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United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-11-04United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, 4 November 1996This 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 was not a universal body, but a representative one, Australia's representative told the General Assembly as it completed discussion of the progress of its Working Group on Security Council reform. He said the democracy of the UN was deeply rooted in the General Assembly and the Council reported to the Assembly, adding that it was within that context that every Member State had, and must retain its equal voice with all others. He stressed that the Council must be made up of States which met the primary criteria outlined in Article 23 of the Charter which states that in the selection of Council members, a country's contribution to international peace and security, along with equitable geographic distribution should be borne in mind. The representative of Fiji said his country had contributed troops to most UN peace-keeping operations, yet it was denied the opportunity to sit on the Council. Speaking on behalf of the Central American countries, the representative of Nicaragua said that Article 23 of the Charter remained valid, as it represented a broad and flexible approach inclusive of the need for equitable geographic distribution. He noted, however, that the expansion of the Council must be based on the principle of sovereign equality of all the member States of the UN, as stated in Article 2 of the Charter. The representative of Pakistan said his country strongly opposed any increase in the permanent membership of the Council, a reform which would serve the interests of only a few and strengthen the club of aristocratic elite. Without current consensus, or a possibility of reaching it in the near future due to intransigence of the current permanent members, the expansion of the non-permanent membership was a first step, he said. Implicit in the elaboration of an agenda for development was the recognition that United Nations had a valuable role to play in promoting international cooperation for development, the representative of Jamaica told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial). He said the inability or political inertia of the international community in relation to the agenda could have devastating effects for developing countries. The representative of Iran emphasised the need for an action- oriented agenda that would consider the peculiarities of each State. Earlier, the Committee, by the terms of a draft resolution, decided to ask the General Assembly to convene a special session to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21 from 23 to 27 June 1997 at the highest possible level. The 40-Chapter Agenda 21 is the programme of action adopted by the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It covers all areas affecting the relationship between the environment and the economy. Refugees and displaced persons must be allowed to return to their homes if there was to be lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to that country's representative. She told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) that failure to allow refugees to return would be a de facto verification of ethnic cleansing and genocide. She said the annex to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which dealt with the return of 2 million refugees and displaced persons, had not yet been implemented, adding that some parties, especially the Serbian entity, were expelling members of other ethnic groups from areas under their control. The representative of Croatia said there were still 180,000 refugees and over 140,000 internally displaced persons in his country. International assistance covered only 30 per cent of their costs. Croatia had provided $916 million in direct assistance to these refugees, and an estimated $706 million in indirect costs. He said the Government acknowledged its obligation to allow the return of all Serbs who were not war criminals; however, the process was a two-way street that depended on the goodwill of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he said. Speakers also deplored the massive displacement of refugees and attacks on camps in eastern Zaire. The Observer for the Holy See said the refugee situation in the Great Lakes region called for urgent international intervention. When humanitarian agencies and programmes could no longer protect civilians in internal armed conflicts, the international community must find ways to protect life and relieve human suffering, he said, adding that such intervention would prevent massive refugee flows and a lessening of the heavy financial burden on the international community. A medium-term plan that gave secondary importance to economic and social development activities was not acceptable, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told as it continued its general discussion on the proposed medium-term plan for the period 1998 - 2001. The representative of Bolivia, also speaking for the Rio Group of States, stressed that the right to development was universal and an integral part of fundamental human rights. He said in the context of social and economic development, the work of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the regional commissions should be emphasised. Stressing the importance of the consultative process for formulating the medium-term plan, the representative of Costa Rica, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, asked why the Secretariat had not made provisions to allow inter-governmental bodies to decide on the programmes that fell within their competence. He said the Committee could then more efficiently focus on the administrative and budgetary aspects of the programmes and the elements linked to the plan structure. Attempts to suppress international terrorism on a selective geographical basis had little hope of lasting success, the representative of India told the Sixth Committee (Legal) as it concluded its discussion of measures to eliminate international terrorism. Efforts by the rich industrialised countries to limit the battle to their own territories and the Middle East were no substitute for a comprehensive international approach, he noted. Ghana said most developing countries lacked the technical capacity needed to forestall terrorist actions, adding that there must be regular training of security personnel from developing countries in advanced counter terrorism techniques, together with increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation. On the issue of the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the Committee heard that since it was individuals who were affected by international crimes, their complaints must have standing before the proposed court. New Zealand said it was individuals, not States, who were killed, raped and tortured, adding that the court's prosecutor must therefore be able to initiate investigations to ensure justice for them. Egypt stressed the need to establish a proper relationship between the proposed court and the Security Council, noting that while the Council had a role to play, it should not interfere with the court's independence. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Sunday called for the urgent opening of emergency lifelines to more than 1.2 million Burundi and Rwandan refugees and tens of thousands of displaced Zairians caught in the fighting in eastern Zaire. High Commissioner Sadako Ogata also announced that she was dispatching Assistant High Commissioner Sergio Vieira de Mello to Rwanda and Zaire to discuss with officials ways of easing the refugee crisis in the Great Lakes region. "This may be a final appeal to all those involved in the terrible conflict, or it will be too late. Combatants should stop attacking refugees. The refugees from larger camps in the region are on the move towards some of the most inhospitable and inaccessible areas in Zaire," she said, adding the further the refugees move west, the more difficult it would be for UNHCR officials to reach them. Heavy fighting forced UNCHR's remaining 14 expatriate workers in eastern Zaire to evacuate from the refugee town of Goma on Saturday. They were among 130 expatriate workers from UN agencies and non-governmental organisations who took advantage of a lull in the fighting and dashed to the Rwandan border town of Gisenyi after being trapped for several days in their offices. A Round Table Conference is to be organised for Congo in Geneva from 5 to 6 November to allow that country's main partners to analyse the medium-term development plan that the Congolese government is proposing to carry out over the next three years. The Conference will provide an opportunity to identify sources of funding for that programme, estimated at US$50 million. Organised by the Government of Congo and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the conference will be followed by an investment forum designed to promote foreign private investment. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is for the first time organising a global forum that will link representatives of workers' and employers' organisations, government leaders and enterprise executives in the search for new economic development and job creation strategies. "The ILO Enterprise Forum 1996", organised with the theme of "Promoting Social Progress and Enterprise Competitiveness in a Global Economy", will be held on 8 - 9 November at the ILO's Geneva Headquarters. During two days of talks, delegates will seek new ways of creating jobs, developing human resources and improving working conditions and labour-management relations. Meanwhile, the Agency announced that a tripartite meeting on the efforts of globalisation of the textile, clothing and footwear industries (TCF) cited the emergence of "sweatshops" and of occupational health problems in some countries as a cause for concern and warned that globalisation in the sector may not prove sustainable if it was not accompanied by social justice. The meeting concluded that the fight against clandestine work should be intensified in the TCF sector. Efficient tripartite coordination at national and international levels of the action against the so-called sweatshops could reduce the pressure on wages and general working conditions. It said unfair competition created by enterprises which do not comply with fiscal and legal obligations, exploit workers and disrupt markets. Almost 30,000 runners in the 20th New York Marathon called today for a united stand against hunger, joining Marathoners around the world to support the goals of the World Food Summit, which the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will convene in Rome, Italy from 13 - 17 November. New York was one of 21 marathons supporting the Summit. This year, marathons in cities as far-flung as Rome, Durban and Machu Picchu in Peru came out in support of the World Food Summit, which would seek ways to ensure freedom from hunger as the most fundamental of human rights. Marathon runners said that a healthy diet was essential to a productive life. This year, thousands of runners around the world have joined the race against hunger and malnutrition, signing the Marathoners' Appeal for a United Stand Against Hunger. 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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