United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-04-30

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

THursday, 30 April, 1998

HEADLINES

• Security Council establishes third chamber of International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
• Draft on war crimes tribunal for Cambodian genocide suspects presented in Security Council consultations.
• Official of Rwanda Tribunal objects to allegations of inefficiency by Amnesty International.
• Secretary-General urges African countries to respect and protect human rights, especially women's rights.
• UNICEF Executive Director says emergency humanitarian assistance must not overlook education and immunization.
• UN food agency sends barges of food down Nile river for hungry Sudanese.
• Deputy Secretary-General praises flexibility and adaptability of Organization of American States.
• Environment Ministers discuss decline in official development assistance during Sustainable Development Commission.
• UN agencies, governments and NGOs join forces to improve global environment.
• Some 8,000 people are evacuated from several cities in Uruguay as rains continue to cause floods.

Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1165 (1998) to amend the articles on the organization of the Tribunal, composition of the Chambers and qualification and election of judges.

The Council also decided that the elections of the judges of the three Trial Chambers shall be held together, for a term of office to expire on 24 May 2003. As an exceptional measure to enable the third Trial Chamber to begin to function as early as possible, the Council decided that the three newly elected judges designated by the Secretary- General, in consultation with the Tribunal, shall commence their term of office as soon as possible following the elections.

The Security Council urged all States to cooperate fully with the Rwanda Tribunal and its organs and welcomed the cooperation already extended to the Tribunal to fulfill its mandate.

The Council also urged the organs of the Tribunal to actively continue their efforts to increase further the efficiency of the Tribunal in their respective areas. In this connection, the Council further called upon those organs to consider how their procedures and methods of work could be enhanced, taking into account relevant recommendations in this regard.

The Security Council requested the Secretary-General to make practical arrangements for the elections of the three judges and for enhancing the effective functioning of the Rwanda Tribunal including the timely provision of personnel and facilities, in particular for the third Trial Chamber and related offices of the Prosecutor. The Council further requested the Secretary-General to keep it closely informed of progress in this regard.

The Security Council said it was convinced of the need to increase the number of judges and Trial Chambers in order to enable the Tribunal to try without delay the large number of accused persons awaiting trial.

The Council also said that it remained convinced that in the particular circumstances of Rwanda, the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law will contribute to the process of national reconciliation and the restoration and maintenance of peace in Rwanda and in the region.

According to the current President of the Council, Ambassador Hisashi Owada of Japan, the proposed tribunal would prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of Cambodia during the period 1975 to 1979.

"We had some very informal, preliminary discussions on this matter," Mr. Owada said. The draft was presented to a closed meeting of the Council in English only. As it was not circulated in all official languages, no delegation could comment in detail on the substance of the text, according to Mr. Owada. "We have to get into informal contacts before we proceed more formally with the text," he said.

The Ambassador of Slovenia, Danilo Turk, said there was wide agreement in the Council that the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge should not go unpunished. On the other hand, he said, there were several misgivings expressed regarding the political moment in which the initiative was being presented, given the delicate situation prior to the elections in Cambodia. Also, legal issues were raised, for example whether it was possible to have a Chapter VII resolution on a situation which would be difficult to describe as a threat to international peace and security. Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter allows for enforcement.

He said that Slovenia was convinced of the need to prevent impunity, and to bring perpetrators to justice. An international tribunal could be very effective in that regard, he said, adding that political and legal questions must be resolved.

The UN bears a special responsibility on the issue because it had "utterly failed" when the crimes were committed, Ambassador Danilo told reporters. "That should be kept in mind today when we are discussing the new initiatives," he added.

Portugal supported the idea, because it believed in stopping impunity, according to the country's Ambassador, Antonio Monteiro. "We need to have a tribunal to judge these criminals," he said.

Ambassador Monteiro observed that the proposal for a tribunal covering Cambodia underscored the need for the permanent international criminal court which would be considered and, hopefully, established at a diplomatic conference in Rome this summer. That would serve not only to bring war criminals to justice, but also to deter others from committing crimes. He also noted that since the proposed court would have no jurisdiction over the past, a separate tribunal covering the genocide in Cambodia would be required.

Reacting to Amnesty International's report, "International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda:Trials and Tribulations" dated 30 April 1998, Kingsley Moghalu, a legal advisor, said the report was part of a pattern of writing negative reports about the Tribunal even when they are not supported by facts.

One of the criticisms of Amnesty International concerns the detention of Jean Kambanda, the former Prime Minister of Rwanda outside the detention facility. He said that such detention was supported by the rules and procedures of the Tribunal. He said the Tribunal ensured that the highest standards of international human rights are maintained in the detention of the suspect. "That has been cross checked and verified by the International Committee of the Red Cross," Mr. Moghalu said.

Another criticism of Amnesty International is that the Tribunal did not pursue vigorously its request to the Ethiopian authorities for the transfer of Froduald Karamira to Arusha. He characterized the criticism as a false statement. "This Tribunal did not submit any request to the Government of Ethiopia for the surrender of Mr. Karamira."

Mr. Moghalu also objected to Amnesty International's criticism of the Tribunal's handling of its protected witnesses programme. Amnesty International said the Tribunal did not have persons with expertise and experience in witness protection. Mr. Moghalu pointed out that the Tribunal had returned to Arusha over 100 protected witnesses and had permanently relocated ten of those witnesses. He said the Tribunal had "several very dedicated and highly qualified individuals" working for it. Those individuals have the necessary police, security or military backgrounds and knowledge of the socio-cultural environment in which the Tribunal is operating.

Mr. Moghalu said the Tribunal was forging ahead, making progress and "poised to deliver justice for the genocide."

The Secretary-General was addressing a Conference on African Women and Economic Development which is being held to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Economic Commission for Africa. He is in Ethiopia on the first leg of an 8-country African tour.

The African renaissance was being threatened by violence and turmoil in many societies on the continent and, in those conflicts, women suffered disproportionately, he said. Yet, even in the midst of war, they kept family life going, cared for the sick and wounded, fetched water and firewood, grown crops, and tended animals.

"It is an injustice and outrage that women, who are the most likely to argue for peace, are also the ones most severely punished in conflicts usually created by men," the Secretary-General told the meeting. He urged African societies to rededicate themselves to respect and protect human rights, especially women's rights.

Women in Africa faced significant and systematic discrimination in access to economic resources, such as land and credit, he continued. They did not participate fully in socio-political and economic and decision-making and they made up the majority of the poor. He noted that women and girls were also subjected to gross sexual and other violations of their personal integrity in the home, community and society, in times of peace, even more than in times of crisis.

African women, he pointed out, were no longer prepared to accept those conditions. And African societies, including men, should reject them too," he said. Although they had borne the brunt of African violence and dislocation, women had charted new directions for peace and economic prosperity, helping societies to adapt to change, and propelling them through difficult times. The African women's movement had transformed the global agenda by ensuring that development was high on the list. Today, the Secretary-General said, the same movement was helping to transform the continent's own development agenda.

Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Programme (UNICEF), was speaking at a UN press conference in New York, following a recent African trip that took her to Somalia, northern Kenya, Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She said she wanted to address the problem of access for humanitarian agencies, and to determine if, even in the most extreme conditions, ongoing aid work was still possible.

Ms. Bellamy said she also wanted to find out why the UN and other aid agencies were having such a difficult time funding their programmes. For example, the $550 million appeal by UN agencies for the Great Lakes region of Africa had received only 5 per cent of the required funding. UNICEF had received only 3 per cent of its portion of the appeal. Donors had also responded slowly to appeals for Sudan, Somalia and Sierra Leone, she added.

The head of the UN children's agency said funding was needed to provide the kind of help which could make a real difference in people's lives. In some countries, such as Somalia and Sudan, the only news coming out was negative and that made it difficult for the UN and other private agencies to get support for aid programmes. Ms. Bellamy said that it was vitally important, even in the worst emergencies, to continue basic services such as education and immunization programmes. Otherwise, "we risk losing an entire generation," she said.

Although, she was not able to visit Sudan, Ms. Bellamy said, she had travelled to northern Kenya to the logistics base for Operation Lifeline Sudan. The Operation is a consortium of UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) and 35 non-governmental organizations. The big issue was access to areas in southern Sudan where famine threatened an estimated 350,000 people. According to Ms. Bellamy, the Sudanese Government, which had previously denied access, was now allowing aid agencies into the region and had granted permission for an extra plane to fly in food drops.

While in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ms. Bellamy said she had also raised the issue of child soldiers. UNICEF had made the most in-roads with the authorities in Liberia, who were willing to deal with the problem. Children were being increasingly used during armed conflict, she said, and UNICEF was pushing for governments to make 18 years the minimum age for recruitment into armed forces.

The convoy, which left the southern Sudan port of Malakul earlier this week, is carrying more than 2,000 tons of food for villages along the river. The WFP estimates it will be able to deliver food to nearly 378,000 Sudanese living in Government and rebel held areas.

The barges are also carrying vaccination teams from the United Nations Children's Programme (UNICEF), medical supplies, seeds and tools on behalf of other UN agencies.

The WFP is also at the forefront of delivering emergency relief supplies to more than 350,000 Sudanese in the Bahr el-Ghazal region, where people are facing a humanitarian crisis following three years of insecurity and persistent drought.

Juwono Sudarsono spoke on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on Wednesday at a two-day, high-level segment during the UN Commission of Sustainable Development which is currently meeting in New York. He said industry should use its managerial, technical and financial resources to meet environmental challenges, by providing favourable access and the transfer of environmentally sound technology.

The Chairman of the Commission, Cielito Habito of the Philippines said industry was the most dominant user of the earth's natural resources and could be either the main contributor or the chief obstacle to sustainable development.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Nitin Desai, said discussions on sustainable development should focus on social and economic factors as well as on the environment. In developing countries, environmental regulations might close down small and medium- sized enterprises and put people out of work. Other means, such as credits should be provided to make environmental improvements and provide environmentally sound technologies.

Ms. Fr‚chette was in Colombia to attend a ceremony to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization of American States (OAS). For a number of years, she said, the OAS had focused its efforts on strengthening democracy and the State ruled by law, combatting corruption and drug trafficking, mitigating poverty and promoting eduction and individual rights.

The ideals of the United Nations and the OAS -- peace and security, economic and social progress and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms -- had lost nothing of their topicality and validity, the Deputy Secretary-General said. "Because of globalization, we shall have to resolve tomorrow, problems which can be grasped only on a worldwide scale."

That was why, she said, the international community needed to do everything it could to adapt the instruments available to the new international context, in order to make the UN and the OAS more flexible and better able to respond to the expectations of their Member States.

More than 60 environment ministers, United Nations officials, senior business executives and NGO leaders discussed critical environmental protection issues at a working luncheon held at United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday.

"There is a window of opportunity opening for all groups to jointly participate in a process of genuine improvement," said Klaus T”pfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment (UNEP). "The time for joint action on sustainable development is now," he said.

The luncheon was co-hosted by UNEP, the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Participants discussed how United Nations agencies, businesses and NGO groups can cooperate to create "win-win" sustainable development partnerships to solve emerging environmental problems. They also addressed voluntary environmental programmes initiated by the business sector.

Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary-General of the ICC, called for a gathering later this year "at which governments, industry and all other stakeholders would meet to define a processes which would allow us to explore a way forward for voluntary initiatives."

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair (OCHA), flooding in the littoral West, the Northern, Northeast and central regions of the country has caused "the most severe catastrophe in the country's history."

The Paraguay, Parana and Uruguay rivers are reported to be rising and the Salto Grande Dam at the border with Argentina is reaching its limit. Flooding is expected in the forthcoming days if rains continue to fall, said OCHA.

The floods have affected the agricultural sector, in particular in the regions of Rio Olimar and Cebollati where approximately 10 per of rice production has been lost. The floods have also partially or totally destroyed houses, rural roads, bridges and railways.

The response of the authorities capacity has been stretched to the limit prompting the National Emergency System to launch an appeal for international assistance to meet immediate relief requirements such as tents, blankets and mattresses.

OCHA said that it was prepared to serve as a channel for cash contributions to be used during the immediate relief phase in coordination and consultations with relevant organizations of the United Nations system.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article