The CIVITAS Palermo World Congress, which will showcase "the Palermo experience" and draw world attention to civic education for promoting democracy and a culture of lawfulness, will be held in that Italian city from 18 to 22 June, it was announced at a Headquarters press conference Thursday afternoon.
Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, based in Vienna, this afternoon briefed correspondents about activities undertaken by the Office since the special session of the General Assembly on the World Drug Problem held in June 1998.
Urging international assistance for the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG), the sub-regional peacekeeping force operating in Sierra Leone, Olara Otunnu, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said today that he remained hopeful about the long-term prospects of the country.
A press conference on the impact of ageing populations worldwide on housing and how the public sector was being challenged to improve their general living conditions was given at Headquarters this morning by three experts who participated in a just-ended international conference on the subject.
The military build-up over the last few months in Ethiopia and Eritrea had reached such proportions that the world could soon be witnessing the first high-tech war in Africa, Mohamed Sahnoun, Special Envoy of the Secretary- General in Africa, said during a press briefing this afternoon at Headquarters.
The 1999 Peace and Cooperation School Award, sponsored by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Spain and the United States, was launched this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference sponsored by Spain. The contest will draw entries from students and educators around the world, based on the theme "The right to a culture of peace and non-violence".
At the conclusion of two days of intensive talks on East Timor, the Secretary-General's Personal Representative, Jamsheed Marker, the Foreign Minister of Portugal, Jaime Gama, and the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Ali Alatas, briefed the press Monday evening at Headquarters.
At a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2000, the world would be examined, after five years, on their efforts to put social concerns at the centre of their economic policies, Ambassador Aurelio Fernandez (Spain), Chairman of the Commission for Social Development, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning.
