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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-05-10United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, May 10, 1996This document is prepared by the Central News Section of the Department of Public Information and is updated every week-day at approximately 6:00 PM. HEADLINES
The United Nations is strongly protesting an incident involving the Implementation Force (IFOR) in the Former Yugoslavia. United Nations Spokesman Sylvanna Foa said today, a UN patrol in the area of Deboj was monitoring a group of Muslims from Maglaj to a grave site when it was assaulted by a group of Serbs trying to prevent the visit to the grave site. "People surrounded the patrol car, damaged the car, smashed the windscreen", said the Spokesman. There was shooting and the patrol sent a distress signal. "The United Nations considers this incident an extremely serious one" Ms. Foa said. The United Nations had achieved some 700 vacancies by the end of March, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. She noted that Under Secretary- General for Administration and Management Joseph Connor signed off early separation agreements that will cost the Organization $8 million. Another 75 early separation agreements were expected, she said, adding that that would bring the total to over 850. "They've all been voluntary", Ms. Foa said. Only 300 had been bought out, according to the Spokesman. The rest were through natural attrition. The money to pay for the separation agreements came from savings, "what they call staff costs, within the 1994/1995 budget". Noting that the estimated costs of early separation was $45 million, she expressed the hope that the money for the ones expected in 1996/1997 would come from the same source. The new Haitian police force lacks the experience that it sorely needs at this stage, Henrique Ter Horst the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Haiti said. He told United Nations correspondents that members of the force have had only four months of training. He made his comments after briefing the Security Council on the two points that constitute the mandate of the mission - sustaining a secure and stable environment on the one hand and professionalising the new Haitian national police. Mr. Ter Horst said there were 1900 troops and 280 civilian police in the country at present. The situation of stability and security continued to exist largely due to that presence. However, that security was threatened by criminal gangs. Also, "the negotiations of the structural adjustment programme of the Government with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank could change the current assessment of stability and security", according to Mr. Ter Horst. "I am confident that the United Nations' vital role will be recognized," Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali told a luncheon meeting of heads of United States foreign policy institutions. He said that the Organization was an increasingly indispensable instrument for world progress. The Secretary-General had just returned from Africa, where he had opened the ninth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IX). He went on to say, "The UNCTAD has transformed itself", and now served the practical needs for countries seeking to enter international trade. Dr. Boutros-Ghali said the numerous problems in Africa were "greater and more concentrated" there than elsewhere. He noted that they were "problems that the world outside Africa can neither ignore or escape." He reviewed the vital role of the United Nations in working to solve those problems, including "helping South Africa bring an end to apartheid"; saving "thousands of lives among Rwanda's refugees"; and "making every possible effort to prevent the horrible events in Rwanda from being repeated in Burundi." Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the United Nations, in cooperation with its Agencies, was addressing the development needs of Africa and assisting African States in their transition towards democracy. Recently, the Organization had launched a coordinated, system- wide Special Initiative for Africa, which "will expand basic education and health care across the continent". The efforts of the Organization were not confined to Africa, Dr. Boutros- Ghali said, adding that the United Nations was doing similar work "in every part of the world, from Guatemala to Haiti, from Georgia to Tajikistan". Noting that the United Nations was facing a financial crisis, he reviewed his efforts to achieve zero growth and said those efforts were hampered by lack of funds. The Secretary-General has decided to appoint David Stephen as Director of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement of Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA), UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa said today. Mr. Stephen, a national of the United Kingdom, has served in the Office of the Secretary-General since 1992. His appointment as Director of MINUGUA is effective as of 1 June, according to the Spokesman. The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding which codifies practical arrangements for the detention and transfer of persons indicted for war crimes to the ICTY and for support by the International Force, IFOR, to the Tribunal. The signature confirms the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) commitment to assist the Tribunal on its mission and underlies the ongoing cooperation between the two organizations. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali would be authorized to commit up to $931,800 net to maintain the Commission of Inquiry in Rwanda, should the General Assembly adopt a draft decision approved yesterday by the Administrative and Budgetary (Fifth) Committee. The amount would fall under the budget section of peace-keeping and special missions. According to the draft, the Secretary-General would be asked to propose to the Assembly, no later than 15 May, how to absorb those costs in the budget, including, among other things, dealing with political affairs. The draft recalls that the Assembly had already asked the Secretary- General to save $104 million from the budget while fully implementing all mandated programmes and activities. The Department of Public Information (DPI) has been urged to continue its efforts to marshal modern technologies, improve the outreach of United Nations information centres, and disseminate information on peace-keeping operations, in order to better inform world public opinion on the work and goals of the Organization. However, DPI was also urged not to lose sight of the value of conventional media, including radio. In statements before the Committee on Information, speakers praised DPI's work, particularly its publicising the course and goals of major world Conferences as well as the United Nations fiftieth anniversary and commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. The United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD) has released a study on foreign direct investment, which proposes ways to limit excessive incentives competition to attract such investment. According to the study, regional efforts to curtail excessive incentives are in their infancy and need to be expanded. To assist in that process, UNCTAD has proposed that an international group of eminent persons could hold hearings. The private sector as well as national and international institutions would participate. Efforts to improve the lot of nearly half the world's population and open the promise of prosperity to everyone were explored at the ninth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in Midrand, South Africa. The objective of the Conference, which wraps up on Saturday, 11 May, was to maximize the benefits of globalization and liberalization while reducing the costs to weaker economies. The adoption of the final document of UNCTAD IX, the Midrand Declaration, on 11 May, will be the culmination of intergovernmental deliberations started more than a year ago at the Trade and Development Board, UNCTAD's governing body. UNCTAD Spokesman Kamran Kousari said the recommendations were based on the view that international cooperation and partnership is vital as globalization of the world economy and the liberalization of trade accelerates the transmission of both the positive impulses and negative shocks. "It's only through global partnership for development that the international community can tackle the perpetuation of disparities between and within nations" he added. According to Mr. Kousari, UNCTAD has a very strong role to play in providing a development perspective and the Conference recognized that UNCTAD should continue to facilitate the integration of developing countries and countries in transition in the international trading system. The present status of economic and social development of the region along a new Euro-Asia continental bridge was the subject of a symposium in New York. Other topics discussed at the symposium were transportation and telecommunications, economic and trade cooperation, and sustainable development. Emphasis was placed on issues relating to the environment, population, social affairs, and poverty alleviation. Symposium Chairman Song Jian, State Councillor, and Minister of the State, Commission of Science and Technology of China, emphasized the urgency of formulating collective actions within countries and among the people of the region to further promote their economic and social development. Some 400 government officials, experts and representatives of the business community participated in the three-day event, co-organized by the United Nations Department for Development Support and Management Services, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union Commission, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank as well as other organizations. For information purposes only - - not an official record From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgUnited Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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