United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-04-16

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

FROM THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FRED ECKHARD

SPOKESMAN OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Monday, April 16, 2001

ANNAN, UN OFFICIALS CONTACT LEADERS AFTER ATTACKS IN MIDDLE EAST

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been on the phone since this morning with leaders in the Middle East and beyond, following the violence over the weekend in that region.

On Saturday afternoon, Hezbollah personnel crossed the Blue Line into the Shebaa Farms and fired at an Israeli tank. One Israeli soldier was killed and three injured. The Israeli defense forces retaliated immediately by hitting Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Late Sunday night, Israeli air force jets hit a Syrian radar installation in Eastern Lebanon, killing three Syrian military personnel.

Following Saturdays attack, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for southern Lebanon, Staffan di Mistura, met with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, at the request of the Secretary-General. Following the meeting he issued a statement, characterizing the attack as a "clear infringement of Resolution 425" and adding that the Blue Line had been "trespassed in a violent way."

This morning, following the Israeli air strike, Di Mistura held another meeting with a high-ranking Lebanese official, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud. In a statement released afterwards, Di Mistura said that the United Nations, following its concern at the violation of the Blue Line on Saturday, "is equally very concerned by the Israeli Defense Forces' escalatory response, which is also a violation of the Blue Line.' He added: "It is crucial that all parties concerned exercise at this stage maximum restraint in order to avoid any spiral of violence."

In Jerusalem, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed Larsen, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. He also met with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib, who is in Israel to present officially the joint Jordanian-Egyptian peace initiative. During the meeting, Larsen commended the Minister, on behalf of the United Nations, for his timely and constructive initiative.

PANEL ISSUES REPORT ON EXPLOITATION OF RESOURCES IN CONGO

The report by the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was requested by the Security Council, was issued today, and the chair of the five-member panel, Safiatou Ba-Ndaw, presented its findings to reporters.

The 56-page report, will be discussed by the Security Council on Friday, concludes that the illegal exploitation of the mineral and forest resources of the Congo is taking place at an alarming rate, and offers a series of recommendations to the Council for consideration.

In response to a question, the Spokesman noted that the Panel's work was paid from the UN regular budget.

TALKS HELD IN KINSHASA AFTER UN TROOPS BLOCKED FROM DEPLOYMENT

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kamel Morjane, is meeting today with ambassadors of the permanent members of the Security Council in Kinshasa a day after a group of 120 Moroccan peacekeepers were prevented from landing in Kisangani by the rebel group Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD).

The Spokesman, in response to a question, said that the United Nations hoped the blocking of the Moroccan troops was "just a hiccup" which would be resolved soon. He noted concerns by the RCD that the United Nations investigate alleged Government violations in Kasai Province, adding that having peacekeepers deployed would allow for such work to be done.

Kisangani is one of four areas from which UN monitors will operate.

UNICEF ON ALERT FOLLOWING REPORTS OF SLAVE SHIP IN WEST AFRICA

The UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has set up a reception center in Cotonou, Benin, in collaboration with the Government there and local non-governmental organizations to receive children who are on board a vessel which has been allegedly transporting them as slaves.

All UNICEF offices in the area are on alert, and UNICEF has received agreement from the Government of Equatorial Guinea to allow the boat to dock should it come ashore in that country.

An unknown number of children are reported to be aboard the vessel, which left Benin two weeks ago. Authorities in both Gabon and Cameroon turned the ship away, and the ship has not been heard from in the past four days.

The Spokesman responded to questions about the alleged slave ship by noting that the United Nations had little information about the matter aside from what has been reported in the media.

YUGOSLAVIA TRIBUNAL WELCOMES SEIZURE OF SREBRENICA SUSPECT

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today welcomed the arrest by NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) Sunday of Dragan Obrenovic, a Bosnian Serb charged with crimes connected to the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica.

Carla Del Ponte, the Tribunal's Prosecutor, said that Obrenovic's detention, which is the first performed by the NATO troops since June 2000, is a welcome resumption of SFOR's assistance.

Obrenovic was seized by SFOR soldiers Sunday and then transferred to the Tribunal's detention unit later that day. A date for his initial appearance before the Tribunal will be set in the coming days.

His indictment, signed by Del Ponte on March 23, charges him with five counts of complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The indictment alleges that Obrenovic, as deputy commander of the Zvornik Brigade, participated in the detention and summary execution of more than 5,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.

UN TEAM COMPLETES MISSION TO WEST TIMOR

Upon returning from West Timor, Indonesia, the Chief of Staff of the UN Mission in East Timor, N. Parameswaran, said today in Dili that "the main concern of the refugees who want to return is their personal security, and we were able to assure them that East Timor is stable and safe."

He added, "There were indications that some of the refugees had been instructed to ask questions of a political nature and question the result of the popular consultation."

Parameswaran and staff from the International Organization for Migration and UN civilian, military, and police personnel visited refugee camps in West Timor last week. They were accompanied by the Indonesian military commander in the region, Major General William da Costa.

The visit, intended to establish a dialogue with the East Timorese refugees and inform them of the actual situation in East Timor, was described as very successful. Thousands of posters, brochures and other information materials were distributed among the refugees.

The Chief of Staff also met with the Bishops of Kupang and Atambua, as well as pro-autonomy leaders.

To date some 180,000 refugees have returned to East Timor. Up to 100,000 are estimated to remain in West Timor.

ANNAN, IN REPORT, NOTES CONTINUED FIGHTING IN ANGOLA

The Secretary-General's latest report on the work of the UN Office in Angola, covering events in that country since last October, describes the continuation of fighting in many parts of Angola and the serious humanitarian situation there.

The report notes that the armed conflict in Angola has continued unabated, leaving much of the country insecure and displacing a reported 2.86 million people. At the same time, the Secretary-General welcomes the Angolan Government's re-affirmation of the Lusaka Protocol and its recent positive measures towards enhancing the peace effort.

The Secretary-General's Adviser for Special Assignments in Africa, Ibrahim Gambari, is continuing his consultations with the Angolan Government and other Member States on how the United Nations can help the peace process, and he will visit Angola in early May. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General recommends that the Security Council extend the mandate of the UN Office in Angola by six months, until October 15.

RWANDAN UN STAFFER ARRESTED IN KOSOVO ON MURDER ALLEGATIONS

In response to questions, the Spokesman noted the arrest last week of Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwandan working as a computer specialist for the UN Mission in Kosovo, following allegations that Mbarushimana had contributed to murders in Rwanda in 1994.

Eckhard said the Rwandan, who had worked for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), was suspected of informing Rwanda's Interahamwe paramilitary of the locations of Tutsi personnel who had also worked for UNDP. Mbarushimana continued to work for UNDP in Rwanda and Angola until the allegations surfaced; then, the Spokesman added, he applied for a job at the Kosovo Mission.

The Rwandan Government has asked for his extradition from Kosovo, to stand trial in Rwanda.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

No Security Council meetings are scheduled for today. On Tuesday, the Council is expected to hold consultations to discuss the Secretary-Generals report on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, and a briefing by the Secretariat on the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also expected.

Asked about when elections might take place in Kosovo, the Spokesman said that the UN Mission was working on establishing a legal framework for elections and expected to organize them before the end of this year.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will hear reports on health and economics in Africa on Tuesday, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with presentations from UN Development Programme Associate Administrator Zepherin Diabre, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Ebrahim Samba and Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard University.

The Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly on oceans and the Law of the Sea is out today, and highlights the problems caused by over-fishing and the decline of the worldwide catch of fish. As competition for scarce resources continues unabated, the report says, the peaceful order of the oceans established by the Convention on the Law of the Sea may be threatened.

The Commission on Sustainable Development begins its ninth annual session today, focusing on how to meet the worlds increasing energy needs while protecting the environment. The two-week meeting, which concludes on April 27, includes informal consultations on the Kyoto Protocol on Saturday and the Ministerial segment on April 18-20.

The Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan announced that national immunization days will take place in Afghanistan from April 17-19. The UN Childrens Fund and the World Health Organization have secured the agreement of the warring factions to respect a cease-fire and permit immunizations for more than 5.7 million children.

The Commission on Sustainable Development will hold a candlelight ceremony to honor UN staff who have lost their lives in the line of duty, on Tuesday afternoon at UN headquarters.

Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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