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United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-11-05United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSTuesday, 5 November 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
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has met with the heads of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), along with Under Secretary-General Yasushi Akashi of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA). They are reviewing the humanitarian situation in eastern Zaire and examining the steps needed to continue close coordination of UN programmes and agencies on the ground, according to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa. Meanwhile, reports from the field say the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other UN agencies have had no radio contact whatsoever with the camps in the Goma area since Saturday, the Spokesman pointed out. Reports from refugees arriving in other areas say there is movement out of the Mugunga and Lac Vert camps. Ms. Foa added that reports indicate that at least 1,000 Rwandan refugees have arrived in Zambia with some 2,000 arriving in Tanzania. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has sent a message to the President of the Russian Federation, Boris N. Yeltsin. The Secretary General said he was delighted to learn the wonderful news that Mr. Yeltsin's surgery has been successful. "As this time, I should like to offer you my warmest congratulations, and my very best wishes for a swift convalescence," Dr. Boutros-Ghali added. UN Member states and observers have begun an annual two-day meeting to pledge contributions for the development activities of the UN system. Pledges were made at the opening of the annual two-day UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities in New York on Monday. Those who stand to benefit from the initiative included the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and a number of UN trust funds. Voluntary contributions to the various UN specialised agencies amounted to 4.5 billion in 1995. While welcoming the increased resources channelled through trusts and other special purpose funds, UN Secretary- General Boutros-Ghali told the Conference that such increases should not occur at the expense of core resources. "The level of resources made available to United Nations operational activities for development reflects political choices made by Member States, and particularly by donor countries. Overall trends in this respect are a matter of concern. There are contradictory signals that need to be addressed by the international community," said Dr. Boutros- Ghali in a statement. The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) has launched an appeal for emergency relief needs in Afghanistan. The Department announced it sought to raise $11.2 million to cover emergency relief needs in Afghanistan including food, fuel, demining and operational costs. DHA indicated residents, especially in Kabul are faced with rising fuel and food prices, adding that nearly 80% of Kabul's population depended on humanitarian assistance for their survival. The refugee crisis in the Great Lakes region of Africa illustrates the many difficult dilemmas confronting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the middle of highly charged political situations, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told as it concluded its debate on refugee issues and humanitarian questions. Soren Jensen Petersen, a representative of UNHCR told the Committee that the crisis in the Great Lakes region shows that without political will, humanitarian action could complicate or prolong conflicts. He added that the agency is encouraged by the example of Mexico and Guatemala, as they solved the problem of the remaining Guatemalan refugees through voluntary repatriation and local integration. The Sixth Committee (Legal) of the Assembly has started discussion of the report of the International Law Commission. The report contains a 20- article draft code of crimes against peace and security of mankind. Speakers generally favoured an international convention or treaty. The representative of Bahrain, Hussein M. Al-Baharna said the draft code should be adopted as a multilateral treaty, to be signed and ratified by nations, in order to ensure wider acceptance by governments. Japan said the draft code should be adopted as a treaty since, by its very nature, it contained various elements in common with other international conventions. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) says a new project in Bosnia and Herzegovina will promote food security in war-affected areas through the stepped-up production of high quality seeds for basic crops such as cereals, potatoes, beans and onions. The Agency says donors have been procuring and distributing 15,000 tonnes of seeds from abroad annually. According to UNDP, a large part of the high quality seeds being imported can be produced locally at much lower costs, while also generating much-needed economic activity and employment. The General Assembly has authorized the Secretary-General to commit $12.5 million for support and liquidation of the combined United Nations Peace Forces in the former Yugoslavia for the period 1 November to 31 December. It has urged the Secretary-General to ask some Governments to reimburse the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNPROFOR) for its payment of at least $37 million as excise duty on petroleum, oil and lubricants since 1 October 1993, contrary to the status-of-forces agreement and United Nations general conditions on contracts. The Assembly also cut the appropriation and apportionment it had provided for the liquidation of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH), beginning 1 July, from $15.9 million to $1.2 million. At the same time, it appropriated $28.7 million for the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH) for the period 1 July to 31 December. The international community should increase its official development assistance (ODA) to Africa and strengthen the United Nations capacity to implement the UN New Agenda for Development of Africa in the 1990s, the representative of Namibia, Martin Andjaba told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) as it continued discussing the programmes in the proposed medium-term plan for 1998-2001. The representative of Namibia stated that the international community should also increase support for the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) which was mandated to monitor and follow up on the implementation of programmes for Africa's development. As the Proposed Savings from 1996-1997 Budget was discussed, several delegations, including Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, proposed that the debate on the budget- cutting proposals should not be closed until the Secretariat provided written answers to their questions on the Efficiency Board, efficiency measures, staff reductions and other budgetary issues. The Fifth Committee has been told that the General Assembly should help in the endeavours to eradicate colonialism by the year 2000. The representative of Papua New Guinea said the eradication of colonialism was a legal and moral obligation under the UN Charter. 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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