United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-11-07

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 7 November 1997

HEADLINES

• Iraqi officials tell United Nations envoys weapons inspectors cannot continue with American members.
• The Secretary-General says he is "delighted" to hear that Chilean authorities support the ban on landmines.
• 4,000 to 5,000 displaced persons are evicted and their site burned down by military authorities in Burundi.
• United Nations refugee agency faces "serious" financing problems in its General Programme, says Ms. Sadako Ogata.
• UNHCR officials in Thailand examine the situation of Cambodian refugees.
• World Food Programme warns of a threat to thousands of Sierra Leoneans unless more food is urgently delivered.
• Global agricultural production in 1997 slowed down, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• Two associations of journalists from Kenya and Italy receive FAO award for focusing on food and environment.
• Forum concludes with adoption of Declaration and Programme of Action, on poverty eradication in Southern Africa

The head of the envoys, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi told a press conference in Baghdad before departure on Friday, that the envoys, who held discussions with Iraqi officials, handed the officials a letter from the Secretary-General. They also conveyed the reaction of the Security Council to the decision taken by the Government of Iraq to bar UNSCOM teams from inspection sites, if the teams have inspectors of American nationality.

The head of the envoys said that they asked the Iraqi officials "to consider going back to the status quo ante that prevailed before the 29th of October". The envoys also requested the Iraqi officials to allow the Executive Chairman of UNSCOM, Ambassador Richard Butler to come to Iraq to discuss how cooperation, "which clearly has not been taking place in the best conditions" can resume in a better atmosphere.

Ambassador Brahimi said the envoys told the Iraqi officials that the Secretary-General realizes and understands that the Iraqis consider that the work of the Special Commission has been going on for a very long time. He added that the envoys understood Iraq's impatience with the process and its desire to see to it the work finished "and perhaps ultimately the sanctions can be lifted."

According to Ambassador Brahimi, the discussions with the Iraqis were conducted in a very good atmosphere. "The Iraqis have told the Secretary- General that they wanted very much that our team listens to what they call their 'concerns and grievances' and we have listened with respect, with patience, with interest to everything they wanted to tell us."

He pointed out that the envoys are taking the concerns of the Iraqis and a letter from the Iraqi officials to the United Nations Secretary- General. The Secretary-General will report to the Security Council which will decide on further measures to deal with the situation.

In response to a question on the legitimacy of Iraq's request that the United Nations listen to its grievances and complaints, one of the envoys, Ambassador Emilio Cardenas said he had no doubt whatsoever. "I think that any party has the legitimate right to request that whatever is going on, be at one point reviewed."

Another diplomat, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, responding to a question on the success or failure of the mission, said that one of the reasons for their trip to Iraq was to contribute to a lowering of tension. "I think that during the course of these days, we have seen a little bit of that lowering of temperature." Regarding the success or failure of the mission, the envoy said the team could not judge if it was at the point of success or failure. "We have done our best. Of course, the key decisions lie with the Iraqis on this matter."

In a related development in Santiago, Chile, on the eve of the departure of his envoys from Iraq, the Secretary-General said that if Iraq did not respond positively to his request that it resume full compliance with Security Council resolutions, he would terminate his diplomatic mission and refer the matter to the Security Council.

The Secretary-General will shorten his visit to Latin America by one day and will return to New York on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials on Friday once again barred UNSCOM's weapons inspectors from carrying out inspections of certain sites because of the presence of inspectors of United States nationality.

Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, the Secretary-General said that the United Nations expects Chile to sign the Convention in Ottawa.

On the concern about a growing arms race in South America, the Secretary- General stressed that any escalation of the arms race or armament in the region would be a mistake. "I would hope that the governments who are doing so well on the economic restructuring, the economic transition and economic and social development will focus their efforts on these areas".

He added that everyone was beginning to accept that there is a broader definition of human security, not just the absence of war or military protection, and that "the kind of human security which is complete, which ensures a meaningful life, a decent economic living, protection of one's human rights and the rule of law, is much more important than the military aspects".

The Secretary-General concluded by expressing the hope that all governments will focus on that aspect of their responsibilities.

Mr. Annan who is on an official visit to South America is travelling to Venezuela over the weekend where he will address the Ibero-American Summit on Isla Margarita on Sunday.

United Nations sources in Burundi say that the displaced persons were evicted from the Rwegura site in Kayanza Province and sent back to the Cibitoke Province where they came from.

In response to the incident, officials from the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) Office in Burundi met on the same day with representatives of the Ministry of the Interior to discuss the poor health and nutritional status of these people and their expulsion.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly's Annual Pledging Conference for the agencies programmes in 1998, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata said the decline was caused, in part, by the strong United States dollar and reduced revenue from other sources of income.

"The funding of some Special Programmes has also been quite difficult, particularly our repatriation operations in Africa and programmes in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries." She said that the agency had to reduce budgeted activities to "very basic levels", adding that this was a cause for concern.

Turning to 1998, Ms. Ogata said for the first time since 1991, UNHCR's initial total budget has been set below the US$1 billion, "a decline of more than 25 per cent since 1996."

The High Commissioner said there was a positive aspect to the decline, and cited UNHCR's accomplishments in the repatriation of refugees from Mozambique, Indochina, Myanmar, and Guatemala. She added that her agency was refocusing its activities in the former Yugoslavia and the Great Lakes region away from large-scale emergency operations towards the protection, return, and reintegration of refugees.

On the negative side of the agency's declining budget, Ms. Ogata said she projected that the General Programme's funding problems will again persist in 1998. "In recognition of this, I have had to reluctantly recommend to the Executive Committee a reduced General Programme target of US$ 440 million."

For the Special Programmes, the High Commissioner for Refugees said that barring a major emergency, her agency's foresees operations totalling US555.9 million.

She appealed to Governments to assure the smooth running of her and expressed the hope that the 20 major donors will maintain their generosity. She urged new donors to join in supporting what she said should be a global responsibility and a sign of solidarity with the world's dispossessed and displaced. As she puts it, "Many millions of refugees depend on it."

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Spokeswoman, Pam O'Toole said on Friday that the number of refugees fleeing to the Thai province of Trat from western Cambodia has reached 46,000. Citing Thai government figures, Ms. O'Toole told the press that more than 11,000 Cambodians have arrived in Thailand over the past few weeks.

Another group of 18,000 refugees who fled Cambodia in August remains in a camp in Surin Province.

The Spokesman said her agency wanted to talk to the Thai authorities about care for the existing group of the refugees, to see if they required any extra assistance from UNHCR, and to establish how many more refugees may be on their way. According to the latest arrivals, several thousand more people may be on their way to the Thai border.

The two senior officials Francois Founait, Director of Asia Bureau and Dennis MacNamara, Director of International Protection, will also travel to Cambodia to review the arrangements for the reception, transportation and reintegration of the returnees.

The UNHCR Spokeswoman said the agency was particularly concerned about reports from Surin that people who were considering repatriation were being intimidated and fed misinformation by other refugees about the treatment of returnees in Cambodia.

The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday said that the health of tens of thousands of vulnerable people, mainly in hospitals, clinics, orphanages, or those displaced in urban centres, could quickly deteriorate over the coming weeks unless the agency is able to bring in more food immediately.

"Every month gets more difficult. As our food stocks run out, we are forced to decide who will eat this month and who will go hungry" said Paul Ares, WFP's Regional Manager for the coastal area of West Africa.

According to WFP, more than 200,000 people who have been left virtually destitute by the five-month old conflict, are in need of the agency's assistance.

WFP requires 2,400 tonnes of food each month to feed these people, but its stocks in the country have reached a critical low. Out of the original stock of 10,000 tonnes relief food when the fighting erupted in May and international aid workers were evacuated, WFP is left with a mere 800 tonnes of food. This food is enough for only 65,000 people for one month. Food supplies of other agencies are estimated at even lower than 700 tonnes.

Insecurity and lack of clearances have prevented WFP from replenishing its food stocks. The agency has requested for all necessary clearances in order to begin bringing in food from neighbouring Guinea.

Over the past few months, WFP diverted food for Sierra Leone to Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, a move which enabled the agency to build up a regional stock of 5,000 tonnes of relief food which can feed all the destitute 200,000 people for the next two months.

In the annual report, "The State of Food and Agriculture 1997" launched at the 29th session of FAO Governing Conference which opened in Rome on 7 November, the agency's estimates put world crop and livestock production in 1997 at 1.1 per cent as compared to 3.6 per cent in 1996. In 1995 production increased by 2.6 per cent.

At the same time, according to FAO, the latest information on food aid in 1996/97 shows a drop of 37 per cent to 4.9 tonnes, the lowest level since the start of food aid programmes in the mid-1950's. FAO figures also show continued decline for the 11th year in official development assistance to agriculture.

The Food and Agriculture Organization Governing Conference, which meets biennially, brings together Agriculture Ministers and senior officials from FAO's members, and decides on FAO's Programme of Work and Budget for the next two years. It also examines the global state of food and agriculture.

The current session is scheduled to end on 18 November 1997.

The FAO organized a special awards ceremony in Rome Italy on Friday for Roberto Savio Director-General of the Rome-based Inter Press Service (IPS) and Alfred Omondi, Chairman of the Association of Food and Agriculture Journalists from Kenya (AFAJ), to receive the award from Jacques Diouf, the agency's Director-General.

The award, named after former FAO Director-General, Hendrik Boerma of the Netherlands, was established in 1975 to honour journalists who focus public attention on world problems related to agricultural and rural development.

Inter Press Service, an independent association of journalists founded in 1964, has become a leading news agency covering development issues. Its correspondents report from more than 100 countries on topics not always covered by the mainstream media such as rural living, migration, refugees and the plight of women and children in the developing countries.

IPS won the award for its significant contribution over the past thirty years to coverage of sustainable agricultural and rural development in more than a hundred countries.

AFAJ, which is a 35-member professional association of journalists, is devoted to the coverage of issues related to food, agriculture, and the environment. The three-year old association launched a campaign to publicize the dangers of water hyanicth in Lake Victoria.

Alfred Omondi told United Nations Radio on Thursday that the problem in Lake Victoria is a major ecological disaster which has affected the local community. The weed in the lake he said, has caused a lot of suffering for local people whose main activity is fishing. He said that the weed has also disrupted transportation in the lake.

Mr. Omondi described some of the activities of his association. "What we did was to mobilize the experts together and the various stakeholders and policy makers to address the issue." He added that his organization also worked closely with the United Nations Environment Programme, based in Nairobi.

The award consists of $10,000 and an all-expenses paid visit to Rome for the winner and spouse to receive the award from the Director-General of FAO.

The Forum which began on Monday was organized by the United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

In its programme of Action the Forum encouraged the media to prioritize and highlight issues related poverty, attitudes and cultural beliefs which work against disadvantaged groups, in particular women children and people with disabilities.

The Declaration urged that special attention be given to the unique and special needs of the communities of the San and Khoi people who are sustained by hunting and gathering within some of the countries in the region. The displacement of such communities, has reduced or eliminated traditional rights to resources and therefore their means of livelihood.

The programme of Action urged governments, non-governmental and community based organizations to facilitate the establishment of income generating projects and to ensure the participation of youth, women and people with disabilities in such projects. It also called on civil society to establish civic structures to protect the rights of people, especially the disadvantaged groups.

The forum urged the governments of the region to provide assistance to the rural poor and to embark on land-reforms and distribution to give the disadvantaged and deprived people access to productive land and to ensure that land tenure systems are gender friendly. It also stressed the importance of implementing all United Nations Declarations to ensure the involvement of women in development.

South African rural participants also added to the Programme of Action specific proposals intended to improve their social conditions.

The forum concluded with the establishment of a task force to implement the recommendations agreed.

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

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