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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-03-29United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday , 29 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
Regretting that insufficient progress had been achieved during the inter- Tajik talks in Ashgabad, the Security Council has called upon the Tajik parties to accelerate substantially their efforts to reach an agreement. In a statement today read out by its President, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila of Botswana, the Council said such agreement should be based on the Protocol on the fundamental principles for establishing peace and national accord in Tajikistan of 17 August 1995. The Council urged the Tajik parties to negotiate constructively and to search for solutions on the basis of mutual concessions and compromises, the statement said. In addition, it appealed to the Tajik parties to comply strictly with all their obligations undertaken under the Tehran cease-fire agreement of 17 September 1994. It also expressed concern at the ongoing fighting in the Tavildara region. Acknowledging the extension of the cease-fire by the parties for a further three months until 26 May 1996, the Council supported the Secretary- General's appeal to extend it for the duration of the inter-Tajik talks. Members of the Council reiterated the importance of direct political dialogue between the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and the leader of the Islamic Revival Movement of Tajikistan (IRMT). The United Nations will pave the way for easing tensions between the two Koreas, Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali told President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea at a meeting in Chong Wa Dae or Blue House in Seoul. The Secretary-General also said the UN was ready to assist rapprochement through the implementation of projects that would encourage dialogue - such as the Tumen Area Development Programme which involves major investment in rail, road and port infrastructures in the region. They also discussed the global dimensions of terrorism and the growing links between terrorists and international narcotics traffickers. Later, during a luncheon toast, Dr. Boutros-Ghali also said that a reunified Korea will have an even greater impact on the world and hoped that the two Korean States will be represented in the UN as one. UN Spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said, President Kim stated there were currently 1.7 million armed forces confronting each other on the Korean Peninsula and emphasized that stability in Northeast Asia was the most urgent task in support of world peace. In the evening, the Secretary-General was honored at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, where he received the Great World Peace Award from the Oughtopia Peace Foundation. Dr. Boutros-Ghali is the first recipient of the award which recognizes great achievements in the promotion of world peace, security and the betterment of human welfare. Earlier, at a dinner hosted by the UN Association of the Republic of Korea and the Federation of Industries, the Secretary- General had called that country, "the summa cum laude graduate of the school of development". In addition, he noted that, this year, the Republic of Korea's voluntary contributions to UN programmes had increased by over 65 per cent. A Trust Fund has been established by the Secretary-General to finance activities aimed at promoting confidence-building measures and at preventing further armed conflicts in Central Africa. UN Spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said today that it will be formally known as the Trust Fund for the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa. It was set up in December 1995 at the request of the General Assembly, to raise additional resources on a voluntary basis to implement the work of the Committee. The eleven members of the Committee, who will be the beneficiaries of the Fund are: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe and Zaire. Members of the Committee will establish units specialized in peace operations within their respective armed forces and will participate in such operations within the framework either of the UN or the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The International Commission of Inquiry should be provided with adequate means, mandate and strength to avoid an eventual conflagration in the Great Lakes region, according to a letter from the Government of Rwanda addressed to President of the Security Council. Due to the Commission's weak mandate, the role that some countries have played and continue to play in rearming the former Rwandese Armed Forces have not been adequately portrayed, the letter says. In addition, the Government of Rwanda makes recommendations to the Council which include calling on all Governments to cooperate fully with the Commission of Inquiry concerning the allegations made by many non-governmental organizations. It also calls for the ending of recruiting Zairian troops to monitor the Rwanda arms embargo in Zaire, since a party to a dispute can not be a mediator to it. In addition, Zaire should live up to its commitments made under the Tunis Declaration, by providing the Commission with full and free access to its territory, the letter states. At the same time, the Security Council should look into the role of Zaire in providing shelter and protection to the Rwandese Army Forces. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was created by the General Assembly in August 1994 to be a credible, effective and permanent system for oversight of United Nations operations, its Under-Secretary-General, Karl Theodore Paschke said during his general overview of his Office at a press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Office performed audits of various UN departments, carried out evaluations and conducted inspections, he said. At least two sizeable reports a year dealt with the functioning of particular departments of the UN. The recently released reports on UNCTAD and the Centre for Human Rights were inspection reports. The Office further worked to address possible cases of wrongdoing reported to it by a number of sources. However, it only made findings and offered recommendations since it had no executive power. Corrective action had to be taken by the managers themselves or by UN executive authorities. The intent of the Office was to help the departments rather than frighten them, he said. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, James Gustave Speth, and the President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo have agreed on new programmes for environment and poverty in that country. During their meeting in Mexico city, where a UNDP regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean is underway, they said the new initiatives will help the country strengthen its foreign relations, especially with Central American countries. New areas of environmental work will include anti- decertification programmes, coastal management and marine resources as well as guarding bio- diversity. In the past five years, the total UNDP support for the region, was $2.3 billion. The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Federico Mayor, has travelled to the village of Ntarama in Rwanda where some of the worst massacres occurred during the country's 1994 civil strife. He announced that UNESCO would help set up a vocational training centre for the village's young people and would give financial support for the construction of schools planed for "peace villages" in the region. Mr. Mayor will visit Sarajevo this weekend to inaugurate a second phase of assistance aimed at rebuilding democratic and multicultural institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 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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