United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-03-23

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 23 March 1998

HEADLINES

• In Gaza, Secretary-General tells Palestinian National Authority not to waver in "crisis of confidence".
• Head of United Nations weapons inspectors meets Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for first time since January.
• UN Human Rights Commissioner expresses concern at obstruction of UN investigative team in Congo-Kinshasa.
• Secretary-General proposes that Security Council send up to 10 military liaison officers to Sierra Leone.
• Secretary-General welcomes complete amnesty granted to Prince Norodom Ranariddh in Cambodia.
• United Nations Human Rights Commission hears from South Africa, United States and others on problem of racism.
• United Nations police group in Croatia reports relative stability amid persistent incidents.
• Juan Somavia of Chile elected to head governing body of International Labour Organisation.
• Marking World Water Day, head of UN Environment Programme stresses importance of preserving water.
• United Nations online educational service to compile stories of student actions in support of human rights.

The Secretary-General stressed that as long as security was not genuine and permanent for one side, it could not be for the other, saying that the resort to violence had set back the Palestinian cause. "Neither your friends -- and you have many -- nor your neighbours will be able to provide the support and the aid you deserve as long as violence is tolerated, and not rejected by all."

Sounding a positive note, Mr. Annan said that "Israelis and Palestinians are working together as never before, educating each other, aiding each other, recognizing each other as indispensable partners." These early fruits of peace were only the beginning, he said. "We at the United Nations are determined to see this beginning as the foundation of lasting, peaceful and sustainable development for the Palestinian people," he said.

The Secretary-General also made an impassioned plea for international support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has experienced budget shortfalls in recent years. "UNRWA is simply too important to the future of this region to be neglected," he said. "It must be restored to its full strength over time."

The Secretary-General also met with relatives of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. According to a United Nations spokesman, a teenage girl aged spoke directly to the Secretary-General "quite eloquently" for about five minutes. She said, "the occupation has taken away my father." Visibly moved, the Secretary-General stood up, walked towards the girl, and embraced her, promising to do his best for her, according to the spokesman.

The Secretary-General was in Gaza as part of a tour of the Middle East which began last week. On Saturday, the Secretary-General visited the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura where he laid a wreath at a memorial for peacekeepers killed while on duty. He then held discussions in Beirut with Lebanese President Elias Hrawi on the Middle East peace process, the situation in southern Lebanon, and the plight of Palestinian refugees.

Addressing students at the American University in Beirut later that day, the Secretary-General said, "the best investment this country has in its future is what I see before me today." He stressed that young people represented the best agent for change, a new source of strength and the best hope of healing. "Your task is not only to build a future society; it is to build a stronger society, one which older generations cannot even imagine, one fit for your childrenžs children," he concluded.

The following day, in Syria, the Secretary-General paid a visit to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), in Quneitra praising the soldiers and staff of that mission for keeping the peace and maintaining stability "on one of the most volatile fault lines in the world."

In Damascus, Mr. Annan met with President Hafaz El-Assad for over one hour, focusing primarily on the history of the peace process. At a press conference later that afternoon, the Secretary-General said that "Syrian leaders have made very clear to me that, to be enduring, any peace must be both just and comprehensive." For his part, he said, "I underlined that there can be no comprehensive peace in the region without Syria."

The Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), Richard Butler, and Mr. Aziz held two rounds of talks about inspections of presidential sites in the country. According to a United Nations spokesman, those inspections are expected to start later this week.

Another United Nations official, Jayantha Dhanapala, Chairman of the Group charged with the inspections of the presidential sites, arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, and had a number of meetings with Iraqi officials the following day.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Prakash Shah, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Iraq, arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to start his mission. He too had a separate meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Aziz.

In another development, a group of eight United Nations experts which had gone to Iraq to assess the country's capacity to produce oil completed their missions and left Baghdad on Sunday. The experts are expected to report their findings to the Secretary-General in about ten days, Spokesman Brandt said.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said that a group of experts from the United Nations Secretary-General's Investigative Team had been prevented from carrying out its mandate in Mbandaka. The team, led by Daniel O'Donnell and comprising experienced forensic experts and human rights officers, was forced to return to Kinshasa over the weekend after a provincial governor said he could no long guarantee their security.

"This is the latest in a series of obstacles encountered by the Team since its arrival in Kinshasa on August 24th last year," Ms Robinson said. She added that to date, the reluctance of the Kinshasa authorities to facilitate the deployment of the Forensic Team to the interior of the country and obstacles once deployed, had made it impossible to accomplish its work plan.

According United Nations sources, the team withdrew after being threatened by villagers armed with machetes and hunting spears. "The ostensible cause of the latest difficulties was an allegation that the Team wanted to excavate the burial site of a local chief at Wendji near Mbandaka," Ms. Robinson said.

Ms.Robinson said that she was "profoundly concerned" that the efforts since April 1997, first by the Joint Investigative Mission of her Commission and now by Mr. Annan's Investigative Team, had been frustrated to the point where it was doubtful an investigation could be carried out before the Team's mandate expired at end of May.

"This investigation has at its core the fundamental human rights imperative to combat impunity," Ms Robinson stressed. She called on the Government in Kinshasa and the local authorities in Goma to ensure that there was no repetition of the obstructions for another team preparing to deploy in that area.

In a proposal to the Security Council, the Secretary-General calls for the deployment of up to 10 military liaison officers to Sierra Leone. Among other tasks, they would be charged with working closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) on the design of a disarmament plan for the country. The presence of military liaison officers could also assist in national reconciliation.

The Secretary-General outlines a comprehensive set of measures to assist Sierra Leone, including strengthening the office of his Special Envoy in Freetown. He indicates that he has consulted with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, on the possibility of deploying human rights observers to the country. In the meantime, a human rights officer will be sent to Freetown.

Drawing attention to the acute humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone, the Secretary-General urges the international community to "maintain its vigilance and support" by providing aid to the country. "Democracy in Sierra Leone may have deep roots, but it is a fragile plant and must be nurtured," he says.

In a statement issued through his Spokesman, the Secretary-General also indicated that he was instructing his Representative in Cambodia to monitor the safe and full resumption of Prince Ranariddh's political activities when he returns to Cambodia in keeping with the 22 October letter of guarantees from Ung Huot and Hun Sen.

The Secretary-General also noted that the amnesty was an important point of the "Four Pillar Plan" put forward by Japan and endorsed by the Friends of Cambodia at a recent meeting in Manilla.

The Minister of Justice of South Africa, Dullah Omar, said he new democratic South Africa was left with the terrible legacy of apartheid in the form of massive social and economic inequalities. Apartheid had also left the effective marginalization and social exclusion of the majority of black people, extreme poverty, homelessness and joblessness for many, and a terrible culture of violence and criminality, including corruption and absence of respect for human rights.

The culture of violence which South Africa inherited had remained a problem affecting women and children in a way which prevented them from enjoying their human rights, he continued. It was said that South Africa had the highest incidence of rape in the world; the rate of murder, despite having come down slightly, was still a serious problem. However, South Africa was confident that the situation would change. The Government was working to complete a National Action Plan to help realize the advancement of human rights in time to submit it to the Secretary-General by 10 December 1998 -- International Human Rights Day, he said.

The representative of the United States, Betty King, said that no discussion of race could avoid those terrible aspects of the country's history -- the shameful institution of chattel slavery and the expulsion of native Americans from their ancestral lands. Although the Civil War put an end to slavery, it did not end the inequality between the races.

While some of the country's immigrant groups climbed the famous ladder of American success, Native and African-Americans reached the top far more slowly and infrequently; and yet, as always in America, there were exceptions, and lately, reflecting improvements on the ground, more and more minorities had entered the mainstream of American economic and social life, she said.

Ms. King noted that President Clinton had launched a five-point dialogue on race last year, and pledged that the United States would actively participate in the upcoming world conference on racism.

The Group met last week with representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to stress the need for Croatia to rescind discriminatory laws affecting housing and related issues. They stressed that it was the responsibility of the Government of Croatia and the legislative bodies to adopt comprehensive legislation on property and returns.

According to the UNHCR, the total number of the UNHCR-assisted returns to Croatia from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia so far had reached 1,133. Around 1,600 Croatian Serbs had sought asylum in Norway, arriving at a rate of 250 per week.

The Chilean diplomat received 44 votes for his candidacy and his rival Ms. Maria Nieves Roldan-Confesor of the Philippines received 14 votes. A majority of the eligible votes was needed to be elected.

Accepting the results of the vote, Mr. Jorge Arrate Mac Nivern, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Government of Chile said that the election of Mr. Somavia marked the first time in the 79-year history of the ILO that a representatives of the Southern Hemisphere had been elected to the post.

Mr. Somavia has had a long and distinguished career in civil and international affairs. He served as Chairman of the preparatory Council of the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995 and President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council from 1993 to 1994. He is currently the Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York where he recently represented his country in the Security Council.

The Governing Body, comprising 28 government members, 14 employer members and 14 worker members, is the executive arm of the ILO. It meets thrice a year to take decisions on the implementation of programmes and policies. Ten of the government seats are permanently held by major industrialized countries. The remaining members are elected on the basis of regional distribution to serve for three years.

In his message on the occasion of the day, UNEP Executive Director Klaus Topfer said that "we can no view freshwater as an unlimited resource." As the demand for water grew, and in the absence of clear consensus on how best to maximize the benefits of water for all who needed it, that competition had the potential of erupting into bitter disputes, he added.

"This year's celebration of World Water Day spotlights our supply of groundwater which constitutes 7 per cent of all the freshwater found on the planet," the head of UNEP said. He said that these groundwater sources which had supplied water for human consumption for several thousand years were now coming under increasing pressure. "Groundwater reserves, particularly in arid areas, are being overexploited," Mr. Topfer pointed out.

The UNEP Executive Director said that compounding the problem of unsustainable exploitation, groundwater was also increasingly being polluted by human activities in urban areas. He identified the sources of such pollution as improper sewage systems, industrial contaminants, pollutants and wastes that drain from cities and agricultural fields following rainstorms.

The project, "Human Rights in Action", aims to demonstrate that young people are actively concerned about the human rights situation in various parts of the world, that the notion of rights has relevance everywhere in the world and that young students can indeed make a difference in bringing about change.

The UN CyberSchoolBus plans to collect inspiring stories of classes or schools defending and promoting human rights in their own communities, neighbourhoods and cities. By compiling these stories of student action, it hopes to create a global resource that will provide concrete examples to emulate and inspire new and original actions. The students' efforts will be recognized on Human Rights Day, 10 December.

Stories are being collected through the CyberSchoolBus web site at http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/humanrights.

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

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