United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-04-21

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

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Monday, 21 April 1997

HEADLINES

• United Nations Secretary-General deplores the recent attacks on refugees and humanitarian workers in eastern Zaire.
• United Nations Secretary-General appeals to all States to allow the Chemical Weapons Convention to fulfil its promise in the years ahead.
• Cooperation is the key to the proper tackling of environmental threats, United Nations Secretary-General tells meeting of the Economic Commission of Europe.
• The General Assembly invites non-governmental organisations to participate in the special session on Agenda 21.
• The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation calls on Member States to convince the United Kingdom and Australia to reconsider their withdrawal.
• The World Food programme starts the distribution of emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people in Albania.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees calls for urgent airlift of refugees in Zaire.
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation appeals to the international community to fund six projects in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
• Temporary guest workers are increasingly replacing immigrants, International Labour Organisation says.
• A joint three-day roundtable of the United Nations and Columbia University, United States, focuses on the impact of communications on global issues.
• The United Nations Environment Programme issues new publication on ozone phase-out guidelines for United Nations offices.

Paying tribute to the courage of all the aid workers who "inspite of extremely difficult conditions, are doing their utmost to deliver assistance to the population in need", the Secretary-General expressed the hope that repatriation and air-bridge operations would start very soon to save the lives of the vulnerable women and children who need better care.

In a statement on Monday, Mr. Annan said the Convention, which will enter into force on 29 April 1997, was too important for the security of every State and future international stability to be handicapped by the failure of some to become parties.

He said the Convention would create an international norm prohibiting the development, production and acquisition of chemical weapons. "It will lead to the destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles, thereby eliminating the threat of chemical warfare," he said, adding that the Convention will establish very stringent verification measures.

"The great potential of the Convention to contribute to international peace and security will depend on the degree of universality it achieves. I have taken every opportunity to urge Member States to ratify the Treaty to ensure that the decades of difficult negotiations will not have been in vain", Mr. Annan said.

He said the States that fail to ratify the Convention will undermine their credibility in subsequent arms regulation and disarmament negotiations.

Addressing the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) in Geneva on its fiftieth anniversary, Mr. Annan focused on the issues of globalisation and marginalisation, noting that the United Nations could not disregard the other players in international life if it is to continue to serve "the peoples of the United Nations" effectively.

"In Europe, all regional and sub-regional organisations are adapting to these developments by adopting new approaches, broadening their scope of action, and, in some cases, extending their membership", he said.

The Secretary-General stated that the challenge was to seek complementary mandates and membership in order to avoid duplication and to strengthen cooperation when joint efforts are necessary.

The decision allows the major groups to participate in the debate on an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

He urged Member States not to impose upon the Organisation budget cuts that go beyond those resulting from changes in the Organisation's membership.

In a discussion paper prepared for the Special session of the Industrial Development Board currently taking place in Vienna, Austria, Mr. De Maria y Campos set out his views and suggestions for the Organisation's priorities and future direction. Commenting on the Special session, the Director- General expressed the hope that Member States would demonstrate the political commitment necessary to provide a solid and permanent basis for the future mandate and work of UNIDO.

The arrival of 23 tons of vegetable oil complemented the shipment of 396 tons of flour and beans last week. The WFP said it will soon start the movement of larger volumes of wheatflour allocated to destitute families across the country.

In a statement, the High Commissioner also urged the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire to allow aid workers to resume their work in the makeshift camps south of Kisangani.

"Since April 5 when the Alliance originally approved the airlift, we have done our best to get the operation off the ground. But our every effort has been frustrated", Mrs. Ogata said. She said that since last Friday a series of security incidents, including the looting of foodstocks, has blocked access to the camps.

"Today the military told us that we would not be allowed in the camps because of a security operation in the area", she noted. Crowds of civilians have been attacking aid vehicles and looting food aid over the last four days, according to the UNHCR.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dispatched to Goma, Zaire, an international team of experts in communicable diseases from WHO's headquarters in Geneva and its regional office for Africa in Brazzaville, including specialists from the Swiss Disaster Relief Organisation (SDR).

The WHO team will prepare the ground for the arrival in Goma of Rwandan refugees from Kisangani, Zaire, and assess the situation to make sure that precautions are taken against possible outbreaks of infectious diseases, and in particular cholera. Special emphasis will be placed on the provision of adequate water supply and sanitation and health care for the returning refugees, WHO said.

The projects, in the framework of the United Nations inter-agency consolidated appeal launched on 7 April 1997, include the increasing of agricultural output and diversification through double cropping, recovery of irrigation systems, rehabilitation of irrigated canals, cereal production, rice growing and vegetable production.

So far, donors have provided 6 540 tons of barley seeds and, through FAO and UNDP, some 1 800 tons of fertiliser were delivered between mid- February and the end of March, the agency said.

The agency says that migrant workers, estimated to be at least 42 million often sacrifice family and home life for low pay, poor working conditions, and inadequate job security.

"Though most of these workers cross borders in the hope of improving their lot, exploitation is a constant danger for migrants," said Roger Bohning, an ILO official and one of the report's authors. "Inequities are particularly likely to be present when non-nationals are admitted temporarily for the purpose of fixed-term employment," he noted.

Citing the private sector's efficiency and mobility in matching workers to jobs, the report highlights a number of undesirable consequences.

It states that as the power of private, fee-charging recruitment agencies grows rapidly, many migrant workers, especially those in unskilled or non- technical jobs, suffer a host of indignities including wholesale fraud, exorbitant fees, non-existent jobs, and often poor or even dangerous working conditions.

The "Roundtable on Communication for the Promotion of Peace, Development, Democracy and Respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Global Village" will be attended by some 40 senior media practitioners, industry executives, communications theorists and policy makers from around the world.

The meeting, organised under the joint auspices of the United Nations Department of Public Information and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs will, among other things, discuss efforts to further expand and consolidate the realm of independent and pluralistic media. It will also focus on the contribution of new and existing media to the betterment of the human condition during the next century.

The publication, "Saving the Ozone Layer: Guidelines for United Nations Offices" is aimed at assisting UN office managers responsible for planning, purchasing and maintenance of refrigeration and other equipment that contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

It will also assist with decisions on how best to formulate and implement a phase-out action plan through retrofit and conversion, minimize the loss of ODS during phase-out and ensure that new equipment purchased is ODS-free.

Each step is illustrated by examples based on activities that have already taken place at the United Nations complex in Nairobi to phase out ODS.

"Although these guidelines are written with UN offices in mind, in practice they are applicable to any office-type or for any organisation or group interested in the issue of ozone depletion and might want to get ideas on how to initiate individual phase-out efforts," according to the agency.

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

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