United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-11-07

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, 7 November 1996

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General says Government of Morocco and Frente POLISARIO have reiterated commitment to settlement plan and to continue to respect ceasefire.
• Disarmament and International Security Committee hears that developmental needs of States also require technologies which have military applications.
• The report of the Secretary-General on UN Institute for Training and Research does less than justice to that exceptional institution - Economic and Financial Committee is told.
• General Assembly is asked to adopt UN Declaration on Crime and Public Security.
• Department of Public Information doing more with less; doing more with less should not mean doing everything with nothing - Special Political and Decolonisation Committee is told.
• Draft Code of crimes against peace and security of mankind should include crimes against United Nations and associated personnel - Legal Committee is told.

In his report to the Security Council on the situation concerning Western Sahara, the Secretary-General said the Government of Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO have, however, reiterated their commitment to the settlement plan and would continue to respect the ceasefire.

He said the two parties were hopeful that ways may be found to resume identification and implementation of the settlement plan. Dr. Boutros-Ghali stated that the release of 66 POLISARIO prisoners of war by the Government of Morocco on 31 October was particularly welcomed and should help promote confidence.

The Secretary-General recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for a further period of six months, while making it clear that the international community cannot be expected to support the extension of the mandate of MINURSO indefinitely unless there was tangible progress towards the settlement of the question of Western Sahara.

The representative of India, Arundhati Ghose introduced the text, noting that limiting the exchange of such technologies to an exclusive group of countries was not the answer. She told the Committee that developmental needs of States required certain technologies which also had military applications and should be made available for civilian and peaceful uses through a monitored system.

According to other texts introduced, the Assembly would call for determined pursuit by the nuclear-weapon States of systematic efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of their elimination.

By the terms of a 91-Power draft on transparency in armaments, the Assembly would call on Member States to provide data and information for the UN Register of Conventional Arms and repeat its call for cooperation at the regional and subregional levels among all Member States.

He said the Staff College project was a "largely untested" Secretariat idea which could not be compared to UNITAR, an established and autonomous institution created by the General Assembly.

Emphasising that the relocation of UNITAR to Turin, Italy was the prerogative of the Assembly, he said the Secretariat should refrain from giving suggestions to that effect.

Several other representatives also expressed concern at the delay in issuance of documents and expressed the view that the Secretary- General's report was narrow and did not deal adequately with UNITAR's role.

Responding to comments by delegations, the Assistant Secretary- General for Human Resources Management, Denis Halliday, agreed that it was possible that the report perhaps overly focused on one aspect. Addressing the concern that the Staff College would diminish UNITAR, he said it was hoped that one would enhance the other.

Member States would be urged to take all appropriate measures to combat serious transnational crime, in accordance with the 11-article Declaration. Under the Declaration's provisions, States would, among others, take measures to eradicate organised crime, trafficking in illicit drugs, arms and people, smuggling, terrorism and money laundering.

States would also agree to promote regional and global enforcement cooperation and assistance to apprehend and prosecute persons guilty of serious transnational crimes.

Mr. Sanbar told the Committee that reform was not book-keeping, but cost- efficient management, and the Department of Public Information (DPI) had initiated that process before the financial crisis had made downsizing a growth industry.

He said reform goes beyond photo opportunity to the dynamic and constant harnessing of resources, and in the case of DPI, the main and most valuable resource was the Department's staff. During the period under review, he said, the Department had continued to sharpen its focus on specific issues with cost efficiency as its main approach.

A number of speakers expressed concern about the effects of budget cuts on the work of DPI. The representative of Bulgaria, responding to the statement by the Assistant-Secretary General that DPI was doing more with less, stressed that doing more with less should not mean doing everything with nothing.

The Commission's report contained the 20-article draft code of crimes, adopted by the Commission this year and transmitted to the General Assembly with the recommendation that the Assembly decide on the appropriate form of the draft code. The 20-articles consist of general provisions and definitions of several categories of crime against the peace and security of mankind.

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

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