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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-05-23United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, 23 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
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday told the Security Council that poverty, violence and the lack of human rights were the real threats to stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard. The Secretary-General briefed the Council on the developments in the country and expressed the view that the United Nations should concentrate its efforts on those areas which threatened stability, the Spokesman said. He said the UN leader also told the Council that he intended to retain the joint United Nations/Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative, Ambassador Mohammed Sahnoun, to pursue reconciliation in the region and to help coordinate reconstruction plans. Meanwhile, Ambassador Sahnoun, who also briefed the Council, expressed relief over what he described as the "soft-landing" of the crisis. Speaking to the press about his recent meeting with President Kabila, Ambassador Sahnoun said the Congolese leader "assured me of his willingness to work with the United Nations and the OAU and we welcomed these steps on his part and we are going to see how we can work together to consolidate the peace in the region". Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Yasushi Akashi on Friday described the conditions of the people of Iraq, particularly the internally displaced and the sick, as deplorable. He briefed the Security Council on Thursday on his visit to Iraq to discuss with Government officials the implementation of the oil-for-food formula. Mr. Akashi told the UN press corps on Friday that the Iraqi authorities expressed serious concern about delays in the arrival and distribution of humanitarian goods. He said that some 550,000 tons of foodstuffs had already arrived in Iraq and that over $1.5 billion from the sale of oil had already been deposited in the escrow account. Observers for the distribution of humanitarian assistance, he said, had been fully deployed and there was new enthusiasm and energy among UN staff in Iraq. Norway and the Netherlands have become the first UN Member States to contribute to the newly-created Trust Fund for Preventive Action against Conflict, a United Nations spokesman announced on Friday. The State Secretary of Norway, Mr. Jan Egeland on Friday presented a cheque for $2 million to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Spokesman said, adding that Norway intended to contribute a further $2 million to the Fund by the end of the year. At the same time, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands informed the Secretary-General of his Government's decision to contribute $500,000 to the Fund. The Fund is designed to enhance the capacity of the Secretary- General to take early action to defuse potential conflicts and to prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts. The UN General Assembly has invited Secretary-General Kofi Annan to take steps to conclude an agreement on cooperation with the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Assembly's action, aimed at regulating the relationship between the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations was adopted on Thursday. Through the adoption of the resolution, the Secretary-General was invited to present the negotiated agreement to the Assembly for its approval. The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday appealed for emergency food aid for half a million people left destitute by the combined effects of civil war and economic collapse in the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan. WFP reported that without relief food assistance there was a real risk of acute malnutrition and even starvation in some areas. As part of a continuing programme of emergency assistance to the Central Asian state, WFP called on the international community for contributions to provide food aid to half a million people for one year, at a total cost of just over $16 million. Government officials are currently meeting in Geneva for a third round of negotiations on a legally binding agreement that will make the world safer from hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The meeting is jointly organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Earlier efforts by the two agencies to promote chemical safety culminated in the 1985 International Code of Conduct on Distribution and Use of Pesticides, and the 1987 London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade. These voluntary measures are aimed at sharing information among governments and to encourage them to shift towards less hazardous chemicals. Participants at the United Nations seminar on assistance to the Palestinian people on Thursday assessed the requirements and opportunities for promoting broad-based and equitable growth, as well as for meeting Palestinian development needs through training and the establishment of appropriate labour standards. The two-day seminar held in Jordan, Amman, is aimed at promoting Palestinian human development. The President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in the Palestinian Authority Hassan Abu Libdeh told the seminar that the socio-demographic structure of Palestinian society necessitated giving added weight and consideration to women and children in poverty alleviation plans. He called for the definition of poverty to take into consideration a minimum acceptable standard of living which included the ability to obtain basic services. A new favourable international climate can lead to the beginning of some progress on the question of East Timor, according to Dr. Jose Ramos Horta, the representative of the East Timor Independence Movement, who is the co- winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Horta was at the UN Headquarters in New York for consultations with Ambassador Jamsheed Marker, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal representative for East Timor. In an interview with UN Radio after his meeting with Ambassador Marker on Thursday, Dr. Horta said that in the current climate an active intervention by the Secretary-General and the international community can make a difference. "I believe that the Secretary-General and Mr. Jamsheed Marker can have a major impact on this issue. They are committed, they are dedicated, they are serious and they are supported by the international community", said Dr. Horta. It was also important, he added, that the Secretary-General was not alone in his efforts. "He is not operating on his own will alone, he is supported by the US, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, I know of many countries, many Foreign Ministers that have called on the Secretary- General and encouraged him to be more firm and active on this issue", said Dr. Horta. Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday welcomed United Kingdom's announcement that it would destroy its stocks of anti-personnel land- mines by a fixed date and would press more vigorously for a worldwide ban. Ms. Bellamy was commenting on a declaration made by Prime Minister Tony Blair that his country would ban the import, export, transfer and manufacture of anti-personnel land-mines and ensure that it banned trade in all such weapons. The Executive Director of UNICEF said the United Kingdom's decision to eliminate land-mines would lend impetus to the Canadian-led initiative to outlaw those "unspeakable weapons". According to the agency, more than 115 million unexploded mines remain concealed in the earth worldwide, and the number is growing by 2 million annually. In a related development in Geneva, the United Nations Conference on Disarmament discussed the ban on anti-personnel land-mines. Australia proposed that a special coordinator be appointed to consult on the best way to deal with the issue. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom told the Conference that it regretted that it had not yet been possible to reach a consensus on the establishment of an ad hoc committee on anti-personnel land-mines with a negotiating mandate within the Conference. 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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