United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-04-27

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 27 April, 1998

HEADLINES

• General Assembly President says UN financial crisis could undermine reform.
• UNSCOM reports verification is key to determining Iraq's disarmament claims.
• Atomic Energy Agency reports no indications of prohibited equipment, materials or activities in Iraq.
• Secretary-General condemns assassination of church leader in Guatemala.
• Afghan parties begin talks in Islamabad.
• UN concerned about humanitarian conditions of 350,000 people in southern Sudan.
• Head of UN refugee agency warns ethnic violence in Bosnia threatens refugee returns.
• UN environment agency outlines voluntary industry codes to protect the environment.

Addressing the Assembly on Monday as it resumed its discussions on UN reform, Mr. Udovenko stressed that the reform process depended not only on political will but also on sufficient funding. For reform to work, he said, Member States must observe their treaty obligations and pay their UN dues on time, in full and without conditions. He appealed for all countries, particularly "the largest contributor" to pay both their outstanding and current contributions.

Last December, the Assembly approved a number of reform measures proposed by Secretary General Kofi Annan, including the establishment of the post of Deputy Secretary-General. It will continue to use the format of open-ended working meetings to discuss the ongoing reform process.

At Monday's Assembly session, the Secretary-General introduced the first UN Deputy Secretary-General, Louise Fre‚chette, who took up her position in early March. One of her main priorities was to direct the implementation and monitoring of the reforms instituted so far, he said. She would also revise and update the reform agenda as the process evolved, he added.

"We are well on the way to revitalizing the United Nations," the Secretary- General told the Assembly. He said the UN's transformation was not an end in itself, but a means to better carry out its mission of peace, development and human rights. He noted that reform measures within his prerogative had been largely implemented -- including weekly meetings of the Senior Management Group which develops policies and ensures management clarity.

The UN reform was not done to please any particular constituency, but to meet the needs of the world's people and the Member States, the Secretary- General said. "This process is not a luxury; it is not a gimmick; and it is not an imposition. Reform is our survival and our future".

UNSCOM is responsible for determining whether Iraq has dismantled its weapons of mass destruction. In his latest report to the Security Council, UNSCOM Executive Director, Richard Butler, says a major consequence of the recent crisis authored by Iraq has been that, in contrast with the prior reporting period, "virtually no progress in verifying disarmament has been able to be reported".

According to the report, the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iraq in February, contains a clear promise of compliance with Security Council resolutions and decisions and full cooperation with UNSCOM. If Iraq offered full and real cooperation, the report states, it would not find UNSCOM lacking in its willingness or ability to verify honestly, with a high degree of scientific and technical competence and with all possible dispatch, materials that would validate Iraq's claim and lead to a full accounting in all weapons areas.

A UN spokesman said on Monday that the UNSCOM report covered a significant amount of time before the Secretary-General's February mission to Baghdad. In the Memorandum, he said, Iraq committed itself to allow UNSCOM unfettered access. Since then, during inspections of presidential sites, Iraq had "made good on that pledge". The Secretary- General was pleased at the implementation of the Memorandum and was hopeful it would continue, he added.

The Spokesman said Iraq's detailed response to UNSCOM's biennial report contains several annexes on the Iraqi accounting of the activities of the UN inspection teams and monitoring groups, the technical evaluation meetings and a list of weapons, materials and destroyed equipment from 1991 to 1997.

According to the latest IAEA report to the Security Council, Iraq satisfactorily produced a consolidated version of its full, final and complete declaration of its clandestine nuclear programme. Iraq also fulfilled its obligations to produce a document containing a summary of the technical achievement of its clandestine nuclear programme.

The report states that Iraq's declarations contained expanded information on certain sites involved in the production of materials, equipment and components, as well as design, research and development work. The declarations also included more complete information on Iraq's isotope holdings. However, the report notes, information was not provided on a number of sites and, in general, there was a continuing need for improvement in the consistency and accuracy of the data.

The report states that Iraq's declaration of nuclear material transactions and inventories covering 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1991 were reviewed in detail to further clarify nuclear material flows and inventories at the principal locations at which nuclear material was used or stored. The Iraqi counterpart had provided revised data that appeared to take into account many of the requested classifications, the report observes, adding that the data was currently under detailed review.

The IAEA report says most inspections were done without prior announcement, and a number were also conducted in cooperation with UNSCOM monitoring groups. No indication of prohibited materials, equipment or activities was detected during those inspections.

In a statement on Monday, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA) was monitoring closely the investigation by local authorities. He said the Secretary- General hoped that full light would soon be brought on the circumstances and motivation behind the "brutal act", he added.

Monsignor Gerardi was a senior figure in the struggle for human rights in Guatemala and a participant in the country's peace negotiations. In the last three years, he was one of the driving forces behind the Interdiocesan Project for the Recovery of the Historic Memory. The Project's well- documented report uses accounts by victims to depict the violence during the country's 36 years of armed conflict.

When the report was presented last week, before a massive audience in the Metropolitan Cathedral, Monsignor Gerardi delivered an impassioned speech for truth, social justice and national reconciliation. The Secretary- General has expressed his most sincere condolences to the family of Monsignor Gerardi, his colleagues and the Catholic Church of Guatemala.

According to a UN spokesman, the Afghan factions who began their 5- day talks on Sunday have already agreed to extend a moratorium on new offenses. The parties agreed early Monday on a five-point agenda for the talks, but have still not resolved the definition of "islamic scholars".

The Secretary-General's Special Representative in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, was scheduled to brief the Security Council on Tuesday on the situation in the country, the spokesman added.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 350,000 people in the region need urgent humanitarian assistance. The UN's Operation Lifeline Sudan has been attempting to deliver food relief supplies to the affected people. The UN was encouraged by the Sudanese Government clearance for the Operation to deploy an additional aircraft out of Kenya.

The UN has appealed to donors to respond to its $109 million appeal for Sudan, the Spokesman continued. The appeal has only received $7.85 million so far, he added.

The UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, said in a statement on Monday, that violent attacks directed against returning refugees and the international agencies who try to help them, struck at the heart of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Last Friday, about 400 Bosnian Croats went on a rampage in the town of Drvar, in western Bosnia, setting fire to a police station and offices of international organizations and chasing minority Serbs who recently returned to the Croat-controlled town.

Ms. Ogata said the UNHCR and its international partners were determined that the "serious incident" would not set back the return process. "We will not be intimidated by such brutal and cowardly acts", Ms. Ogata said.

Over 100 Serbs fled the attacks and are being temporarily accommodated in Banja Luka until they can return to their homes in Drvar where more than 50 houses have been burned down this year. The UNHCR and international agencies have helped some 1,600 Serbs return to the town and the surrounding area. An estimated 444,000 people have returned to their homes since the Dayton Agreement, but 1.8 million are yet to do so.

A new technical report by UNEP's Industry and Environment Centre has been issued to help guide industry associations, governments and other groups in developing and using voluntary codes. The report includes examples of leading voluntary codes and also identifies how they can be used to contribute to sustainable development.

According to UNEP, voluntary codes of conduct can be an important tool for improving industry's environmental performance. They can also be a tool for industry to demonstrate that they are managing their operations in a manner that will enhance economic growth, ensure environmental protection and address social concerns.



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

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