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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-05-15United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSWednesday, May 15, 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 has expressed concern at the continued deterioration of the security situation in Burundi. In a Presidential statement, the Council has condemned any use of violence and emphasized its conviction that a lasting settlement of the situation in Burundi can only be found through peaceful means. Council President for May Ambassador Qin Huasun of China read the statement on behalf of Council members. Reiterating its full support for the ongoing efforts of former President Nyerere to facilitate negotiations and political dialogue, the Council called upon the parties to make full use of the upcoming meeting in Mwanza, Tanzania on 22 May 1996, to achieve progress towards national reconciliation. The Council also expressed support for the efforts of the Secretary- General, his Special Representative, the continued cooperation of the United Nations with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the European Union and other interested countries and organizations. Russia and the United Nations are working together for peace and security in many parts of the world, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros- Ghali said in an address to the State Duma in Moscow today. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Russia has been a major influence in the Organization ever since its founding, he added. The Secretary-General recalled numerous examples of Russia's contribution to the work of the United Nations, including in the area of international peace-keeping. He said that Russia had met all its obligations to the United Nations, as far as the regular budget and welcomed the Russian Federation's payment plan regarding outstanding Russian assessments for the peace-keeping operations. He thanked Russia "for what you have been doing to support the cooperative work of Russia and the United Nations". "I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the toll taken by the tornado that struck Northern Bangladesh on Monday", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has said in a cable to the President of Bangladesh, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. Dr. Boutros-Ghali assured President Abdur Rahman Biswas of Bangladesh that the United Nations system stood ready to assist in alleviating the hardship that has resulted from the tragedy. He extended his deepest sympathy to the President and people of Bangladesh, particularly those who have suffered losses. Meanwhile, the Department of Humanitarian Assistance (DHA) has allocated $100,000 from emergency funds to help victims of the tornado, Spokesman Foa said. She also said that DHA has confirmed 425 deaths, 22,900 homes damaged and thousands of people injured. Donor-support was being sought for an emergency appeal, she added. The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) yesterday assumed control of the Djelatovci oil fields, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. UNTAES expects the oil fields, which have been shut down since 19 April, to resume production soon. Transitional Administrator Jacques Klein has characterized the transfer of authority as an important step toward restoring the production of petroleum products for the local population and for creating a sense of public order and security in the region, the Spokesman said. The family has had to adapt to both rapid and far-reaching global change affecting not only the material condition of humankind but also values and beliefs, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has said in his message on the International Day of Families. What the family can offer its members in economic, social and spiritual support is changing, and what members expert from the family also is changing, he said. The Secretary-General noted that this 15 May, in the year that is being observed as the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, and on the eve of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) to be held next month in Istanbul, it was fitting that the featured theme for the International Day of Families was "Families -- victims of poverty and homelessness". Observance of the International Day of Families provides governments and civil society at large with an opportunity to examine their respective actions; to consider what measures might promote the adaptation of families to new conditions; and to make it possible for families to provide the support their members need and expect. Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 47/237 of 20 September 1993, the annual event is being observed for the third time this year. At United Nations Headquarters, a panel discussion was held to mark the occasion. The Department of Public Information is being urged to direct its efforts at redressing the imbalance whereby 75 per cent of the mass media is controlled by the developed countries. Noting that the imbalance impacted on the cultural identity of States, the representative of Jordan Fuad A. Bataineh called for a new and more just information order to be established to counter the influence of the world media. He was speaking as the Committee on Information concluded its general debate yesterday. The representative of Syria Ahmed Al-Hariri said information should not be used to damage the beliefs of other peoples. The Conference on Disarmament was urged to continue the negotiations for a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty as it began the second part of its 1996 session in Geneva, yesterday. The Minister of External Relations of Brazil, Luiz Felipe Lampreia, said the only viable way to confront the dangers posed by nuclear stockpiles was for the world to work towards the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. He noted that the welcome change several years ago in the relationship between the world's two main nuclear Powers had not led to the abolition of their huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. David Davis, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, said a test-ban would be a genuine sacrifice for the United Kingdom, as it would limit the capability of all nuclear-weapons States to develop new weapons and to modernize their existing stocks. But that was a price worth paying, he added. States which have refused or neglected to ratify the basic rights and instruments embodying human rights protections, regimes which deny their citizens basic freedoms, countries which prevent debate about human rights, within their own borders, commit acts of genocide or ethnic cleansing, should all be on notice that they live in a climate which will increasingly hold them responsible for their actions, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala Lasso, told the commencement class of 1996 of Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in New York. Whatever hopes some may have for impunity are futile, he said. The High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that traditionally, there were three human rights basic principles - defining standards, promoting them and protecting them against violations. He said that he wanted to introduce a fourth standard - accountability. Accountability was the sum total of all efforts to make a complete and accurate record, and to hold countries and individuals responsible for failing with respect to the other three principles. The World Food Programme (WFP) says it has started feeding the more than 2, 000 mainly Liberian refugees from the Nigerian freighter Bulk Challenge, who were finally allowed to disembark at the Ghanaian port of Takoradi on Tuesday. Ramesh Gupta, WFP's Country Director in Ghana, said the Agency had sufficient stocks to feed the refugees for four months. WFP says it is also providing food for some 1,000 refugees of the Victory Reefer, which was allowed to berth in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday. Meanwhile, escalating fighting in Monrovia has led to thousands of Liberians flocking to Monrovia port in an attempt to flee the violence, according to WFP. The Agency has been providing relief food aid to over 800, 000 Liberians and Sierra Leonian refugees in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Ghana since early 1990. 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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