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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-01-16United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSThursday, 16 January 1997This 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 Kofi Annan has appointed Maurice Strong of Canada as a senior advisor on United Nations reform issues, Acting Spokesman for the Secretary-General Fred Eckhard said today. Mr. Strong will assist the Secretary-General in coordinating the effort to redesign the world organisation for the future within financial limits that all Member States can support, the Spokesman added. Maurice Strong has been involved in United Nations environment and development issues. He chaired the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Environment, and, most recently, he has been focusing on United Nations reform issues, according to Fred Eckhard. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification is the legally binding international document at most, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Desertification (INCD), Ambassador Bo Kjellen of Sweden said today. The Convention strongly underlines that governments and donors have to create a favourable environment for local participation and empowerment, Mr. Kjellen stated. "We have settled a great number of the issues on the decisions that have to be taken by the Conference of the Parties, in particular with regard to the very important element of scientific and technical cooperation," the Chairman of the INCD stated. Mr. Kjellen pointed out that it still remained to be decided as to what extent the Global Mechanism, which is the mechanism that should deal with financial issues, could be proactive, have any possibilities of having projects of its own, or what were the resources that will be available to it. Meanwhile, as the INCD began consideration of measures taken in Africa and other regions to implement the treaty, a number of African States outlined activities they were undertaking to arrest degradation and appealed for multilateral assistance in drawing up national action programmes. The tenth session of the INCD is meeting in New York from 6-17 January 1997. A report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that, following the influx of over one million refugees, Rwanda will need substantial food assistance in 1997. The report warns that despite an overall improvement, food production in Rwanda remains below the 1994 pre-civil strife average, adding that the additional upsurge in food needs will undoubtedly strain the already fragile and unstable food supply situation in the country. The FAO/WFP report indicates that the country will face a food deficit for the first half of 1997 of 30,000 tons of cereals, 45,000 tons of pulses, 124,000 tons of roots and tubers and 522,000 tons of bananas and plantains. It says that only a part of this can be met through commercial imports. It estimates food aid requirements for the first half of the year at 81,000 tons of cereals and 33,000 tons of pulses, to cover the requirements of more than 2.5 million people, or one-third of the projected population. The transmission of Chagas disease has been virtually eliminated in Brazil, according to information received by the World Health Organisation (WHO) from the Brazilian National control programme. This important success is a result of control activities undertaken in the framework of the "Initiative of the Southern Cone countries" and it is expected that certification of the interruption of vectorial and transfusional transmission will be carried out by an independent commission in 1998. Chagas disease is a chronic and incurable parasitic disease which can cause disability and even death. The risk of infection is directly related to socio-economic factors; the parasite, called Trypanosoma cruzi, is transmitted by a blood-sucking tristomine bug, which finds a favourable habitat in crevices in the walls of poor-quality houses in rural areas in unplanned urban developments. Brazil is the biggest endemic country for Chagas disease, which exists only in the American continent. It accounted for over 40 per cent of prevalence of the disease. In 1970, the originally endemic area in Brazil covered over 36 per cent of the country, with a total population of 49 million. It is estimated that 16 to 18 million Latin Americans have been infected. The United Nations Compensation Commission received $20 million today following the implementation of Security Council resolution 986 (1995) and the resumption of Iraqi oil exports, the Executive Secretary of the Commission's Governing Council announced today. Speaking as the Governing Council held its sixth special session, Ambassador Carlos Alzamora said that at the current pace of incoming weekly revenue, a first group of 57,000 successful individual claimants from 63 countries -either claiming for departure from Iraq or Kuwait, or claiming for losses up to $100,000, will each be paid an initial amount of $2,500 as early as the end of February 1997. Eminent scientists, policy-makers and promoters of international cooperation from more than 20 countries of every world region will meet for the inaugural session of the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at headquarters in Paris from 20 to 21 January. UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor created the open-ended board to advise the Organisation on ways to promote scientific progress, build international cooperation and identify future trends and challenges. The meeting includes three sessions: "Science for the future," "Science, Society and Sustainable Development in Future Perspective," and the study of themes and objectives of a World Science Conference planned by UNESCO for 1998-1999. The violation of women's reproductive rights must be socially unacceptable and condemned by society as a whole, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Nafis Sadik, told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Dr. Sadik said many political leaders found it easy to acknowledge women's reproductive rights at national conferences, but were "as quiet as mice when they returned home." 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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