United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-04-04

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, 4 April 1997

HEADLINES

• Security Council calls on Libya to refrain from violating United Nations resolution banning flights of Libyan-registered aircraft to other countries.
• General Assembly adopts nine proposals recommended by Fifth Committee; including a seven-part text on human resources management.
• Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues says much work remains to make Women's Rights an integral part of United Nations human rights activities.
• The World Food Programme and Italy launch an emergency food operation in Albania.
• Heads of several United Nations specialised agencies appeal to Zairian parties to consider urgent humanitarian needs of refugees and displaced persons in Zaire.
• Commission on Narcotic Drugs urges tighter controls on synthetic stimulants as it concludes fortieth session in Vienna.
• World Health Organisation says emerging infectious diseases have become a major public health concern.

In a Presidential statement Friday, the Council said a recent flight by a Libyan registered aircraft from Tripoli, Libya to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was "totally unacceptable". The Council said it considered the action a clear violation of its 1992 resolution 748 and recalled that arrangements had been made consistent with the resolution in order to fly Libyan pilgrims to perform the Hajj. It said it will review the matter should further violations occur.

The resolution was among nine proposals adopted on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). The human resources management resolution, the result of lengthy negotiations by the Fifth Committee covers such issues as the role of the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), human resources planning, recruitment, status of women and career development, redeployment and consultancies.

Provisions of the text propose that the administrative instruction on managers' accountability should also establish sanctions for any financial loss suffered by the United Nations due to gross negligence, including improper motivation, wilful violation or reckless disregard of Staff Regulations and established policies for recruitment, placement and promotion.

The Division for the Advancement of Women had a mandate to contribute substantially to the further achievement of that integration and was committed to doing so, Ms. King said.

Noting the effective cooperation between the Centre for Human Rights and the Division, she said that their joint work plan for 1997 would give priority to the provision by the Division of information relevant to the elaboration of concluding observations by treaty bodies.

The food is targeted at orphanages, hospitals, homes for the elderly and centres for the handicapped in the capital city of Tirana, as well as towns in the north and centre and also the southwest of the country. Also targeted are the most destitute households in rural areas affected by the collapse of the social welfare system.

WFP said in a statement that in the coming days, it will deliver 420 metric tons of food donated by the Government of Italy. The food - wheat flour, beans and vegetable oil - is enough to feed 7,500 people over four months. It will be the first United Nations delivery of food to Albania since the current political crisis erupted.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata, the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Emma Bonino, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Carol Bellamy and Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Namanga Ngongi, called on the parties to respect humanitarian principles, the Geneva Convention and to allow free access to the refugees and displaced persons, especially the thousands of children in urgent need of assistance.

"We have witnessed the plight of the refugees ourselves. These people fled into the rain forest to escape the fighting and violence in the region. We are now trying to help them and to prepare them for repatriation," the joint appeal stated.

The Commission stressed the grave threat to global society from drug abuse and illicit drug-trafficking, and admitted that the battle with drug- traffickers was far from won.

Two separate resolutions were approved for submission to the Economic and Social Council later this year, reflecting delegates' deep concern at the escalating threat to human health and welfare from "new" amphetamine-type drugs, including "Ecstasy" and "Speed". The Commission called for closer and more comprehensive monitoring of chemicals used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs, as well as enforcement by States of criminal penalties to reflect the acute threat posed to individual and public health by such substances.

He said some 30 new and highly infectious diseases had been recorded in the last 20 years. Dr. Nakajima said the availability of effective vaccines and antibiotics developed in the 1950s and 1960s had led to a false sense of security concerning communicable diseases. That, in turn, had resulted in a decline in resources available to fund disease surveillance, diagnosis and control systems, he noted.

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

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