United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-10-03

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 3 October 1997

HEADLINES

• General Assembly will take up United Nations reform on 8 October, following end of its general debate.
• Under-Secretary-General for Management says Members owe United Nations $2.4 billion for regular budget.
• Leadership of UN human rights investigative team leaves Congo- Kinshasa for consultations in New York.
• UN Secretary-General says United Nations office in Liberia will be established within next few weeks.
• UN Commission on Human Rights' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will send mission to China.
• Governments from around the world express opposition to United States embargo against Cuba in new UN report.
• Foreign Minister of Oman calls for resolution of question of Security Council expansion.
• Foreign Minister of Ethiopia says expansion of Security Council is at heart of UN reform process.
• Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka says General Assembly should not only reform United Nations, but also renew it.
• Australia's Foreign Minister says Secretary-General's proposed reforms "deserve the support of all".
• Prime Minister of Saint Lucia says United Nations must accept its responsibility to protect small States.
• United Nations must resolutely combat foreign intervention in Africa, Rwanda's Foreign Minister says.
• Foreign Minister of Madagascar calls for amendment of the Charter to give more power to the Assembly.
• Jordan's Foreign Minister says financial crisis of UN agency for Palestinian refugees must be resolved.
• Foreign Minister of Maldives says new seats on Security Council should be non-permanent, with consecutive terms.
• Foreign Minister of Solomon Islands says a United Nations that meets challenges of development is critical.
• Guinea's Foreign Minister says power should not be measured by a State's capacity for mass destruction.
• Foreign Minister of Yemen says UN reforms should not reduce role of the Organization in development.
• Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Congo says a peacekeeping force can help achieve peace in the country.
• United Nations refugee agency welcomes Latvia's decision to allow non- European refugees to seek asylum.

The spokesman, Alex Taukatch, said that according to the schedule of plenary meetings for October released on Friday by the President, the Assembly would take up the item "United Nations reform: measures and proposals", proposed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on Wednesday, 8 October.

Over the past two weeks, the Assembly President had conducted "intensive and extensive" consultations regarding that item, the spokesman said. He noted that on Thursday, the General Assembly President had met with the Permanent Representatives of Brazil and Norway, whom he had asked to act as his Friends in approaching regional groups and delegations about the reform package proposed by the Secretary-General. The President requested the two Ambassadors to continue with their efforts to facilitate the process and to hold soundings for that purpose, the spokesman said.

Providing details on the financial situation of the Organization, he told the General Assembly's Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) Committee that, as of 30 September, unpaid dues totalled $2.417 billion for the regular budget, peacekeeping and International Tribunals. The major contributor accounted for 60 per cent of that while the next 14 principal contributors accounted for 28 per cent.

The United Nations, he said expected to pay Member States $65 million for peacekeeping troops and equipment in the next few weeks and such reimbursements would reach $270 million by the end of 1997, he said.

Since no State would pay significant peacekeeping arrears, he said the Organization would not make special year-end payments for troops and equipment, leaving it with a year-end $907-million debt for such contributions. That figure represents an increase from $838 million at the end of 1996.

After his speech, Committee members expressed frustration over the Organization's continued financial crisis. While some blamed it on a flawed scale of assessments, a majority cited the lack of payments.

In a statement issued on its departure, the leadership said that the consultations at United Nations Headquarters would take place pending clarification of the Congolese Government's policy regarding the inquiry into allegations of grave violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Congo-Kinshasa since 1993.

"We have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 24 August, but have yet to be allowed to begin our field work" the statement said, adding that the preconditions placed on the investigation were "at variance" with the team's mandate. That mandate envisaged an independent inquiry covering the entire territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "We believe that such an investigation would go a long way in breaking the cycle of impunity while contributing to national reconciliation", the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern about the order issued by the Ministry of Interior of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the closure of all agencies dealing with refugees in the Goma area.

In a statement issued on Friday, UNHCR said it regretted the decision, but added that field workers in Congo-Kinshasa were preparing to leave.

According to UNHCR, the Ministry of Interior also ordered the local authorities to close the border between north Kivu and Rwanda. It instructed them to expel any Rwandan refugees who had entered the area.

"We are deeply concerned about the implications that the announcement will have for Rwandan refugees who have begun crossing the border again in recent days to avoid renewed fighting in western Rwanda" UNHCR said.

Addressing the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Special Conference on Liberia, held in New York on Friday, the Secretary-General said that Liberia was facing a long and difficult road. Economic activity remained modest and much of the population remained displaced. Most of the demobilized fighters were yet to be absorbed in reintegration programmes. The basic institutions and services in Liberia were also not yet fully operational, the Secretary-General said. He also expressed concern at the impact on Liberia of the situation in Sierra Leone, where a military coup had overthrown the democratically elected Government of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

He said that for these reasons, he has proposed the establishment in Liberia of a United Nations Peace-building Support Office, following the end of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) three days ago.

Through the dynamism of its people, and with the support of its friends, Mr. Annan said, he was confident that "Africa's oldest republic" would emerge from its recent ordeal stronger and more determined to succeed than ever before.

He called on the international community "to demonstrate the same spirit of cooperation, generosity and goodwill in addressing the challenges of the post-election situation in Liberia as they did in helping ensure the success of the peace process itself".

While in China, the Chairman of the working group on arbitrary detention, Kapil Sibal (India), and the Vice Chairman, Louis Joinet (France) will meet with authorities, judges, prosecutors and lawyers. Team members will visit tribunals, police stations and places of detention as well as "reform and reeducation camps", according to the Office of the High Commissioner. They will also have the opportunity to interview, in private, people of their choice who are in detention.

The team made a preparatory visit to China last year, led by the Chairman of the working group on arbitrary detention, Mr. Louis Joinet. The preparatory visit had been designed to give the team a better understanding of Chinese law, particularly with regard to the "difficulties entailed in bringing it into conformity with the international instruments on human rights", according to the group's report.

The report contains the views of 44 other governments who have responded to a request for information on their implementation of the General Assembly's resolution on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.

The report also contains the replies of organs and agencies of the United Nations system. According to the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations operational activities for development in Cuba, "the continuation and strengthening of the United States embargo against Cuba, including its extraterritorial effects, is affecting in different ways the difficult economic recovery process initiated in 1994".

The reply of the Holy See state that Pope John Paul II has sought to alleviate the distress suffered by civilians under such measures. "The Holy See is convinced that these considerations are particularly relevant with regard to the embargo which has been imposed upon Cuba."

The replies by Member States describe their compliance with the resolution's call for States not to apply laws with extraterritorial effects which undermine the sovereignty of other countries. A number of the replies express opposition to the embargo, such as that of the Russian Federation, which states that, "almost the entire world community regards the continuing commercial and economic embargo against Cuba imposed by the United States as a manifestation of the outdated mentality of confrontation between blocs."

The United States did not reply to the report as of 5 September. In his introduction, the Secretary-General states that further replies would be published as a part of the report.

Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah noted that there had been extensive debates and deliberations in the General Assembly on the subject of Security Council reform. He said that the restructuring of the Council should be "of holistic nature based on equality among nations and equal geographic distribution, not to mention the need to introduce more democracy" into its workings. He added that the Council should better reflect today's world and should be better equipped to promote peace and security.

The United Nations, he said, had shouldered huge responsibilities and faced great challenges in its efforts to restructure its system for the next millennium through the adoption of less costly and more active mechanisms to attain selected goals.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister expressed disappointment that no consensus had been reached on the issue of Security Council reform. Noting that many Member States had consistently called for a broadening of the Security Council, he said, "the Council cannot remain structurally fossilized and anachronistic in a world of dynamic change". In order to be credible, reform of the Security Council should take account of the interests of the Non-Aligned countries.

He went on to highlight some of the findings of the study conducted last year on the impact of armed conflict on children by Graca Machel. "In Sri Lanka, we know exactly what the Machel study is talking about", he said, because there the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamel Eelam had conscripted thousands of teenaged children to fight its war. "Many of them are transformed into suicide bombers. They wear cyanide capsules round their necks. They are hurled into battle as human bombs." He urged the international community to take action on Graca Machel's recommendation for a global campaign to eradicate the use of children under 18 in armed conflict. The media should publicly expose such practices, creating international pressure against those who resort to them.

In his statement to the General Assembly on Friday, Seyoum Mesfin said that the reform and expansion of the Council was long overdue. "Broad consensus has been established that the reform and expansion must reflect the realities of the world we live in today", the Foreign Minister pointed out adding that his country supported the position of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the issue.

Mr. Mesfin said that the end of the cold war had provided greater opportunity for effective international cooperation in many spheres, especially in the fight against poverty and in removing obstacles to development. Peace and security, the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia added, "can hardly be made durable and sustainable when conditions faced by the majority of peoples in the developing countries generate hopelessness".

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer stressed that in order for reform to succeed, adequate resources must be provided to run the Organization. "We continue to believe that the negotiation of financial reforms would be facilitated by early settlement of all unpaid contributions."

Concerning reform of the Security Council, he said an expanded, more representative Council should include Japan and Germany as permanent members, permanent seats for under-represented regions as well as additional non-permanent seats. Noting that middle-power countries such as Australia had made a significant contribution the United Nations, he said, "we are concerned that the interests of small and medium-sized countries not be forgotten in this exercise."

He also called for a reconfiguration of the United Nations electoral group system, which, as he put it, contained many conspicuous anomalies and inequities. "Comparisons between the size of the African and Eastern European Groups -- embracing 53 and 21 members respectively -- demonstrate the legitimacy of dissatisfaction with the status quo in this regard."

Applauding the Secretary-General's reform initiatives, Prime Minister Kenny D. Anthony said that the proposed dividend for development should not "become like the peace dividend -- a noble idea that has yet to materialize". For reform of the United Nations to succeed, Member States must honour their financial obligations to it. "A United Nations that is financially weak, that lurches from one budget crisis to another, is in no condition to confront and overcome the challenges facing mankind. If there is to be financial reform then the precarious financial existence of the United Nations must be consigned to the dustbin of history."

The United Nations must become more responsible to the needs of all its Member States, namely, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and illiteracy. "The United Nations must also answer to the call for wider representation of the world peoples on the Security Council", he said.

Foreign Minister Anastase Gasana expressed hope that the United Nations would support the new political leadership in Africa and would resolutely oppose any manoeuvre aimed at uprooting the budding political order on the continent. He asked what the United Nations strategy was to eradicate the coup d'‚tats which were "managed by some Western capitals for their own interests to the detriment of the African people". Unfortunately, he said, foreign intervention was still being pursued in Africa, leading to a renewed cycle of coups.

Stressing that the United Nations must deal resolutely with the situation, he said, "let us speak about them in the United Nations Security Council -- perhaps that will be the start of better prevention and resolution of conflicts in Africa".

On restructuring, the Foreign Minister supported the proposed merger of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with the Centre for Human Rights. He also welcomed the determination of the Secretary- General to allocate more predictable resources to finance development and to transfer the dividends from savings to development activities.

Regarding the expansion of the Security Council, the Foreign Minister of Madagascar said "Africa has the greatest number of Member States in the United Nations and yet the continent has not been given any permanent seats on the Security Council to date, nor was the continent even consulted or taken into account when there was an initial review of the Council in 1965". Madagascar the Foreign Minister added, endorsed the position of the Organization of African Unity for an expansion of the membership of the Security Council based on democratization, transparency, and equitable geographic representation. He said Africa should have two permanent seats on the Council on a rotation basis.

Foreign Minister Fayez Tarawneh said his country had provided all services needed by Palestinian refugees. Despite its limited resources, Jordan was spending $340 million annually, an amount almost equal to UNRWA's total budget. He said that "serious and sincere" action to continue the services provided by UNRWA. "Jordan also calls for the abandonment of any attempts to abolish UNRWA, suspend its operations, reduce the services it provides to refugees, or turn over its mandates and responsibilities to any other agency, for that would impact negatively on the political and legal dimensions of the refugee question."

Regarding reform of the United Nations, he said its purpose must not be confined to cutting costs. "It goes far beyond that -- to reactivate the role of the Organization to discharge its responsibilities and carry out its functions with a high degree of efficiency, transparency and credibility." Restructuring of the Security Council, he added, must take into account the need to represent developing countries all over the world. "We feel that the Arab Group, in view of its major and effective role, is entitled to a permanent seat on the Security Council", he said.

"In the absence of a formula which is comprehensive and just, we may as well suggest the following: increase the number of non-permanent members in the Council to an appropriate level, reflecting the growth of the membership and its present diversity; amend clause 2 of Article 23 of the Charter to enable the non-permanent member States to be re-elected for any number of consecutive terms so that those who seek to occupy a seat in this important body can continue to do so, as long as they enjoy the confidence and support of the Member States; and encourage the permanent members of the Security Council to agree among themselves on an accord which will remove, or at least minimize, the common apprehension arising from the fear of misuse of the veto power."

Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel also welcomed the Secretary- General's efforts to bring reform to the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations. "The proposals that he has submitted to this Assembly deserve our careful consideration as they contain far- reaching and constructive arrangements which will help the United Nations emerge from its present difficulties", he said.

Welcoming United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's reform proposals, Patteson Oti said that it was also critical for the United Nations to have financial resources for its core activities.

On the enlargement of the Security Council, the Foreign Minister said that in an ideal United Nations, the future design of the Security Council could be characterized as "equality of membership yes, the veto no". However, he added, political reality required another approach. The Solomon Islands would give serious consideration to permanent membership for Germany, Japan and several developing countries. On the veto power Mr.Oti said that since "the present permanent members insist on retaining the veto, it must be restricted to questions related to Chapter VII of the Charter".

Lamine Kamara said reform of the Security Council must be one of the major proofs of the reconciliation achieved in recent years. He said that Guinea would work to achieve Africa's "modest ambition" of having two permanent seats on the Security Council.

The Foreign Minister welcomed the Secretary-General's initiatives and reiterated his country's support for them. In particular, he said Guinea agreed with the proposed creation of a United Nations development group, and supported the merger of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights.

In his statement to the General Assembly on Friday, Abdulkarim Al- Eryani said that while supporting in principle the Secretary-General's reforms, Yemen, as a developing country, was of the view that the reforms might limit the responsibilities of the United Nations in the field of social justice and in narrowing the gap between the developing and developed States. He said any move in this direction would encourage dangerous phenomena including legal and illegal emigration from developing to developed countries "which could carry with it the seeds of social, ethnic and cultural conflict".

On the reform of the Security Council, he supported the expansion of the Council "whether by accepting Japan and Germany as new members or by increasing the number of permanent members through an increase in the representation of geographic groups and allowing each group to rotate its permanent seat among the countries of that group".

In his statement during the general debate of the Assembly, Destin- Arsene Tsaty-Boungou said that there was political determination to restore peace to Brazzaville. However, Mr. Tsaty-Boungou added, a return to peace was made difficult in the field by the fact that any deliberate or uncontrolled shooting might lead to further escalation of violence and might endanger numerous human lives. "These acts are committed with such ease, irresponsibility and impunity because there is no neutral and international force in Brazzaville that can determine who is responsible."

The presence of the troops of the multinational force envisaged by the Secretary-General but never established, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Congo pointed out, would have enabled the Congolese people to move more quickly and more easily towards lasting peace.

He expressed appreciation for the commitment of some governments who have made known their readiness to provide troops and to constitute a multinational intervention force.

Latvia had ratified the 1951 Convention on Refugees and its 1967 Protocol on 19 June 1997 but declared that it would provide asylum for European refugees only. The United Nations refugee agency had expressed concern about this restriction as it considered that the application of refugee law should be universal. "A refugee should be granted protection on the merits of his or her individual claim without discrimination based on country of origin" UNHCR said in a press release.

According to UNHCR, the notion of restricting asylum to European refugees came from the early days of the international refugee regime. When the 1951 Convention was adopted, UNHCR was founded to seek solutions mainly to the 1.2 million refugees scattered in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. Although governments had the option of adopting a geographical limitation when ratifying the refugee Convention, only a few did so, says the United Nations refugee agency. With the emergency of refugee situations outside of Europe since 1951, the international community recognized the universal value of the refugee regime and in 1967, a Protocol was drafted to extend the application of the Convention and the mandate of UNHCR to protect refugees other than those affected by the Second World War in Europe.

UNHCR said that Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, were facing large numbers of transit migrants and asylum-seekers travelling through "porous borders since the break-up of the Soviet Union."

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

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