United Nations Daily Highlights, 01-04-18

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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 FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, April 18, 2001

INDICATIONS OF COUP SURFACE IN BURUNDI; UN REPORTS CALM

UN personnel in Burundi have reported that a coup appears to be underway in that country. The United Nations is following developments with a great deal of concern.

UN officials on the ground reported that a lieutenant claiming to represent a group of heretofore unknown officers called "Patriotic Youth" announced on the radio in Bujumbura that a coup had taken place. He gave no further details, except to say that Burundi's new leadership would be announced soon and that a curfew would be imposed as of 8 p.m. As of noon, the atmosphere on the streets was reported as calm.

Burundi's current president, Pierre Buyoya, is in Gabon for talks with Jean Bosco Ndayikengurukiyewere, the leader of the Hutu-based Forces for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) rebel group.

In response to questions, the Spokesman said the United Nations had not received any reports of violence in Burundi so far.

The United Nations has slightly less than 100 international staff in Burundi, as well as 500 national staff. UN staff in Burundi was reported as safe, and the Spokesman said they would be "hunkering down" as the curfew approaches. He noted that the UN has a political office in Burundi, as well.

The United Nations has supported the peace efforts of the Facilitator, former South African President Nelson Mandela, for a settlement between the Tutsi-led Government and the largely Hutu rebels. The United Nations, Eckhard said, would hope for the best, despite recent violence near Bujumbura and today's coup reports.

UN ESTABLISHES ETHIOPIA-ERITREA SECURITY ZONE

Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative and head of the UN Mission for Ethiopia and Eritrea ( UNMEE), today announced the establishment of the Temporary Security Zone, which he described as a "milestone in the Ethiopian-Eritrean peace process."

The establishment of the buffer zone marks the formal separation of the forces of the two parties.

"It allows for the immediate restoration of civil administration and the return of internally displaced persons in the areas of the Temporary Security Zone," Legweila said in a statement delivered at a press conference in Asmara.

The Security Council has scheduled discussions on Ethiopia and Eritrea Thursday.

ANNAN CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AS FIGHTING WORSENS IN LIBERIA

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement on the security and humanitarian situation at the borders between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said that the recent escalation of fighting in Lofa County in northern Liberia "underscores the need to address the underlying causes of this growing instability."

The Secretary-General called for dialogue and supported the recent call by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the three leaders of the Mano River Union countries -- Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia -- to meet without further delay and devise ways to resolve the crisis peacefully.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR), which does not have a field presence in Lofa, reported from Monrovia that there are movements from Lofa county of both Liberians and Sierra Leonean refugees who had spontaneously settled in the area. UNHCR says that a number of them are crossing the border, into eastern Sierra Leone rather than into Guinea, where passage is impossible.

The movement of Sierra Leone refugees and Liberian nationals from Lofa into Sierra Leone is not big, but it has started intensifying in the middle of last week, according to UNHCR.

The Liberian Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission estimates the number of displaced persons in and from Lofa at 8,000.

UN ANGOLA PANEL URGES ACTION AGAINST SANCTIONS BUSTERS

A UN panel dealing with sanctions on Angolan rebels recommends the need to tighten regulations governing the activities of arms brokers and to consider establishing an international register of companies that are involved in sanctions busting.

The Monitoring Mechanism dealing with sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) issued the addendum to its final report today, which follows up on its investigation of companies that are accused of busting the UN sanctions against UNITA.

The report noted that, although UNITA diamond trading has been driven deeper underground by the sanctions, there are still major weaknesses in the system to control diamond trading, in part because of the many available alternate routes that traders can use.

The addendum concluded, "Although the attitude of impunity may have lessened, the intentions of sanctions busters to continue to derive profit from this cruel war remains firmly intact." It noted that more work needs to be done to complete the Mechanism's mandated tasks, and said that it "would send a very bad signal to leave its work unfinished" at this juncture.

The Council expects to hold both consultations and an open meeting Thursday to discuss the Monitoring Mechanism's report.

UN MISSION TO RESUME DEPLOYMENT TO KISANGANI ON FRIDAY

The Force Commander of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Maj.-Gen. Mountaga Diallo, accompanied a group of ambassadors representing the permanent members of the Security Council today to Goma, where they met with the leadership of the rebel group Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) leadership, which had blocked the deployment of a 120-member Moroccan contingent to Kisangani on Sunday.

Kamel Morjane, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Wednesday afternoon that an arrangement was reached with the RCD leadership and that preparations were now underway to deploy the Moroccan contingent to Kisangani on Friday morning.

Morjane said he welcomes the agreement, thanks the support of the permanent members of the Security Council and hopes that the development will lead to better cooperation with the RCD.

Earlier today, the Secretary-General's Report to the Security Council on the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( MONUC), was issued. The Secretary-General said that if and when the second phase of the missions deployment is complete, the third phase could be incalculably more difficult, complex, risky and expensive. He said the Council mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo next month will be an invaluable opportunity for members to examine the situation and determine what action may be needed to facilitate the initiation of the third phase of the Mission's deployment.

The next report is expected to be submitted before the mandate expires on June 15, and to contain recommendations for the way ahead.

The Council will discuss the current report on Friday.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES LEBANON, SIERRA LEONE, DR OF CONGO

The Security Council began its consultations this morning with a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi on recent violations of the Blue Line in Lebanon. Council President Jeremy Greenstock issued a statement to the press, condemning the renewed violence, following the adjournment of the morning consultations.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette then briefed the Council on her recent visit to Sierra Leone.

That was followed by a discussion on the report on the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo prepared by a panel of experts. The Panels Chairperson, Safiatou Ba-NDaw, introduced the report.

The Spokesman clarified some slight confusion that appeared in media coverage of this report by noting that it is not a report by the Secretary-General, but by the panel of experts, which was appointed by the Secretary-General, at the request of the Security Council.

This afternoon, the Council will continue its discussion of the report and consider the recommendations made by the panel.

BANK HEADQUARTERS RAIDED IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

Early this morning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, troops of NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) raided the Mostar headquarters of the Herzegovacka Bank, which High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch had placed under a provisional administrator two weeks ago.

Unlike a previous attempt to seize the bank on April 6, when Bosnian Croat protestors clashed with SFOR and other international personnel, today's action took place without incident, and five truckloads of documents were retrieved from the bank for further inspection. The bank was placed under provisional administration following charges that it was involved in corruption and the funding of an illegal Bosnian Croat parallel entity.

The UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( UNMIBH) and its International Police Task Force did not participate in today's raid. However, following the violence on April 6, the Police Task Force suspended for 30 days 16 police officers who had been suspected of participating in the demonstrations that day; those police have complied with their suspensions by turning in their uniforms and badges.

UN MISSION REPORTS CAR BOMB IN KOSOVO CAPITAL

The UN Mission in Kosovo ( UNMIK) reported a car bomb explosion at around 3 p.m. local time today in Pristina, about 50 meters from the Center for Peace and Tolerance, which houses a Yugoslav Government office. Details are still sketchy but according to preliminary information, at least one person was killed and four others were injured, one of them critically.

The Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Kosovo Hans Haekerrup, in a press release issued after the briefing, condemned the bomb attack as an outrage and said that the was deeply saddened by the continued violence in Kosovo.

RWANDA TRIBUNAL BEGINS TRIAL OF FORMER MINISTER

On Tuesday in Arusha, Tanzania, the trial of former Rwandan Education Minister Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda began at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), with Judge Laity Kama presiding.

Kamuhanda, one of the ministers of the interim Rwandan Government that took charge following the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape, murder and extermination, carried out in the commune of Gikomero.

He is one of 11 former Cabinet ministers who are now in the custody of the Tribunal. The former Prime Minister in that Government, Jean Kambanda, pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

NO ACTION TO BE TAKEN ON CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTION

The 57th session of the Commission on Human Rights is continuing in Geneva today, and passed, by a vote of 23 to 17, with 12 abstentions, a motion not to take action on a US-sponsored resolution on human rights in China. Therefore, no vote will take place on that resolution.

This morning the Commission adopted four resolutions on the question of the violation of human rights in the Occupied Territories, including Palestine.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asked whether the Secretary-General had talked Tuesday to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Spokesman said the two had talked by phone as part of Annan's continuing phone contacts with world leaders on the recent violence in the Middle East. Eckhard said it was a friendly conversation, and noted Assad's firm stance that Israel was carrying out acts of aggression.

In response to a question on the rumors that a ship carrying child slaves had been traveling around the West African coast, the Spokesman said that the Government of Benin was reported to be starting an investigation into the reports, and that the UN Children's Fund would cooperate with that investigation.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will open its annual session Thursday in Bangkok, Thailand. This year the main topic of discussion will be the balanced development of urban and rural areas and regions within the countries of Asia and the Pacific. During the opening session, ESCAPs Executive Secretary, Kim Hak-Su, will deliver a message to the Commission on behalf of the Secretary-General.

In Kiev, Ukraine, today, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Kenzo Oshima delivered a message from the Secretary-General to an international conference marking the lessons learned 15 years after the Chernobyl accident. In his message, the Secretary-General said that he hoped the conference would provide ideas on how to strengthen emergency preparedness worldwide and to address the recovery needs of areas that continue to be affected by the Chernobyl disaster.

On Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at UN headquarters, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will brief the press on the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The Secretary-General will be in Abuja, Nigeria, next week for the African Summit on AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

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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