United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-11-20

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 20 November 1997

HEADLINES

• Members of the Security Council endorse the immediate resumption of inspection activities in Iraq.
• UN Secretary-General says that despite progress, Africa's performance in industry has been weak.
• Secretary-General's representative attends Organization of African Unity's meeting on conflict resolution.
• UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns of a precarious food supply situation in Somalia.
• Robert Francis Kinloch appointed Head of UN Identification Commission for Western Sahara.
• General Assembly proclaims 2000 as International Year for Culture of Peace.
• President of the General Assembly welcomes launch of space shuttle Colombia with multinational crew.

Council President Qin Huasun of China told the press on Thursday that Council members also endorsed the immediate resumption of the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the country.

The Security Council took the decision in view of a letter addressed to the President by the Foreign Minister of Iraq Mohamed Said Al-Sahaf, and a statement of the five permanent members of the Security Council issued on Wednesday. The letter informed the Council that the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council, chaired by President Saddam Hussein on Thursday decided to invited UNSCOM, with its full complement of its inspectors to return to the country.

The inspection teams which are in Bahrain are expected to return to Iraq on Friday.

In a related development earlier, the United States Secretary of Defence William Cohen told reporters that he had a "beneficial" conversation with the Secretary-General. He added that he conveyed United States President Bill Clinton's gratitude for the way in which the Secretary-General had "conducted the attempt to resolve the situation" and that the two leaders were in full compliance that Iraq must allow the UNSCOM inspectors into Iraq without conditions.

In another development on Thursday, the representatives of the Russian Federation and Iraq transmitted, to the President of the Security Council the Joint Russian-Iraqi Declaration in which Iraq accepted the return of the Special Commission with its full complement of members.

For its part, the Russian Federation pledged to work actively, subject to Iraq's implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, for a speedy lifting of sanctions against Iraq.

In his statement to the General Assembly on the occasion of Africa Industrialization Day on 20 November, the Secretary-General said the occasion occurred at a time of rising hope for much of the continent. He noted that Africa's growth had increased by more than four per cent in 1996, the strongest performance in 20 years.

The Secretary-General pointed out, however, that Africa continued to be constrained by weak institutional capacity, inadequate regulatory and incentive systems, and a widening technology gap among nations. "Thus it has been difficult for Africa to benefit fully from globalization and from the liberalization of trade, and to integrate fully into the world economy."

The head of the world organization cautioned that the work ahead will not be easy. "There is 'donor fatigue' toward Africa. Aid is declining", Mr. Annan told the General Assembly.

The President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, said the commemoration of the Day reaffirmed the principle of partnership and shared responsibility between Africa and the international community. The United Nations was committed to Africa's industrial development -- the key to the continent's transformation from poverty to prosperity.

Africa's leaders, he said, recognized the need for collective action and had taken several initiatives. United Nations organizations needed to work together more closely to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in African countries. They should also pool resources to maximize the impact of their contributions to Africa's development.

Ambassador Sahnoun is representing the Secretary-General in the ministerial meeting of the Central Organ of the Organization of African Unity's Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, and Resolution.

Participants in the meeting are addressing a number of conflict situations in Africa, including Burundi, the Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Sierra Leone and Somalia. They are discussing ways of enhancing Africa's capacity to undertake peace support operations.

That meeting is expected to conclude on Friday.

In its latest special alert, FAO says that persistent heavy rains since mid- October have caused serious floods, hundreds of deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure and property in Somalia.

Large numbers of people have been displaced and important crop and livestock have been lost, particularly in the southern areas along the Juba and Shebelle rivers. Losses of livestock are provisionally estimated at 11, 000 head.

According to FAO, torrential rains for over a month have adversely affected the maize and sorghum crops in the regions of Lower Juba, Lower and Middle Shebelle, and the sorghum belt area of Bay, Bakool and Hiraan regions, as well as the growing areas of the north-west.

Prices of basic food, which were already high, are reported to have increased three-fold since the floods started. FAO says that the food situation is particularly critical along the Juba river from Jamame to Buale, where serious food shortages have developed as towns are isolated by flood waters.

A mission of the FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) which recently assessed the crop and food supply situation in Somalia estimated that for the marketing year 1997-1998, Somalia will require an import of 247,000 tonnes of cereals, of which 215,000 tonnes were expected to be covered commercially and 32,000 tonnes by food aid.

According to United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard, Mr. Kinloch had been appointed to head the United Nations Development Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the Government of that country said it was not yet ready for the establishment of that office.

Mr. Kinloch, who will be working with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), will oversee the identification of people eligible to participate in a referendum to choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

In a related development, the United Nations has also appointed Peter Miller of Canada as Police Commissioner for MINURSO.

In a recent report, the United Nations Secretary-General has said that the transitional process for the referendum can start in June 1998 and the referendum can be held at the end of that year.

The Secretary-General says that the expansion of MINURSO for the full implementation of the settlement plan for Western Sahara is estimated at $129 million.

The new cost estimates provide for the emplacement of 347 military observers, 1,273 military contingent personnel and 319 civilian police observers, supported by a staff of some 120 international civilian staff, 90 local staff and 750 polling officers. The funding will also include $3.1 million for mine clearance, $11 million for disarmament and demobilization programmes, and $10.9 million for transport operations.

The Assembly also adopted a resolution calling for a draft declaration and programme of action on a culture of peace, to be submitted by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Director- General of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) by its next session.

According to a report by UNESCO, the challenge of promoting a culture of peace is so broad and far-reaching that it can only be accomplished if it becomes a matter of priority for the entire United Nations system. The report calls for a global effort led by the United Nations to provide people with peacemaking skills, such as dialogue, respect for human rights, mediation, consensus building and cooperation.

Also on Thursday, the Assembly proclaimed the year 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers. It called for a concerted campaign to promote the Year, with strong media participation. The Assembly appealed to Member States to highlight 2001 as a special occasion benefiting people of the world in their quest for a better life, based on the voluntary commitment of individuals and groups who give their time and share their resources and skills in the interest of those in need.

In a statement issued by his Spokesman, Mr. Udovenko said that the launch of the shuttle, with four United States astronauts, a Japanese aerospace engineer and the first Ukrainian astronaut demonstrated the vital role of international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space.

The Assembly President noted the importance of the recent consideration of this issue in the General Assembly which highlighted the need to increase the benefits of such cooperation to all countries.

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

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