United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-09-18

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 18 September 1997

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General welcomes adoption of treaty banning anti- personnel mines.
• UN Secretary-General condemns bomb attack against a tourist bus in Cairo.
• Security Council calls on Croatia to meet conditions for the transfer of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium.
• Security Council President reports slight progress in work of UN investigative team in Congo-Kinshasa.
• Security Council members call on parties in Central African Republic to implement Bangui Agreements.
• West African Foreign Ministers travel to United Nations Headquarters to discuss sanctions against Sierra Leone.
• UN Secretary-General reports that conflict in Afghanistan is dividing it along largely ethnic lines.
• UN Preventive Force in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has defused tensions on Albanian border.
• General Assembly President says reform is needed to bring United Nations in line with post-cold war period.
• United Nations refugee agency appeals to European governments not to deport Algerian asylum-seekers.
• Meeting in Montreal, Governments strengthen UN-monitored controls on ozone-depleting substances.
• UNICEF Executive Director deplores flagrant abuses of children's rights by Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.
• Supermodel Waris Dirie joins UN Population Fund's fight against female genital mutilation.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, the Secretary-General said participants at the Conference in Oslo where the treaty was adopted had set a standard "for moving towards the elimination of this 'invisible enemy', which kills innocent civilians every day and robs people of their means of livelihood".

Stressing that the sense of mission which had led to the treaty's adoption must be sustained, the Secretary-General called on Governments to allocate resources for its implementation and to promote universal ratification. He pledged to fulfil the functions entrusted to him under the new Convention.

The Secretary-General also noted that although the legal basis for eradicating landmines had been laid, the work of removing the millions of mines already in the ground and assisting mine victims was ongoing.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, the Secretary-General said he was shocked to learn that innocent lives were lost as a result of the bomb attack. "He condemns acts of terrorism whatever the source in the most resolute terms." The Secretary-General conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims.

In a statement read on behalf of the members by Council President Bill Richardson of the United States, the Council expressed deep concern at Croatia's lack of substantial progress in fulfiling the conditions laid out in prior agreements, including that between the country and the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES).

The Council called on Croatia to take immediate action in a number of areas, including removing obstacles to the return of refugees and displaced persons, and ensuring social and economic opportunity for returnees. Croatia was also called upon to immediately implement measures to prevent harassment of returnees and establish effective local administration. The Council also called for immediate action to initiate a country-wide public programme of national reconciliation and curb media attacks on ethnic groups in Croatia.

In a report to the Council in late July, the Secretary-General said that despite repeated calls by the Transitional Administrator for a programme of reconciliation to prepare returnees to live with Serbs, nothing was done to curb the desire for revenge of returning Croat extremists, including some security force personnel, with the result that the few remaining Serbs were subject to harassment and almost all have now left the area. "As I have previously reported to the Council, during the UNTAES mission Croat officials have not always implemented the decisions of the central Government and have in several occasions been uncooperative, using bureaucratic manoeuvres and obstructions to delay or stop promised support to the region."

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Richardson said he had spoken with the country's President, Laurent Kabila, for 30 minutes on Thursday, and had received agreement from him to end inflammatory statements. Ambassador Richardson said there was also an agreement to continue discussing the matter, but added that "there is not a satisfactory outcome yet".

Officials of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have attempted to restrict the movements of members of the team. "My view is that this mission should have full access, that they should have a license to investigate reports of atrocities on the eastern side and throughout the country," the Council President said.

Addressing reporters on behalf of the members, Council President Bill Richardson of the United States said they supported the appeal for logistical and financial support for the Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements (MISAB).

The latest MISAB report submitted to the Council describes the activities of the 769-troop force, which include disarming the parties and providing security in the city of Bangui. It credits MISAB with restoring normal life in the city, including the resumed operations of all Government offices and the regular functioning of schools, public transportation, markets and airlines.

But the report warns that a lack of funds may jeopardize progress achieved so far. In particular, funding for the work of the International Monitoring Committee will probably be terminated at the end of the month. "It is clear that the continuation of the Committee's activities as a mediating body will depend either on the willingness of officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to prolong the project or on finding another source of funding," the report states. "In any case, it is difficult to see how the mediation effort, and thus the rest of the process, can continue without a mediator."

The Foreign Ministers of C“te d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria will discuss the sanctions with the Secretary-General on Friday and will brief the Security Council on the issue that afternoon.

The ECOWAS imposed regional sanctions against Sierra Leone after the military coup on 25 May which overthrew the elected President, Tejan Kabbah.

According to the report, the military confrontation between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance continued on all fronts, with both sides using tanks, heavy artillery, rockets and aerial bombardment during their assaults. The six constituent parties of the Northern Alliance continued their efforts to form a more coherent political grouping under the name "United Islamic and National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan". Rejecting the Front's claim to be the legal government of Afghanistan, the Taliban continued efforts to gain international recognition, stating that areas under their control were peaceful and safe. The report states that, "The reality remained that Afghanistan was deadlocked in a civil war, and its people bereft of effective government."

The United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) continued its contacts with the parties in an effort to engage them in political dialogue, the report states. In meetings with UNSMA, both the Taliban and their Northern Alliance opponents claimed a commitment to a negotiated settlement, but their deeds revealed a desire to gain the upper hand through military conquest. Mission Head Norbert Holl has been working to reach agreement first on a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners, and then to foster broader talks aimed at national reconciliation and a durable political settlement.

The report details Afghanistan's serious humanitarian crisis. The country's landmine problem is worse than previously thought, with nearly 777 square kilometres contaminated by mines. A severe lack of funding is hampering the work of the Mine Action Programme, which urgently requires $4 million to maintain its essential activities. The Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Assistance to Afghanistan has received $41 million, or 31 per cent of the total requirement of $111 million.

Special Representative Henryk J. Sokalski reported that the work of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) on the border between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania had proven effective. "We have been able to prevent a number of clashes that otherwise would have occurred, not necessarily between the armies of the two countries, but what is even more unpredictable: from the side of the armed groups in Albania."

According to the Secretary-General's latest report on UNPREDEP, United Nations soldiers have been exposed to frequent cross-border shooting from Albania, either by armed groups of illegal border-crossers or by other individuals. On a few occasions, UNPREDEP observation towers were deliberately shot at, and one soldier was injured as a result. "Active community patrolling by military observers has contributed to the easing of some tensions on the border area," the report states.

The Secretary-General recommends that the Security Council proceed with its decision to begin a two-month phased reduction of UNPREDEP's 1,050-strong military component by 300 ranks. He also indicates his intention to begin intensive consultations on the type of international presence that would be most appropriate for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia beyond 1 December.

The President said he favoured considering the reform proposals put forward by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a package. "When you try to divide these proposals and re-assign them for their consideration to various organs, then it will cause a great delay," he said.

Mr. Udovenko also called for strengthening the role of the General Assembly and its President. "It should not be only a ceremonial position but rather a position which can affect the activities of the Organization," he said.

Warning against the "hasty deportation" of the asylum-seekers in the midst of an upsurge of violence in Algeria, UNHCR expressed particular concern about their forcible return from European countries in recent months.

While acknowledging that not all asylum-seekers from Algeria have legitimate claims to asylum, Dennis McNamara, UNHCR's Director of International Protection, said that his agency considered that a significant number of those currently fleeing Algeria genuinely needed protection.

According to UNHCR, some European governments have paid "a very low- level of acknowledgement" to the protection needs of the Algerians, with only 670 applicants out of 5,950 approved last year in 14 European countries, Canada and the United States.

The UNHCR reports that Algerians who have close links with the Government, members of the country's security forces, intellectuals, artists and journalists are in need of special protection in asylum countries. Also at risk are women viewed as transgressing moral or religious values.

The Meeting, which concluded yesterday, agreed on a phase-out schedule for methyl bromide, a fumigant that until now was a critical ozone-depleting substance whose phase-out by developing countries had not been mandated. Participants also set up a licensing system to help track the international trade in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other controlled substances.

"The evidence of these unspeakable acts is overwhelming," Ms. Bellamy said following reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch describing how members of the Lord's Resistance Army have abducted, tortured and even killed thousands of mostly teenaged children.

"The facts, as laid out by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are very disturbing," Ms. Bellamy said, referring to indications by those organizations that the Lord's Resistance Army received support from the Government of Sudan, whose armed forces allegedly provided arms, food and refuge to the Ugandan rebels. In return, the reports say, the Lord's Resistance Army conscripted children to fight in the conflict in southern Sudan.

Ms. Bellamy called on the Government of Sudan to distance itself from the allegations by immediately denouncing the Lord's Resistance Army and disassociating itself from their activities. She said the international community must "demand with one voice that every child still held by the Lord's Resistance Army be freed immediately".

UNICEF is joining Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in calling on the recently appointed United Nations Special Representative on children and armed conflict to investigate the abuses by the Lord's Resistance Army.

Ms. Dirie comes from a nomadic family in Somalia, where the traditional form of female genital mutilation that kills hundreds of women each year, and took the lives of her younger sister and two cousins, is practised. Herself a survivor of the trauma, Ms. Dirie has pledged to do all in her power to spare others. "This is not an easy thing to talk about -- it is a very personal and very painful thing." Ms. Dirie said she decided to put aside her personal concerns in order to speak on behalf of those who might fall victim to the practice. "I'm going to leave my dignity over there and just speak."

Ms. Dirie's work will be part of an international advocacy campaign to raise awareness about human rights and gender equality, especially for women in developing countries.

Most of the girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation are living in 28 African countries. In almost all of them, UNFPA is working with the cooperation of Governments to reduce the rate of female genital mutilation and eventually eliminate it. It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and women in Africa have undergone some form of genital mutilation, and an additional 2 million each year are at risk.

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

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