United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-12-09

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 9 December 1996

HEADLINES

• Security Council gives go-ahead for the implementation of oil- for-food formula on Iraq.
• UN Secretary-General says situation in Tajikistan has deteriorated in last three months.
• Prospects for improvement of confidence among local Serb population is harmed by lack of progress in investigations on 1995 human rights violations, UN Secretary-General says.
• Fourth Review Conference of States Parties to Biological Weapons Convention approves Final Declaration expressing support for verification protocol for international treaty.
• Fifth Committee allocates $242 million to peace-keeping missions in former Yugoslavia for first half of 1997.
• International Conference on Illicit Trafficking in Stolen Vehicles concludes in Warsaw; endorses model treaty to standardise action by States.
• World Heritage Committee of UNESCO adds new names to list of protected cultural and natural sites.
• Climate change negotiators debate new emissions controls.

He said paragraphs 1 and 2, which authorise States to permit the import of oil or oil products originating in Iraq, will come into force midnight Monday United States Eastern Standard Time, for an initial period of 180 days.

The revenue from the sale of Iraqi oil, up to the amount of US$ 1 billion every three months, will be used mainly to purchase humanitarian supplies for the civilian Iraqi population. The supplies include food, medicines and other health supplies to be distributed under the monitoring of the United Nations.

Earlier, the Secretary-General's Spokesman, Sylvana Foa told UN correspondents that the Secretary-General had submitted his final report to the Security Council expressing satisfaction with the progress made so far.

The Secretary-General, according to the Spokesman, stated in the report that "he was satisfied that all activities necessary to ensure the effective implementation of resolution 986 of the Security Council have been satisfactorily concluded," adding that "the pricing mechanisms had been approved, the metering stations had been tested, the oil monitors and customs inspectors had been deployed".

She cited the Secretary-General as noting that the progress thus far was a victory for the poorest of the poor of Iraq, for the women, the children, the sick and the disabled. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that the humanitarian dimension will always prevail in the work of the United Nations, the Spokesman added.

In his report to the Security Council on the situation in Tajikistan, Dr. Boutros-Ghali said the ceasefire had been frequently violated by both sides, although they observed it from 16 September to 1 December in the most volatile part of the country, the Karategin Valley. He said the developments, which contradict the stated intentions of the Tajik parties to resolve the conflict through political means, raised serious questions regarding their sincerity and intentions.

The Secretary-General appealed to the Tajik parties to cease hostilities immediately and to comply strictly with their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

"Regrettably, the activities of UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) have been impeded by threats to the security of its personnel and by restrictions on the freedom of movement of the military observers. I call upon both sides to remove these obstacles and to create the conditions necessary for the effective functioning of UNMOT," the Secretary-General stated.

In his report on the situation of human rights in Croatia, Dr. Boutros- Ghali says a legitimate question may be raised as to whether Croatian Serbs in the region would be able to re-establish the conditions of normal life in the near future.

He said little progress had been noted on the issue of the return of Croatian Serb refugees. "Although the normalisation agreement between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia addresses this subject in a constructive way, it has not yet resulted in a material increase in the number of returns," the Secretary-General said.

On the issue of the International Tribunal, Dr. Boutros-Ghali said there remained strong grounds for concern that the Government of Croatia was withholding its full cooperation, principally by failing to ensure the apprehension of indicted war-crime suspects believed to be in areas under its control.

He said the Office of the Prosecutor had advised that it has not been able to find evidence of any serious attempt by the Croatian authorities to investigate grave allegations made about the conduct of Croatian soldiers and civilians during the 1995 military operations in Krajina and Western Slavonia.

The Conference expressed hope that the group, which began work in 1994, would reach agreement on a draft protocol to be considered by a special conference of States Parties to the Convention as soon as possible, and before the Fifth Review Conference, which was scheduled for not later than 2001.

The Final Declaration also stated that countries having ratified the treaty consider that it applies to all developments in the field of biology and biotechnology. Concern had been expressed that it be understood that the treaty applied to biological advances that have occurred since the document entered into force in 1975.

The sum would be an addition to the $242.5 million in total appropriations granted last June to those operations for the period from July to December. The missions are the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES), United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) and the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). The Assembly would appropriate $140.5 for UNTAES, $75.6 for UNMIBH, and $25.4 million for UNPREDEP.

The treaty would put an end to prevailing red tape and recognised injustices in the dealings of police, customs officials and other authorities confronted with the task of seizing and returning vehicles stolen in other countries or continents. It sets a new standard for putting breaks on what has become a high-profit business for organised crime throughout the world. Under the model treaty, States would clarify what constitutes theft or embezzlement of a vehicle.

They would harmonise the types of data maintained on such cases, as well as the procedures for handling them. Parties to the treaty would take account of the difficulties faced by innocent owners seeking the return of motor vehicles which might end up on the other side of the world.

Meeting from 2 to 7 December in Merida, Mexico for its 20th session, the Committee inscribed five natural, 30 cultural sites and two mixed sites. Like other sites already on the World Heritage list, they are considered to be of outstanding universal value. On the list for the first time with sites are Armenia, Austria and Belize. The list now includes sites in 107 countries throughout the world.

As the work on analysing the various possible options draws to a close, negotiators would start discussing the specific elements to be included in a future protocol or another legal instrument under the Climate Change Convention.

The resulting text was to be adopted in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. While the timetable for preparing a negotiating text was still uncertain, in their Geneva Declaration last July, ministers instructed their representatives to accelerate negotiations on the texts of a legally- binding protocol or another legal instrument to be completed in due time for adoption at the session of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention next year in Kyoto.

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

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