United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-03-06

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 6 March 1998

HEADLINES

• Concerned at lack of compliance, Security Council calls on Croatia to demonstrate commitment to its obligations.
• Secretary-General's Middle East trip will include stop in Jordan.
• Secretary-General Kofi Annan to meet President Clinton in Washington next Wednesday.
• United Nations refugee agency is alarmed by upsurge of violence in Kosovo.
• Three "sensitive sites" inspected with full cooperation on Iraqi side.
• Top United Nations official will go to Baghdad to lay groundwork for inspection of presidential sites.
• Rwandan women struggle to overcome effects of genocide, Minister tells United Nations Commission.
• Head of Federation of African Women's Peace Network says every African country has potential for conflict.
• Nepal signs $3 million agreement with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

"The Council notes that the overall security situation in the Danube region remains relatively stable, but [it] is particularly concerned about increasing incidence of harassment and intimidation of the local Serb community in the region, and the failure of the Croatian Government to apply the process of national reconciliation in an effective way at the local level," the Council President, Foreign Minister Mamadou Sedat Jobe of the Gambia, said on behalf of the Council members. "This worrying situation, together with recent statements by the Croatian authorities, cast doubt upon the Republic of Croatia's commitment to include ethnic Serbs and persons from other minorities as full and equal members of Croatian society, " he said.

The Security Council called upon Croatia to "reaffirm and by its actions demonstrate its commitment to fulfilling its obligations" under various agreements. Croatia was also called upon to ensure the safety, security and rights of all Croatian citizens and to build confidence among the Serb community throughout Croatia.

The Council outlined a number of steps which Croatia must take, including establishing clear procedures for documenting refugees in the country, issuing an equitable plan for nationwide two-way returns, and fully implementing amnesty legislation. In addition, Croatia was called upon to pass equitable property and tenancy rights legislation and to ensure fair employment benefit practices, equal economic opportunity, and non- discrimination in the application of the rule of law. The Council also called upon Croatia to ensure the protection and equal treatment of all Croatian citizens, regardless of ethnicity.

Since the United Nations Transitional Administration departed from Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium in mid-January, the performance of the Croatian police has been generally satisfactory, according to the Council. Its President noted, however, that public confidence in the police is low. The Council called upon the Croatian Government to employ public information and police measures to prevent ethnically motivated crime.

As a result of arrangements worked out with the Government of Jordan, the Secretary-General will begin his trip there on 18 March. He will be meeting with Crown Prince Hassan.

From Jordan, the Secretary-General will proceed to visit Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Syria as well as areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.

The Middle East trip had been planned for February, but was postponed in the light of the Iraq crisis.

Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General will also meet with senior members of the United States administration. "It is not clear yet whether there will be many meetings with members of Congress, but the Secretary- General plans a second visit to Washington after the Congressional Easter recess for the specific purpose of consulting with members of Congress," Mr. Eckhard said.

The Secretary-General had put off an earlier trip to Washington, D.C., planned for 2 March, in order to be close to Security Council consultations on the Memorandum of Understanding he concluded with Iraq. Those consultations eventually led to the Council's adoption of a resolution endorsing the Memorandum.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged all those involved in the conflict to do their utmost to prevent a spiral of violence. It warned that the violence could destabilize the entire region and create new waves of refugees.

UNHCR said that it was extremely worried by the violence since sporadic clashes can easily spin out of control and become a full-fledged conflict.

The United Nations refugee agency said that even after six years of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina and two-and-a-half years after the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war, 1.4 million people were still displaced or scattered around Europe as refugees.

At United Nations Headquarters, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that he had been worried about the situation in Kosovo for some time. He said he had informally raised the issue with the Security Council several times.

The Secretary-General said that the United Nations was also aware that several European institutions were engaged in Kosovo. He said that the German Government had formally requested the Security Council to discuss the issue.

According to United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard, the UNSCOM team viewed three sites. "All of these sites were declared sensitive by Iraq; nevertheless there was full cooperation on the Iraqi side, and the inspectors were able to inspect all of these sites to their full satisfaction," he said.

"This inspection they carried out is essentially a continuation of the work that was interrupted in January," Mr. Eckhard said. He added that the number of inspectors would vary from day to day depending on the specific sites being visited.

The team dispatched on Friday included 50 inspectors from 11 countries: Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Syria, United Kingdom and the United States.

Commissioner Jayantha Dhanapala, who is also the United Nations Under- Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, will leave on Monday evening to prepare the ground for the activities of the special group.

The special group was formed as a result of the memorandum of understanding brokered by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Baghdad in February.

In a speech to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women delivered on Friday, Marie Claire Mukasine described the brutality endured by Rwandan women and girls during the genocide. She recalled that those who survived had witnessed the killing and torture of their family members and had often been tortured themselves, sometimes through systematic rape.

In the aftermath of the genocide, Rwandan women were left to take on new responsibilities as heads of household under precarious conditions of extreme poverty and a destroyed socio-economic infrastructure, according to Ms. Mukasine. She said that the Government was encouraging women's participation in rebuilding the country. For the first time, women were participating in tasks that were previously reserved for men, including construction work.

Among other measures, the Government was providing support for those who had escaped genocide and for those who had been victims of sexual violence.

Ms. Mukasine cautioned that the tragedy of Rwanda must serve as a warning to the rest of humanity. The international community must put all of its energies into conflict prevention. In this endeavour, she said, the participation of women was critical.

Speaking at a press briefing sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, who is also a member of parliament in Zambia, said that African countries faced a number of problems. Those problems included the inability to meet people's basic needs, undemocratic political processes, illiteracy and the lack of information.

She said that the members of FERFAP came together in order to strengthen themselves and expand their service to the people and to intensify their voice. The head of FERFAP said that some of the African women had "had done the most daring missions that no government can think about." As an example, she said, during the conflict in Mali, women risked their lives and got in touch with the rebels and "talked to them until they collected all their guns and put them to flame." In northern Uganda, she added, a minister went to the bush "with just a handbag" to talk to the rebels.

Ms. Mbikusita-Lewanika stressed the importance of preventing violence. One way of prevention was active participation by the people and the promotion of human rights, she said. She also emphasized the importance of democratic government. She said that African women were putting pressure on African governments to reduce their defence budgets. She added that the women were also pleading with other women in developed countries to pressurize their governments to stop the production of weapons which are used in conflicts on the African continent.

The three-year project will begin this month, with a loan from the World Bank's International Development Association. UNCTAD will provide technical assistance to Nepal with a view to helping it harmonize and simplify its trade procedures. Cooperation will also aim to upgrade Nepal's Customs Department. UNCTAD will also help by providing statistical support for monitoring foreign trade and economic fiscal policy-making.

Other activities include helping Nepal to facilitate rail traffic movements from India. UNCTAD will also help Nepal link all of its transport modes together under a nationwide plan.

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

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