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United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-01-28United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSTuesday, 28 January 1997This 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 UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for a further period of six months, until 31 July 1997. Unanimously adopting resolution 1095 (1997), Tuesday, the Council reiterated its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognised boundaries. The Council condemned all acts of violence committed in particular against UNIFIL and urged the parties to put an end to them. In a Presidential statement following the Council's action, the Council President, Ambassador Hisashi Owada of Japan reiterated the Council's full support for the Taif Agreement and for the continued efforts of the Lebanese Government to consolidate peace, national unity and security in the country, while successfully carrying out the reconstruction process. He said the Council commended the Lebanese Government for its successful effort to extend its authority in the south of the country in full coordination with UNIFIL. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Tuesday announced new appointments of senior United Nations officials. The appointments were based on the need to bring new talent into the Organisation, the need to recognise performance by promoting staff from within the Secretariat and the need to retain competent and experienced people to ensure continuity, according to the newly appointed Spokesman of the Secretary-General, Fred Eckhard. The Secretary-General re-appointed the following officials as Under- Secretaries-General: Nitin Desai (India) Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), Yongjian Jin (China) Department of Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS), Yasushi Akashi (Japan) Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), Joseph Connor (USA) Department of Administration and Management (DAM), Hans Correll (Sweden) Office of Legal Affairs (OLA). New appointees at the Under-Secretary-General level include Bernard Miyet (France) Department of Peace-keeping Operations (DPKO), Sir Kieran Prendergast (UK) Department of Political Affairs (DPA), Iqbal Riza (Pakistan) Chef de Cabinet. The Spokesman announced that Chinmaya Gharekhan and Lansana Kouyate will be offered new assignments. Re-appointments at the Assistant Secretary-General level are Alvaro de Soto (Peru) Department of Political Affairs (DPA), Manfred Eisele (Germany) Department of Peace-keeping Operations (DPKO), Denis Halliday (Ireland) Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), Samir Sanbar (Lebanon) Department of Public Information (DPI), Benon Sevan (Cyprus) Office of Conference and Support Services (OCSS), Jean-Claude Aime (Haiti) UN Compensation Commission (UNCC). The new appointments at the Assistant Secretary-General level include Angela King (Jamaica) Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (DPCSD), Hedi Annabi (Tunisia) Department of Peace- keeping Operations (DPKO), Jean-Pierre Halbwachs (Mauritius), Controller, Gillian Sorensen (USA), External Relations. The Secretary-General accepted the resignations of several senior officials and had conveyed to them his deep appreciation for their services to the United Nations, the Spokesman said. The officials are: Rosario Green, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, Ismat Kittani, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General; Jean-Claude Milleron, Under- Secretary-General in the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA), Joseph Reed, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Public Affairs, Yukio Takasu, Assistant Secretary- General, Controller. UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, Monday instructed his Special Representative for Cyprus, Professor Han Sung-Joo, to discuss with the leaders of the Cypriot communities preparations for face-to-face talks in the coming months, according to the Spokesman of the Secretary- General, Fred Eckhard. The Special Representative left Tuesday for a two-week visit to Cyprus and the region. "The heightened tensions in and around Cyprus have added urgency to the Secretary-General's determination to intensify his efforts to address the substance of the Cyprus issue and achieve an overall political settlement in the course of this year," the Spokesman said. The Joint United Nations/Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Special Representative for Great Lakes Region of Africa, Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun says the prospects of peace in the region are slim due to the proliferation of small arms in the area and the hostilities among the leaders of the region. Addressing UN correspondents Tuesday, following discussions with the Security Council, Ambassador Sahnoun said serious incidents were still occurring in the region although the world media had shifted its focus from the area. He added that the massive return of refugees to Rwanda from eastern Zaire and Tanzania, while a welcome development, could constitute a time bomb if the hopes for resettlement, reintegration and for the democratic process are dashed. The Special representative underlined the humanitarian tragedy in eastern Zaire, where some 400,000 refugees were trapped between the Zairian army and rebel forces. His priority, he said, would be to reassess the situation and work with all the parties concerned in order to bring about a political dialogue. Efforts to address the effects of United Nations sanctions on third States must preserve the overall effectiveness of sanctions regimes and uphold the primary responsibility of the Security Council for maintaining international peace and security, the representative of the Netherlands told the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organisation. Speaking for the European Union and Associated States on the implementation of provisions of the United Nations Charter on Assistance to Sanctions- affected Third States, the representative said the Committee should also consider measures to address the problems such States might face as a result of the implementation of sanctions. The definition of the methodology for assessing the consequences actually incurred by third States should also be considered, he said. Earlier, the Chairman of the Special Committee called on the Committee to identify new items for discussion, particularly areas in which it could offer legal expertise. He said that due to fundamental political changes since the end of the cold war, as well as efforts to reform and revitalise the United Nations, there existed in the world a new environment to which the Committee must adapt. While significant steps had been taken for the advancement of women in the Philippines, the social conditions continued to pose challenges to the Government, the representative of the Philippines told the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The representative said that despite decreasing unemployment and declining poverty, the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line was a serious concern. The Chairperson of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women emphasised that women suffered the most from the effects of poverty, which hit rural women particularly hard. Because of scarce job opportunities, many Filipino women were forced to seek employment overseas where they were exposed to exploitation, abuse and maltreatment. The Filipino delegation outlined government efforts to deal with the problem of migrant women workers by providing new employment opportunities in the country and protecting the rights of those who chose to work abroad. In 1994, 60 per cent of deployed overseas Filipino workers were women, the Committee heard. Convoys carrying urgently needed UN relief supplies were heading to groups of displaced people and others living in precarious conditions close to both of Afghanistan's active frontline areas, the UN Coordinating Agency, UNOCHA, said Monday. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) monitors in Kabul, some 90,000 people displaced by fighting, forced evacuations and other military activities, have entered the city over the past three weeks. More than half the city's population is believed to be partly or wholly dependent on UN, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross assistance. The Global Environment Outlook report released by the UN Environment Programme, Monday, has concluded that five years after the groundbreaking "Earth Summit" at Rio de Janeiro, "the global environment has continued to deteriorate and significant environmental problems remain deeply embedded in the socio-economic fabric of nations in all regions". The report singled out worldwide progress in the realm of institutional development, international cooperation, public participation and the emergence of private-sector action as an indicator of growing environmental awareness. The report noted that legal frameworks, economic instruments, environmental impact assessment methodologies, environmentally sound technologies and cleaner production processes were being increasingly developed and applied. "As a result, several countries reported marked progress in curbing environmental pollution and slowing the rate resource degradation, as well as reducing the intensity of resource use", the report states. Earlier, the Executive Director of UNEP, Elizabeth Dowdeswell said the battle for a healthy environment was still under way and far from being won. In her opening remarks to the nineteenth Governing Council session in Nairobi, Monday, Ms. Dowdeswell said that what was at stake was the environmental conscience of the United Nations; the organisation uniquely positioned to respond to the environmental needs and aspirations of countries north, south, east and west. The United Nations CyberSchoolBus, an educational programme of the Department of Public Information (DPI) on the World Wide Web, has launched a discussion area for all Model United Nations participants and organisations worldwide. The Model United Nations Discussion Area (MUNDA) is the first project of this sort, allowing tens of thousands of students in high school and college to exchange information and share experience through the Internet. Until the arrival of MUNDA there had been no common forum for students across the numerous model United Nations organisations. Although many model United Nations organisations have their own World Wide Web page, they dedicate that space to registration information and links to resources. The new discussion area MUNDA will be hosted on the CyberSchoolBus site and is available at the following URL: http://www.un.org/pubs/cyperschoolbus/munda. 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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