United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-07-18

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 18 July 1997

HEADLINES

• Kenyan authorities arrest seven Rwandans suspected of participation in 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
• Security Council expresses deep concern over the military build- up and reports of violence in north-east Angola.
• Secretary-General recommends an extension of mandate for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
• General Assembly President alerts Security Council to Assembly's recent vote on Israeli settlement activity in East Jerusalem.
• Honduras is chosen by lot to occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall in upcoming session.
• UN anti-discrimination Committee reviews Israel's compliance with women's rights convention.
• World entertainment celebrities sign an appeal against hunger launched by a UN food agency.
• Secretary-General designates singer Enrico Macias as Messenger for Peace.

The Rwandans, suspected of participating in the 1994 acts of genocide in Rwanda, were immediately transferred to the detention facility of the Tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania.

The President of the Tribunal Judge Laity Kama expressed the hope that there would be an increased focus on the quality of the work accomplished by the Tribunal as a result of the arrests, "in light of the undeniable judicial success it now has to its credit". The Tribunal is determined to do everything it can so that justice is done, which is an indispensable prerequisite to national reconciliation in Rwanda", said Judge Kama.

Welcoming the news of the arrests, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the move demonstrated the determination of the international community to bring to justice those accused of perpetrating some of the worst crimes known to mankind. The UN leader reiterated that justice and peace were indivisible and that without justice, healing could not begin.

The Council members were particularly concerned that UNITA had not yet complied with the requirements of Security Council to provide complete information regarding all armed personnel under its control and to proceed with the demobilisation of its forces, said Ambassador Osvald.

Condemning attacks on United Nations personnel, the Council called on the parties, in particular UNITA, to cooperate fully with MONUA, the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola, to ensure the freedom of movement and safety of its personnel.

Also on Friday, the Council members welcomed the decision by the Secretary- General to despatch UN Under-Secretary-General Ismat Kittani as Special Envoy to Somalia. Ambassador Osvald told the press the members of the Council expressed their support for the regional efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the country. He said the Council underlined the need for all Somalian parties to take part in the national reconciliation conference which is planned to take place in November this year.

The Secretary-General states in his report that although the Force continues to be prevented from implementing its mandate, its contribution to stability and the protection it is able to provide to the population of the area remain important.

Drawing attention to the serious shortfall in the funding of the Force, the Secretary-General says unpaid assessments at present amounts to some US$176 million. The outstanding assessments represent money owed to the Member states contributing the troops that make up the Force.

In his letter addressed to the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia recalled that the recent emergency special session of the General Assembly had been convened "as a result of the failure of the Security council to adopt a position on the matter of illegal Israeli actions in East Jerusalem and the reset of the Occupied Palestinian Territory".

Ambassador Razali drew particular attention of the Council Members to several paragraphs of the resolution adopted by the Assembly's emergency session by a vote of 131 in favour and 3 against, with 14 abstentions. That resolution, in part, reaffirmed that all Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories could not be recognized, irrespective of the passage of time. It also recommended to Member States that they actively discourage activities which directly contribute to any construction or development of Israeli settlements.

Delegations of other Member States will follow in the English alphabetical order of names, in accordance with established practice.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which is currently meeting in New York, also heard that Israel established criteria intended to eliminate gender stereotypes from school books, and also created the Office of Supervisor of Equality between the Sexes.

Commenting on the report, the 23-member expert committee said progress for women in Israel could not be achieved without improvements of minority communities. The Committee raised questions on steps being taken to integrate Israeli Palestinian women fully into society.

Questions were also raised about the action being taken to deal with such traditional practices as "honour" killings, polygamy, and female circumcision carried out in certain communities. The Committee said the Government should not condone traditional practices which violated the rights of women.

Associating themselves with a recent appeal against hunger launched by the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the entertainers, including film directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Franco Zeffirelli, actresses, Francoise Arnoult and Gong Li, singer Tina Turner, dancer Patrick Dupont and writer John Le Carre, said they solemnly undertook to do all they could to end hunger. They called for the broad mobilization of the public and private sectors, the involvement of all of civil society, and the mobilization of collective and individual resources to fight hunger.

UN Spokesman Eckhard said the Secretary-General expected to name other popular figures to help him reach out to the world's population in highlighting the work of the Organization.

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

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