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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-05-31United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSFriday, May 31, 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 decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) until 31 August 1996. Unanimously adopting resolution 1059 (1996), the Council expressed grave concern at the collapse of the cease-fire, the resumption of hostilities and the spread of fighting into the previously safe area of Monrovia and its environs. The Council demanded that once more the factions in Liberia strictly respect the status of UNOMIL and the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) personnel. It also called upon the Liberian parties to implement fully and expeditiously all arrangements and commitments they have already entered into, in particular the Abuja Agreement. "Just as there is beneficial globalization, there also is a criminal globalization" such as "the traffic in illegal drugs, terrorism - - and the laundering of money generated by these nefarious activities" as well as "the globalization of environmental degradation," Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said in a statement delivered at the Centre for Strategic Studies in Ankara. All these activities were related and entailed the weakening of State control and fragmentation of States and societies, the rise of violence and the marginalization of groups in the globalized economy. To break the trends would require global awareness, global commitment, and global action, he added. Dr. Boutros-Ghali said the world was not powerless; it had at its disposal "an instrument which has been carefully prepared for 50 years to deal with the various strains of globalization". That instrument was "the United Nations", which was responsive both to the needs of State sovereignty and to the increasing welfare needs of the world population. He said the Organization should be strengthened. It was waiting to be used as it was designed to be used, he added. The Secretary-General also met with the President of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel, yesterday. He said that he hoped the "oil-for-food" agreement signed between the United Nations and Iraq last week would help overcome the crisis of confidence between Iraq and members of the Security Council. President Demirel said that his country was urging Iraq to implement the other relevant Security Council resolutions so that it might rejoin the international community. He called the "oil-for-food" deal a step in the right direction because it would alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali proposed a toast at a banquet hosted by President Demirel, in Ankara. He noted that Turkey was one of the 51 founding Members of the Organization. Dr. Boutros-Ghali also proposed a toast at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of Turkey in Ankara. He emphasized the important role Turkey played in the work of the United Nations, particularly regarding the country's contribution towards for the Organization's humanitarian and peace-keeping efforts. The Department of Humanitarian Affairs has launched a consolidated, inter- agency appeal for $101 million for humanitarian assistance programmes in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, according to UN Spokesman Sylvanna Foa. The funds were needed desperately to address the most urgent humanitarian needs of refugees, internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups, she said. Only 60 per cent of the total needs of the Caucasus were met last year, the Spokesman added. One more United Nations Member State has paid its assessed contributions to the 1996 regular budget of the United Nations, a UN Spokesman said. Eritrea has paid $108,770 in full and the contribution brings the total to 66 Member States and two non-member states that have so far paid their 1996 regular budget assessments. To identify the main challenges for the next century in education, science, culture and communications, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has organized the Inter- Parliamentary Conference on Education, Science, Culture and Communication on the Eve of the 21st Century, scheduled for 3 - 6 June, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Some 65 countries were already registered for the conference, organized jointly by UNESCO and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organization of parliamentarians. A draft declaration, committing States to move urgently to combat multiple forms of organised transnational crime was considered by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at the concluding meeting of its two week session in Vienna today. The declaration was to enable States to combat the growing threats to socio- economic development, political stability and the internal and external security of states caused by the rising crime levels around the world. The Commission also considered more than 12 proposals, among them one asking States to be polled on the feasibility of establishing an international court on the environment as a means of prosecuting transborder activities that seriously harm the environment or public health has been approved. The agreed proposal recommends an array of measures to explore the use of criminal law to protect the environment. Other agreed proposals include measures to ensure that all forms of violence against women are prescribed by law, an international code of conduct for public officials and to promote its use by Governments, and a draft resolution enabling the United Nations to continue compiling a multi- country survey of issues related to firearms ownership and regulation. In an effort to explore ways of strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to provide concrete services to requesting States, the Commission considered setting up a working group on technical cooperation and assistance issues. Another draft considered by the Commission called for the preparation of a draft manual on the application of the General Assembly's 1985 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of crime and abuse of power. A trilingual health education book underscoring the commitment of UNESCO to tobacco-free sports and culture by observing World No-Tobacco Day has been published. Observed every year on 31 May, the theme this year is "Sport and the arts without tobacco." "UNESCO's concern for human health is primarily linked to its responsibility for international cooperation in education," according to the UNESCO Director-General, Federico Mayor. "It shapes us as individuals and as societies, helping to determine what we are and what we aspire to become. It is a means to empowerment -to taking our destiny into our own hands in order to lead a prosperous and happy life," he said. The new illustrated book targets children aged eight to thirteen warning them of the dangers of tobacco. UNESCO is also distributing a 24-page booklet, outlining world-wide trends in tobacco consumption and mortality and showing how some countries are dealing with the problem of tobacco advertising in sport and the arts. 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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