United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-03-03

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 3 March 1997

HEADLINES

• UN Secretary-General meets with Preparatory Commission for the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; expresses optimism that United States, Russia and China will ratify Convention.
• Former combatants of Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca expected to assemble at designated assembly points in Guatemala.
• World Food Programme aid workers find Tingi-Tingi encampment empty; refugees moving farther west.
• Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination to hold fiftieth session at Geneva, 3-21 March.
• Debt burden and unequal terms of trade negatively affecting social programmes in developing countries, speakers tell Social Development Commission.
• Commission on Population and Development concludes thirtieth session at Headquarters.
• International Narcotics Control Board President says United States did not press international board to delay drug report.
• UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina enhances children's activities.
• UN Environment Programme to honour 25 women in conjunction with its 25th anniversary and International Women's Day.

In a meeting with the judges and members of the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Secretary-General discussed the work of the Tribunal and its financial problems, the Spokesman noted, adding that the members of the Tribunal appealed for greater understanding from the management in New York.

Earlier, in Paris, Mr. Annan met with Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, the United Nations/Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region. Mr. Sahnoun later told the press that he was optimistic that negotiations for a ceasefire could succeed, but not immediately.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Director-General Federico Mayor stressed the need for continued reform and greater efficiency, coherence and coordination of the UN system to "give a better product" to its Member States, during a meeting held at UNESCO Headquarters.

"All of us have to reform to put the United Nations in a situation where it can be leaner, more efficient, more effective and more relevant in adapting to the difficult tasks that we have ahead," Mr. Annan said, in his second meeting with Mr. Mayor since assuming the head of the United Nations this year. He called for "pooling our efforts in a constructive manner so that at the end of the day, we make a greater impact on the ground and give a better product to our Member States."

Mr. Mayor said UNESCO was working successfully with other UN agencies in the field. The Secretary-General agreed that improved efficiency in the United Nations would result from greater interagency cooperation at all levels.

All the necessary UN military observers were in place to observe the transition, according to the Spokesman. He said there were now 149 military observers, out of the authorised strength of 155 for the UN Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA). The transition would take two months to be completed, the Spokesman added.

The Spokesman pointed out that WFP was able to airlift 6 metric tons of food to Punia. He added that 57 United Nations personnel and aid workers were evacuated on 1 March from Kisangani to Kinshasa, out of security concerns that they would be under threat by the war activity taking place there.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata has expressed her distress that aid workers were forced to leave the Tingi- Tingi camp at a time when they had just completed arrangements to fly out the first group of orphaned refugees to Rwanda, the Spokesman said.

"I appeal once again to the combatants to spare the refugees, the women and the children, who have already suffered so much," Ms. Ogata said. "We would like to continue to deliver much needed relief to the refugees. Unfortunately, we will not be able to do so unless humanitarian workers are allowed to operate in safety."

Algeria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Swaziland and the United Kingdom have submitted periodic reports on their efforts to put into effect the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee has also scheduled for discussion situations in 21 countries whose reports are termed "excessively" overdue.

Burundi, Rwanda and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), along with three other countries -- Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -- also will be considered under the Committee's procedure for early warning and urgent situations.

The representative of Bangladesh, Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, said that informal businesses and micro-enterprises had demonstrated their viability in creating employment throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. He told the Commission that the experience of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh had demonstrated the viability of micro-credit mechanisms in eradicating poverty and creating employment.

During its current session, Commission members stressed the need for more reliable data on migration, the direction of migrant flows and the characteristics of migrants. The necessity of analysing data at an early stage, so the international community could design effective migration policies, was also highlighted.

The Commission also requested the Chairperson of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) Task Force on Basic Social Services for All to make every effort to raise the necessary extrabudgetary resources to prepare and hold a technical symposium of experts on international migration in 1998.

The Board, Mr. Schroeder said, was "scrupulously free of government influence and is not even controlled by the United Nations." Its 13 members serve as independent experts, and their conclusions on countries' strengths and weaknesses on implementation of international drug control treaties were regarded as impartial.

The report in question, which presented the Board's findings and views on drug control in 1996, is due for release on 4 March.

UN staff had donated over DM 60,000 in October, which allowed UNMIBH to sponsor a film festival and live performances by local actors, the Spokesman noted, adding that UNMIBH would target additional funds to improve the five orphanages and children's hospitals in Bosnia.

"Because of their special responsibilities as custodians of our natural resources, women have developed unique skills and insights on environmental issues," said Elizabeth Dowdeswell, UNEP's Executive Director. "In most parts of the world they are the first to notice environmental degradation and the first to suffer from it. But women are also agents of change and the key to achieving sustainable development."

The 25 honorees include many UNEP Global 500 award winners and come from every continent. They range from a queen to community activists; from a former Prime Minister to international entertainers; from local and national government officials to leaders of industry; from scientists and professors to noted commentators on environment and development issues; and from the head of an international agency to leaders of international non- governmental groups.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article