United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-11-18

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 18 November 1997

HEADLINES

• UN Special Commission on Iraqi disarmament will meet in emergency session on Friday, 21 November.
• UN Secretary-General deeply concerned about reports of discovery of mass graves in northern Afghanistan.
• President of General Assembly holds consultations on reconvening of high- level group on finance.
• UNICEF Executive Director condemns "relentless civilian killings" in Algeria.
• Rwandan genocide suspect pleads not guilty before International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania.
• Congolese officials reiterate the Government's commitment to facilitate UN human rights investigation in Congo-Kinshasa.
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees expresses concern about expulsion of refugees in the Great Lakes Region.
• UN refugee agency sends aid to flood victims in Somalia.
• UN High Commissioner for refugees goes to Bosnia and Croatia to facilitate minority returns and "open cities".
• UN experts say living conditions of Haitian workers in Dominican Republic are poor.
• Three libraries in Egypt and United States are designated United Nations depository libraries.

UNSCOM Executive Chairman Richard Butler had suggested that the meeting be held. The idea was supported in a letter to Ambassador Butler from the current President of the Security Council Qin Huasan of China, who wrote on behalf of the Council members.

The Council also agreed to have a technical briefing of UNSCOM on Wednesday, 19 November, according to United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard.

Meanwhile, the Committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq, which is known as the 661 Committee, was scheduled to meet on Tuesday. United States Rear Admiral Michael Bordy, the Coordinator of the Multinational Interception Force monitoring the sanctions in the Persian Gulf, was expected to brief the Committee on the smuggling activities in the area.

According to a statement released by his Spokesman, the Secretary- General has already asked the United Nations Special Mission in Afghanistan (UNSMA) to make contact with all sides in order to find out more about "this sad situation".

The Secretary-General once again appealed to all parties to the conflict to respect the Geneva Conventions and cooperate with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), which should be permitted access to all prisoners and wounded fighters in the custody of every party to the conflict in Afghanistan.

"This news is a reminder that all Afghan parties and those countries and organizations who are interested in Afghanistan urgently need to cooperate with the United Nations to put an end to the senseless conflict which has caused so much suffering and damage to the Afghan people", the statement concludes.

Mr. Udovenko is acting in response to a request by Secretary-General Kofi Annan that the group meet to explore "all possible options for ensuring prompt payment by Member States of their dues". The Secretary- General was reacting to the failure of the United States Congress to act on proposed legislation that would have taken a significant step toward funding the more than $1 billion in overdue United States payments to the Organization.

On Tuesday morning, Mr. Udovenko met with Joseph E. Connor, the Under- Secretary-General for Administration and Management. According to Mr. Udovenko's spokesman, Alex Taukatch, they discussed the high-level group on finance, which Mr. Connor had addressed in the past. Mr. Connor and Mr. Udovenko also discussed the Organization's financial situation, as well as the contribution of $1 billion from Ted Turner, the cable television entrepreneur and Vice-Chairman of Time Warner, Inc. who is donating the money to fund United Nations humanitarian programmes around the world.

The Secretary-General has asked that the high-level group on finance to report on the matter before the end of the year.

"The world must not permit the sickening regularity with which we learn of these horrific acts to dull our capacity for outrage", said Carol Bellamy. "It is time that the international community rose up as one to demand that these flagrant abuses of human rights -- particularly the rights of children -- are halted immediately."

The UNICEF Executive Director made her statement as Amnesty International released a report entitled "Algeria: Civilian Population Caught in a Spiral of Violence" which estimates that up to 80,000 people have been brutally slain in the country. The report states that "thousands of men, women, children and elderly people have been slaughtered, decapitated, mutilated or burned alive in their homes. Babies have been hacked to death. Pregnant women have been disemboweled".

Ms. Bellamy said that UNICEF fully supported Amnesty International's call for concrete action, including an independent and impartial investigation into human rights abuses. She called for special protection measures for children and women, stressing that schools, health centres and places where children congregate must be designated and respected as zones of peace.

Alfred Musema, who is a former Director of the Gisovu Tea Factory in Kibuye Prefecture in Rwanda pleaded not guilt to the six counts of Genocide, Conspiracy to Commit Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and Serious Violations of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Convention and of Additional Protocol II.

The Prosecution alleged that Alfred Musema was responsible for the killing or causing of serious bodily or mental harm to members of the Tutsi population who sought refuge in the Bisesero area.

According to the Prosecution, Mr. Musema brought armed individuals to that area and directed them to attack the people who sought refuge there. He is also accused of personal involvement in the killing.

The accused, who was arrested in Switzerland on 11 February 1995, entered the plea during his initial appearance before Trial Chamber 1 in the absence of his lead Counsel, Marie-Paule Honegger, who has repeatedly failed to appear in Court. The Chamber has refused her future audience before the Tribunal and has asked the Registrar to assign a new Counsel to Musema.

The United Nations investigators met with Foreign Minister Bizima Karaha and Interior Minister Mwenze Kongolo today. The United Nations team described the meeting as positive and constructive, according to United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard.

The ministers reiterated their government's commitment to facilitate the work of the team, he said adding that "we are looking forward to their getting into the field, perhaps early next week, following a meeting later this week to work out the final details for the field work."

The United Nations team led by Atsu Koffe Amega of Togo has been sent to investigate violations of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 to December 1997.

UNHCR Spokeswoman, Pam O'Toole told reporters on Tuesday that the expulsions, which started in September, have increased over the past few weeks.

The expulsions have been carried out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.

She said that the expulsions have resulted in the uprooting of thousands of people, ranging people who fled recent fighting or war, to people who had been settled in neighbouring countries for decades.

In the words of the Spokesman, "We have already expressed our concern about the crisis of protection for refugees". Ms O'Toole noted that the United Nations refugee agency had also raised this issue with the Governments but with little effect so far.

Ms. O'Toole said UNHCR is concerned about the long term effects on these people who have been pushed across borders without warning.

The aid is being provided to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for distribution in southern Somalia where flooding in the Juba and Shabelle valley regions has reportedly killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than 100 times that many.

UNICEF has chartered 10 boats and four helicopters to distribute aid in the area. "Today from Baidera in southern Somalia we are delivering 50 tonnes of supplies, biscuits, plastic sheeting, medical supplies and blankets by boat into the Juba valley", UNICEF spokesman Patrick McCormack told reporters in Geneva.

The United Nations has launched an appeal for $9.6 million to fund the disaster relief operation in Somalia. "It will be a great tragedy if, due to a lack of funds, aid arrives too late to prevent even more massive population displacements", said UNHCR's Representative for Kenya and Somalia, Yvette Stevens.

UNHCR's Somalia Cross Border Operation is currently preparing "quick impact projects" valued at $50,000 under which agricultural tools and seeds will be released to flood ravaged areas of southern Somalia as soon as the waters subside. The aim is to spur local agricultural production and salvage local crop production.

Ms. Ogata, who is expected to spend three days in the region will meet with the presidents and ministers of Republika Srpska and the Federation to urge them to be more open to minority returns. She will also reiterate the importance of increasing the number of safe returns to minority areas in 1998.

During her visit, the High Commissioner will meet with heads of agencies working in the area, and Dr. Javier Solana, the Secretary- General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), who will be in Sarajevo at the time. The two leaders will exchange views on the upcoming meetings in December of the Peace Implementation Council and its humanitarian Issues Working Group. Ms. Ogata is also scheduled to visit returnees in the Open City of Konjie.

According to UNHCR the rate of returns have slowed down because of winter. Some 101, 200 refugees have returned between January and 31 October 1997. There are approximately 700,000 refugees remaining mostly in Europe, including the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Some 45,760 displaced people returned within Bosnia by the end of August.

Committee experts Phillippe Texier and Javier Wimer reported on their mission to the Dominican Republic, which examined the situation of Haitian migrant workers employed on the sugar cane plantations.

In presenting the results of the mission, Mr. Texier said that the living conditions of Haitian migrant workers remained poor and their continued illegal status, partially due to Dominican nationality laws, resulted in grave political, economic and social problems.

Responding on behalf of the Dominican Republic, Ciriaco Landolfi, Ambassador in Charge of Human Rights in the State Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, said the Government recognized the poor living conditions of the Haitian workers and had carried out measures to construct dispensaries, schools and extra housing for them.

A number of Committee experts recommended amending the Dominican Republic's nationality laws in order to alleviate the social problems arising from the illegal status of the Haitian migrant workers.

One of the libraries is the Ain Shams University Faculty of Law Library in Cairo, Egypt. The two libraries in the United States are the Rittenberg Law Library of St. John's University in Jamaica New York, and the Walsh Library of Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

The three libraries will become part of an international network of 362 that brings together United Nations documents and publications to users around the world. The depository libraries are in 141 countries and territories.

Since 1946 the Dag Hammarskjold Library, which is part of the United Nations Department of Public Information in New York, has arranged for the distribution of United Nations documents and publications to users around the world through its depository library system.

The libraries receive United Nations materials with the understanding that their collections will be maintained in good order and be available to the public free of charge.

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

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