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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-09-06United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, September 6, 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 Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye has delivered a letter and a mediation document from the Secretary-General to Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the Secretary-General's Spokesman Sylvana Foa said. The letter highlights the Secretary-General's concerns that need to be urgently addressed in regard to the Angolan peace process. The mediation document outlines the outstanding questions that have to be resolved by UNITA, including the completion of the quartering process, handing over of heavy armaments, the formation of a national army, and steps for the government of national unity and reconciliation, the Spokesman explained. Mr. Savimbi indicated that the quartering of UNITA troops at the last quartering site will restart and continue until it is completed, Ms. Foa said. UNITA heavy armaments in the northern region will be handed over to the United Nations on September 14, and those in the eastern region on September 16. More materials in the central region, already stockpiled in several sites, will be handed over in those quartering sites. UNITA generals will return to Luanda before September 20, and 10,000 deserters will be returned to quartering areas, the Spokesman said. The selection of UNITA soldiers for the new National Army will restart immediately and will be stepped up. "Mr. Savimbi has indicated he would like to meet with President Dos Santos before September 20, but the location of the meeting needs to be finalised," she added. Representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Geneva have called on the international community, and specially the United Nations and the European Union, to urge Israel to observe its obligations under the Declaration of Principles and the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. At the 3-day International NGO Meeting and European NGO Symposium, the groups declared that certain measures by the new Israeli Government had created new obstacles for the peace process which undermined confidence, generated insecurity among the Palestinian People and posed a threat to securing a just and lasting peace. In a statement read out on his behalf, As'ad Abdul Rahman, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said that the Palestinian question was at a most dangerous crossroads and that the volatile situation created was a perfect recipe for the eruption of a new wave of violence. Ibra Deguene Ka, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People added that the grave situation had also rendered more precarious economic conditions. A statement adopted by the NGOs at the end of the three-day international symposium said: "Although the resolution of the questions relating to Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and the right of return has been deferred to the permanent status negotiations, we NGOs clearly reaffirm their fundamental importance to any just and lasting peace. We firmly oppose any Israeli action designed to predetermine the final outcome of the talks". United Nations and other international organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are intensifying their activities to ensure safe and secure elections, the UN liaison Office in Zagreb has reported. The UN International Police Task force (IPTF) Police Commissioner, Peter Fitzgerald together with a number of other high-ranking officials from other international organisations, met with Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic. "Prime Minister Muratovic informed Police Commissioner Fitzgerald that he will designate a senior government official in his Cabinet to specifically deal with transport issues and a working group on transportation on the election date will be set up by the parties," UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) Spokesman in Sarajevo, Alex Ivanko said. The production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and many other chemicals have been phased out by all industrialised countries since the beginning of this year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. But, the dangers posed by the depletion of the ozone layer continue, since in some developing countries rapid economic growth has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODS). As of September 16, 1996, the Second International Day for Preservation of Ozone Layer, 75% of the world's population in the developing world and in countries with economies in transition have yet to begin reducing their ODS consumption, the Agency said. The remaining 25% has nearly completed the phase-out of ODS as called for in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, now ratified by 157 countries. The most important and effective measure included in the Montreal Protocol is the commitment to limit the use of, and to gradually phase- out, all of these man-made chemicals, known as ODS, as agreed by the countries which are party to the Protocol. Last December in Vienna, the Parties agreed to new commitments to strengthen the Protocol. Industrialised countries will phase out methyl bromide by the year 2010 and developing countries have agreed to freeze it by 2002 at average 1995-98 levels. The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has said that significant progress has been made in creating a literate world, and has added that the number of literates has increased by over 400 million since 1990. In a statement issued on the eve of the celebration of International Literacy Day on September 9, Mr. Federico Mayor said four out of every five adults would be able to read and write by the year 2000. However, Mr. Mayor cautioned that justifiable satisfaction should not give rise to complacency and underlined the fact that illiteracy would remain a major international problem, well into the 21st century, with some 880 million adult illiterates in the developing countries and over 200 million functionally illiterate adults in the industrialised countries. UNESCO would pay tribute during the September 9 ceremony to the four 1996 literacy award winners, including the Mini Schools project in La Saline District of Port-au-Prince, Haiti and winner of the International Reading Association Literacy Award. Other winners are from Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Zaire. The Cape Town Conference on Women in Decision-Making has drawn 120 parliamentarians from Europe and Southern Africa. The meeting focused global attention on the special challenges that women face and explored ways of advancing women in leadership roles. The event was jointly sponsored by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Association of West European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA). "No doubt that there is much work to be done in all southern Africa societies, particularly as regards to legal rights and the prevalent problem of violence against women," said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, UNDP's Regional Director for Africa. 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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