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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-03-13United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSWednesday, 13 March 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
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has said that the United Nations is the forum where a foundation for global action is being built, and, it is awaiting the instructions of the international community to serve as a mechanism for mobilization on a global scale against terrorism. In a statement to the Summit of Peacemakers in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt Wednesday, the Secretary-General noted that at last year's Special Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly, Heads of State and Government agreed to act together against terrorism. Now, he said, "the task is to take this normative foundation as our platform for rapid and decisive action". The Secretary-General said "no people, no part of the world any longer can feel beyond the reach of terror or terrorism". He noted that terror and terrorism have become a global phenomenon because terrorists receive arms and funds from abroad; receive instructions from abroad and take refuge abroad after committing their crime. At the same time, he said, the globalization of terrorism is sustained because countries may use terrorists to advance their aims; þbecause the media give terrorists the publicity they seek; and because unilateral and even bilateral action is not enough to deal with a threat that is global". The United Nations will fully participate in the working group set up in the prepare recommendations on implementing the decisions of the Summit of Peacemakers. A UN Spokesman said today that the Organization will put at the disposal of the participants in the group all documents and material available to it and to its specialized agencies on the question of eliminating terrorism. Meanwhile, in a Declaration at the end of the Summit, the participants expressed their full support for the Middle East peace process and their determination that this process continue in order to accomplish a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region. They also decided to support the Israel-Palestinian agreements, the continuation of the negotiating process, and to politically and economically reinforce it, and enhance the security situation for both, with special attention to the current and pressing economic needs of the Palestinians. The Summit was co-chaired by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and President Bill Clinton of the United States of America and attended by a total of 27 Kings, Heads of State and Government, Crown Princes, foreign ministers and special envoys as well as Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The Government of Sudan has not yet complied with the demand of the Security Council to extradite to Ethiopia the three suspects wanted in connection with the assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, according to the Secretary-General. In a report, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the Sudanese Government maintains that the Ethiopian Government has not provided it with adequate information on which to base its search for the suspects. The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General Mr. Chinmaya Gharekhan visited the countries neighbouring the Sudan. A UN Spokesman said all the neighbouring countries visited by Mr. Gharekhan have accused the Sudan of supporting terrorist activities within their territory. The Secretary- General will continue to keep in contact with all parties concerned as well as with the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on this issue. Members of the Security Council have expressed regret at the death of a member of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Hussain of Bangladesh. Council President Legwaila Joseph Legwaila of Botswana said in a statement to the media, "members of the Security Council wish to extend their condolences to the Government of Bangladesh and the family of Colonel Hussain." The incident occurred on Saturday, in the Abkhazia region of Georgia when Colonel Hussainþs vehicle ran over an anti-tank mine. About 130 UN Observers are currently stationed in UNOMIG. The Security Council was briefed on Wednesday by Special Adviser Chinmaya Gharekhan on the political and security situation in Somalia. The political and security situation in Somalia has not improved and the humanitarian situation is getting worse. A UN Spokesman said there was evidence that malnutrition and disease were once again emerging in areas which had shown significant improvement and the agencies were faced with a dilemma. Insecurity had increased the logistical difficulties and made delivery of assistance more expensive. They were having to resort more and more to airlifts to get assistance into some areas. At the same time, funding was drying up because donors appeared to be fed up with funding operations in Somalia, she said. In the former Yugoslavia, there are reports of the entry of federation police into Ilidza Tuesday accompanied by hundreds of Bosnians from Sarajevo and Karsen, according to a UN Spokesman. These are reported to be young thugs, many of whom looted and robbed Serb homes and resorted to intimidation of the few Serbs who remain in Ilidza. Field reports say despite the reinforced presence of the Implementation Force (IFOR), and the International Police Task Force (IPTF), intimidation, looting and harassment continued all Tuesday resulting in the UN International Police Task Force receiving a complaint every five minutes, the spokesman said. The situation in Grbavica, the last Serb suburb scheduled for take over remains tense due to armed Serbs roaming the area, robbing, looting and harassing. Nine buildings, including a school were burnt yesterday, the spokesman continued. There are round-the-clock patrols of both IPTF and IFOR which has somewhat alleviated the situation. However, there is no Serb police remaining. There is a need for the rediscovery of cities as places where people live, work and anchor their lives, and not only as "economic engines or physical monuments to wealth and development, according to the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In an opening statement to the second Asia- Pacific Urban Forum in Bangkok, Ms. Seiko Takahashi said the region was confronted by a metamorphosis rarely seen in human history. Ms. Takahashi drew attention to the anticipated urban transition by the year 2020, when the population of the Asia-Pacific region is expected to become predominantly urban, against a backdrop of rapid economic growth, the fastest, most massive urban population growth in history, and increasingly severe environmental impacts. The focus of discussions is a paper entitled "Living in Asian Cities: The impending crises". The United Nations University is co-sponsoring a Conference on The Fate of Democracy in the Era of Globalization at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. The 2-day event, beginning Thursday, will provide an opportunity for practitioners and academics to meet and explore the prospects for democracy in a period of increasing globalization. The Conference seeks to address a number of issues including, how we must think about democracy in a globalizing era; the prospects for democracy at the level of the nation-state in the years ahead; the potential for democracy in international organizations; and what roles can and should the United Nations play in democratization. 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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