United Nations Daily Highlights 96-05-03

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, May 3, 1996

HEADLINES

• Free press truest protector of people's desire for greater participation in society, Secretary-General says in message on World Press Freedom Day.
• International community recognizes need for eventual elimination of anti- personnel mines but not ready to prohibit supply, Secretary- General says.
• Implementation of Lusaka Protocol disappointingly slow and agreements by parties unfulfilled, Secretary-General reports.
• Instead of asking what United Nations did for Haiti, better ask what Haiti did for itself while having support of Organization, former Force Commander of UN Mission in Haiti says.
• Great concern over depletion of fish-stocks world-wide, and correction of damage necessary, Chairman of UN Commission on Sustainable Development says.
• Government of Guatemala, General Command of Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) and UN, announce signing of agreement on Socio- Economic aspects and Agrarian Situation.

The designation by the General Assembly in 1993 of 3 May as World Press Freedom Day, expressed the dedication of the UN to a free and pluralistic media. Such media will make possible the unhindered flow of information between, and within nations, Dr. Boutros-Ghali said.

The Secretary-General paid tribute to the many journalists who had died or had been imprisoned in the defence of the freedom of press. Freedom of the press should not be precious only to those who could not enjoy it, but also to those who could, he emphasized.

World Press Freedom Day was commemorated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Organization's Headquarters in Paris. A day-long ceremony there, featured messages from Heads of States and debates by media professionals on issues ranging from opportunities in journalism for young people to ways of dealing with violence against journalists.

In his statement to the 1996 Review Conference of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva, read out by the Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, Vladimir Petrovsky, the Secretary-General said there had been attempts to differentiate between "smart mines" or "good mines", and bad ones. Yet, no mechanism could legitimize a weapon that inflicted such suffering on so many societies.

By the time of the next Review Conference of the Convention in 2001, it was estimated that an additional 50,000 human beings would be killed and a further 80,000 injured by land-mines, Dr. Boutros-Ghali said. He encouraged all States to immediately enact national legislation prohibiting the manufacture, stockpiling, use or sale of land-mines.

According to the report, the overall achievements in Angola fell well short of what the Security Council had been led to expect, UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa said today. For that reason, the Secretary- General had recommended that the mandate of UNAVEM III be extended for a period of two months only, until 8 July 1996.

As of 2 May, 912 soldiers from the Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) were registered, Ms. Foa said. The overall registration so far was 27,928 of the total expected of 60,000.

Instead of asking what the United Nations did for Haiti, it was more accurate to ask what did Haiti do for itself while having the support of the Organization, Major-General Kinzer said. While emphasizing that he did not have a crystal ball to foresee the future, he had hope that the situation in Haiti would progress. However, for that to occur, the undivided attention of all the parties involved, including the UN agencies, was necessary.

Major-General Kinzer said he departed from Haiti on 1 March to return to his military duties in the United States. He was currently in the process of writing a review of his operations in Haiti.

The Fourth Commission on Sustainable Development had made a recommendation to periodically review all aspects of the marine environment, Mr. Gechev said. In addition, it had recommended that the results of the review be presented to the General Assembly under a new consolidated agenda called "Oceans and the Law of the Sea". The Commission concluded today its initial review of progress made following 1992 Earth Summit and looked forward to the 1997 Special Session of the General Assembly to assess the future course of sustainable development.

This year's session of the Commission had been disappointing, at least from a non-governmental organization point of view, Clifton Curtis of Greenpeace said today at Headquarters. For example, aqua-culture had not been given its deserved attention due to the fighting between the "coastal States" and the "distant water States", he said.

According to a statement by the UN Moderator in the Guatemalan Peace Talks, the parties believe that the agreement is a decisive step towards the signing of a firm and lasting peace agreement. They hope that its implementation will give impetus to social and economic development with the participation of all in the Guatemalan society.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article