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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-04-10United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSThursday, 10 April 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
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged parliamentarians gathered at the Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Seoul, Republic of Korea to continue their "impressive level of commitment, engagement and advocacy" towards sustainable development. In a message to the ninety-seventh Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Thursday, Mr. Annan said sustainable development had been more widely accepted since 1992, adding that much remained to be done to ensure that it was understood by decision makers, as well as by the public. He said political will was needed in order to grapple with many difficult decisions on priorities and budget allocation. "Among the issues facing us is that of changing consumption and production patterns, which encompasses a broad range of issues, including new concepts of economic growth and prosperity, efficient use of natural resources, reducing waste, environmentally sound pricing and technology transfer", he stated. The President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia says political declaration of intent will not meet sustainable development objectives without concrete commitments on financial resources and the requisite institutions and instruments for implementing and monitoring those objectives. Addressing the High level Segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development on Wednesday, Ambassador Ismail appealed for a renewed effort from all sides not only to reaffirm the commitments of the Rio Summit, but to go beyond them, and pledge to keep such commitments. "This does, of course, require the political will to act", he noted. He stated that following the Rio Summit, the emphasis has been on the implementation of national programmes with lesser emphasis on the commitments made on international cooperation and global programmes. Ambassador Ismail expressed the hope that the special session would be able to make some headway by addressing the issue of unsustainable production and consumption patterns in both the North and the South. "In this context, the economic arguments and dimensions of sustainability should be strengthened. I look forward to seeing concrete commitments made to specific objectives complete with achievable targets that are monitored", he said. Meanwhile, as the Commission continued its high-level segment, the Minister for Planning, Environment and Tourism of Gabon, Jean Ping called for urgent action to address energy issues and the sustainable management of forests, as well as to ensure the provision of financial resources to implement Agenda 21. He said that any idea of drafting a binding convention on forests should be studied deeply. The Minister for the Environment of Norway, Thorbjorn Bernstein, said the "international community needed a powerful wake-up call" since analyses had shown that poverty and environmental degradation were on the increase. The forthcoming special session must stress the urgency of concrete action at all levels, including the commitment to reach the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to official development assistance (ODA), the Minister said. Norway was prepared to discuss the merits of a possible international panel on financing, he added. The Subcommittee dealing with legal issues in the Intergovernmental body on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has called for a review of the status of the five international treaties governing outer space. The call reflects general recognition of the dramatic advances both in technology and in the nature of activities taking place in the space environment, as well as the urgent need to ensure the fullest possible adherence to the outer space treaties by the international community. The 61-member Subcommittee also took important steps to break the impasse between States regarding the legal status of the geostationary orbit by recommending that a resolution be placed before the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) later this year, asking it to ensure equitable access to the geostationary orbit for all states, in particular developing countries. Resource conservation strategies in human settlements based on the efficient use of natural resources will feature high on the agenda as national ministers of environment and other experts gather in New York to participate in a workshop entitled "Changing Consumption Patterns in Human Settlements". The workshop, to be held on 11 April, has been organised by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), in conjunction with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development currently meeting in New York. Participants will also address practical ways to reconcile human settlement development and conservation of the natural resource base in developed and developing countries. A recent meeting of Experts on the Steel Market held in Geneva have stressed the need for the world steel industry to recognise that the global steel market was fragile at present and threatened by increasing supply pressures. Participants at the meeting of the Working Party on Steel of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) warned of a potential world overcapacity build up. An effort to avoid an over-supply situation and to match supply to the level which the market requires was essential, they noted. Television viewers throughout the United States will soon be able to view "World Chronicle", a United Nations television discussion programme. The half-hour programme can be seen on the International Channel at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (ET) beginning 13 April. In addition to outlets in the United States, the weekly programme also screens in seven countries on 16 television stations. 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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