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United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-11-20United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSWednesday, 20 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-Ghali today said the international community should make complementary efforts to improve development assistance to African countries. The Secretary-General stated that, since the General Assembly first proclaimed the observance of Africa Industrialisation Day seven years ago, the United Nations system had worked hard to raise global awareness and harness international support for Africa's industrial development. Addressing the General Assembly on the observance of this Day, the Secretary-General said that while the economic prospects of many countries in Africa have improved in recent years, Africa's overall industrial performance continued to lag behind other regions in the developing world. Dr. Boutros-Ghali added that Africa's share of global industrial output declined from 0.85 per cent in 1980 to 0.74 per cent in 1995. "This is a cause for great concern, especially when viewed against the backdrop of declining official development assistance, limited private capital flows, crippling debt burdens, widespread poverty, civil strife and political instability," the Secretary-General said. Dr. Boutros-Ghali noted that the international community should improve the level, scope and modalities of official development assistance; extend and enlarge trade concessions and preferences to African countries, particularly the least developed countries; take additional and decisive measures to alleviate Africa's external debt burden; encourage and facilitate foreign direct investments; and further coordinate multi-donor assistance in accordance with Africa's development priorities. International accountability had been brought to bear on individuals charged with violating international law for the first time since Nuremberg and Tokyo, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Antonio Cassese said as the General Assembly began its review of the Tribunal's activities during the past year. The Tribunal President told the General Assembly that seven indictees were in detention at The Hague, the first trial was about to conclude, and sentencing on another case was ready to begin. Mr. Cassese added that the lack of real cooperation by some States and entities, particularly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and Republika Srpska, posed major problems, which, due to lack of enforcement capacities of the Tribunal, were nearly insurmountable. The representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Muhamed Sacirbey said that when Bosnians were the victims of ethnic cleansing, torture, rape and genocidal murder, the most powerful countries of the United Nations had rejected intervention, instead of offering humanitarian relief and the promise of justice. However, the criminals remained free, exercising power, while the victims were again been offered excuses, he pointed out. The General Assembly has adopted without a vote a resolution on intensified cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States. Introducing the draft, the representative of Syria, Farouk Al- Attar expressed the League's desire for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, indicating that a balanced peace formula was necessary in order to establish comprehensive peace in the region. The observer for the Arab States, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr paid tribute to the continuing consultations and contacts between the United Nations and the League of Arab States. He said the efforts to resolve the question of Palestine were at the head of the concerns of the League. The representative of Israel, Yael Rubinstein stated that he joined the consensus in favour of the resolution because of his country's desire to make peace with its neighbours, all of whom were members of the League of Arab States. The representative said that just as Israel was committed to peace, it was equally committed to strengthening regional economic ties, adding that the time had come for the members of the League to take further measures so as to eliminate their boycott against Israel altogether. Governments and international organisations discussing the situation in eastern Zaire are meeting this week in New York, Geneva and Stuttgart, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa said today. The Canadian Mission to the United Nations was hosting a political meeting in New York, the Spokesman stated. There will also be a meeting on military and operational aspects in Stuttgart on 22 November, and a donors's meeting in Geneva on 23 November. The Spokesman for the Secretary-General said that a census carried out by UNHCR indicated that there were 1,246,895 refugees in the region. Some 145, 000 were from Burundi and the rest from Rwanda. She added that, with the half a million refugees who had moved back into Rwanda, there were still 746,895 left. Ms. Foa pointed out that reports were changing by the minute. The General Assembly would call upon the only State in the Middle East not yet party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to accede to the Treaty without further delay and place all unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to a draft resolution approved by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security). The text, sponsored by Egypt on behalf of the League of Arab States and Malaysia, was approved by a recorded vote of 96 in favour to 2 against (Israel and the United States), with 32 abstentions. By the terms of a second draft concerning the Middle East, approved by the Committee without a vote, the Assembly would urge all parties to consider practical and urgent steps to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region. It would invite those countries to adhere to the NPT, and place all their nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards. As the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its discussion of human rights questions, the representative of Norway, Per Haugestad said the international community should not be under the illusion that the massive flow of refugees from eastern Zaire back to Rwanda would bring an end to the human rights problems in that region. Mr. Haugestad said securing a safe repatriation for the refugees, as well as solving the problems of justice and reconciliation, still remained. The representative told the Committee that the Rwandan authorities would need international assistance to cope with those legal processes and solve the problems of already overcrowded prison conditions in that country. He added that the military coup in Burundi last summer obviously had not improved the human rights security situation there. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued an appeal for $66.9 million for its emergency operations for refugees and displaced people in the fighting in eastern Zaire. The appeal also included the immediate integration of more than 500,000 returnees in Rwanda. The call was part of a joint appeal for $259 million issued this week by the United Nations Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali for urgent activities for three months in the Great Lakes region. Some 500,000 Rwandan refugees from Zaire's Goma region returned to Rwanda over four days beginning Friday. Although the main bulk of refugees in the Goma region was believed to be back in Rwanda, a trickle of about 1,000 refugees an hour continued to arrive at the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi. Several speakers addressed the need to enhance United Nations peace- keeping capabilities and practices, while respecting the sovereignty of States working within the principles of the United Nations Charter, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonisation) resumed its consideration of peace-keeping operations in all their aspects. The representative of Canada, David Karsgaard has told the Committee that the United Nations was not addressing issues of peace and security with sufficient courage and creativity. He added that the Department of Peace- keeping Operations lacked the necessary capabilities and resources to be the instrument of choice when the international community decided to address the crisis. A two-day United Nations conference aimed at bringing together a large, diverse group of global broadcast leaders is scheduled to begin 21 November. The United Nations World Television Forum is the first of its kind to examine the role of television in influencing decision-making and promoting international understanding. The Forum has been jointly organised by the Department of Public Information (DPI) with Italy's Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Radio- Televisione Italiana (RAI). Nearly one hundred fifty broadcasting personalities from every region of the world are scheduled to participate in the Forum. 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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