DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 5 December 1995
Press Release
DH/2036
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS FOR: 5 December 1995
19951205 * Secretary-General cautions that peace is not simply the absence of war.* General Assembly demands Israel withdraw from occupied Syrian Golan.
* Agreement on conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks opens for signature.
* Tenth International Volunteers day is observed.
* United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Development Programme sign agreement for cooperation in capacity- building.
* Up to 1,500 animal breeds are at risk, FAO warns.
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Peace could only be achieved and consolidated through development and democratization, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali told an award ceremony in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire. Peace he said was not simply the absence of war. In his statement at the ceremony the Secretary-General said peace demanded solidarity and continuity, adding that the United Nations was an irreplaceable instrument for promoting peaceful relations among peoples. He said peace depended on the political will of States and on the dedication of all people of goodwill to its service. The Secretary-General pointed out that the world was now entering a new phase in history, saying the global society in which we live, required us to embrace a noble ideal of peace.
During the ceremony, former United States President Jimmy Carter and King Juan Carlos I of Spain were presented with UNESCO's 1994 Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for their efforts at reconciling peoples, States and nations.
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The General Assembly has demanded that Israel withdraw from all the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967. In a resolution adopted Monday afternoon, by a vote of 66 in favour to 2 against (Israel and the United States), with 79 abstentions, the Assembly determined once more that the continued occupation of that area and its de facto annexation constituted a stumbling block in the way of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East.
In another resolution adopted by a vote of 133 in favour to 1 against (Israel) with 11 abstentions, the Assembly determined that the decision of Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the holy city of Jerusalem was illegal and had no validity. The Assembly also deplored the transfer by some States of their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem in violation of Security Council resolutions.
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Twenty-five countries have signed an agreement on the conservation and management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. The Agreement -- entitled Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks -- will for the first time bind States to conserve and sustainably manage high-seas fisheries and to settle fishing disputes peacefully.
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in a statement to the Conference made on his behalf by the United Nations Legal Counsel Hans Corell, said the Agreement was significant and noteworthy in many aspects. While reinforcing the obligation of States to conserve and manage the fishery resources in a responsible manner in areas under their national jurisdiction and on the high seas, it called for effective enforcement on the high seas not only by the flag State, but also by non-flag States under certain circumstances. It was also noteworthy for its adoption of the "precautionary approach".
Conference Chairman Satya Nandan of Fiji said the Agreement, which contained principles that were on the cutting edge of fisheries management, was already having an impact in the work of regional fisheries organizations, and was being used in bilateral negotiations on fisheries management. In time, the treaty would help avert the major world fisheries crisis to which the world was headed.
The Agreement included ground-breaking provisions to ensure compatible conservation and management measures between high-seas areas and coastal zones under national jurisdiction. A major feature of the treaty was its "precautionary approach", by which States were obligated to act conservatively when there was doubt about the viability of stocks.
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The agreement was opened for signature at the special meeting of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and will enter into force 30 days after it has been signed by 30 countries.
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Today the Tenth International Volunteers day was observed. In a statement on the occasion, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the achievements of the United Nations over the last fifty years had been remarkable, but conflict and poverty still afflicted the international community, amid preoccupation with domestic issues and constraints. Only renewed acts of will and resolve on the part of States and of peoples could ensure that the goals of peace and prosperity for all were kept firmly in view.
Volunteering, the Secretary-General said was just such an act of will. Today in scores of countries, volunteers -- including several thousand United Nations Volunteers -- demonstrated this resolve by helping the United Nations build peace, affirm democracy, promote human rights, relieve suffering and work for sustainable human development.
Every community had its volunteers. It has never been more urgent that they come forward, as the gaps between the richer and poorer in terms of money, resources, technology and information threatened to widen rather than narrow, the Secretary concluded.
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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a partnership agreement in Washington. The partnership is to further strengthen collaboration between the two organizations in support of sustainable development efforts by their member countries.
The "Framework Agreement For Cooperation In Capacity-Building", signed by Elizabeth Dowdeswell, UNEP Executive Director and James Gustave Speth, UNDP Administrator, is the latest step in following up the commitment made by the two agency heads in April 1994 that their respective programmes work in closer collaboration.
The term "capacity-building" -- the processes and means for national governments and local communities to develop the skills and expertise needed to manage their environment and natural resources in a sustainable manner -- gained prominence at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992.
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Many of the world's farm animal breeds are disappearing at an alarming rate, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned. In it's new edition of the "World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity", the FAO said that globally, the state of animal genetic resources was worsening.
The report is based on information provided by 180 countries and was jointly sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and FAO. The first Watch List was published in 1993.
The greatest threat to domestic animal diversity is the highly specialized nature of modern livestock, according to the FAO. Breeds are categorized by the FAO as endangered if there are 1,000 or less breeding females, or 20 breeding males or less. If there are 100 or less breeding females or 5 or less breeding males, the breed is considered as critical. The FAO has called for better management to overcome the erosion of animal genetic resources.
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