United Nations Daily Highlights, 97-01-22

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

DAILY HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, 22 January 1997

HEADLINES

• Key issues of Georgian/Abkhaz peace process remain unresolved, UN Secretary-General says in report to Security Council.
• Unconditional cooperation with International Tribunal is imperative, senior UN official says.
• There is need for further national efforts to improve women's political participation in Slovenia, Women's Anti-Discrimination Committee hears.
• Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Convention to Combat Desertification suspends tenth session; agrees to reconvene in Geneva during August.
• Conference on Disarmament opens 1997 session in Geneva; deliberations expected to mark new phase.
• UNESCO's Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize awarded to Guatemalan President and to Guerrilla leader.

In his report to the Security Council concerning the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, the Secretary-General recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), stating that both sides had recently reaffirmed their desire for a political solution.

Noting that the desirability of a political solution has also been underlined in the increasingly frequent direct contacts between the two parties, the Secretary-General appealed to both sides to intensify the search for a peaceful solution by further expanding their bilateral contacts. "In the end it is the parties to the conflict who have to make peace," he said.

Outlining various possibilities for reviving the role of the United Nations in the peace process, the Secretary-General called for United Nations-led expert meetings at the local level.

"Such meetings could cover fields such as energy, transportation and communications. Such discussions would help the parties to recognise their common interest in building a strong economic and social base throughout Georgia," he said. Another possibility, the Secretary-General said, would be to resume United Nations-led negotiations on the future political status of Abkhazia within the territorial integrity of Georgia.

Replying to the Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in response to a letter from the President of the Serb Republic which argued that Dr. Karadzic and General Mladic should not be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal, the UN Legal Counsel said the Tribunal, as the representative of the international community as a whole, was a guarantee of an independent, impartial and fair trial for all accused individuals.

"The Statute of the International Tribunal and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence by which it is bound, are an expression of the highest standards of human rights and due process of law, and a built-in guarantee for the rights of the accused," the Legal Counsel said.

The delegation of Slovenia was responding to questions put forward by the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the monitoring body of the only United Nations Treaty that deals exclusively with women's rights.

Slovenia had only been independent for five years, she told the Committee experts, and quotas for political participation were now associated with the socialist period of Government. They had been used to determine representation on various political bodies, but , unfortunately, the real decision-making power was concentrated in the hands of a few strong personalities.

In addition, democratisation reopened the door to traditional and conservative values, which once again had gained credibility and become socially acceptable.

Earlier, the Committee heard that the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was doing everything possible to ensure that the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women became part of its legislation, the Coordinator of that country's Department of Women's Affairs, Jeanie Ollivierre, told the Committee.

Addressing the high rates of female migration and youth unemployment, Ms. Ollivierre said women migrated more than men because it was easier for them to find jobs in the tourist and service industries and as cooks and nannies for American and Canadian families.

She said a national committee against violence had been set up and, although there were no shelters, both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence were referred to relatives or friends, a practical solution, given the country's population of only 100,000.

The Global mechanism was established by the Convention to mobilise and channel financial resources for the execution of projects under the treaty.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was formally adopted on 17 June 1994, and came into force on 26 December 1996. It had been signed by 115 countries and ratified by 62 States.

In an innovative approach, the Convention recognizes the physical, biological and socio-economic aspects of desertification. It also recognizes the importance of redirecting technology transfer so that it is demand-driven; and the importance of local involvement in the preparation of national programmes.

After two-and-a-half years of negotiations, culminating in the drafting of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) adopted by the General Assembly last September, the Conference was ready to focus increased attention on other issues on the international disarmament agenda.

The choice was announced at UNESCO Headquarters on Tuesday by Jury President Henry Kissinger, former United States Secretary of State and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Mr. Kissinger said the jury had taken the "unprecedented step" of honouring both the president and the guerilla leader "who with international sanction agreed to end their civil war".

The jury expressed the hope that this would be "the model that should be followed everywhere where civil and ethnic conflicts are causing such enormous human suffering", Dr. Kissinger said.

From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: [email protected]

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