AID SOUGHT FOR LEBANON, THREE AFRICAN NATIONS, COUNTRIES HARMED BY COUNCIL SANCTIONS ON FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

5 December 1996

Press Release
GA/9188

AID SOUGHT FOR LEBANON, THREE AFRICAN NATIONS, COUNTRIES HARMED BY COUNCIL SANCTIONS ON FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

19961205 Assembly Adopts Five Texts; President, in Statement, Urges Procedures to Allow Current Session to Complete Work on Schedule

Factions in the Liberian conflict and their leaders were urged by the General Assembly this afternoon to cease all hostilities and disarm their combatants according to the agreed timetable.

By the terms of one of five resolutions adopted this afternoon without votes on assistance to individual countries and regions, the Assembly called upon States and organizations to assist Liberia in meeting the needs of refugees and displaced persons, and in efforts to rehabilitate combatants. The Assembly also emphasized that the Liberian parties must respect the security and safety of United Nations and other humanitarian personnel by ensuring their complete freedom of movement throughout Liberia.

Adopting a resolution on the rehabilitation of Lebanon, the Assembly appealed to Member States and the United Nations to intensify support for the reconstruction and development of that country. Specifically, the Assembly requested that the United Nations support the Lebanese Government in capacity- building and institutional renewal, and in implementing field-based programmes for the rehabilitation and reintegration of displaced persons, and to reconstruct areas such as southern Lebanon.

By the terms of the resolution adopted on assistance to Mozambique, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue efforts to mobilize international assistance for the national reconstruction and development of that country and to ensure coordination of the work of the United Nations in order to respond to its development needs.

By a resolution on assistance to Djibouti, the Assembly appealed to all governments and international financial institutions, and United Nations bodies, to respond as a matter of urgency to the financial and material needs of that country. Also, donor countries were asked to participate in a round table on the rehabilitation of Djibouti.

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Adopting a draft on assistance to countries ill-affected by Security Council sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the Assembly reaffirmed the need for continued international response to deal more effectively with the special economic problems faced by those nations in the period following the lifting of sanctions. The Assembly renewed its appeal to all States, on an urgent basis, to provide technical, financial and material assistance to the affected States to mitigate the continuing adverse impact of the sanctions.

During this afternoon's meeting, the Assembly President, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), reviewed the current state of work of the Assembly and its Main Committees. He noted that much work remained to be completed during the eight working days left before the scheduled recess on 17 December, particularly by the plenary and the Fifth Committee (Administration and Budgetary). On the outstanding matter of the appointment of the Secretary-General, he had been informed by the President of the Security Council that the Council's related consideration might extend beyond 17 December.

Also this afternoon, the Assembly concluded its discussion on assistance in mine clearance, hearing statements by the representatives of Nicaragua, Pakistan, Angola, Republic of Korea, Egypt, Iran and Peru.

The Assembly meets at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 6 December, to observe the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this afternoon to take up draft resolutions on strengthening assistance to Liberia, Lebanon, Mozambique, Djibouti and to States affected by Security Council sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The Assembly was also scheduled to continue its discussion on assistance in mine clearance. (For more information on the discussion on mine clearance, see Press Release GA/9185 issued this morning.)

By the draft on assistance to Liberia (A/51/L.24/Rev.1), the Assembly would urge the factions in the Liberian conflict and their leaders to establish conditions essential to the socio-economic development of Liberia by honouring their commitments to cease all hostilities and disarm their combatants according to the timetable agreed to at Abuja on 17 August.

Also by that draft, sponsored by Cameroon, the Assembly would deplore all attacks against and intimidation of personnel of the United Nations, other humanitarian organizations, and the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, as well as the looting of their equipment, supplies and personal property. The Assembly would emphasize the urgent need for all parties to respect fully the security and safety of all those personnel, by ensuring their complete freedom of movement throughout Liberia and by creating an atmosphere conducive to the successful resolution of the conflict.

Calling on all States and organizations to provide Liberia with assistance to address the needs of refugees, returnees and displaced persons, as well as for the rehabilitation of combatants, the Assembly would again appeal to all States to contribute generously to the Trust Fund for Liberia. The Secretary-General would be asked to continue his efforts to mobilize assistance within the United Nations system to help the Liberian National Transitional Government in its reconstruction and development efforts.

The draft resolution on assistance to Lebanon (A/51/L.25/Rev.1) would have the Assembly appeal to Member States and United Nations organizations to intensify their support for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon. In particular, donor countries would be asked to play a full part in the forthcoming consultative group on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Lebanon. The Assembly would also call upon the United Nations to support governmental requirements for national capacity-building and institutional renewal, and for implementing priority field-based programmes in the rehabilitation and reintegration of displaced persons and for reconstruction, including in the south Lebanon region.

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That draft is sponsored by Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Syria, Tunisia and the United States.

The draft on assistance to Mozambique (document A/51/L.30) would have the Assembly note the successful completion of the repatriation, resettlement and reintegration programme of citizens of Mozambique from neighbouring countries. The Assembly would express appreciation for the support of the international and non-governmental organizations which, in close cooperation with the Government of Mozambique, played an important role in that programme. The Assembly would also commend States and organizations that have contributed to mine clearance in Mozambique.

By that draft, sponsored by Cameroon, the Secretary-General would be requested to continue efforts to mobilize international assistance for the national reconstruction and development of Mozambique and to ensure coordination of the work of the United Nations in order to respond to the development needs of Mozambique.

By the terms of the draft on assistance to countries affected by sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (document A/51/L.22), the Assembly would reaffirm the need for continued international response to deal more effectively with the special economic problems of the affected States in the period following the lifting of sanctions. It would renew its invitation to the international financial institutions to continue paying special attention to the problems of those States and renew its request to the United Nations bodies to consider those needs in their development activities.

Also by that draft, the Assembly would renew its appeal to all States, on an urgent basis, to provide technical, financial and material assistance to the affected States to mitigate the continuing adverse impact of the sanctions on their economies. Affected States would be encouraged to continue regional cooperation efforts in such fields as cross-border infrastructure projects and the promotion of trade and investments. United Nations bodies and other organizations would be urged to take steps to broaden access for suppliers, particularly from affected States, to participate actively in the post- conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation of the former Yugoslavia.

The draft is sponsored by Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

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The draft resolution on assistance to Djibouti (document A/51/L.32/Rev.1) would have the Assembly welcome the implementation by the Government of Djibouti of its structural adjustment programme. It would appeal to all governments, international financial institutions, United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations to respond, as a matter of urgency, to the country's financial and material needs. The donor community would be requested to participate actively and generously in the round table on Djibouti in February 1997, in order to help it rebuild its economy, restore its infrastructure, and develop its human resources. The Assembly would also consider that financial and material support was needed for implementation of the country's demobilization programme, its national rehabilitation plan, and for the reinforcement of democratic institutions.

The draft is sponsored by Angola, Cameroon, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Gabon, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

For additional information, see Press Release GA/9170 of 21 November, which reviews the Secretary-General's reports on assistance to Liberia (document A/51/303), Mozambique (document A/51/560), Djibouti (document A/51/213), and those States affected by sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) (document A/51/356).

Assistance in Mine Clearance

MYRNA PEÑA ZELEDON (Nicaragua) told the Assembly that her country, the land surface of which was about 130,000 square kilometres, had close to 100,000 land-mines on its territory. That was the sequel of 10 long years of civil war. Innocent civilians and children were the main victims. The number of displaced persons was alarming and the effects on the national economy were devastating. It was essential that the international community continue to support mine-clearance efforts, as the affected countries could not cope with the problem on their own.

Such efforts should be accompanied by measures at an international level designed to prevent the proliferation of land-mines. Nicaragua recognized the need of an international agreement to prohibit all anti-personnel land-mines; it also supported the creation of a land-mine registry, which would promote confidence and transparency in the use, transfer and indiscriminate production of land-mines. Such a mechanism would help while the world moved towards the complete elimination of those weapons.

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On 12 September, she recalled, the Council of Ministers of Central America, meeting in Guatemala, had decided to declare the region a "land-mine-free zone", and to prohibit the fabrication, possession, acquisition and transfer of land-mines.

KHALID AZIZ BABAR (Pakistan) noted that in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Somalia and Bosnia, land-mines had caused havoc. Today, Afghanistan alone had almost 10 million mines, and thousands of Afghan refugees maimed by land-mines had been treated in hospitals and rehabilitation centres in Pakistan. His country hosted more than a million-and-a-half Afghan refugees, some of whom had been stranded for more than 17 years, since they could not return to their country because of the land-mines planted in their homeland. In spite of various efforts by the international community, the response remained inadequate.

One area needing urgent attention was the provision of sufficient resources for mine-clearance operations. The contributions to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund had been insufficient, and the response to requests for in-kind contributions to establish a standby United Nations land-mine clearing capability had been lukewarm. In view of the gravity of the situation, the international community needed to pool its resources and enforce regulations to ensure universal adherence to existing multilateral instruments on the indiscriminate use of land-mines.

There was also need to explore possibilities of establishing international mechanisms that would call upon the States that used mines indiscriminately to pay for mine-clearing operations. Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons was amended recently and steps now needed to be taken to ensure universal adherence to it and its protocols.

JOSEFA COELHO DA CRUZ (Angola) said that after more than 30 of civil war Angola had about 70,000 amputees, 8,000 of whom were children, victims of mines dating from the war. The implementation of the Lusaka Protocol signed two years ago, she said, allowed the establishment of a mine programme in the most affected areas, and the National Institute for the Removal of Explosive Obstacles had pursued its mission with dedication. Of the estimated 15 million mines across the country, some 80,000 had been removed. The leftover mines, she noted, represented one of the major obstacles to economic development, and to the return of displaced people.

She said the Secretary-General's opinion that the cost of caring for mine victims was a heavy burden for weak societies recovering from conflict was correct. Parallel approaches were required in tackling the root causes of the problem towards a global ban on anti-personnel land-mines. The promotion of technical improvements to maximize the effectiveness of mine detection and humanitarian mine-clearance operations was urgently needed. Noting the

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renewed interest in the issue on the part of the international community in recent times, she said she hoped that suggestions in the current debate would lead to concrete proposals for the practical improvement of demining efforts. She appealed to Member States to honour their pledges to the Voluntary Trust Fund, as the focal point for United Nations mine-clearance activities.

PARK SOO GIL (Republic of Korea) said that while international attention to the problem of land-mines was increasing, a global response was needed. The Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance was the principal financing mechanism for humanitarian mine-related activities. The Republic of Korea planned to contribute $100,000 in addition to a contribution of the same amount earlier in the year.

With the number of mines laid each year far beyond any country's mine- clearance capacity, clearance was only part of the solution. An integrated, comprehensive effort was needed to control the planting and usage of mines, as well as their production and trade. Eliminating the tragic human cost of those weapons would require that the international community address the whole spectrum of the problem. The Republic of Korea had recently extended its export moratorium on anti-personnel land-mines for an additional year. His Government was also considering accession to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

MAGED A. ABDELAZIZ (Egypt) said his was among those countries where the most land-mines were planted during the Second World War, with the number estimated at 23 million. Egypt had made many efforts and spent millions of dollars from 1981 to 1991 eliminating 11 million of them. A new programme was under way to neutralize all mines by 2006. Egypt was not on the official list of nations affected by mines, so its ability to obtain assistance through United Nations programmes was restricted. His Government hoped that it would be added to that list in order to facilitate mine-clearance efforts.

With the cost of neutralizing one mine ranging from $100 to $1,000, it would be impossible for Egypt to bear the cost of demining alone. It was important, he went on, for those nations which laid the mines to take on their responsibilities for demining by providing technical or financial assistance. While international demining efforts must be intensified, the planting of new mines must be restricted. An international agreement restricting the use of land-mines must be negotiated; an agreement which included a timetable for the neutralization of mines planted during earlier conflicts.

MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI (Iran) said the world was shocked by the monumental number of mines infesting various countries, as well as the horrendous consequences of their indiscriminate use. During the Iran-Iraq war, he noted, about 16 million land-mines and unexploded devices were laid in Iranian territory, covering more than 4 million hectares. More than one third had

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been neutralized by manual demining methods; however, lack of access to mechanical mine clearance as well as lack of maps of mine-fields had slowed down efforts, besides causing unacceptable casualties, both among innocent civilians and those involved in mine-clearance operations.

The United Nations had a special role in the task of mine clearance. It needed to ensure that no State would restrict access to mine-clearance technology. All States should also declare to the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs the sort of assistance they could themselves provide to mine-infested countries and relevant United Nations programmes, particularly those which had the required technology and equipment for mine clearance.

FERNANDO GUILLÉN (Peru) said the internationaL community had become increasingly aware of the effects of land-mines, especially on children. The recent Ottawa conference, which aimed at a total ban on those weapons and increased resources for mine clearance and assistance to victims, was one of the signs that the international community was now trying to act decisively on the issue. It was regrettable that a complete prohibition was not achieved, but that aim could not be abandoned. This kind of weapon should be broadly and completely eliminated.

He said all States should comply with international standards in force today and refrain from further development of those weapons under the pretext of security. They must not export them. The proliferation and indiscriminate use of those weapons were sufficient reasons for the international community to ban them, and Peru supported such a cause. The responsibility of States for damage done to victims, after the end of conflicts, was one of the points that needed study.

Statement by President

The President, RAZALI ISMAIL (Malaysia), noting that there were only 8 working days left in the current session, reminded the Assembly that much work remained to be done in the plenary and in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

Summarizing the Assembly so far, he said virtually all the Main Committees had completed their work, well within the scheduled number of meetings. The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) completed its work in only 22 of its 30 allocated meetings. Punctuality, coupled with time limits on statements and deadlines, had helped all the Committees to achieve their objectives.

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In terms of resolutions and decisions, he went on, most of the Main Committees, with the exception of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) had recommended for adoption by the General Assembly about the same number of resolutions as in previous years. The Second Committee was the most successful in reducing the number of resolutions, by "clustering" a number of them.

A primary problem had been with delay in documentation. It was attributable, in the main, to late submissions by those responsible for the reports, he said. The late submission of human rights reports from Geneva had caused cancellation of meetings and in some cases jeopardized negotiations on draft proposals for committee consideration and the timely conclusion of work.

Some of those reports, he added, were too long, with those responsible failing to submit an executive summary. While reports must be of acceptable length, "both delegations and Secretariat must work together to address that perennial problem once and for all".

The President said that one of the key items before the Assembly was the appointment of the Secretary-General. In that connection, he had alerted the Security Council that the General Assembly was due to finish by 17 December. The Council President had acknowledged the letter, and explained that the Council was fully seized with the matter; he had stated that while all efforts would be made, it was likely that the Council might go beyond that date.

On other matters, the President noted that the post of Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was filled by the General Assembly on the nomination of the Secretary-General. Since the term of office of the current Executive Director expired on 31 December, the President added, he had sent a letter to the Secretary-General on 25 November asking for his cooperation.

With regard to the appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences, he said, the General Assembly was required to appoint seven members at the current session. The terms of office of the retiring members ended on 31 December. On 12 November, he had written to the chairmen of regional groups asking that he be informed of the endorsed candidates from their respective groups. However, he still needed two candidates each from the Groups of African and Asian States and one from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

The President said his main concern at the moment was to ensure that the consideration of reports of Main Committees in plenary was not held up because of debate over financial resources. He proposed that the Fifth Committee -- after adoption of the draft resolution of each Main Committee, on the basis of the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary

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Questions (ACABQ) -- should note the estimated extra financial requirements contained in the programme budget implication. It should be understood that such an addition would be determined in the context of revised appropriation. On that basis, the plenary might proceed to adopt the draft resolution.

Humanitarian Assistance

HICHAM HAMDAN (Lebanon) introduced the revised draft resolution on assistance to Lebanon. He said the displacement of thousands of persons and the destruction of villages, particularly in the south, remained among the many problems to be addressed. The need for international assistance to address those and other consequences of the civil war remained enormous. His Government hoped the draft would be adopted by consensus.

DANIEL ABIBI (Congo), introducing the draft resolution on assistance to Mozambique, said that he was making that introduction on behalf of the African Group and the following co-sponsors: Austria, Australia, China, France, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania and the United States. They were attempting to emphasize issues of particular importance, noting the draft's paragraphs welcoming the progress in consolidating a lasting peace, the enhancement of democracy and the repatriation of refugees. The Assembly adoption of the draft by consensus would send a message of solidarity on the part of the international community and be a great encouragement to the people of Mozambique.

ABDALLAH DYSANE DORANI (Djibouti), introducing the draft on assistance to his country, said Belize had joined as a co-sponsor.

MOHAMMAD JASSIM SAMHAN AL-NUAIMI (United Arab Emirates), Acting President of the Assembly, said the Czech Republic had joined as a co-sponsor of the draft on assistance to States affected by Security Council sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Assembly then adopted that resolution without a vote.

The ACTING PRESIDENT informed the Assembly that Pakistan had joined as a co-sponsor of the draft on assistance to Liberia.

That draft was also adopted without a vote.

The Assembly, acting without vote, then adopted the resolutions on assistance to Lebanon, on assistance to Mozambique, and on assistance to Djibouti.

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