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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-09-20United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, September 20, 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 Security Council has expressed its concern at the deterioration of the situation in Tajikistan and at the increasing tension along the Tajik- Afghan border. In a statement read by its President, Ambassador Alfredo Lopes Cabral of Guinea-Bissau on Friday, the Council said it was, in particular, concerned about the ongoing fighting in the Tavildara region and the seizure of the towns of Jirgatal and Tajikabad by the opposition. It demanded the immediate cessation of all hostilities and acts of violence. Welcoming the initiative of the Secretary-General to arrange for an inter- agency mission to Tajikistan to determine how to respond most effectively to the humanitarian situation, the Council emphasised that the primary responsibility rests with the Tajik parties themselves in resolving their differences. "The Security Council recalls the commitments made by the Government of Tajikistan and by the leadership of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) to resolve the conflict and to achieve national reconciliation through peaceful means," the statement said. The Council regretted that those commitments had not so far been honoured, and reiterated the importance of the continuation of direct political dialogue between the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and the leader of the UTO. The Security Council, while noting progress in the humanitarian and human rights situation in some areas of Croatia, has expressed regret that many of its previous requests had not been complied with by the Government of Croatia. In a presidential statement Friday, the Council said that numerous incidents threatening the population in the formerly Serb-controlled areas were a continuing source of concern and could jeopardize the prospects for peaceful and substantial reintegration of refugees and displaced persons in Croatia. The Council recognized steps taken by the Government of Croatia to reintegrate refugees and displaced persons, and urged the Government to expand its programme to accelerate their return without preconditions or delay, and also to expand its humanitarian relief efforts especially as winter approached. The Security Council was deeply concerned that residents of the Krajina and Western Slavonia continued to suffer from inadequate security, and that those engaged in humanitarian relief activities and human rights monitoring in the area were attacked or threatened. It particularly deplored the involvement of Croatian uniformed military and police officials in acts of looting and harassment. The Council urged the Croatian Government to act immediately to improve the security in those regions. It also urged that Croatian officials ensure that members of the military and police refrained from unacceptable behaviour, and reminded the Government of its obligation to cooperate with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Donors announced a $212 million funding commitment to Sierra Leone at a two day conference in Geneva, this week. The conference reviewed the country's plans for post-conflict reconstruction following years of civil unrest that killed and displaced thousands. Following the donor meeting, a consultation on private sector development was held on 19 September to review investment opportunities in post- conflict Sierra Leone and to initiate dialogue with foreign investors. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) helped organise the donor meeting which was co-sponsored by the World Bank. The United Nations would donate 50 accommodation containers and 20 generators for the relief of victims of an earthquake which hit the historical town of Stou, near Dubrovnik in Croatia, earlier this month, according to a UN Radio report. The earthquake caused heavy damage to infrastructure and housing facilities and left hundreds of people homeless. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator James Gustave Speth has called on the United States to "lead the wealthy donor community and the world at the critical post-Cold War juncture". Addressing the US-based Foreign Policy Association in New York, on Thursday, Mr. Speth said that while there had been remarkable successes in human development, desperation and devastation were still the lot of many, with 1.3 billion people living in absolute poverty. Speaking on the UN, Mr. Speth said no other development assistance institution had such an array of assets and capabilities, adding that if "we want a UN for Peace, we need a UN for development". "The United Nations provide a unique forum for raising public consciousness, defining the international development agenda, and building the consensus needed for action," Mr. Speth said. The Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development has recommended that debt, governance and human resource development should be priority areas for consideration at the current Mid-term Review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. The Panel, at its meeting in New York, also highlighted the importance of trade facilitation and resource mobilisation, food security and agriculture, as well as greater flexibility and coordination of development support. The High-Level Panel was established in 1992 by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to advise and assist him in ensuring the effective implementation of the New Agenda and to foster Africa's development in general. The United Nations University (UNU) has started a process of informal dialogue and political analysis, aimed at identifying emerging actors in preventive diplomacy. As part of that process, a UNU seminar on the UN and Preventive Diplomacy suggested possible ways and means of establishing and developing new partnerships with the United Nations in the prevention of international conflict. The seminar, held in New York, also explored the foundations and instruments of preventive diplomacy. The share of women in agricultural employment was increasing, with women now accounting for 20 - 30 per cent of total agricultural employment, the International Labour Office said in a report issued today. The Agency said that of the approximately 1.1 billion workers active in agriculture production worldwide, nearly half are in wage labour. "Many millions of these workers earn wages that place them on the bottom rung of the rural poverty ladder and even below the minimum subsistence level in spite of rising agricultural trade and labour productivity worldwide," according to the report. The report, Wage workers in agriculture: Conditions of employment and work, was prepared for a tripartite meeting of employer, worker and government representatives which would convene in Geneva from 23 to 27 September, to explore problems in the sector and explore solutions. In addition to a high incidence of poverty, the working lives of agricultural wage earners are "characterised by causal forms of labour, precarious working conditions and little or no social protection", the report said. Some 40 million people in 110 countries will join forces in a global display of concern for the environment during the weekend of 20-22 September. They will participate in the fourth Clean Up the World Campaign, giving up their time to participate in a range of environmental activities. Clean Up the World is organised in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "The Universal message of Clean Up the World is that of people caring for each other and the world in which we live", says Elizabeth Dowdeswell, UNEP's Executive Director. The founder and chairman of Clean Up the World, Ian Kiernan, today officially launched the start of the international campaign in Sydney, Australia. A conference aimed at finalising and adopting guidelines for the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of the Aids epidemic, with particular reference to international human rights standards, will be held in Geneva from 23 to 25 September. Convened by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights/Centre for Human Rights, the meeting will come up with guidelines to be used by States and their officials- legislators and government policy-makers, including officials in national Aids programmes. Sixteen countries are expected to sign the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 24 September during a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York, Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa said. Among the sixteen countries are the United States, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany. The President of the United States, William Clinton, will sign first, the Spokesman added. Representatives of other countries signing the document will include the Prime Minister of Japan, Deputy Prime Ministers from China and Ireland, and the Vice-Chancellor of Austria. During the coming weeks, other countries are expected to carry out their own signing ceremonies. 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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