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United Nations Daily Highlights 96-09-18United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSWednesday, September 18, 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 advance in new information technologies remains, to a large extent, a feature of the developed world, and has done little to "enhance our understanding of the problems and challenges facing the developing world, according to UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Addressing the Dag Hammarskjold Memorial Scholarship luncheon on Tuesday, the Secretary-General said at a time of globalisation, that was unprecedented in human history, the knowledge of the average citizen about serious world affairs was diminished. "We sit in what is perhaps the media capital of the world, but we face a daily struggle to ensure that our message is heard and reported fairly and accurately," Dr. Boutros-Ghali said, adding that the challenge was to "do all we can to convince both the public and the publishers that these times demand knowledge beyond the immediate and the sensational". "We can help to create the kind of informed, engaged and inquiring society that the next century will need," the Secretary-General concluded. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General on Wednesday opened an exhibition, which chronicles the life and works of Dag Hammarskjold, a former Secretary- General of the United Nations who died in a plane crash during a mission of peace in Africa. The exhibition entitled "Markings and Milestones", traces Dag Hammarskjold's childhood in Uppsala, Sweden; his career as a distinguished civil servant in Sweden and his years as UN Secretary- General. Dr. Boutros-Ghali said Dag Hammarskjold was for many the epitome of a United Nations Secretary-General. "As a youthful Organisation was still finding its place in world affairs, he (Hammarskjold) demonstrated the creative, often decisive role it could play in responding to crises and in otherwise fulfilling the goals of the Charter," Dr. Boutros-Ghali said. Dag Hammarskjold, in 1961, was awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the situation in Tajikistan had deteriorated in the last three months and the agreements reached in Ashgabat last July, had not been met. In a progress report to the Security Council on the comprehensive political settlement of the conflict and on the operations of the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT), the Secretary-General said a tense situation existed on the Tajik-Afghan border, and in addition to heavy fighting in the Tavildara sector, military confrontations intensified in the Karategin valley and the Garm district. "These developments, which contradict the stated intentions of the Tajik parties to resolve the conflict through political means, are a cause of serious concern", the Secretary-General stated, adding that hostilities must cease immediately. Dr. Boutros-Ghali stated that in the present circumstances, it was imperative to resume the political dialogue. He said that an inter-agency mission would be despatched to Tajikistan to help determine how the United Nations system may respond most effectively to the situation in that country. Growth in the world economy would not exceed last year's rate of 2.4 per cent despite the continued buoyance of world trade, according to a forecast by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Agency, in its Trade and Development Report for 1996, noted that the output for the developing countries was again brighter than for the developed world. It said that depression was a looming threat to globalisation and world economic growth. The report, released on Wednesday, explores the interaction of trends in the international economy with the prospects of developing countries. It compares current economic performance with that of the preceding years and examines future economic prospects at the regional and global levels. "As foreseen in last year's report, the growth of world output slowed from 2.8% in 1994 to 2.4% in 1995. According to UNCTAD, these growth rates disappointed official expectations that the world economy was entering a new era of sustained market-driven growth in excess of 3% which would allow unemployment in the North to be lowered and average per capita income in the South raised. It found that among major economies, only the United States continued to enjoy one of its longest recoveries in postwar history and was a star performer among developed economies, with growth expected to increase to 2.2 per cent in 1996. Growth in Africa exceeded that of developed countries in 1995 and posted a decade-high rate of 2.8 per cent. It was expected to further increase to 3.1 per cent this year. The report, however, warns that the outlook for East and South East Asia was not all rosy, noting that the export growth appeared to be faltering in 1996, in part due to emergence of new competitors. The UN Secretariat would defer action on the involuntary separation of staff to achieve overall savings of $154 million from the 1996/97 budget, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor, told the General Assembly as it met to conclude its fiftieth session. Mr. Connor said that the separations would be deferred until the Assembly had considered the Secretary-General's report on how to achieve the mandated savings. In the meantime, efforts to find appropriate placements for the affected staff would continue, he said. In other developments, the General Assembly has approved financing for several peace-keeping missions. It authorised the Secretary-General to commit approximately $10 million to finance the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), UN Peace Forces in the former Yugoslavia (UNPF), and the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL). The Department of Public Information (DPI) will launch the new UN Home Page on the Internet World Wide Web. The improved UN Website contains a redesigned Home Page, as well as a host of completely new information materials set up under five thematic categories: Peace and Security, Economic and Social Development, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. A series of quick access points will lead the user to detailed information on a number of topics including the various organs of the United Nations, News, Documents, and Audio-visual Services. In addition, a hot-linked map of UN Websites around the world will provide connections to UN Offices and Agencies in various locations such as Geneva, Paris, Vienna, Tokyo among others. United Nations News and Documents are available online with many of the DPI Press Releases including the Daily Highlights available online before the printed version. The Daily Journal and Daily list of Documents are also featured on the Website. The Publications and Sales area has been augmented to include detailed listings of available Sales publications, as well as placing orders online. More maps, statistical data and cross-links make the entire site more organized and user- friendly. In order to maximise online connect-time for users, efforts have been made to downsize graphics wherever possible. Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Alvaro de Soto will meet in San Salvador with President Armando CalderĒn Sol and other officials of El Salvador in order to review progress in the implementation of the 1992 peace accords, Spokesman for the Secretary- General Sylvana Foa said. His mission is in the context of the responsibilities undertaken by the United Nations to verify the implementation of all peace accords. A senior official of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in North Iraq has met with Massud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa said. Mr. Barzani gave the United Nations assurances that it would be able to deliver humanitarian assistance without impediment, and urged the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) to stay in North Iraq, according to the Spokesman. DHA was also informed that eighty NGO representatives have also met with local authorities in North Iraq who provided similar assurances, the Spokesman added. DHA officials in North Iraq said tensions appeared to be decreasing, people were reported to be returning to their homes and the number of internally displaced was estimated below 20,000. Cameroon has ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa said. Being the sixty- fourth country to ratify the Convention, only one more ratification was needed before the Convention entered into force, which would take place one hundred and eighty days after the sixty-fifth country ratified the Convention, she added. Calling for a united stand against hunger, marathon runners around the world are signing up to support the goals of the World Food Summit to be convened by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at its headquarters in Rome, Italy from 13 to 17 November. Twenty-one marathons, including, New York, Durban, Montreal and Machu Picchu in Peru have announced support for the Summit, which would focus the world's attention on ways to ensure freedom from hunger, the most fundamental of human rights. The Marathoners Appeal states that "we believe that the objective of the Summit...can and should be promoted by everyone. Only by working together to find solutions can we ensure adequate access to food for all." 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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