DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 2 January 1996
Press Release
DH/2051
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 2 January 1996
19960102 * Secretary-General says he is continuing efforts to persuade Iraq to accept Security Council resolutions that would lead to partial lifting of sanctions on oil sales.* Political will exists between Yemen and Eritrea to solve their political dispute over Red Sea Islands, according to Secretary- General.
* Secretary-General expresses regret at United Nations financial situation.
* Five new non-permanent members join Security Council.
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Some of the most pressing problems facing the United Nations were discussed by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in Cairo today. Later, the Secretary-General told reporters he had also informed President Mubarak of his efforts to persuade Iraq to accept Security Council resolution 986 which would allow a limited amount of oil to be sold in return for food and medical supplies. A percentage of those oil revenues would replenish the United Nations Compensation Committee Fund in Geneva and help the thousands of workers, including Egyptians, who had suffered as a result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
The Secretary-General said they had also reviewed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the division of labor between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Implementation Force (IFOR) and the United Nations. The NATO force would implement the military aspects of the Dayton Agreement, while the UN would be in charge of Sarajevo's reconstruction, monitor and train the civilian police force, care for refugees and defend human rights. He noted that there was also a UN presence in Macedonia.
The Secretary-General said he had briefed President Mubarak on efforts to persuade Libya to implement Security Council resolutions and was hopeful that obstacles to the lifting of sanctions against that country would be
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overcome. They also reviewed a range of African issues, particularly the situations in Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Liberia and Western Sahara and the UN's role in economic and social development worldwide.
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Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has held talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on the dispute between Eritrea and Yemen over the Red Sea islands of Hanish, according to a United Nations spokesman. The Secretary-General noted that there was political will on both sides to resolve the dispute through peaceful means and reiterated that he was ready to extend his good offices to help the two countries settle their differences. However, he still hoped the dispute would be resolved bilaterally or through regional arrangements.
The Secretary-General arrived in the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Sunday, after a 3-day official visit to Yemen, where he met with President Ali Abdallah Saleh and members of his cabinet.
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The critical financial situation facing the United Nations has still not been resolved, the Secretary-General told reporters in Cairo today. He regretted that Member States currently owed the Organization nearly $3 billion to the regular and peace-keeping budgets.
As of 16 December, Member States owed the United Nations a total of $2.5 billion, according to the latest update on the Organization's financial situation. Of that amount, $580 million was for assessments for the regular budget and $1.9 billion was for peace-keeping operations and the International Tribunals.
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Five countries took up their duties yesterday as non-permanent members of the Security Council. Chile, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Poland and the Republic of Korea were elected for two year terms by the General Assembly last month. They join Botswana, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia and Italy -- the other five non-permanent members -- whose terms expire at the end of 1996.
The five permanent members of the Council are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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