United Nations Daily Highlights, 99-03-11

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 11 March, 1999

HEADLINES

• Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Sierra Leone.
• Senior-level talks on East Timor, called by Secretary-General "positive and constructive", end in New York.
• UN-facilitated talks between Afghan parties begin in Ashgabad, Turkmenistan.
• Secretary-General's envoy says stability and peace seem to be holding in Liberia.
• Two bombs explode near UN buildings in northern Iraq. * UN refugee agency alarmed by increased violence against Kosovo civilians.
• UN crime-fighting body proposes new plans to fight rise in international crime.
• New stride in fighting discrimination reported by UN working group on women's rights.

In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Security Council welcomed the Secretary-General's intention to re-establish UNOMSIL in Freetown as soon as possible and to increase the current number of the military observers and human rights personnel.

The Council condemned the atrocities perpetrated by the rebels on civilians, in particular women and children. It deplored all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during the recent escalation of violence in the country, including the recruitment of children as soldiers. The Council called on the authorities to investigate all allegations of such violations with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

By other terms of the resolution, the Council expressed concern at continued reports that support was being provided to the rebels, including through the supply of arms and mercenaries, in particular from Liberia. It acknowledged the Liberian Government's action to curtail the involvement of Liberian nationals in the fighting in Sierra Leone and its directives to the country's security agencies to ensure that there was no cross-border movement of arms and ammunition through Liberia.

Commending the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States Military Observer Group (ECOMOG) to restore peace, security and stability in Sierra Leone, the Security Council called on all Member States to provide financial and logistical support to ECOMOG and prompt bilateral assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone in the creation of a new army for the country.

During the talks, the Secretary-General and his Personal Representative on East Timor Jamsheed Marker held a series of meetings with Foreign Minister Ali Alatas of Indonesia and Foreign Minister of Portugal Jaime Gama.

Speaking after the conclusion of the talks at a joint press conference, the Secretary-General said that on the issue of the autonomy proposal, Foreign Minister Alatas would convey to the tripartite forum Indonesia's revisions to the plan as soon as they were completed.

On the means of consulting the East Timorese people, the meeting had reached an agreement that a method of direct ballot would be used to ask the people of East Timor whether they accepted or rejected the autonomy proposal. The Secretary-General also announced that members of his Personal Representative's team would soon be visiting Jakarta, East Timor and Lisbon to continue the process of consulting East Timorese leaders and personalities.

The Secretary-General said that while the situation in East Timor remained a matter of concern to all the parties, he welcomed the recent positive steps to promote dialogue and reconciliation amongst the East Timorese. In particular, he added, he was encouraged by efforts to set up a mechanism for fostering peace and stability in East Timor to which he was prepared to lend his full support.

Mr. Annan also announced that the Senior Officials Meeting would convene in New York on 13 and 14 April under the chairmanship of Ambassador Jamsheed Marker and that the Secretary-General would meet with the two Ministers on 22 April.

The meeting is taking place under the auspices of the UN and hosted by neighbouring Turkmenistan. The talks are based on the mutual willingness of both sides and are held without pre-conditions of pre- arranged agenda, according to a statement released by the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA).

The statement, issued on behalf of the Afghan sides to the Ashgabad talks, said that the start of the talks clearly demonstrated the shared willingness of both sides to search for a political settlement through face- to-face negotiations.

The two delegations, headed respectively by Mr. Mohammad Yonus Qanuni and Mr. Malawi Wakil Ahmad Mutawaker, extended their gratitude to the host Government of Turkmenistan and to the efforts of the United Nations to promote a political settlement in Afghanistan.

Speaking to the press following his briefing of the Security Council, Felix Downes-Thomas, who is also the Head of the UN Peace- Building Support Office in Liberia, said that the basic freedoms of the press, assembly and religion flourished in that country. "I would characterize the press, especially the print press, as among the freest in West Africa," Mr. Downes- Thomas said.

Mr. Downes-Thomas said that the problems of human rights violations in Liberia were "traceable to excesses of security forces" or a certain branch of the security forces in the country. Attempts had been made to curb such violations, he said, adding that his office was engaged in providing training for the police on civil and human rights.

The Secretary-General's envoy said that the larger problem facing Liberia had to do with depressed incomes. Lack of sufficient funds led people, especially security forces, to engage in such corrupt practices as extortion, Mr. Downes-Thomas said.

Regarding allegations that Liberia was being used as conduit for weapons or fighters to destabilize neighbouring Sierra Leone, Mr. Downes- Felix said that the neglect of the disarming and reintegration of ex- combatants opened possibilities for them to engage in mercenary activities. He also stressed the need to stop the supply of arms to the region, especially to West Africa.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard said that on 9 March an improvised explosive device, hidden inside a garbage drum alongside the perimeter wall of the residence of a national staff member of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), wounded three local security guards on patrol duty of the United Nations premises at Erbil. The FAO main office is situated approximately 50 metres from this site.

Mr. Eckhard said that the second explosion took place at Dohuk in front of the Turkman Front Relations Office, which is a local political party, at a distance of approximately 100 metres from the offices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He added that an unidentified civilian, carrying the bomb on his body, allegedly died on the spot and four other people sustained minor injuries. There were no casualties reported among United Nations staff, Mr. Eckhard said.

"The shelling and intimidation by the security forces and the Yugoslav Army are not only causing Albanian villagers to flee, but are fuelling a cycle of violence and fear," Mrs. Ogata said. "I am also very concerned about the plight of Serb civilians who fear the actions of the Kosovo Liberation Army."

On Wednesday, a UNHCR team saw hundreds of newly displaced villagers who fled a military action by the security forces in the Kotlina area, 50 kilometres south of Pristina. In nearby Drosdec, only a few looted houses remained standing while others were burned to the ground and left smouldering.

UNHCR-led convoys attempt daily to deliver aid but sporadic fighting and the constant flight of civilians pose a challenge to relief activities.

According to the UN agency, more than 60,000 people have been displaced since December, including almost 30,000 people since the peace talks held last month in Rambouillet, France. In all, 400,000 people have been driven out of their homes in the past year of fighting.

The Executive Director of the Vienna-based Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP), Pino Arlacchi, unveiled new strategies against corruption, trafficking in human beings and organized criminal groups to a meeting in Vienna of Member States' Permanent Missions to the UN.

The CICP and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) have agreed to conduct a joint worldwide study on corruption as part of a three-year, $6.5 million Global Programme against Corruption.

Other components of the project include the establishment of an international database containing updated information on the study's results, best anti-corruption practices and international instruments against corruption; and technical cooperation projects to assist countries in building or strengthening their ability to prevent, detect and fight corruption.

The two agencies will also collaborate on the Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings, which will focus on the growing involvement of organized criminal groups with smuggling and trafficking human beings. The project will also seek to promote alliances between law enforcement agencies, immigration authorities, victim assistance groups and other specialized bodies.

The Global Studies on Organized Crime will assess organized criminal groups worldwide and give countries reliable information and analysis on emerging transnational criminal organizations. The results of the five- year, $4.5 million project are expected to allow the CICP to expand its technical cooperation activities and help countries design appropriate strategies to counter organized criminal elements.

The Protocol, which contains one communication and one inquiry procedure, will be presented to the full Commission for action on Friday. It will then be sent as a recommendation to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the General Assembly, to be adopted and be opened for signature, ratification and accession by States.

The protocol allows women, individually or in groups, to submit complaints, and provides the committee overseeing the implementation of the Convention its own right to initiate an inquiry into alleged grave or systematic violations.

Angela King, Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on gender issues, described the development as "particularly timely" as 1999 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention.



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