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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-01-20United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, 20 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
The Governments of Guatemala and China reached an agreement that allowed the Security Council to authorise for a three month period, the attachment to the Mission of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) of 155 United Nations military observers and requisite medical personnel to verify the implementation of the cease-fire agreement signed by the Guatemalan Government and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). The resolution was adopted unanimously. The representative of Guatemala, Julio Armando Martini Herrera, expressed the profound gratitude of Government and the people of Guatemala to the Members of the Security Council. The representative of China, Qin Huasun, said the two states had many rounds of fruitful consultations with Guatemala over the past then days. "The two sides, guided by the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and in a forward-looking pragmatic approach, have finally found a solution acceptable to both sides, thereby removing the obstacles to China's support for the relevant draft resolution," he noted in a statement. The Security Council was also addressed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "As we prepare for the overall verification contemplated by the various accords, I am pleased to acknowledge the support of the Security Council and Member States at large for what we all hope will become recognised as one of the Organisation's success stories," he said. The agreement was reached as a result of bilateral discussions on 17 and 18 January among a number of parties, particularly the Government of Guatemala, the Government of China, and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG), according to Acting Spokesman for the Secretary- General Fred Eckhard. A veto by China on 10 January had prevented the Security Council from authorising the deployment. By a vote of 14 in favour to 1 against, China, with no abstentions, the Council failed to adopt the 12-Power draft resolution. The representative of China said after the vote that the Guatemalan Government disregarded China's warnings and invited Taiwan authorities to the signing ceremony of the peace agreement in Guatemala. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is shocked at the killing of three Spanish aid workers and the wounding of an American aid worker employed by Medecins du Monde in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, Acting Spokesman for the Secretary-General Fred Eckhard said today. Mr. Annan strongly condemned this act of violence against people whose efforts were to alleviate suffering and protect the vulnerable, according to the Spokesman. The UN Spokesman said the Secretary-General offered his deepest condolences to M‚decins du Monde, and to the families and governments of the victims of the heinous attack. Mr. Annan said continued instability and violence in the Great Lakes region underscored the importance of finding a lasting solution to the region's problems, the Spokesman added. The Secretary-General urged all the parties to work together to this end and to ensure the safety and protection of relief workers, according to Spokesman Fred Eckhard. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan took a personal direction of United Nations reform on 18 January in a 90-minute meeting with senior advisers that addressed the time-frame and the process for the reform effort, according to a statement issued by Acting Spokesman for the Secretary- General Fred Eckhard. The Secretary-General stressed that there was a window of opportunity, and urged immediate action, the Spokesman indicated. Mr. Annan pointed out that reform had been discussed long enough, adding that he now wanted a comprehensive package acceptable to all Member States. To assemble the package, intensive and wide consultation would be needed. The Secretary General said he would work closely with governments, and would consult internally, reaching beyond New York to the United Nations system as a whole. The Secretary-General's goal is to finalise the package by mid- summer, the Spokesman noted. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the Group of 77 had a key role to play in ensuring that the United Nations was more responsive and more effective in meeting the needs and interests of the developing world. "We must do more, all of us, to enhance South-South cooperation. The United Nations system will continue to offer support and encouragement, but, ultimately, the impetus and the political will must come from within the Group of 77. Developing countries can and must do more to take a lead in this area," the Secretary-General stated. Mr. Annan added that development will remain a priority of the reformed, restructured United Nations. "As the United Nations embraces change and new reforms, nothing we do must detract from our responsibility to meet the needs and legitimate demands of the world's developing nations," he noted. The Secretary-General comments came on the occasion of the ceremonial take- over by the United Republic of Tanzania from Costa Rica of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 developing countries and China. The Special Rapporteur in Human Rights in the former Yugoslavia, Elizabeth Rehn today met in Geneva with the High Commissioner for Human Rights Jose Ayala Lasso, Acting Spokesman for the Secretary-General Fred Eckhard said. Ms. Rehn asked that the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider opening an office in Pristina, the main city of Kosovo, to provide detailed and accurate information about human rights in this area, the UN Spokesman stated, adding that Mr. Ayala Lasso said he would welcome the opportunity to open such an office. The world's supply of clean fresh water, already threatened by growing levels of pollution, is growing so scarce in some areas that if current trends continue, two thirds of humanity will suffer "moderate to severe water stress" within 30 years, according to a forthcoming United Nations report titled "Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World." The report is part of a series of United Nations studies prepared for the Commission on Sustainable Development for its five-year review of progress achieved in sustainable development since the 1992 United Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Earth Summit. The report warns that the situation not only imperils human health and development on a vast scale, but also the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems on which much of the earth's life depends. Political will and a real commitment to integrated national strategies were needed to change deeply ingrained attitudes and values that determined the status of women in modern Turkey, experts told the body that monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Despite legislation to promote equality, women were expected to obey their husbands, boys were educated before girls and domestic violence was endemic. Introducing Turkey's combined second and third reports to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Yakin Erturk, sociology professor from Turkey's Middle East Technical University had said her country was the only society in the Islamic world where the State had abandoned the Shariah, and women's position before the law was the most egalitarian among Muslim countries. Female stereotypes seemed to be a major factor in the high rates of domestic violence and illiteracy, particularly in rural areas, experts said responding to Turkey's periodic reports. However, women themselves were trapped by traditional thinking and must be targeted by coordinated advocacy programmes which addressed their real concerns, according to the experts. The Deputy Director of the Environment Division of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), Lars Nordberg said recent scientific discoveries concerning the effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on human health were worrying. "The current negotiations under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air pollution are, therefore, particularly relevant and urgent," he said. POPs, such as DDT, toxaphene, chlordane, aldrin, PCBs and dioxin, can generate cancer and damage the human reproductive system. A study by the US Academy of Sciences has shown that POPs are responsible for more than 20, 000 cancers in the United States alone. The harmful effects of POPs on male fertility are also increasingly evident. Recent research at the University of South Carolina Medical School proves that industrial pollution could be responsible for falling sperm counts. 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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