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Monday, 23 December 2024
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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-08-19United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, August 19, 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
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has welcomed the easing of tension that had arisen between Eritrea and Yemen, the Secretary- General's Spokesman Ahmad Fawzi announced today. The two countries had been engaged in a dispute over the Lesser Hanish islands in the Red Sea. He added that the Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Francis Gutmann of France for his mediating efforts between Eritrea and Yemen. "His efforts with those of Egypt, Ethiopia...the Security Council and the Secretariat have led to Yemen refraining from the use of force and Eritrea making a commitment to withdraw from the Lesser Hanish Island. The Secretary-General hopes that the agreement that was signed in Paris on 21 May of this year...will continue to guide the two parties in the settlement of their dispute," the Spokesman said. Cuba would not oppose the draft treaty on the comprehensive nuclear test- ban at this point, as it felt that the prohibition of nuclear explosions was extremely important and constitutes a step, albeit a modest one, in the process of nuclear disarmament, a representative of Cuba told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Blaming the lack of consensus on the text of a draft comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty on the attitude of certain nuclear powers, Cuba and Iran, however, said that they did not rule out an ultimate agreement. The representative of Cuba, Eumelio Caballero, said his country deeply regretted that the panel negotiating the draft treaty, the Conference's Ad Hoc Committee on a comprehensive nuclear test ban, had not been able to produce a consensus document due to the intransigence of certain nuclear powers. This attitude, he said, was based on the refusal of those powers to accept the placing of the treaty within the context of nuclear non- proliferation and disarmament; to commit to achieving nuclear disarmament within a time- bound framework; and to guarantee that the qualitative development of nuclear weapons would not be pursued. It appeared that the Ad Hoc Committee would not be able to present a consensus text to the Conference although consensus could be reached with small changes in the document, said Sirous Nasseri, a representative of Iran. He, however, noted that a unilateral decision by some nuclear powers to block any changes had given rise to an impasse. Among the changes proposed by Iran was the removal of Israel from the list of States in the Middle East and South Asia that would form part of the executive council of the organisation to be established to oversee the application of a comprehensive treaty. The Conference is working to conclude a draft treaty for submission to the forthcoming session of the General Assembly for signature. The Assembly of the International Seabed Authority on Friday approved the Authority's 1997 budget of $4,150,500 following a recommendation by the Council. It also authorised the Authority to request Observer Status at the United Nations and apply for membership in the United Nations Joint staff Pension Fund. Following a lengthy discussion, the Assembly decided that the question of a draft protocol on the privileges and immunities of the International Seabed Authority should remain on its agenda and asked the secretariat to study the matter further. The meeting also noted that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea intended to seek observer status in the authority. The draft statute of the proposed international criminal court should forge a compromise regarding the hearing of guilty pleas, the Preparatory Committee on the establishment of the court was told on Friday. The meeting heard that the expedience of accepting guilty pleas and abbreviating court proceedings was balanced in discussions against the need to ensure that pleas were not entered under duress or with a view to concealing other facts under consideration. The representatives also discussed the possibility of closed sessions of the court for the purpose of protecting confidential or sensitive information, as well as the rights of accused persons. Noting that the use of a guilty plea pertained only to common law, the representative of Argentina proposed a system in which suspects could acknowledge the truth of evidence presented against them, after which the trial chamber could decide whether to make an accelerated determination of guilt or innocence, or to proceed with a full trial. Syria has become the 85th Member State to pay its assessed contribution to the UN regular budget in full. The country paid just over $540,000., the Secretary-General's Spokesman announced today. The UN, according to the Spokesman, is still owed $2.9 billion by member States, of which $2.1 billion is for the peacekeeping budget and $800 million for the regular budget. 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 |
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