United Nations Daily Highlights 96-04-19

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 19 April 1996

HEADLINES

• Security Council calls for immediate end to hostilities in Lebanon; expresses support for diplomatic efforts.
• Flight of Libyan aircraft to Jeddah clear violation of Council resolution, Security Council says.
• Unplanned urban growth could be catastrophic Secretary-General says, in message to round-table on future of cities.
• Peace and security in Central Africa integral to world peace, Secretary- General says in message to Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.
• Accurate number of casualties in Lebanon not confirmed since many blown to pieces or completely burned.
• Hostages describe their situation in Liberia as "desperate"; some die from cholera.
• Role of women critical in eradication of poverty and achievement of sustainable development, Commission on Sustainable Development is told.
• Secretary-General to meet with astronauts/cosmonauts from Shuttle-Mir docking mission.
• High-level round-table in Kiev to examine future of areas hit by Chernobyl nuclear accident a decade ago.

The Council reaffirmed its commitment to Lebanon's territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence and the security of all States in the region, calling upon all concerned to fully respect those policies. They are also called upon to respect UNIFIL's safety, security and freedom of movement and to allow it to fulfill its mandate without any interference.

The Council did not adopt a draft resolution - sponsored by 19 Arab States - which called upon Israel to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory and to be held responsible for compensating Lebanon. That draft received 4 votes in favour with 11 abstentions.

In a statement read out by its President, Ambassador Juan Somavia of Chile, the Council recalled that arrangements have been made consistent with resolution 748 (1992) in order to fly Libyan pilgrims to perform the Hajj. The Council said it would review that matter should further violations occur.

By resolution 748 (1992), the Council imposed aerial, arms and diplomatic sanctions against Libya on 15 April of that year, until that Government complied with requests to cooperate fully in establishing responsibility for terrorists acts against Pan Am flight 103 and UTA flight 772.

The Marmaris round-table - organized jointly by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Nairobi-based Habitat II Secretariat with the support of the Turkish government - is a prelude to the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements to convene in Istanbul between 3-14 June 1996.

In his message to the eighth ministerial meeting of the Committee, delivered by Director of UN Centre for Disarmament Affairs, Prvoslav Davinic, the Secretary-General said no endeavor was more urgent than closing the chapter of violence which had polarized and traumatized the people of Central Africa for so long.

The history of the world had entered a period in which most conflicts occurred not across, but within State borders, Dr. Boutros- Ghali said. Even though the national interest of any one State might not seem to be directly affected by another's, all States had a strong interest in preventing a global pattern of violence, in checking the disease of conflict, and in deterring would-be aggressors.

A full accounting of the Israeli shelling - for which there were absolutely no excuses - was expected, the UN Spokesman said. An accurate number of the casualties had not been determined since several of the 75 body bags which had left the UNIFIL compound contained only parts of bodies. It was going to be difficult to count the total number of deaths since many people were blown to pieces or completely burned, she added.

The estimated number of injured were believed to be several hundreds rather than only 100 as previously reported, Ms. Foa said. There could have been up to 800 civilians - instead of the reported 560 - inside the UNIFIL compound when the shellings occurred. Many people from outside the compound had run into it when the shooting started. In addition, when the shooting stopped, many entered the compound and rescued their wounded relatives. She added that there were four injured Fijian peace- keepers still in the hospital.

Unlike what some critics believed, UNIFIL had many times attempted to stop the Hezbollah guerrillas from using UN compounds as shields, the UN Spokesman said. For example, last Monday, a peace-keeper from Fiji had been shot in the chest after attempting to stop Hezbollah guerrillas from firing rockets. On Wednesday, two Nepalese peace-keepers were wounded when a grenade was thrown over the wall of their compound in retaliation of their attempts to stop guerrillas from launching rockets. Furthermore, on Thursday, Hezbollah guerrillas had thrown a grenade at a Nepalese battalion convoy in retaliation of UNIFIL's interference.

Even though firing was less intense in Southern Lebanon, it still continued, Ms. Foa said. Israeli radio was still warning inhabitants in Southern Lebanon to leave the area or expose themselves to violence. An estimated 400,000 civilians had already had left the area. Targeting civilians was in contradiction of the 1949 Geneva Convention, Ms. Foa emphasized.

The Department of Humanitarian Affairs has launched a flash appeal requesting $8.5 million to cover the humanitarian assistance needs in Lebanon, the UN Spokesman said. The funds would help cover the costs for food, shelter and water for 120,000 persons.

The United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were holding meetings with faction forces at the Barclay Training Centre, Ms. Foa said. Some civilians who were being held hostage at the Centre had attended the meeting. They expressed their dissatisfaction at being used as human shields and said the conditions in the Centre were "desperate". Food and water were in short supply and there were many sick and wounded people. Furthermore, some had died from cholera.

Speakers also told the Commission that developed countries should actively increase the developing world's access to environmentally sound technology as it undertook a general discussion of the critical elements of sustainability.

Prior to that meeting, at the opening of the Commission's fourth session, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, Nitin Desai, told the Commission that the honest assessment of young people would make the world sit up and take notice when they presented their views to the Commission's high-level segment. Acting Chairman Henrique Brandao Cavalcanti of Brazil noted that the Convention on Desertification had been ratified by 115 States and was expected to enter into force next year. No less than 40 activities were being sponsored by Governments and non- governmental organizations as part of the Commission's current session.

As part of the celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the UN, the Secretary-General spoke to the astronauts/cosmonauts in a live video conference during the space flight, on 17 November 1995. A 15- minute video of mission highlights will be screened.

According to a UN Development Programme (UNDP) statement, the meeting will explore new ways to develop the economy in the affected areas - Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation - while recognizing that donor funding is limited. Participants will also visit the 30- kilometre exclusion zone and meet some of the residents who have returned to live in the severely- affected ares.

UNDP has acted in several areas to help victims of the Chernobyl disaster. For example, in the Ukraine, it initiated a project to improve environmental monitoring capacity.

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

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