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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-05-01United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSThursday, 1 May 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
The Security Council has welcomed the agreement by the President of Zaire and the leader of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Zaire/Congo (ADFL) to discuss a negotiated peaceful settlement of the conflict in Zaire. In a Presidential statement on Wednesday, the Council called for an immediate end to hostilities. In particular, the Council called for a rapid agreement on peaceful transitional arrangements leading to the holding of democratic and free elections with the participation of all parties. Expressing concern at reports of the obstruction of humanitarian assistance efforts, the Council called on the ADFL to abide by its commitment to allow United Nations and other humanitarian agencies access to refugees in eastern Zaire and to enable the repatriation plan of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to be implemented without conditions or delay. The Council reiterated its call on the ADFL and others concerned to ensure unimpeded access by the United Nations investigative mission to all areas and sites under investigation, as well as the security of its members. It also said it attached importance to the commitment of the leader of the ADFL to take appropriate action against alliance members who violated international humanitarian law on the treatment of refugees and civilians. Meanwhile, on Thursday, it was reported that some 2,300 refugees were in a transit centre near Kisangani where they had been brought by train over night by the rebels. UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard said some 1 500 refugees were flown to Kigali and Ciangugu today, while 800 were still in the transit centre. The Spokesman also said that there were now 20,000 refugees in the Biaro camp, south of Kisangani. United Nations aid workers still do not have access to the area south of Biaro where several thousands more refugees are known to be, the Spokesman said, and an additional 30 000 refugees including at least a thousand armed persons showed up at Mbandaka, some 700 km north of Kinshasha, near the Congo border. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a letter to the President of Tajikistan, Mr. Emo Mali Rakhmanov wishing him speedy recovery from a leg injury he sustained on Wednesday when a hand grenade was thrown at his car in the northern Tajik city of Kudjan, according to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard. He said two persons were killed and 49 others injured during the attack. The United Tajik opposition condemned the act in a statement and denied involvement in the incident, the Spokesman said, adding that the Secretary- General urged all parties concerned to persist in their search for a peaceful resolution. The three members of the Joint Investigative Mission into human rights violations in eastern Zaire have convened a two-day preparatory meeting in Geneva before travelling to Zaire later this week. The Mission will be briefed by United Nations agencies and non- governmental organisations and will elaborate the terms of reference for the Mission and its work plan. It will also hear the views of representatives of the Government of Zaire and of the Alliance. In opening remarks to the meeting on Thursday, the Officer-in-Charge of the High Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights, Ralph Zacklin, said the Mission had been described as a "litmus test of the good faith and willingness of all parties to cooperate with the United Nations". He also noted the strong support from the Security Council and Member States for the Mission. The United Nations has engaged the Argentinian group, Equipo Argentino de Antropologia Forense, to provide forensic expertise and support to the Mission. Five members of the group will accompany the Mission and are in Geneva for the preparatory meetings. The United Nations on Wednesday announced the resignation of Ambassador Rolf Ekeus, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). Ambassador Ekeus who has held the post since the Commission was set up by the Security Council in 1991, is to return to Sweden to the service of his Government. Meanwhile, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Ambassador Richard Butler of Australia to succeed Ambassador Ekeus with effect from 1 July 1997. Asian and Pacific Governments have agreed unanimously to strengthen the role of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Delegates at the 53rd annual meeting of the Commission held in Bangkok staid that the fiftieth anniversary of ESCAP provided a historic opportunity for the Commission to bring about wider participation of its 60 members. The Member States called on the Commission to make full use of its increased capability in areas of technical assistance. In order to enable the Commission to meet the regions evolving needs, the delegates established five Committees to encourage regional economic cooperation. Individually, the new Committees will focus on environment and natural resources development, transport, communications, tourism and infrastructure development and statistics. The next session of the Commission will be held in Bangkok and will focus on human resources development, poverty alleviation and the promotion of development through science and technology. Negotiations on the future of the tobacco industry in the United States should be a first step toward worldwide restrictions on the promotion and sale of tobacco products, especially to children and adolescents in the developing world, according to Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "With the industry increasingly under siege in industrialised countries, there is no more promising a market for new smokers than the predominantly young populations of the world's developing regions", Ms. Bellamy said. Cigarette sales in developing countries have risen substantially in recent years, Ms. Bellamy said, and there are already signs of the devastation to come. It is estimated that of today's children and teenagers, 300 million will be killed by tobacco in adulthood if current trends continue, according to Ms. Bellamy. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has projected that 10 million people a year will die worldwide from tobacco-related illnesses by the year 2025, more than triple the current toll. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says 1996 was the eighth warmest year on record since 1860 and the eighteenth consecutive year with positive global temperature anomalies. In its annual statement on the status of the global climate, the WMO said the most predominant feature of 1996 was the extent and magnitude of heavy precipitation affecting many parts of the world, notably in southern Europe and parts of northern Africa and the Middle east, which were deluged with record rainfalls early in the year. In stark contrast to the very dry conditions that characterised most of the previous decade, the above-normal rainfall brought welcome relief to those in the Iberian Peninsula. It was also the second consecutive year with above-normal hurricane activity, reaching a near-record two- year total. The 11-page WMO statement chronicles the major weather events and significant climate anomalies during 1996, and is based on continuous observations made over land and ocean by the national meteorological and hydrological services of WMO member countries. Members of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples on Wednesday expressed concern over the political implications of the proposed shift of Committee services from the Department of Political Affairs to a new Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services, as part of the process of secretariat reform. Many speakers felt that the proposed transfer was an attempt to diminish the importance of the Committee's work. In response to members' concerns, the Director of General Assembly Affairs Division, Vadim Perfiliev, stressed that the move was for reasons of administrative improvement for all General Assembly subsidiary organs, not part of any special hidden plan. The new Department would service political, economic and social organs, and its considerable resources would lead to an improvement of overall services, he said. 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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