U.N. Security Council Sending Fact-Finding Mission to Jenin Refugee Camp

(U.S. Amb. Negroponte says it's important to have the facts) (450)
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- Expressing concern over "the dire humanitarian
situation of the Palestinian civilian population," the Security
Council voted unanimously April 19 to send a fact-finding team to the
Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin.

The vote on a U.S.-sponsored draft came late in the evening after a
two-day debate on the situation in the Middle East and a call to U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
A U.N. spokesperson said Perez told Annan that "should the secretary
general send someone to look into the facts of what happened in Jenin
and elsewhere, it would be welcome."

The resolution calls for gathering "accurate information regarding
recent events in the Jenin refugee camp through a fact-finding team."
Palestinians have said that as many as 500 people were killed during
the Israeli offensive in Jenin. Israel has said that about 50 were
killed.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte said that "it is important
to have the facts" about what has happened in Jenin, and that the
Security Council also has signaled that "a key matter of concern for
all of us is the issue of humanitarian access for the population
affected by the recent fighting."

During the Security Council debate Negroponte said that "alleviating
the situation in Jenin should be our priority humanitarian objective
at this time. Further Security Council action is not the best way to
meet this objective."

Talking with journalists after the vote, Negroponte said that "as far
as the actual scope and activities of this effort to get to the facts,
this is very much in the hands of the secretary general. I think we
all have full confidence in his ability to work this situation out."

He said the mission "is not an initiative of the Security Council but
rather a response to an initiative by the secretary general of the
United Nations for which we are most appreciative."

The ambassador said it would be up to the secretary general to
designate an individual or several individuals to conduct the
investigation. There had been no discussion of a time-frame in the
council's talks with Annan, he added.

Noting that the resolution was supported by all 15 members of the
council, Negroponte said that "it is always a welcome development when
the council can maintain its unity by emphasizing points of
convergence rather than points of difference."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)