United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-10-22

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 22 October, 1998

Latest Developments

HEADLINES

• Secretary-General departs Tokyo for Seoul, leaving message of "partnership and engagement" to Japan.
• President of International Criminal Tribunal says Security Council must reaffirm Belgrade's legal obligations.
• Secretary-General expresses regret that 24 military officers were executed in Sierra Leone, despite his appeal for stay.
• World Health Organization and pharmaceutical industry to jointly analyze availability of drugs and vaccines.
• UN-Sponsored Centre for Space Education to Open in Casablanca, Morocco.

Addressing reporters at Japan's Press Centre, the Secretary- General said the United Nations was well-placed to find global solutions to the world's problems. "Japan is a global leader," he said. "I look forward to deepening our already close ties and to continuing our cooperation."

At the press conference, the Secretary-General was asked about Iraq's current stance in relation to the United Nations. He stressed that Iraq must rescind its 5 August decision to halt cooperation with United Nations weapons inspectors in order for the Council to undertake a comprehensive review of the sanctions regime. "I have asked them to rescind it so that the comprehensive review can go forward and the Council can legitimately assess what has been done, what needs to be done, and, within a workable, reasonable time-frame can be completed, on the assumption that Iraq will continue cooperation." He added that he thought that Baghdad was approaching the issue in a constructive manner.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General met with Japanese Parliamentarians who are members of a group dealing with the country's contribution to the United Nations. According to his Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, the Secretary- General thanked the MPs for their support in bridging the gap between the United Nations and citizens. "They discussed Security Council reform, Japan's financial contribution to the United Nations, and the security of United Nations personnel," Mr. Eckhard said.

The Secretary-General also met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, to review the situation in Kosovo.

In a meeting with Japan's Finance Minister, Kiichi Miyazawa, the Secretary- General discussed Japan's role in alleviating the current financial crisis in Asia. Mr. Miyazawa raised the issues of Kosovo and the International Criminal Court.

At the Foreign Ministry, the Secretary-General met with Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura. The two discussed the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Kosovo. Other subjects which came up were small arms, demining, children in armed conflict, Security Council reform and Japan's contribution to the United Nations.

The Secretary-General then went to the United Nations University, where he met with Rector Hans van Ginkel. While there, the Secretary-General held an informal discussion with Japanese university students. Among other subjects, they talked about the role of the Secretary-General and the choice of careers in both the public and private sectors.

At the United Nations University, Mr. Annan also inaugurated the Japanese branch of the Academic Council for the United Nations system, which is based in New York. He said the opening of a new office in Tokyo would serve to bring the Academic Council closer to a Member State that "plays a major role across the breadth of the international agenda, from disarmament to development." In addition, he said, "it deepens the involvement of civil society institutions in the work of the United Nations."

In a letter to the Security Council President, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald noted that agreements reached following the recent efforts to find a peaceful solution to events in Kosovo contained no provisions regarding the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's obligation to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal. According to the letter, the President of Serbia appeared to have reserved the right to investigate, prosecute and try offences committed in Kosovo that may fall within the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal in the country's national courts.

Judge McDonald said she was gravely concerned that the agreements concluded on the situation in Kosovo lacked an explicit recognition of Belgrade's obligation towards the International Tribunal. She noted with alarm that the President of Serbia had declared that no person would be prosecuted in State courts for crimes related to the conflict in Kosovo "except for crimes against humanity and international law."

"While I hope that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will now cease its pattern of non-cooperation, I fear that in the absence of a specific commitment to obey the will of the Security Council, the International Tribunal will continue to experience further difficulties with the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," wrote Judge McDonald. Stressing that the obligation to cooperate and comply was incontrovertible, the Tribunal President urged the Council to take "such action as is necessary to vindicate the status and primacy of the International Tribunal and to ensure that compliance from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is now forthcoming."

United Nations Spokesman Marie Okabe told reporters in New York that Mr. Annan hoped that the Government of Sierra Leone would ensure the due process in further trials. "The Secretary-General endorses President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's call on the rebels to surrender and urges the parties to proceed towards eventual national reconciliation," she said.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reacted "with dismay" to the news that the 24 former members of the military junta had been executed.

In a statement released in Geneva, the High Commissioner's Office noted that Sierra Leone is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which makes the imposition of the death penalty conditional upon the strict observance of procedural guarantees. "This includes the right to appeal a capital sentence, a right that was denied to the executed individuals."

"Notwithstanding the human rights violations which have been committed in Sierra Leone by the former military regime -- violations which cannot be condoned and must be investigated -- the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is convinced that the most effective way of fighting violence is through the establishment of the rule of law and the implementation of a genuine process of national reconciliation and reconstruction in Sierra Leone," the statement concluded.

The group will be formed and start its work in the immediate future, according to WHO. Its composition will be agreed upon in consultation with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, which currently represents 54 national associations of research-based pharmaceutical companies from countries in every WHO region.

"The decision we have taken is a first step to benefit an estimated 100 million people worldwide through improved cooperation between the public and private sectors," said WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland.

"We in the pharmaceutical industry are pleased to see changes in the renewed WHO, changes that could potentially make everybody a winner," said Federation Director-General Harvey E. Bale, Jr. "It is up to all of us now to translate this potential into actions," he added.

The Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education, catering to French-speaking African nations, will train students in space and satellite technology considered invaluable in tackling crucial problems ranging from natural disasters and weather forecasting to education.

India hosts the first UN-sponsored space technology centre, which opened in November 1995 for the Asia and Pacific region. So far, six nine-month courses serving a total of 128 post-graduate students from 25 countries have been held there.

In November, a third centre will be opened in Nigeria for English-speaking African nations. Preparations are also under way to set up another centre for the Latin America and Caribbean Region, co-hosted by Brazil and Mexico. In addition, a seven-nation network linking space-related education and research institutions is in the works for central, eastern and southeastern Europe.

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

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