United Nations Daily Highlights 96-04-16

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, 16 April 1996

HEADLINES

• Security Council hears Lebanese request to order Israel to immediately cease aggression; Israel explains it hit back after political and diplomatic means were exhausted.
• Secretary-General impresses upon Member States to support ECOMOG in Liberia.
• Need of public administrative structures and systems reform transcends economic, national and regional boundaries, speakers stress at General Assembly's resumed session.
• Estimated 100,000 people in Lebanon, in need of immediate assistance; UNIFIL soldier shot.
• High Commissioner for Human Rights to deploy human rights observers in Burundi; parties to conflict to meet in Tanzania on 22 April.
• Commission on Narcotic Drugs begins 39th session; key drug-related problems of future to be discussed.
• Modest economic growth in LDCs in 1994 and 1995, UN Conference on Trade and Development says.
• UNESCO releases World Science Report 1996.

purpose of the recent Israeli actions was to force his country to accept submission, it was a "futile hope".

Mr. Moubarak was one of 32 speakers who addressed the Council, last night, on the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which began last week. He requested the Council to order Israel to immediately cease its aggression and, in cooperation with the Secretary- General, to provide assistance to Lebanon.

After a long period of restraint and the exhaustion of all political and diplomatic means, the Israeli Defense Forces had decided to hit back at Hezbollah strongholds, Israeli Ambassador Gad Yaacobi, told the Council. Since Lebanon did not appear to have the ability or will to control Hezbollah activities, Israel needed to defend its security by all necessary measures, he said. In addition, he emphasized that Israel had no territorial claim on Lebanon and expressed his discomfort at the suffering of the civilians on both sides of the border.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the President of the Council, Ambassador Juan Somavia of Chile, said all who had spoken had called for the violence to stop. He also said that the humanitarian needs of the population in the area of conflict should be addressed and the peace process sustained.

ECOMOG - an African multi-nation force with troops from Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea - needed more equipment, vehicles as well as international support, Ms. Foa said. If it failed in its mission, or was forced to leave, a real humanitarian disaster would be created, she warned. The UN had managed to reach hospitals and a children's centre but assistance had not been sufficient and food as well as water were still in extreme short supply. The United Nations was planning to distribute six truck loads of food to displaced people in different parts of the country.

In spite of the improved situation in Liberia, it was still tense because lots of fighters were still wandering the streets, Ms. Foa said. In addition, the Government of that country had given orders to execute looters on the spot, she said.

As the Assembly entered the second day of its resumed one-week session on the subject, officials from various regions shared aspects of their national experience in enhancing and streamlining public administration - aimed at making it more responsive to the needs of their people. For many countries, that process was linked with the transition to democracy and a market economy.

The view that public administration should be adapted to meet economic demands as well as to promote the ideals of peace, equity and social justice was also stressed.

After holding an inter-agency meeting, the Department of Humanitarian Affairs had decided to prepare a flash appeal to assist those in need, Ms. Foa said. The appeal would be ready shortly, she added. In addition, many UN agencies, such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF were already in Lebanon assisting those in need.

A Fijian soldier from UNIFIL had been shot in the chest in a confrontation with elements who were in the process of launching rockets towards Israel, Ms. Foa announced. He had been reported to be in stable condition, she added. UNIFIL has 4,568 troops from 14 countries.

The former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere has managed to get an agreement that all parties to the conflict will hold a meeting in Mwansa, Tanzania, 22 April, Ms. Foa announced. The UN staff in Burundi had said that the meeting was a great encouragement towards the process of dialogue and peace in the region. They said that without Nyerere's zest and personality, the meeting could have never been possible.

Encouraged by the Commission on Human Rights and the Security Council, and in agreement with the Government of Burundi, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala Lasso, will soon deploy human rights observers in Burundi.

According to a statement from the Commission in Geneva, the observers will, in particular, participate in efforts aimed at preventing human rights violations and inter-ethnic violence. A contribution of $200,000 to human rights field operations in that country was made by Spain.

While the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean had experienced an average growth of 3.6 per cent in the 1990s, the ECLAC study indicates that such growth has not been sufficient to increase employment and social equity there. The new report, Strengthening Development: the interplay of macro and micro- economics, the Commission warns that the regional economies must grow by a steady rate of 6 per cent each year, requiring an average investment of 28 per cent of its gross national product (GNP). That figure was still far from being reached.

The Commission, which will examine areas of progress and weakness in the implementation of existing drug control measures, has been called upon by the General Assembly to recommend appropriate adjustments of drug control activities where required.

Presenting UNCTAD's Least Developed Countries 1996 Report at a press conference at UN Headquarters, Khalil Rahman of UNCTAD said the estimated growth of real GDP in LDCs had averaged over 3 per cent. Particularly striking was the growth performance of African LDCs - 33 of the 48 LDCs are from Africa. In that continent, the average GDP growth rate during 1994- 1995 stood at 2.2 per cent compared with the annual average growth rate of 0.6 per cent during 1990-1994.

The acceleration of growth in African LDCs was largely attributable to improved commodity prices, Dr. Rahman said. In spite of the progress, globalization and liberalization could cause LDCs to face intensified external competition and possible loss of market share. In order to benefit from globalization and liberalization, LDCs needed to undertake major adjustments in their economic policies, resource allocation and production structures, Dr. Rahman added.

The report includes issues such as bio-diversity, environmental degradation, ethics and recent development in information technology. The 356-page book was written by an international team of biologists,

chemists, physicists, engineers and economists. It will be presented by UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor. This is the second UNESCO report of this kind; the first was released in 1994.

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

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