment or support. The first in a series, this report examines the socioeconomic causes of children growing up alone. Two future reports will explore the roles of HIV/AIDS and of war.

The World Intellectual Property Organization announced in a press release from Geneva on Tuesday that it will expedite its work in dealing with "cyber-squatting" -- the practice in which some companies may register Internet domain names more commonly associated with other companies. According to the agency, a total of 89 cases dealing with cyber-squatting have been filed so far with its Arbitration and Mediation Center since its procedure to deal with "abusive registrations" of Internet domain names took effect in December 1999. Disputed names include dior.org, worldcup2002.com and microsoft.org. The arbitration procedure requires cases to be resolved within 45 days, and all decisions are posted on the Center's web site.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a press release on a new FAO report, which estimates that Africa has lost some 10.5 percent of its forests between 1980 and 1995, because of over-logging, civil unrest and other factors.

Papua New Guinea has become the 57th Member State to pay its full contribution to the UN regular budget for this year, with a payment of just under $74,000. (To access the full list of "Payments to the UN Regular Budget" click here.)