United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-07-08

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 8 July 1997

HEADLINES

• Security Council backs Secretary-General's initiative to send his own investigative team to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Security Council expresses relief at the holding of elections in Albania.
• UN Secretary-General voices grave concern about recent events in Cambodia and urges parties to seek a negotiated solution to the crisis.
• Economic and Social Council reviews General Assembly recommendations on United Nations development policy.
• Ministerial meeting on security in Central Africa gets under way in Gabon.
• United Nations refugee agency reports arrival of Rwandan refugees in Gabon, after a grueling 2,000-mile trek.

Speaking to the press after the Security Council consultations, the Council President Ambassador Peter Osvald of Sweden said that there was wide disappointment among the Members over the response by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Joint Investigative Mission of the Commission on Human Rights. Ambassador Osvald noted that the Security Council stood behind its earlier pronouncements on the Mission, which now found itself in a unique situation with possible negative consequences for the future.

At the same time Ambassador Osvald said that the Security Council gave full support to the Secretary-General's proposal to send his own team of experts in order to establish the truth about the alleged massacres. "It was felt among the Members of the Council that the establishment of these facts are important not only for future national reconciliation of the Congo but also for the future international relations with the country", the Council President said.

In his comments to the press after the Council consultations, Secretary- General Kofi Annan said that given the current impasse between the Human Rights Commission's team and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "we are dealing with a very sensitive and difficult matter, a unique situation that requires a unique solution". He stressed that in his decision to send in a high-level team he was motivated by the desire to "get to the facts". The issues, he said, "are much more important for us to play a zero sum game. I think we owe it to those who have lost relatives, we owe it to send a powerful message to the world that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated".

In a statement to the press, Council President Ambassador Peter Osvald of Sweden said the Security Council Members had expressed relief at the holding of elections in Albania in a reasonably orderly fashion and in relative calm. He said the multinational protection force undoubtedly played an important role in creating a secure environment for the elections and not least for the electoral observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In a statement issued in New York, the UN leader underscored that such talks should be held in accordance with the Paris Agreements and the Cambodian Constitution, which states that the Kingdom of Cambodia "adopts a policy of liberal democracy and pluralism".

At the same time the Secretary-General said he was gratified to note the earlier commitment of the coalition Government to hold national elections in May next year. Mr. Annan said the United Nations stood ready to coordinate international observers for those elections as had been requested by the two Prime Ministers. The UN leader expressed in the strongest manner the vital importance of making every effort to ensure that the elections were free and fair.

Discussions were based on a report of the Secretary-General on the operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation. The report lists, among other things, measures envisaged to strengthen the role of the coordinator of United Nations development activities in the field and outlines further proposed reforms to provide a more coherent response to development problems, in accordance with recommendations made by the General Assembly.

During discussions on Monday, representatives of United Nations development agencies and delegates of Member States attending the current session of the Council in Geneva called for the efficient use of funds, including avoidance of overlapping between programmes. Speakers also called for efforts to improve capacity building and the functioning of country-based resident coordinators.

On Friday, the Council concluded its high-level segment on how United Nations and the international community could create "an enabling environment for development", especially for the world's poorer countries. Many participants in the two-day high-level segment called for reversal of declines in official development assistance for such countries. They also urged that greater efforts be made to provide a "level playing field" for all nations seeking access to international markets.

The Committee will also consider its medium-term plan of action for the subregion which includes, among other things, the establishment of an early warning system, proliferation of arms and drug trafficking and human rights training seminars for the military and security services.

In a message to the Advisory Committee, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the meeting was taking place at a particularly crucial moment for the history of Central Africa. He said the tragic events of recent months in the Great Lakes region showed once again that the Central African subregion continued to be one of the most volatile parts of the continent.

The UN leader also expressed concern at the growing and often illicit traffic in arms in the subregion, particularly in small arms and light weapons. He encouraged the Committee in its efforts to limit the circulation of arms, the establishment of military arsenals and expenditures on armaments.

UNHCR Spokesperson Pam O'Toole told United Nations Radio that the refugees, who came from former Zaire, were accompanied by a small group of other nationalities, including a few from Burundi. She said the arrival of the refugees was causing tension in the village as a result of the scarcity of food. "We have 365 Rwandan refugees who arrived in Gabon in very bad shape. They came 3,000 kilometres over the last nine months, mostly on foot all the way from the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are begging for food. They are going around from house to house. They are malnourished and extremely ill. They need help urgently," she noted.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency has begun airlifting small numbers of refugees out of Congo Brazzaville back to Kigali in Rwanda, despite continuing unrest in some areas.

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

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