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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-05-24United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, May 24, 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 Secretary-General has welcomed the successful completion of negotiations on the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields and the adoption of the relevant comprehensive resolution. He said that Member States had reached agreement on measures which confirmed the validity of the role of the United Nations operational activities in areas such as development. "The resolution launches an important series of reviews to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the subsidiary bodies of the Council", he added. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is encouraged both by the cooperation that his Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi received from the Nigerian Government and by the Government's interim response to the mission's report, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. The Secretary- General believed that the interim response provided a good basis for him to pursue his good offices. He had spoken to South African President Mandela and President Biya of Cameroon regarding Nigeria's willingness to discuss the situation of the Bakassi Peninsula. Among the points the Nigerian Government has made in its interim response to the recommendations of the fact-finding report is that the Civil Disturbances Act under which Ken Sarawiwa and 8 others were tried and convicted will be amended. It will exclude members of the armed forces from serving on the Tribunal and its verdict and sentences shall be subject to review at the Appellate level before confirmation. The ethnic conflict in the Messissi region of Zaire appears to be widening, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. It had engulfed neighbouring towns along the border with Rwanda and Uganda. Over 10 thousand people from the region had fled into Rwanda, she added. To assess the humanitarian needs of those affected, the Secretary- General has decided to send a humanitarian mission to the region led by the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Ms. Foa said. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will participate in the mission, which is expected to leave Wednesday. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has recommended that the mandate of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) be extended for a further period of six months to 30 November 1996. The Secretary-General had said it was the view of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that there was a continued need for UNPREDEP, Spokesman Sylvanna Foa added. The Secretary-General has also recommended an extension of six months in the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), established in 1974 to supervise the ceasefire between Israel and Syria. In his report to the Security Council, Dr. Boutros-Ghali has said there has been no serious incident but noted that despite the present quiet in the Israel-Syria sector, the situation in the Middle East continued to be potentially dangerous and is likely to remain so unless a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the problem can be reached. The talks between the Angolan Government and the Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) have produced an agreement on a time- table of incorporating UNITA's soldiers into the new national army, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. The process of incorporation would be completed by 30 July, she added. The quartering process is expected to be completed a month earlier, by 30 June. Additional contributions of $50 million were urgently required to support the return of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan and to help vulnerable families within Afghanistan, according to Martin Barber, United Nations Coordinator for the emergency humanitarian programme for Afghanistan. Pledges and contributions as of 15 April totalled only $35.6 million or 29 per cent of the $124 million requested for the period October 1995 to September 1996. The "Group of 21" Non-Aligned States has reiterated its proposal that the Conference on Disarmament should commence negotiations on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament within a specified time-frame. The Group suggested the step be taken immediately after the conclusion of a comprehensive treaty. Meanwhile, outgoing Conference President Ejoh Abuah of Nigeria, informed delegates there was still no consensus on the Group's proposal. The representative of Pakistan said his country strongly disagreed with the notion of "safety and reliability" tests, which would subvert the realization of nuclear disarmament through a process of attrition. He noted that questions regarding the comprehensiveness of a proposed nuclear test- ban treaty had not been satisfactorily answered. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the representative of Italy pointed to the Union's General Council Declaration of April 22, concerning the negotiations on a comprehensive treaty. According to that Declaration, the European Union attaches the highest priority and was strongly committed to the conclusion, before the end of the spring session of the Conference, of the negotiations on a comprehensive treaty. The United States and Japan have announced contributions to United Nations crime control activities totalling some $520,000, as the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice began a two-week session in Vienna. Jonathan M. Winer, the representative of the United States, announced a $320,000 contribution to the United Nations online Crime and Justice Clearinghouse, a system developed in concert with his country's own National Institute of Justice. Announcing his Government's first-time contribution of $200,000 to the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund, the representative of Japan, Tadanori Inomata, stressed his Government's interest in developing, within the legal framework of the United Nations, new legal systems of mutual legal assistance and extradition. Costa Rica has called for the establishment, under United Nations auspices, of an "International Court of the Environment" to adjudicate international environmental disputes, punish environmental crimes and help States to interpret international environmental agreements. Maureen Clarke, the representative of Costa Rica, made the proposal as the Crime Control Commission continued its discussions in Vienna. The representative of Egypt, Mostafa El Feki, called for an international legal instrument against terrorism. Concurring, Mohamed Lejmi, the representative of Tunisia, expressed grave concern over the rise of extremist groups that were organizing themselves into crime syndicates. Meanwhile, the representative of Pakistan, Musuma Hasan, urged the Commission to request the General Assembly to exempt the Crime Commission from budget cuts so that key programmes would not be curtailed or postponed. A proposed central repository of information on measures taken by States and organizations to combat transnational organized crime was endorsed by several speakers at an earlier meeting of the Commission. "We have all heard of the feminization of poverty, what we need now is the feminization of policy", said a panellist, highlighting the role of women in development during the discussion on "meeting basic human needs of all". The discussions, part of three panels, are exploring poverty-eradication sub-themes in the Copenhagen Programme of Action. The empowerment of women was pivotal to poverty eradication, the panellist added. It was also stressed that low-income countries should not wait to invest in their people until their economies gained strength. The importance of inter- agency cooperation, of collaboration and information- sharing in ensuring access to health services, education, employment, shelter, water, sanitation and credit was also emphasized. The Commission was told that no single development model could be applied to all societies in meeting basic human needs. Poverty could be tackled by creating new ways of earning livelihood, by increasing labour productivity and by redistribution through fiscal measures, the Commission was told at an earlier meeting as it heard an expert panel's formulation of integrated strategies for poverty eradication. The importance of economic diversity and education were among the issues stressed. Experts in the first of the three panels stressed participation and involvement of the poor as prerequisites for the success of poverty eradication efforts. The African economy experienced its highest annual growth rate since the beginning of the decade in 1995, according to a report issued by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The report noted that only three African countries experienced negative growth in 1995 compared to 14 the previous year. Eight countries recorded 6 per cent growth compared to two in 1994. Although the average growth rates for the continent mask variations in country and sub-region performances, the report noted that for the first time since the 1970s, numerous national economies were now growing faster than their populations. That was "a welcome sign that overall growth trends in Africa are beginning to gather momentum towards the recovery evident in global economy", the report said. The improving economic situation also bodes well for the implementation of the unprecedented United Nations System-Wide Initiative on Africa, a 10- year, $25 billion endeavour aimed at ensuring basic education, improving health services delivery and food security on the continent, among other objectives. 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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