United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-11-11

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 11 November 1997

HEADLINES

• United States Ambassador says there is "near-unanimous" support in Security Council for draft resolution on Iraq.
• General Assembly prepares to act on draft resolution concerning Secretary- General's reform package.
• General Assembly's disarmament committee approves draft resolution calling for negotiations to ban nuclear weapons.
• Special Rapporteur says sanctions should be eased once Burundi Government shows commitment to peace.
• Special Rapporteur commends Rwandan Government's cooperation with human rights workers.
• UNICEF begins providing aid to flood victims in Somalia, but says needs remain great.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees concerned about German court's decision on Afghans seeking asylum.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees concerned about law favouring current housing occupants in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• UN refugee agency expresses deep concern about the large number of Cambodian refugees in Thailand.
• Developing countries need solidarity of industrialized countries more than ever, says Gabonese President.
• CNN's Environmental Editor, Barbara Pyle awarded 1997 UN Environment Programme Sasakawa Environment Prize.

Ambassador Bill Richardson said he expected the draft resolution to be adopted on Wednesday. He added that the draft would express the Council's "firm intention to take further measures, travel restrictions, condemnation, and an unmistakable signal for Iraq to rescind its activities with UNSCOM" - - the United Nations Special Commission charged with overseeing Iraq's disarmament.

Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission overseeing Iraq's disarmament (UNSCOM), responded to statements made by the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, who had on Monday said that United States nationals made up more than 30 per cent of UNSCOM. Mr. Butler told journalists that UNSCOM in New York, Baghdad and Bahrain had 180 staff -- professional and support -- who were of 35 different nationalities. Chile had the largest contribution with 22 per cent, the United States had 14 per cent, the United Kingdom 11 per cent, New Zealand 9 per cent, Iraq 6 per cent, and Australia 5 per cent.

"We don't have any idea of the basis on which [these things] are being calculated, and the much, much more important point is: we don't care", said Mr. Butler. He added that it was "wrong and distasteful" to identify people by their nationality, as that ran contrary to United Nations principles.

Also addressing reporters on Tuesday, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister retorted that the Chileans did not carry out disarmament and verification functions within UNSCOM; they worked as support staff. The percentages cited by Iraq had referred to those carrying out disarmament and verification functions, he said. "It is really funny that he mentioned Iraqis also working in UNSCOM, but Iraqis who are serving in UNSCOM are local personnel -- drivers, people who do translations, etc. etc. They don't have authority within UNSCOM."

The Secretary-General had reported to the Security Council yesterday afternoon on the mission of his three envoys to Iraq, and that the Council was unanimous in welcoming that initiative, according to his Spokesman, Fred Eckhard. In closing, the Secretary-General had wished the Council "wisdom, vision and fortitude" in dealing with the crisis, he said.

As a result of that meeting, Mr. Eckhard continued, the President of the Council, ambassador Qin Huasun (China), had met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz on Tuesday morning. The Council President had been requested by the other Council members to convey to Mr. Aziz that Iraq should comply fully with Security Council resolutions, and that the Council was united on that point.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iraq had blocked a United Nations inspection team for the eighth time, objecting to the presence of Americans on the team, according to Mr. Eckhard. Subsequently, three other teams had been recalled before they reached their planned inspection sites.

The Spokesman also reported that the fighting between Kurdish factions had continued in northern Iraq and could endanger the distribution of humanitarian supplies in the region. For now, the United Nations was allowed to transport humanitarian supplies along the route between Erbil and Suleimaniyah, crossing the frontlines.

According to the draft, the Assembly would commend the Secretary- General's reform initiatives and call upon him to take fully account of the views of Member States and groups of States when implementing the actions described in his report, "Renewing the United Nations: a Programme for Reform". The Assembly would also stress that the actions would be implemented with "full respect" for the relevant mandates, decisions and resolutions of the General Assembly, particularly the 1998- 2001 medium-term plan.

Also by that draft, the Assembly would affirm that programmatic implications of "relevant actions would be considered in conjunction with related recommendations". It would request the Secretary-General to report on the actions described in his report to the Assembly's next session.

The drafts will be taken up by the General Assembly plenary at a later date. In the past, the votes cast in the Assembly have been similar to those held in committee.

The draft calling for a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination was approved by a vote of 103 in favour to 26 against, with 24 abstentions after separate votes were held on several provisions.

According to one draft, the Assembly would underline once again the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control. That provision was approved by a vote of 139 in favour, with France, Israel, Monaco, the Russian Federation and the United States opposing it, and nine other countries abstaining.

Another draft, which was approved by a recorded vote of 95 in favour to 30 against, with 28 abstentions, would have the Assembly reiterate its request to the Conference on Disarmament to begin negotiations on an international convention to prohibit the use or threatened use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances. Under a separate text, which was approved by a vote of 97 in favour to 39 against, with 17 abstentions, the Assembly would urge the nuclear-weapon States to immediately stop the qualitative improvement, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems.

The Assembly would urge the Russian Federation and the United States to start negotiations on a third agreement immediately after the entry- into- force of the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms enters into force, by the terms of another draft. The text was approved by a recorded vote of 147 in favour to none against, with 8 abstentions -- Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and the United Republic of Tanzania.

By another nuclear-related text, the Assembly would reaffirm the urgent need to reach an early agreement on assurances to non-nuclear- weapon States that they would not be threatened with nuclear weapons. The text was approved by a recorded vote of 107 in favour to none against, with 48 abstentions.

The Committee also approved five draft resolutions concerning nuclear- weapon-free zones. One text would have the Assembly once again urge the States of South Asia to continue to make all possible efforts to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the area. The text was approved by 139 in favour to 3 against -- Bhutan, India, Mauritius, with 8 abstentions (Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Cyprus, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

Under the terms of four other drafts on nuclear-weapon-free zones, approved by the Committee without a vote, the Assembly would urge all parties concerned to seriously consider taking the steps required to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East; call upon all countries to support the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia; urge ratification of the amendments to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin American and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) in order to consolidate the Treaty's regime; and call upon African States to sign and ratify the African Nuclear-Weapon- Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba).

Acting without a vote, the Committee also approved draft resolutions, by which the Assembly would call upon all States to take measures to prevent any dumping of nuclear or radioactive wastes that would infringe upon the sovereignty of States; and call upon all signatory States to ratify the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction.

In his latest report on the situation of human rights in Burundi, Special Rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro also calls for the imposition of an embargo on the sale of arms to Burundi. The embargo, he says, should be directed at both the Government and the rebel forces.

The Special Rapporteur says that the embargo imposed by neighbouring countries following the coup d'‚tat of 25 July 1996, has had negative effects on the population of Burundi. The regional sanctions have led to the skyrocketing of prices of essential commodities.

The report points out that there are large scale violations of human rights in Burundi, including the right to life. The civilian population, mainly the small farmers in rural areas as well as women and children, are caught in between the Government forces and the rebel forces. According to the report, both have massacred civilians.

The Special Rapporteur also points out that ethnicity continues to be a major factor in Burundian society despite efforts by certain sections of the Government and the country's elite to "de-ethnicize" the conflicts within Burundian society. According to Mr. Pinheiro, ethnicity in Burundi is reflected in the ranks of Government and all echelons of the civil service.

The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government of Major Pierre Buyoya to respond to specific requests to provide information regarding alleged violations of human rights, including the death of three delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross on 4 June 1996 near Mugina,in Cibitoke province in September of the same year, the murder of the Archbishop of Gitega and the two nuns accompanying him, and the death in detention of Colonel Pascal Ntako on 15 May.

The report also identifies the policy of regroupment as a cause of the suffering of civilians who are forced to leave their homes and are crowded in camps controlled by the army. An estimated 600,00 Burundians are living far from their homes, says the Special Rapporteur.

The report notes that the overthrown President, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who had sought refuge in the residence of the United States Ambassador before the coup, has since been allowed to leave and to go live in a villa placed at his disposal by the authorities.

In his latest report, Michel Moussalli who went on a field mission to Rwanda from 26 July to 4 August 1997, expresses his "deepest gratitude" to all Ministers and officials of the Government of Rwanda for receiving him on short notice and for the frank and positive exchange of views.

While in Rwanda, Mr. Moussalli, accompanied by the staff of the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (HRFOR), visited the Kibungo prison to gain insight into the conditions of detention and the urgency of conducting fair and effective trials for those accused of genocide and related acts in 1994. He also met with, among others, heads of the United Nations agencies, the Deputy Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In his observations following this mission, the Special Rapporteur says that given the tremendous scale and severity of the violations of human rights and humanitarian law that were perpetrated during the "traumatic days" of the Rwandan civil war in 1994, "a time which saw the brutal carrying out of this century's worst genocides" and the weak response of the international community, the Government is to be commended for its cooperation.

While acknowledging the cooperation of the Rwandan Government, the Special Rapporteur nevertheless expresses concern about the "shocking" conditions of detention in some of the prisons and communal cachots he visited, where many people are being detained without substantiated grounds for their arrest and detention. He says that this concern was shared with many of the government officials with whom he met.

According to a UNICEF spokesman in Geneva, the agency has sent supplies and personnel to Kismayu, Baidera and Mogadishu. It has also started to transport a limited amount of supplies to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the floods in the Juba valley. "The population of this valley is some 800,000 and we estimate that already some 100,000 have been displaced."

Spokesman Patrick McCormack said that for UNICEF to move a significant amount of supplies to the affected population, it urgently needed helicopters and boats. "We have been in touch with several Governments, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom", he said, adding, "They have professed to be keen to assist but have yet to confirm what form this assistance will take."

Helicopters and boats were needed to drop supplies of food, water and medicines, as well as to pick up people still threatened by the floods, according to Mr. McCormack. UNICEF would launch a "flash appeal" this week for more assistance to Somalia.

The floods are said to have been the worst seen in Somalia since 1961.

The Federal Administrative Court in Berlin recently overturned two lower court decisions granting asylum to Afghans who feared persecution by the Taliban. The Berlin Court argued that in a situation of ongoing civil war, there are no authorities capable of exercising persecution.

"UNHCR does not agree with this position", an agency spokeswoman, Pam O'Toole, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday. "In UNHCR's view, the refugee definition contained in the 1951 Convention should not be interpreted as applying only to victims of persecution by States."

The UN refugee agency states that the latest decision by the Federal Court would make it likely that previous decisions recognizing Afghans as refugees would be overturned. "With this decision, a positive trend which had been evolving in Germany over the last year to consider the Taliban as a State-like actor will come to a halt", Ms. O'Toole said, adding, "This is a further development of the tendency, observed not only in Germany, to interpret the refugee definition extremely narrowly." She noted that many people of concern to UNHCR now fall outside the scope of refugee protection in Germany and in other European countries.

Ms. Ogata is expected to visit Bosnia later this month where she will look at opportunities to maximize the amount of people returning.

According to UNHCR Spokeswoman Pam O'Toole, the High Commissioner is concerned that the new law on the "Sale of Socially Owned Apartments" gives priority for the purchase of the apartments to their current occupants over the original residents before the war broke out in 1992.

The High Commissioner fears that the law, passed by the Federation Parliament despite a draft proposal by the international community to guarantee the rights of the pre-war residents, will discourage the return of refugees and displaced person, particularly the return of those who are minorities.

A similar law was adopted in the Republica Srpska on 10 September, effectively stripping previous owners or occupants of ownership rights to their homes, according to UNHCR.

The delegation, comprising Francois Founait, Director of Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, Dennis McNamara, Director of Division of International Protection from UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, and Amelia Bonifacio, Regional Representative for UNHCR in Cambodia, visited the country from 9 to 11 November to review arrangements for the repatriation of refugees in Surin Province, Thailand.

The delegation said it was distressing that only four years after the end of the big repatriation operation which brought 370,000 Cambodians back to their home land, there were still people who were forced to leave the country for their safety.

However, during their contacts with high officials in Cambodia, the delegation expressed its satisfaction with the smooth running of the operation and the sizeable number of people already repatriated.

The delegation conveyed a message from the High Commissioner for Refugees, Ms Sadako Ogata to the highest authorities of Cambodia to refrain from using military means in settling disputes and restoring peace in order to stop the exodus of people and to allow those who have left to return.

Delivering the F.L. McDougall Lecture at the twenty-ninth session of the Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome on Tuesday, President Bongo said that the developing countries are faced with the problem of adjusting to economic globalization and liberalization of markets. He said the changes were making competitors of countries whose resources and capacities were "scandalously disproportionate".

The leader of Gabon described the current period when the world is richer than ever before and when food production has increased and is sufficient to feed everyone as a paradox because one person in five still suffers from hunger and malnutrition.

He identified the root cause as poverty linked to climate problems, over- exploitation of land in some areas, growing urbanization, and economic and social inequalities which affected most nations.

President Bongo said that although Gabon was an oil producing country, it nonetheless suffered problems of food insecurity and had difficulties with distributing food in urban areas. He added that there was a need to make agricultural production more competitive.

The Gabonese leader told the FAO Conference that his country was spending $160 million annually to import about 47 per cent of its food requirements. President Bongo said that the Government had launched a programme to eliminate imbalances and to stimulate growth in non-oil sectors of the economy. The aim of the programme, he pointed out, was to raise standard of living in rural areas, thus helping to stem the exodus to the cities and to boost agricultural production.

The McDougall lecture was instituted in 1958 to commemorate the eminent Australian economist Frank McDougall who was one of the leading figures in the foundation of FAO. Mr. McDougall made such a proposal to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as early as 1942.

During the current session, 175 members of the Food and Agriculture Organization are debating the current state of food and agriculture.

Ms Pyle, who is also the Vice President of Environmental Policy of the Turner Broadcasting System, is the first journalist to be honoured with the UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize, which is one of the world's most prestigious environmental awards.

An independent jury decided on 30 June to honour a journalist with this award, which is usually reserved for environmental leaders, scientists and scholars.

The award will be given at a ceremony to be held at the United Nations Headquarters on 12 November. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and the Vice Chairman of Time Warner, Ted Turner, Ms. Jane Fonda, and UNEP's Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell are expected to attend.

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

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