United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-03-13

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

Thursday, 13 March 1997

HEADLINES

• General Assembly expresses concern at decision of Israeli Government to initiate new settlement activities in the Jebel Abu Ghneim area in East Jerusalem.
• United Nations Secretary-General expresses shock at killing of Israeli schoolgirls.
• Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Zaire expresses concern over deterioration of human rights in eastern Zaire.
• Several countries outline efforts to promote and protect fundamental freedoms before Commission on Human Rights.
• Commission on Status of Women focuses on `women in power and decision- making'.
• UNESCO Director-General expresses concern over exclusion of women in higher education in Afghanistan.

In a vote of 130 in favour, 2 against (Israel, United States), and 2 abstentions (Micronesia, Marshall Islands), the Assembly stressed that such settlements were illegal and a major obstacle to peace.

It called upon the Israeli authorities to refrain from all actions or measures, including settlement activities, which alter the facts on the ground, pre-empting the final status negotiations, and have negative implications for the Middle East Peace process.

The Assembly confirmed that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which purported to alter the status of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, were invalid and could not change that status.

It called upon all parties to continue, in the interest of peace and security, their negotiations within the Middle East Peace process on its agreed basis and the timely implementation of the agreements reached.

"The Secretary-General deplores this act of violence, and extends condolences to the families of the victims and the Government and people of Israel," the Spokesman said. He said the tragic incident highlighted the need to renew confidence in the peace process, whose objective was the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement in the Middle East.

General Assembly President, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia said the members of the Assembly were saddened and distressed by the loss of young lives in the shooting incident. He said it was incumbent upon governments and individuals to support action and commitments to move the peace process forward, as any kind of action could derail the process.

The Special Rapporteur said he had received many allegations of extremely grave human rights violations in the areas taken by the rebels of the Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo- Zaire (AFDL), along with alarming information concerning the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons currently cut off from humanitarian assistance.

Many sources have also reported on the activities of Government forces in the areas affected by the conflict. He said it was almost impossible to verify such allegations and reports without going to the area to see the situation for himself.

The Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of Bangladesh, Abdul Matin Khasru told the Commission in Geneva that his country had in the past experienced repression of genocidal proportions.

That was behind the country's resolve that such violations of human rights should never occur again, he said, adding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was "indomitably steadfast" in upholding human rights in every sphere of life, he added.

The Minister for Justice of Rwanda, Nteziryayo Faustin recalled the genocide in which 1 million Rwandans had lost their lives and described efforts to rebuild the country's judicial system in order to ensure justice for victims and suspects.

Zofia Kuratowska, Deputy Speaker of the Senate in Poland said a legal procedure was necessary to surmount such barriers. She stressed the need for the adoption of an equal gender status law as well as a parity threshold. Such a threshold, she said, would mandate that there be no less than 30 to 40 per cent and no more than 60 to 70 per cent of each sex in elected positions. That rule should be recommended for every democratic country irrespective of its religious and cultural status, she added.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tourism and International Transport of Barbados, Billie Miller, told the Commission that unemployment and underemployment remained the two basic impediments to women's role in decision-making.

As long as women had to be concerned with survival, it stood to reason that they found it difficult to fulfil their aspirations to positions of leadership and political power.

In that context, Paloma Duran y Lalaguna, Professor of Legal Science at the University of Jaume in Spain, stressed the need for re-examining the traditional roles of men and women within the family. In order to integrate women in the political process, their basic needs of training and education had to be met, she stressed.

Prior to closing its doors last September, about 4,000 of the 10,000 students and 60 of the 360 teachers at Kabul University were women, according to the University's Rector Amir Shah Hassanyar. The Taleban Minister of Higher Education, Maulawi Hamdullah Noumani said the ban on women teachers and students was due to a serious lack of resources and would be temporary, but that women would only be allowed to enroll at certain faculties.

"While respecting and promoting the cultural and religious diversity of its 185 Member States, UNESCO unequivocally and firmly urges all governments to provide women with access to education at all levels, as clearly enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Mr. Mayor said.

He said no society at present could afford to waste the immense talents of a full half of their human resources, adding that if that grave form of injustice was allowed to continue into the next millennium, it would remain a primary cause of inequality, structural poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor nations.

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

United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article