United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-04-23

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 23 April, 1998

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General writes to Rwandan Government over announced executions of persons found guilty of genocide.
• Head of UN human rights agency appeals to Rwandan Government to reconsider its decision on executions.
• Secretary-General says intra-state warfare aims to destroy civilians and entire ethnic groups.
• UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina condemns injury to elderly Croat couple.
• UN food agency seeks $88 million to avert food crisis in Indonesia.
• Special envoy says abuses against women and children during armed conflicts among worst phenomena of century.
• Special Representative briefs Security Council on situation in Tajikistan.
• Industry and trade union representatives report private sector willing to work to protect environment.
• Secretary-General expresses sadness at death of former Greek President Constantine Caramanlis.
• Scores of girls come to United Nations headquarters in observance of "Take Our Daughters to Work."

In a statement on Thursday, the spokesman said the Secretary-General had reiterated in the "strongest possible terms" his condemnation of the genocide, which took place in Rwanda in 1994. It was essential that justice be done and that the crime of genocide not be committed with impunity.

At the same time, he said, the Secretary-General was concerned that justice be done in accordance with due process and in a way that would advance the process of healing that was needed to ensure lasting peace in Rwanda. To that end, he had written to the President of Rwanda to convey those concerns regarding the executions.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, condemned the genocide in Rwanda in the "strongest terms". However, she said she was "deeply concerned and even shocked" at the Government decision, which could have a negative effect on the process of reconciliation in the country.

Ms. Robinson said she was concerned that the public nature of the proposed executions would have a brutalizing effect on a population already traumatized by the 1994 genocide and the continuing insecurity in the country. Such public killings, she said, could promote feelings of revenge rather than contributing to national reconciliation.

Various organizations had monitored many of the trials which had resulted in the convictions and sentencing of those to be executed, Ms. Robinson said. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Rwanda is a party, explicitly states that capital sentences may only be pronounced after trials in which all guarantees of due process were scrupulously observed. The High Commissioner added that executions carried out after unfair trials clearly violated the right to life.

The Secretary-General was giving an address on the challenge of conflict prevention at the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston. He was on the last leg of his trip to California and Texas.

According to the Secretary-General, time and again, differences were allowed to develop into disputes, which, in turn, were allowed to develop into deadly conflicts. Time and again, warning signs were ignored and pleas for help overlooked. He added "Only after the deaths and the destruction, do we intervene at a far higher human and material cost and with far fewer lives to save. Only when it is too late do we value prevention".

The Secretary-General outlined three main reasons for the failure of prevention when it was possible. First, the reluctance of the parties to a conflict to accept external intervention of any kind. Second, the lack of political will at the highest levels of the international community. Third, a lack of integrated conflict-prevention strategies within the UN system and the world community. The lack of the will to act was the most important. Without it, no amount of improved coordination or early warning will translate into action, he said.

The former United States Secretary of State, James Baker III, told the audience that the United States should pay its back dues to the United Nations. Nations, like individuals, acquired reputations and the United States should not have the reputation of a "dead beat", he added.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elizabeth Rehn, released a statement Thursday, condemning the "grave incident" in the village of Velika Bukovica, near Travnik. The two injured people were part of a group of 30 displaced Bosnian Croats on an assessment visit to their pre-war homes.

Ms. Rhen and Richard Monk, the head of the UN International Police Task Force stressed their condemnation of violence and intimidation aimed at would-be returnees across the country. The two representatives were following developments in the case closely and were in contact with the appropriate authorities. Ms. Rehn had discussed the matter with Federation President Ejup Ganic and Vice-President Vladimir Soljic.

Serious drought conditions in many parts of the country, caused by the strongest El Nino phenomenon in 50 years, have resulted in decreased crop output. At the same time, Asia's financial crisis has battered Indonesia's economy, affecting its ability to import rice, the main staple food.

"We ask the international community to act now to prevent the present food shortage from developing into a major food crisis," WFP Executive Director, Catherine Bertini, said. "The people of Indonesia need our help to recover from these recent calamities."

The current WFP appeal is seeking to provide 225,000 metric tons of rice and blended foods to feed approximately 4.6 million vulnerable people, including pregnant women and nursing mothers, children under 5 years of age and families who only have enough food for one meal a day. The Agency will also direct a number of community Food-For-Work activities.

The emergency operation which will complement national efforts, will help the country survive the upcoming dry season, which begins in May, and last until next Spring's harvest.

In an address to the Commission on Human Rights, which is currently meeting in Geneva, Mr. Olara Otunnu, called the systematic targeting of civilian populations, particularly women and children "abominable". He said in spite of the elaboration of a range of international treaties over the last 50 years, there was no relationship between those standards and realities on the ground; it was as if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not exist, he added.

Mr. Otunnu said the greatest challenge facing the world today was translating those standards and commitments into action that made a tangible difference to the fate of children exposed to danger. The time had come to make the protection and welfare of children a common cause that could unite the world across political boundaries, religious affiliation and cultural tradition.

Speaking to correspondents after the briefing, Council President Hisashi Owada of Japan, said Mr. Merrem had described the political and security situation in Tajikistan since the General Agreement was reached in June 1997. He had stressed the importance of responsibility-sharing in Tajikistan and the need for the United Nations and governments to impress on the Tajik parties the importance of promoting the peace process.

Mr. Owalda said Council Members expressed support for the work of Mr. Merrem and the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT). They also called on all the parties to further implement the General Agreement and the need to cooperate fully with UNMOT.

The representatives are attending the current session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development being held in New York. They said there had been a remarkable degree of consensus during an innovative two- day industry segment. Topics on the agenda included voluntary business codes and initiatives, regulation and reporting standards, environmental management systems and the transfer of technology between developed and developing countries.

The participants in the industry segment said trade unions and business must educate workers and employers on ways to work together to promote sustainable development by setting targets. They also said national agreements were also needed to ensure that workers were not displaced in the process.

Mr. Caramanlis was a most distinguished statesman, the spokesman said. His political career, which spanned over six decades, was inextricably linked with the history of and democratic tradition of Greece. His principled actions, he said, will remain a source of inspiration for many. The Secretary-General extended his sincere condolences to the Government and people of Greece.

The observance was organized by the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the United Nations Staff Committee and the Group on Equal Rights for Women in the United Nations.

The girls participated in a number of activities including a mock press conference with Leti Oliva, an 18-year old acrobat who performed with the Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil.

Addressing the girls, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette said that "Take Our Daughters to Work" was a "wonderful idea." She recalled that when she was a girl herself, her father used to take her to his office when he had to work on Saturdays. "I guess it is not surprising that I ended up choosing the kind of work that recreated for me the kind of environment that my father worked in," she said.

The observance was launched in 1993 to give girls an opportunity to develop a sense of their own potential by working alongside adult mentors. The occasion is to enable the girls to see for themselves what women accomplish in the world, and strengthen their belief in the promise and importance of education.

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

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