United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-09-03

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 3 September, 1998

HEADLINES

• Several UN staff die in Swissair plane crash; UN officials express shock and convey condolences.
• Secretary-General reports that falling oil prices will cause shortfall in funding for UN humanitarian programme in Iraq.
• Secretary-General meets a number of leaders in Durban, South Africa to discuss global problems.
• Rwanda tribunal holds pre-sentencing hearing in case of former Rwandan official charged with genocide.
• President of Conference on Disarmament reports no immediate prospect for agreement on mechanism for nuclear disarmament.
• UNESCO to launch global initiative against child pornography on the Internet.
• UN Environment Programme to coordinate project on financing environmentally friendly technology.

The plane, en route to Geneva from New York, crashed off Nova Scotia as it tried to make an emergency landing in Halifax. The United Nations Office at Geneva is maintaining contact with authorities with a view to providing as much support as possible to the families of the victims. In a sign of mourning, the United Nations flag will be flown at half-mast at the Geneva Office on Friday. At United Nations Headquarters in New York, the flag was flown at half-mast on Thursday.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed deep sadness at the deaths caused by the air disaster, noting that among the victims were United Nations staff working for the welfare of children, the care of refugees, a cure for HIV/AIDS, and the protection of the world's intellectual property. "My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the families of all the victims, and in particular to the relatives and friends of those who lost their lives in the service of the ideals of the United Nations," he said.

The Secretary-General personally knew some of the crash victims, according to his Spokesman, Fred Eckhard.

Mr. Eckhard described the flight as being "like a UN airbus" because it was used so regularly by United Nations personnel travelling between New York and Geneva. "Even before we got confirmation that there were UN staff on the flight we just knew from the identification of the flight that there would have been some of our people on that plane," he said.

The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Vladimir Petrovsky, was deeply affected by the news of the tragic accident and presented his condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the Swiss Government.

Among those who died on the flight were Jonathan Mann and his wife, Mary- Lou Clements Mann, who were on their way to a series of United Nations meetings on AIDS.

"Jonathan was a brilliant and committed colleague who, during the last 15 years, was a visionary global leader in the fight against AIDS and tirelessly promoted a response to the epidemic based on respect for human rights and human dignity," said Dr. Peter Piot, the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). He called Mr. Mann "an exceptionally gifted human being, a charismatic and courageous leader, and an understanding and loyal friend."

Also confirmed dead was a staff member of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Yves de Roussan, the agency's Regional Advisor for programmes in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Another victim was Ingrid Acevedo, Director of Public Relations for the United States Committee for UNICEF. UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy expressed profound sorrow over the disaster, saying "our hearts and prayers go out to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tragedy."

Another United Nations staff member confirmed dead was Ludwig Baeumer, a citizen of Germany, who was working as Senior Director for International and Operational Affairs at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He had been serving at the Geneva-based agency since 1968. Joachim Bilger, another national of Germany working for WIPO, also died in the crash. He had joined that agency in 1993 after working for decades in other parts of the United Nations system.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed the death of Pierce Gerety, a United States national who directed the agency's operations in the troubled Great Lakes region of Africa, as well as French citizen Catherine Calvet-Mazy, a senior-level UNHCR social worker. "The community of international civil servants also lost other members who were traveling aboard the airliner, and we join with our colleagues from all United Nations agencies in mourning their passing -- and that of the other passengers and crew," said a UNHCR statement issued out of Washington, DC.

In a new report to the Security Council on the oil-for-food programme, the Secretary-General says that despite the fact that Iraq is pumping more oil than ever since the programme began, the price of crude has decreased to under $10 per barrel. As a result, only an estimated $1.79 billion will be available for the current phase of the oil-for-food programme and for spare parts to rehabilitate Iraq's oil infrastructure, compared with the $3.1 billion needed to fully implement the enhanced distribution plan submitted by the Baghdad Government and approved by the Secretary-General.

Under that plan, the food basket provided to Iraqis was to have been increased significantly, including through the addition of animal protein for the first time. But during the period covered in the report -- May through July -- none of the monthly food baskets was complete. Although the Iraqi Government supplemented some of the shortfalls through its own stocks, the average caloric value of the basket was under the target in the previous plans.

The Secretary-General reports some progress in the delivery of medical supplies, noting that the quantity and range of drugs available in Iraq has increased significantly. "Tracking has shown that, with very few exceptions, equitable distribution of available drugs to governorates has been assured, and that, within governorates, national guidelines have, by and large, been adhered to in deciding final allocations to individual health facilities."

The report raises concern about the sanitation in Iraq due to insufficient equipment and supplies for sewage treatment plants. "While sanitation tankers for emptying septic tanks, jetting equipment to clean clogged sewers and sewage pumps have been delivered and are in use, sewage treatment plants are functioning at such a low level that major investment is required before any reduction in sanitation-related disease is likely," the Secretary-General observes.

In the area of education, the Secretary-General reports that the distribution of supplies has been slow. The Ministry of Education printing press, used for production of all primary and secondary education school books in Arabic, has not been able to resume operations because an application for computers and desktop publishing software is on hold in the Security Council Committee.

The Secretary-General also reports on ongoing efforts to address chronic malnutrition among Iraqi children, estimated by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) at 25 per cent. The agency has pointed out that chronic malnutrition is not directly reversible by supplementary feeding alone. "It is a function of poor feeding practices by parents, limited access to basic preventive health care, shortage of safe drinking water, poor sanitation and illiteracy." The Secretary-General states that better coordination is needed among concerned agencies to improve the nutritional status of those most at risk.

United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that the Secretary- General, who is attending the Twelfth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Durban, South Africa, had a "virtual avalanche" of bilateral exchanges.

The Secretary-General also had a working breakfast with the members of the Southern African Development Community to discuss the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Annan also had a working lunch with the presidents of Rwanda and Uganda to discuss the same issue.

After the breakfast, according to Spokesman Eckhard, the Secretary- General told the press that he was encouraged by the various discussions he had with the parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Secretary-General met with President Jos‚ Eduardo dos Santos of Angola to discuss the situation "which has been deteriorating seriously" in that country, Mr. Eckhard said.

Apart from the problems in Congo-Kinshasa and Angola, the Secretary- General also met with a number of other leaders to discuss the situation in Algeria, and the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

He also met with the Vice-President of Iraq and urged Iraq to return to full cooperation with weapons inspectors and full compliance with Security Council resolutions, Mr. Eckhard added.

The Secretary-General also conferred with officials of Indonesia, Libya, Cyprus, Cameroon, Morocco and Palestine.

The Secretary-General was scheduled to attend the closing ceremony of the Summit later on Thursday. Spokesman Eckhard said that the Secretary-General would stay on in Durban on Friday to continue with bilateral meetings.

Mr. Kambanda was the first high government official to plead guilty to genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1994 massacres in Rwanda.

The prosecutor argued that based on the gravity of the crimes and the need to send a message, Mr. Kambanda should be given the maximum life sentence under the guidelines of the tribunal.

The defence lawyer argued that the accused had cooperated with the prosecution and that his responsibilities in Rwanda at the time of the genocide had been minimal. He requested a two-year sentence, saying that the accused needed to go back to Rwanda to participate in the process of national reconciliation.

The sentence is expected to be delivered on Friday.

Conference President Ian Soutar of the United Kingdom on Thursday reported the results of consultations he had held on how to deal with the issue of the cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament. He said that despite the assurances of flexibility and moderation he had received from all quarters, the positions of delegations were still too far apart to be bridged.

Mr. Soutar said the exchange of views revealed a divergence of opinion between those who believed that the Conference should now concentrate its energies on launching the negotiations for a ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, which they regarded as the next necessary step towards nuclear disarmament, and those who believed that the Conference should also establish a mechanism for addressing nuclear disarmament. Other speakers pointed out that a number of proposals for addressing nuclear disarmament remained on the table and should be taken up.

The aim of the meeting, to be held in January 1999, will be the formulation of a global plan of action against these crimes.

This worldwide initiative follows UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor's declaration of 20 July on the need for urgent action against the "unthinkable perversity" of paedophiles and the sexual and commercial exploitation of children and adolescents. On that occasion, Mr. Mayor expressed support for an international observatory on abuses committed against children.

The consultative meeting, which will be held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, will take account of existing reports and websites maintained by groups defending children and fighting against pornography. It will encourage these groups to work together within the framework of a well- structured network.

"The time has come for the international community to mobilize against the violence and perversity whose victims are our children," said Mr. Mayor. The UNESCO Director-General stressed the need to dislogde child pornography and paedophilia from the information highway. UNESCO works to uphold freedom of expression, he said, "but we must not tolerate that paedophilia, child pornography and child prostitution pervert these roads of freedom."

The meeting will be organized in cooperation with UNESCO's International Clearing House on Children and Violence on the Screen, which is located at the University of G”teborg in Sweden.

The project, which recognizes the importance of financing cleaner and safer production investments in developing countries towards achieving sustainable development, will be carried out in Guatemala, Nicaragua, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Viet Nam.

At the project's launch on Thursday in Oslo, Norwegian State Secretary Leiv Lunde expressed confidence that it would contribute to pollution prevention, eco-efficiency and resource productivity. He said that UNEP was "particularly well-placed to coordinate the project, and to disseminate the lessons and experience learned."

Representing UNEP Executive Director Klaus T”pfer, the Director of the agency's Industry Division, Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, said that despite a growing awareness of the value of cleaner production investments, bankers were not yet convinced of the economic benefits that cleaner production could bring.

In coordinating the project, UNEP will work in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Chamber of Commerce.

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

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