United Nations Daily Highlights 96-10-03

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, October 3, 1996

HEADLINES

• General Assembly debates regional conflicts and trans-shipment of nuclear materials as speakers continue to highlight issues of global concern.
• UN Secretary-General expresses concern that security situation has deteriorated in Haiti in recent weeks.
• Chairman of the Security Council Committee announces yugoslav sanctions terminated.
• 45th International Conference on education opens discussion on role of teachers; Comenius Medal to be awarded to nine laureates.

Ms. Bhutto said she had proposed a meaningful dialogue to the new Indian Prime Minister Gowda and was encouraged by his response. "Unfortunately, the new government persisted with the strategy of a sham election in occupied Jammu and Kashmir", she said.

On the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Ms. Bhutto stated that just as her country was prepared to sign any and all nuclear treaties if India simultaneously signed with them, any step of nuclear escalation by their neighbour would find a response from Pakistan to preserve her national security.

She called for the convening of a multilateral dialogue for peace and security in South Asia, including the participation of not only Pakistan and India, but the five permanent members of the Security Council and other major powers like Germany and Japan.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, David Levy told the Assembly that the Washington Summit between Israel and Pakistan, reconfirmed the basic principles and guidelines for the continuation of negotiations. He said the Israeli and Palestinian teams would convene on Sunday for continuous talks designed to resolve the differences between the sides and to implement the agreements.

Expressing the hope that there might come a day when a regional security framework would be established to provide a cooperative multilateral response to all the security problems of the Middle East, Mr. Levy welcomed the establishment of the Working Group on Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) as part of the multilateral talks.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tourism and International Transport, Billie A. Miller of Barbados told the Assembly that her country views with apprehension the use of the Caribbean Sea for the trans-shipment of nuclear and other hazardous materials.

She said her country feared the consequences of accidents on an environment which was so highly fragile, noting that the Caribbean presented a unique combination of factors which demanded that it be treated with special care.

Ms. Miller said the vulnerability of Caribbean micro-states was further increased by narco-trafficking which threatened the very existence of their democracies. "We suffer not because we are the major end-users, but because of our strategic location in this traffic", she said, adding that they would continue in their efforts, with the limited resources at their disposal, to ensure that drug trafficking did not undermine the foundations of their democracies.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Shaikh Mohamed Bin Mubarak Al- Khalifa called upon the international community to induce Israel to end its suppressive practices against Palestinian people and to resume negotiations on the final status of the Palestinian territories in accordance with agreements concluded between the two parties.

He said the negotiations should aim at achieving just, comprehensive and durable peace in the region and at ensuring the attainment by the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Laszlo Kovacs told the Assembly that a solid international presence was required to allow democracy and stability to take firm root in the Balkans. He said Hungary would continue to provide the necessary logistical and transit facilities to IFOR forces and UN peacekeepers, and was contributing to the strength of both IFOR and the International Police Task Force.

Noting that the return and reintegration of refugees and displaced persons posed a continuing challenge to the international community, Mr. Kovacs said the establishment of democracy and the rule of law in the Balkans region should be accompanied by reconstruction and rehabilitation, thereby facilitating the conditions for a safe and orderly return.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Tom Ikimi appealed to all Liberians to extend cooperation to the new leadership in the interest of peace in their country. He assured the Assembly that Nigeria, in collaboration with other leaders in the region and the international community, would ensure the resolution of the Liberian crisis.

Mr. Ikimi appealed for financial, material and logistic support to enable the peacekeeping force (ECOMOG) and the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) to effectively discharge their respective mandates.

The attacks and shooting incidents that had occurred in Port-au- Prince reflected an increase in subversive activities in which some of the demobilized Haitian military personnel and members of the extreme rightists organizations seem to be involved, the Spokesman indicated. A number of popular demonstrations have been held throughout the country, and it could not be excluded that locally-based vigilante brigades might step up their activities, thus threatening public security and eroding the country's stability, she added.

The Haitian National Police (HNP) had not reached the level of experience and confidence required to control and defeat threats posed by subversive groups, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General said. The 6,000 member Haitian National Police was fully deployed in 174 locations in February of this year.

The Secretary-General also stated in the report that the young force had three fundamental shortcomings: inexperience, inadequate equipment, and insufficient leadership, the Spokesman pointed out. The appointment of mid- level and senior level officers had been delayed, and a command center at the Police Headquarters in Port-au-Prince and similar centers at each of the nine departmental headquarters were yet to be established, Ms. Foa said.

UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor said that, as a keystone of the educational process, all possibility of change passes through the teacher. He urged governments to give teachers all the importance and influence that they deserve. "It is the teacher who assumes the task of social transformation, and this responsibility must today be shared by all if we are to meet the challenges of the next century," Mr. Mayor added.

The Director-General underlined the four main subject areas to be examined by participants as ways to strengthen the role of teachers. These are improving teachers' professional status by giving them more autonomy; incorporating the new information and communication technologies in the practice of their profession; developing their professionalism through their personal qualities and in-service training; and, ensuring that teachers are involved in the management of educational changes in partnership with other sectors of society.

The Comenius Medal will be awarded during a ceremony tomorrow at the Conference to nine recipients for their personal or collective contributions to teaching, as well as the originality or effectiveness of their pedagogical methods.

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

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