DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 31 October 1995
Press Release
DH/2012
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 31 October 1995
19951031 * Security Council asks United Nations Secretariat to prepare report for it on fate of missing persons from Srebrenica, Zepa and Banja Luka.* On eve of departure from Zagreb, Special Representative Akashi reiterates there can be no military solution to conflict in former Yugoslavia.
* General Assembly extends ONUSAL mandate until 30 April 1996; calls on Member States to continue to assist Government and people of El Salvador.
* Administrative and Budgetary Committee recommends General Assembly authorize $21.7 million for UNMIH for November.
* MINUGUA expresses concern about general human rights situation in Guatemala, saying State has shirked obligation to guarantee right to life.
* New environmentalism rejects heavy-handed policies in most industrial countries, World Bank tells Economic and Financial Committee.
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The Security Council has asked the United Nations Secretariat to prepare a report for it on the fate of missing persons from Srebrenica, Zepa and Banja Luka, a spokesman for the Organization said today. The Council discussed the matter yesterday, in response to media reports on events that took place in the three towns earlier this year. It also discussed the role of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in relation to those events, including the issues of jurisdiction and punishment.
The Council was briefed by Under-Secretary-General Chinmaya Gharekhan, the spokesman noted. He pointed out that the United Nations had been denied access to the Bosnian towns and that it was impossible for the Organization to provide the kind of information the Council wanted without such access.
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Special Representative Yasushi Akashi today reiterated that there could never be a military solution to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, only a negotiated political solution. In a statement issued on the eve of his departure from the region, Mr. Akashi said peace could only be achieved through mutual confidence and political compromise. Meanwhile, the United Nations would do all it could to facilitate the peace process and to alleviate the human suffering caused by the war.
Mr. Akashi expressed satisfaction regarding certain accomplishments of the United Nations in the former Yugoslavia. More than one million tons of humanitarian assistance had been delivered, essential utilities had been restored, and life for many people had improved following the reduction in fighting in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Those factors had been vital in creating the conditions necessary for the current peace initiative to succeed.
United Nations efforts in the region should be evaluated in the context of Security Council resolutions and the resources provided to fulfil them. Some of those mandates had proved impossible to fulfil. Efforts in Croatia and Bosnia had been frustrated by insufficient resources and the inherent limits of peace-keeping operations, which required the consent of the parties and impartiality. However, lives had been saved by humanitarian aid and stabilizing conditions on the ground. The preventive deployment in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was a shining example of what could be accomplished given implementable mandates and adequate resources.
The international community had looked for new ways to implement resolutions aimed at resolving the conflict, he went on to say. The United Nations had embarked on an unprecedented relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and had pushed the limits of classical peace- keeping. A valuable lesson from that experience was that under certain conditions, there was a role for a more determined use of military means. However, the use of force was not a panacea for all problems, especially for a mission with lightly-armed peace-keepers who were widely dispersed.
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The General Assembly today extended the mandate of the Mission of the United Nations in El Salvador (MINUSAL) until 30 April 1996, with a gradual reduction of its strength and cost in a manner compatible with the efficient performance of its functions. It took that action by a resolution adopted without a vote.
The Assembly called on Member States and international institutions to continue to provide assistance to the Government and people of El Salvador and to lend support to the Mission's efforts. It recognized the political
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commitment of the parties to the Chapultepec peace agreements to continue to work together for their implementation. The Assembly also welcomed the continued commitment of the Government and people of El Salvador to consolidating the peace.
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The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft decision that would have the General Assembly authorize and assess $21.7 million gross ($21.4 million net) for the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) for the period 1 to 30 November. The Assembly would assess an additional $42.4 million for the period 1 August to 31 October. That would be in addition to the $21.2 million previously assessed.
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The United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) has expressed concern about the general human rights situation in the country. In a report issued today, it said that certain positive steps and attitudes had been maintained, but that things had taken a turn for the worse in other respects.
The right to life was still the most seriously affected, the report concluded. It was so precarious because the State had shirked its obligation to provide guarantees and its institutions did not exercise their solemn duty to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish crime. Meanwhile, the URNG was still not living up to its commitments under the Comprehensive Agreements on Human Rights, particularly the commitment to stop inflicting suffering on the civilian population.
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A new environmentalism is being implemented around the world that rejects the heavy-handed, command and control policies traditional in most industrial countries, a World Bank representative told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today. He said the new approach was pro-development and pro-people and recognized that real solutions would be found as implemented at the local level.
Addressing the implementation of commitments adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the representative of India expressed regret that no significant steps had been taken to change unsustainable consumption and production patterns in developed countries.
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