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United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-12-13United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, 13 December 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 on Friday recommended to the General Assembly that Mr. Kofi Annan of Ghana be appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term of office from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2001. In another action, the Council unanimously adopted, by acclamation, a resolution recognising the central role that Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had played in guiding the Organisation in the discharge of his responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations. The Council commended the reforms that Dr. Boutros-Ghali had initiated and the many proposals that he had made on the restructuring and strengthening of the role and functioning of the UN system. Meanwhile, Mr. Kofi Annan has said that his highest priority would be to work with all Member States to redefine the objectives of the United nations in the post-Cold War world. In a statement on Friday, Mr. Annan said it was time to agree on what the UN can and must do, and what it cannot do. "These choices will require consensus and cooperation amongst all member States. Their collective will, their combined resources, their vision of what we will strive to achieve together, will determine the effectiveness of the United Nations in the years ahead," Mr. Annan said. He said the Organisation should in January, embark upon a time for healing, to restore confidence between Governments and the UN in order to help replenish its financial strength and its political and moral authority. A national of Ghana, Mr. Annan is currently Under-Secretary-General for peace-keeping Operations at the United Nations. During his tenure, United Nations peace-keeping reached a peak at which 18 separate operations were deployed at once, with five in Africa alone. He served as the Special representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia and the Special Envoy to NATO throughout the transition period which followed the Dayton Accords. Congratulating Mr. Annan, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said he was pleased that the decision was unanimous and was especially gratified that Africa had been able to maintain the office of Secretary- General for a second five-year term. The Security Council has decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) until 15 March 1997 subject to the provisio that the Tehran Agreement remained in force and the parties demonstrated their commitment to an effective ceasefire, national reconciliation and the promotion of democracy. Unanimously adopting resolution 1089 (1996) on Friday, the Council decided that the mandate would remain in effect until that date unless the Secretary-General reported to the Council that those conditions had not been met. The Council called upon the parties to comply fully with the Tehran Agreement and all the other obligations they had assumed, and strongly urged them to extend the ceasefire for the whole duration of the inter- Tajik talks. It condemned the gross mistreatment of members of UNMOT by both parties, including threats against their lives and urgently called upon the parties to ensure safety of UN personnel and other international organisations. Expressing deep concern over the worsening of the humanitarian situation in Tajikistan, the Council called upon Member States and others concerned to respond promptly and generously to the consolidated inter- agency donor alert on urgent humanitarian needs for the period from 1 December 1996 to 31 May 1997. The Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) until 21 December 1997. The extended mandate also includes the United Nations civilian police force known as the International Police Task Force (IPTF). Unanimously adopting resolution 1088 (1996), the Council authorised member States to establish a multinational Stabilisation Force (SFOR) for a period of 18 months as the legal successor of the multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) under unified command and control. It underlined that the primary responsibility for the further successful implementation of the peace process lay with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina themselves. The Council emphasised the importance of the creation of conditions conducive to the reconstruction and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina and encouraged Member States to provide assistance for the programme of reconstruction in that country. The General Assembly has expressed support for the activities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) aimed at contributing to stability, peace and security within its region. Concluding its review of cooperation with that regional body, the Assembly welcomed the intensification of collaboration between the United Nations and the OSCE in areas such as human rights protection, and the return and reintegration of refugees. The Assembly expressed full support for the work of the OSCE to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. In other action, the Assembly recommended that the Secretary-General appoint a Special Representative to examine the impact of armed conflict on children. It also decided to convene a special session in June 1998 to find new ways to combat drug abuse and trafficking, in the course of adopting the reports of its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on a wide range of subjects, including refugees, women, racism, transnational crime and human rights. The Special Representative's mandate is outlined in a seven-part resolution on the rights of the child, which was adopted without a vote. Other parts of the text include a call for countries to criminalise commercial and sexual exploitation of children and to eliminate child labour. Appointed for three years, the Special Representative will work closely with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and United Nations agencies to raise awareness about the plight of children affected by armed conflict. The Assembly recommended that the Secretary-General ensure that the Special Representative be given the necessary support and called on States and institutions to make voluntary contributions for the mandate. The World Food Programmes has expressed shock at the murder of a promising young official, Jorge Leitao, its base manager in the Kwanza North province of Angola. Mr. Leitao, 31, an Angolan, was travelling with three other people on the road between Ndalatando and Ngonguembo on Wednesday when they came upon four men dressed in military uniforms. As they passed, one of the men raised his gun and fired. Mr. Leitao was fatally wounded in the head. The other occupants of the car, a WFP driver and two government officials, were unhurt and fled into the bush. The UN Envoy in Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, condemned what he described as an ignoble act and called on the Angolan authorities to conduct a full inquiry into the murder. Member States that had been pursuing increased efficiency, reform and belt tightening should set the example in paying their dues to the UN, according to the representative of Canada. Commenting on the statement by the Under-Secretary-general for Management and Administration, Joseph E. Connor to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on the Organisation's financial position, the representative of Canada asked all States to pay their contributions in full, on time and without conditions. Adding to that call, Austria's representative said the fact that the $990 million owed to troop contributors was higher than the projected combined cash position should encourage others to pay up. Earlier, the Under-Secretary-General for Management and Administration, Joseph E. Connor told the Committee that the UN would end the year with a $715 million combined cash balance in the regular and peace-keeping budgets. He said outstanding regular budget dues had dropped to $546 million, while unpaid peace-keeping assessments totalled a little over $1.7 billion. The United States, he said owed about 69 per cent of the arrears to the United Nations regular budget. Greater efforts to combat sexual violence, particularly against migrant women and girls, as well as enhanced reproductive health programmes for migrants are among actions to be pursued under a new cooperation agreement signed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The Agreement calls for consultations and close cooperation between the two organisations in all matters of common interest, including reproductive health, advocacy, research, technical cooperation and joint action on projects. Specific provisions call for increasing awareness of reproductive health issues, promoting a holistic approach to meeting the primary health needs of migrant girls and women. It also calls for conducting research and developing policies concerning undocumented migrants, particularly women and children who are victims of trafficking. 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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