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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-07-21United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, 21 July 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
Members of the Security Council on Monday expressed their full support for the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Mr. James Baker III, in their search for a solution to the Western Sahara problem. In a statement to the press, Council President Ambassador Peter Osvald of Sweden said that Security Council members commended the parties for their constructive steps so far and called upon them to continue to cooperate fully with the efforts of the Secretary- General. In a related development, Mr. Baker, who briefed the Security Council on Monday, told the press that some progress had been made in negotiations with the POLISARIO Front and the Government of Morocco concerning Western Sahara. He noted, however, that there was still quite a way to go. "I'm not yet in a position to answer the Secretary- General's question: Can the settlement plan be implemented either with or without adjustments. It's still too early to tell that", Mr. Baker said. On the other hand, he said, there were some things taking place that had not happened before in "this long, simmering and intractable dispute". He said there had been "direct face-to-face talks between the parties under United Nations auspices; we have a compromise agreement with respect to the questions regarding identification of voters that had held up the process; we've got a compromise agreement regarding some issues on refugees that had been a problem; we've reached agreement regarding the issue of confinement of Moroccan forces during a referendum period and the parties have agreed that they want to meet again on the 29 and 30 of August. So we will have at least one more session", said Mr. Baker. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the United Nation Observer Mission in Georgia until 31 January 1998. In a just released report on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, the UN leader said prospects for progress in the Georgian/Abkhaz peace process had improved and both sides begun to show more flexibility. The Secretary- General stated that although some issues, such as the future political status of Abkhazia and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, remained unresolved, there appeared to be a serious effort towards accommodation and compromise. Mr Annan noted that the forthcoming high- level meeting at Geneva with both sides was intended to set the stage for the further intensification of United Nations efforts. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been "extremely pleased with the manner in which the elections in Liberia had been conducted", a UN spokesman said on Monday. Spokesman Fred Eckhard said the elections had been peaceful, with only some complaints about irregularities. "By and large, their outcome seemed clear. The Secretary-General had also been pleased with the work done by the United Nations electoral observers", the Spokesman said. Meanwhile, with about one-third of the votes counted, two front runners have emerged out of the thirteen candidates running for the Presidency in the 1997 special elections in Liberia, according to a UN Radio report from Monrovia. Charles Taylor, candidate of the National Patriotic Party has received approximately 65 per cent of the 220,000 votes counted so far. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Presidential candidate of the Unity Party has received some 15 per cent. Over 750,000 people were registered to vote over the 10-day registration period in late June and early July. The Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) has guaranteed that the information on the disposition of their troops would be forthcoming, a UN spokesman said on Monday. UNITA said that they would also go along with normalization of the extension of the government's administration to the whole of the Angolan territory. On Friday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Alioune Blondin Bey visited UNITA headquarters accompanied by the Ambassadors of the United States, Russia and Portugal to meet with Dr. Savimbi and the UNITA leadership. Their discussions, among other things, focused on a possible face-to-face meeting between President dos Santos and Dr. Savimbi. Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals in the Hague and Arusha Justice Louise Arbour has welcomed the arrests of top figures of the former Rwandan regime. Seven persons, including the Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Rwanda during the April 1994 massacres, were arrested in Nairobi last Friday by the Kenyan authorities, at the request of the UN International Criminal Tribunal. Justice Arbour told the press at United Nations Headquarters on Monday that the operation had been clearly the product of a renewed leadership within the Tribunal and the very aggressive manner in which it intended to pursue its mandate. "I think this operation is also a testimony to the increased support that the Tribunal is receiving in the region, but in particular, on the part of the Government of Kenya. This operation is unprecedented", said Justice Arbour". Justice Arbour said it was the first time a government offered assistance to the Tribunal on that scale. As such, she added, the Tribunal was very grateful for the assistance that was provided and for the manner in which it was discharged. "More importantly what I want to say is that I think this operation sends a signal, not only to the people of Rwanda but to the people of this entire region that the international community was and continues to be extremely serious about breaching that culture of impunity and developing means by which criminal justice could be put to play as an instrument of peace and reconciliation", she noted. The Economic and Social Council on Friday recommended that the General Assembly draw the attention of the United Nations system to the need to mainstream a gender perspective in all areas of work related to, among other things, macroeconomic questions, operational activities for development, human rights and peace and security. It recommended that intergovernmental bodies with similar responsibilities in the system should monitor the way in which agencies, funds and programmes implemented mainstreaming in their medium-term plans and programme budgets, including at the field level. The call came in a set of agreed conclusions adopted following extensive debate on the issue earlier in the session. The conclusions were the first text approved at the current substantive session in Geneva. In other action, the Economic and Social Council adopted a draft text on harmonizing and improving United Nations informatics systems for optimal utilization and accessibility by all States. The text reiterated the high priority attached to easy, economical, uncomplicated and unhindered access to the growing number of computerized databases and information systems and services of the United Nations. The text also called for the urgent and continued implementation of measures required to achieve those objectives, and that the harmonization and improvement of the United Nations informatics systems should continue to be implemented within existing resources. A representative of Australia has told the United Nations women's anti- discriminatory committee that the country plans to convene a national domestic violence summit later this year to develop a more comprehensive approach to the problem. Addressing the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in New York, the Assistant Secretary in Australia's Office of the Status of Women Clare Nairn said violence against women has been recognized for many years as a major area for attention, and important reforms have been undertaken. The aim of the summit would be to develop a more comprehensive approach to preventing and responding to domestic violence across Australia and to facilitate national approaches to law reform, research data collection and community education, she noted. Commenting on Australia's report, the 23-member expert Committee expressed concern at the decline in federal funding for health services in Australia. The Committee's expert members raised question on the effect of the decline on health services relevant to women. The Committee, at the same time, praised the country's efforts to meet the health needs of indigenous women. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has announced that it will convene an international conference on governance to be held at UN headquarters in New York on 28 - 30 July. The event will bring together hundreds of high-level ministers, parliamentarians, mayors and non- governmental organizations. Participants will review a number of key governance issues of concern to developing countries, including democratization, administrative and market reform and human rights protections. The meeting will provide a forum for local and national leaders to identify obstacles and review successes in governance programmes in their countries. The conference is being held as a result of the increasing concern worldwide over finding effective and local solutions to poverty, inequity and human insecurity issues. 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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