Go Between 63, April-May 1997



UN NEWS



UN SECRETARY-GENERAL UNVEILS REFORMS

On 17 March, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan unveiled

sweeping reforms to streamline the secretariat, consolidate

functions and secure cost savings. Mr. Annan said he also intends

to re-orient information services, expand common services and

boost the secretariat s ability to respond to intergovernmental

processes. He expressed his pride in the accomplishments of the

United Nations and staff and stressed that improvements will be

accomplished in a manner that  revitalizes the spirit and

commitment of staff and renews confidence in the future of the

organization. 



As part of the reforms, secretariat activities in the economic

and social areas will be integrated with the essential functions

of the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable

Development (DPCSD), Department for Economic and Social

Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA) and Department for

Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS) consolidated

into a single department. The Department of Public Information

will be transformed into a new Office for Communications and

Media Services to strengthen capacity to provide relevant and

timely communications to governments, the media and civil

society. Closer links will be established with the UN

secretariat s substantive departments and resources re-allocated

to country offices. 



In order to streamline intergovernmental services, major

technical support will be integrated into a new Department of

General Assembly and Conference Services.



The Secretary-General s proposed 1998-1999 regular budget will be

US$123 million lower than in the previous biennium. He said he

has instructed the Department of Administration and Management to

present a detailed plan for reducing administrative costs by

one-third over the next two biennia with resources re-allocated

to development activities. He has also proposed a reduction of

approximately 1000 posts in the programme budget for 1998-1999

against a background of current staff vacancies of a similar

amount.



In order to enhance the ability of the UN to better deliver

programmes at the country level, the SG has decided to:

n    strengthen the position of resident coordinators;

n    request all funds and programmes to join together in a new

UN Development Assistance Framework plan for delivering

development programmes in appropriate consultation with host

governments;

n    intensify the drive for common services and premises; and

n    fully integrate United Nations Information Centres (UNICs)

into the resident coordinator s office.



Mr. Annan said existing arrangements for the United Nations,

funds and programmes will be closely examined to find areas for

consolidating and extending common services, and possibly

establishing a common service facility. In addition, a Code of

Conduct, which has been drafted for submission to the General

Assembly, will require the highest standards of efficiency,

competence, independence and integrity for all staff as

stipulated by the UN Charter.



Mr. Annan has also created a Policy Coordination Group, which he

chairs, made up of heads of secretariat departments and offices

as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),

United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations

Population Fund (UNFPA). The group has a dual purpose: it is

intended to ensure that the organization as a whole is managed as

an integrated entity, and that management and policy decisions by

the Secretary-General systematically benefit from advice from all

senior programme managers. The group will be aided in its efforts

to concentrate on the substance of UN activities by four

Executive Committees, bringing together some 30 UN entities in

the key substantive areas of peace and security, economic and

social affairs, development operations, and humanitarian relief. 



Mr. Maurice Strong, Executive Coordinator for UN Reform, will

advise and assist the SG in the continuing reform process. Mr.

Strong chairs a Steering Committee on UN Reform, which comprises

a number of senior officials. All entities have been asked to set

up reform groups to improve management processes, achieve cost

savings and modernize the way they work.



The Secretary-General has ordered a 25% reduction in

documentation produced by the secretariat, and managers have been

empowered to act in their areas of responsibility, thus reducing

layers of centralized administration. 



On 24 February, Mr. Annan announced a two-track reform process

when he addressed the open-ended high-level working group of the

General Assembly on strengthening the UN system. The first track

is made up of managerial initiatives and decisions under his

authority, while the second track involves longer-term and

strategic issues that only member states can decide.



Contact: Web site (http://www.un.org/reform).





ABUSIVE CHILD LABOUR CONDEMNED

The most abusive forms of child labour were unanimously condemned

by delegates to the Amsterdam Child Labour Conference, held from

26-27 February in the Netherlands. Delegates called for

solidarity on a global scale to meet the challenge of

 eradicating child exploitation as a matter of paramount

urgency. 



Conference chairman Ad Melkert (Netherlands), Minister of Social

Affairs and Employment, urged participating countries, the

International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN member states to

launch a time-bound programme of action to eliminate child labour

and immediately put an end to its most intolerable forms. Michel

Hansenne, ILO Director-General, identified intolerable forms of

child labour as slavery or slave-like conditions; forced labour;

prostitution; and work in mines, factories, deep-sea fishing and

commercial agriculture. He denounced the situation of millions of

children employed in these activities as  a veritable insult to

human rights and an intolerable assault on the dignity of the

individual. 



Mr. Melkert called upon the ILO to expand the scope of its work

and to regularly report on global trends in the number of

children removed and rehabilitated from exploitative situations

and provided with alternatives. He said systematic worldwide

monitoring would be a mechanism to periodically review and

identify best practices in combatting child labour. The

Netherlands government pledged the first US$1 million for the

operation of such a trend-reporting system, which will be

implemented via the ILO s International Programme for the

Elimination of Child Labour.



Over 250 delegates from 30 countries attended the conference,

which was organized by the Netherlands government in cooperation

with the ILO. An ILO report prepared for the event estimates that

among the approximately 250 million working children between the

ages of five and 14, nearly half work fulltime. The vast majority

of child workers are involved in commercial agriculture and other

rural activities, which the report says puts them at risk of

injury and poisoning from dangerous chemicals and pesticides.

Many other children work in small, often family-run businesses

for little or no pay. Domestic service absorbs millions of girl

workers, whose only reward is usually board and lodging in return

for long hours of unpaid housework.



Contact: Janneke Allers, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour,

Post Box 90801, 2509 LV The Hague, Netherlands, telephone

+31-70/333 4549, fax +31-70/333 4030 or ILO Press, ILO, 4 route

des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, telephone

+41-22/799 7912, fax +41-22/788 3894, web site

(http:\\www.ilo.org).





IMF APPROVES NEW BORROWING ARRANGEMENTS

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

approved new borrowing arrangements on 27 January. Under the

arrangements, 25 countries have agreed in principle to lend the

IMF up to 34 billion special drawing rights (SDRs), worth about

US$47 billion, to supplement existing quotas. The countries

include France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore,

Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States. SDRs, the

currency used by the IMF, are based on a mix of the German mark,

Japanese yen and US dollar. 



The board made the decision in order to cope with the current

crises in the world monetary system: the enormous increase of

trade in goods and in global financial flows has left prior IMF

arrangements too small to ensure their effectiveness. The General

Agreement to Borrow will remain; under it the Group of Ten

industrial countries and Switzerland guarantee to provide up to

US$24 billion. The New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) will become

the first recourse should a crisis arise. 



NAB, when adopted by a majority of participating institutions and

countries, will enter into force for an initial five-year period

and be subject to renewal. Both NAB participants and

non-participants can apply for this new credit line, but

non-participants face more stringent eligibility conditions. The

agreement concludes a process set in motion at the June 1995

Halifax Summit of the Group of Seven industrial countries. In a

related effort to strengthen the IMF s financial reserves, IMF

Managing Director Michel Camdessus is pushing for a significant

increase in IMF quota levels. These are the amount of money

individual countries, as members of the IMF, must pledge to give

in support of the international financial system in case of a

crisis. 



Contact: International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street NW,

Washington DC 20431, USA, telephone +1-202/623 7000.





WORLD BANK BOARD ENDORSES COMPACT

Executive directors of the World Bank have indicated their  broad

endorsement  of the overall Strategic Compact and its objectives,

which were proposed to the board by President James Wolfensohn in

March. The compact is a plan for fundamental reform and renewal

of the World Bank to make it more effective in achieving its

basic mission of reducing poverty.  Through the compact, 

according to the External Affairs Department,  the bank s

shareholders and management will invest in and implement a series

of changes over the next 30 months to transform the way the

institution does business: improving its products, speeding up

its processes, lowering its costs, and increasing its development

impact.  The compact will also establish clear performance

criteria against which progress will be measured and management

will be held accountable.



The key elements of the compact are:

n    strengthening front-line operations, such as ensuring the

bank meets its commitments in country assistance strategies and

responding to new client demands;

n    responding to the broader development agenda, particularly

in the social dimensions of development and the changing

relationship between the public and private sectors;

n    enhancing the bank s knowledge base by building a Knowledge

Management System to collect, synthesize and disseminate

knowledge and make it readily accessible to staff, clients and

partners; and

n    renewing the bank s internal capabilities, such as

integrating its internal information system, further

decentralizing to the field to be closer to its clients, making

its budget process more efficient and strategic, and investing in

its staff and revamping skills and incentives.





UNCTAD REPORTS ON TRIPS AGREEMENT

The Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement

represents a notable change in international standards for

protecting intellectual property required by many developing

countries, according to a report from the UN Conference on Trade

and Development (UNCTAD). The TRIPS Agreement and the Developing

Countries says the agreement s implementation is likely to

engineer fundamental changes in industrial structure, market

competition and growth in many countries. The agreement, one of a

series adopted at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round in 1994,

legally binds all members of the World Trade Organization. It

covers many disciplines on intellectual property rights (IPRs),

including patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and

trade secrets.



According to UNCTAD, the agreement entails both costs and

benefits.  In accommodating their economic development goals to

the TRIPS requirements,  says the report,  developing countries

and economies in transition would do well to safeguard a balance

between incentives to innovate and the need for adequate

diffusion of technological knowledge into their economies.  



UNCTAD outlines three key conclusions from its assessment of the

long-term costs and benefits stemming from TRIPs. First, the

agreement requires substantially strengthened protection and

enforcement of intellectual property rights in many countries.

Strengthening IPRs regimes is expected to have a positive impact

in developing countries, such as bringing about more local

innovation. However, it could also lead to higher prices for

protected technologies and products, and restricted ability for

developing countries to increase sales through product imitation

or copying.



The second conclusion is that developing nations, when

implementing the TRIPs agreement, should try to strike a balance

between the needs of innovative firms and their licenses for

protection from easy appropriation of their intellectual

property, and the needs of follow-on competitors and consumers. 



Thirdly, the agreement requires all WTO members to enforce IPRs

protection standards that are as strict as those prevailing in

developed countries, and in some cases going beyond their

existing legislation. This represents a significant burden for

poorer countries. For example, Bangladesh will need to spend

about US$250,000 in one-time costs for legislative drafting and

over US$1.1 million in annual costs for judicial work, equipment

and enforcement measures. UNCTAD has called on industrialized

countries and international organizations to provide assistance

to developing countries to help them adapt and implement the

agreement, since the changes could entail significant

expenditures and have social implications, especially for least

developed countries. 



Contact: Assad Omer, Division on Investment, Enterprise

Development and Technology, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211

Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5696, fax +41-22/907

0194, e-mail <assad.omer@unctad.org>.





NEW MINISTERIAL FORUM TO GUIDE UNEP

The resumed 19th session of the Governing Council of the United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ended on    4 April at UNEP

headquarters with agreement on outstanding agenda item 4(d) on

governance of UNEP.  After two days of debate, delegates decided

to establish a High-level Committee of Ministers and Officials in

Charge of Environment, as a subsidiary organ of the Governing

Council. The committee will consist of 36 members, elected from

among members of the United Nations and its specialized agencies.

     

The new committee will have the mandate to consider the

international environmental agenda and to make reform and policy

recommendations to the Governing Council.  It will also provide

guidance and advice to UNEP s Executive Director, enhance UNEP s

collaboration and cooperation with other multilateral bodies

(including the environmental conventions and their secretariats),

and will help mobilize adequate and predictable financial

resources for UNEP.



The Governing Council decided to strengthen the CPR, which will

now hold four regular meetings a year. The CPR s revised mandate

includes: to review, monitor and assess implementation of

decisions of the Governing Council on administrative, budgetary

and programme matters; to review UNEP s draft programme of work

and budget; to review reports requested of the secretariat by the

Governing Council on the effectiveness, efficiency and

transparency of the secretariat s work; and to prepare draft

decisions for consideration by the Governing Council based on

inputs from the secretariat.



The next regular session of UNEP s Governing Council will be held

in May 1999. A special session, to examine the results of the

forthcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session, is

planned for later this year.  The new governance structure of

UNEP will be reviewed by the Governing Council at its 21st

session, with a view to assessing its effectiveness, taking into

account any relevant results of the reform process of the UN

system.



Contact: Robert Bisset, Information and Media Officer, UNEP, PO

Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/623084, fax

+254-2/623692, e-mail <robert.bisset@unep.org>.





AGBM-6 MEETS AGAIN IN GERMANY

The sixth round of talks on future reductions in greenhouse gas

emissions by developed countries, which concluded on    7 March

in Bonn, has set the stage for finalizing a new agreement over

the coming months. 



Delegates to the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM)

focused on streamlining and merging a series of government

proposals, which had earlier been consolidated into a single

document. While some sections of the document were shortened and

restructured during the week, others have been revised by adding

new ideas and paragraphs. This negotiating text will be

distributed in all UN languages by 1 June and will be the subject

of further talks in Bonn in August and October. A new agreement

under the climate change convention is to be finalized by

ministers when they meet in December in Kyoto (Japan).



During the talks the European Union (EU) challenged other

developed countries to agree to a 15% cut in emissions of a

basket of greenhouse gases by the year 2010 compared to 1990

levels. The basket is based on a weighted total of carbon

dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide using their 100-year  global

warming potentials.  EU ministers had agreed earlier that this

would be a common EU target. The final numbers for developed

country targets and timetables will be determined during the next

negotiating rounds.



The EU proposal sparked a renewed debate on  differentiation. 

While some countries support a common target for all

developed-country parties, others believe that targets should

vary by country while respecting an agreed overall target.



The negotiating text retains differing views on the policies and

measures that could be adopted to meet agreed targets and

timetables. Some governments (notably EU members) argue the need

for internationally coordinated policies. Others say it would be

more cost-efficient to allow each country to adopt the policies

and measures best suited to its national circumstances.



Other issues on which various negotiating positions are reflected

in the text include emissions trading permits, the  joint

implementation  of emissions cuts, the use of multi-year

 budgets  in the timetable, the possible impacts of

developed-country policies on developing-country economies, and

the evolution to future commitments by all parties.



Over 850 participants were present at the subsidiary body

session, including about 70 NGOs. The talks will be reconvened in

Bonn from 28 July-7 August and from 20-31 October. The third

session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) is scheduled for

Kyoto from 1-10 December.



The Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted at the

1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). It entered into

force on 21 March 1994 and has been ratified by 164 countries and

the EU. Under the convention, developed countries have agreed to

take measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions

to 1990 levels by the year 2000. At the first session of the

treaty s COP in 1995 in Berlin, governments recognized that

stronger measures were needed for minimizing the risk of climate

change. They established the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate

to negotiate new developed-country commitments for the post-2000

period.



Contact: UNFCCC Secretariat, PO Box 260124, D-53153 Bonn,

Germany, telephone +49-228/815 1000, fax +49-228/815 1999, e-mail

<secretariat@unfccc.de>, web site (http://www.unfccc.de).





EFFECTS OF URUGUAY ROUND ON DEVELOPMENT

Speakers at a meeting in Geneva from 3-4 March agreed that the

Uruguay Round Agreements have  somewhat limited  the freedom of

member governments of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set

their own domestic economic policy. They said this has

implications for management of their countries  development.

However, because the agreements are now international law,

speakers recommended that policies be identified that meet

development objectives while conforming to the multilateral

obligations. They also emphasized the role of the UN Conference

on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in assisting developing

countries in this regard.



Mr. Rubens Ricupero, UNCTAD Secretary-General, spoke frankly of

the lack of preparation on the part of nearly all the developing

countries for the Uruguay Round, and he noted that developing

countries are discovering only now the implications of their

signing of the final agreements in 1994. He proposed that

developing countries take a pro-active stance in multilateral

negotiations on trade; many participants agreed.



Other participants said UNCTAD and regional institutions, such as

the United Nations regional commissions, have an important role

to play in assisting developing countries to be well-informed and

prepared for future trade negotiations. They emphasized the need

to look ahead and respond to issues on the trade agenda for the

next two years. However, they warned against the precedent set in

Singapore, where they said the decision to liberalize trade in

information technology was taken outside a negotiating round and

involved only a few countries until it was nearly final. They

said developing countries cannot be expected to prepare properly

if such processes for reaching agreements become commonplace.

About 30 trade and development specialists from regional,

international and academic institutions participated in the

meeting, which was organized by UNCTAD. They included WTO, the

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Economic Commission for

Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund (IMF).



On 14-15 April in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), UNCTAD, the

Organization of African Unity/African Economic Community

(OAU/AEC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

organized a brainstorming meeting of African trade policy experts

on preparing for multilateral trade negotiations and follow up. 



This brainstorming session is the first step towards the

establishment of a permanent mechanism to help African

governments take a pro-active attitude and initiate negotiating

proposals on trade issues of common interest to their countries.

Such a mechanism was deemed necessary by the African ministers

participating in the first WTO ministerial conference in

Singapore last December.



Contact: Harmon Thomas, Division on International Trade in Goods

and Services, and Commodities, UNCTAD, Palais des Nations,

CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 5686, fax

+41-22/907 0044, e-mail <harmon.thomas@unctad.org>.





INTERNATIONAL WOMEN S DAY PANEL

Hundreds of women gathered at the United Nations on 6 March to

attend a panel discussion entitled Women at the Peace Table, in

observance of International Women s Day on 8 March. The panel was

also held to honour women from around the world who have served

as peace negotiators.



Dame Margaret Joan Anstee, former Special Representative of the

Secretary-General to Angola, recounted her ground-breaking

decision to head the peace-keeping mission in Angola. She urged

the Secretary-General to appoint more women as special

representatives and said women must be encouraged to play the

fullest part possible in all aspects of implementation of peace

processes.



Angela King, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on

Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women and former Chief of

the UN Observer Mission in South Africa (UNOMSA), said that the

development and deployment of peace-keeping and peace-building

teams with women and men as equal partners improves the

efficiency of peace-keeping and peace maintenance around the

world. She highlighted what she described as compelling evidence

that UN peace-keeping missions with more equal gender balance

have been highly effective, and she said the presence of women is

key to fostering and maintaining confidence and trust among the

local population. Examples of such missions include: Namibia with

60% women in the mission, South Africa with 53% women, and

Guatemala with 49% women. 



She also said that when a critical mass of women is involved in a

peace-related mission, the women act as role models. According to

her, the presence of so many women in leadership positions in

UNOMSA acted as a catalyst to change the views and attitudes of

many local women. 



Ana Guadalupe Martinez, Vice-President of the National Assembly

of El Salvador and former delegate to the El Salvador peace

talks, called on the UN to establish a mechanism to assess the

impact of armed conflict on women. She said women are often

involved in war as combatants but few end up at the negotiating

table. Nonetheless, she said women in El Salvador have been very

involved in demobilization and re-entry into civilian life. 



The panel, organized by the Department of Public Information in

coordination with the Division for the Advancement of

Women/Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable

Development, was moderated by Samir Sanbar, Assistant

Secretary-General for Public Information.





CONFERENCE ON PEACE, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

A three-day meeting on Peace, Gender and Development, held in

Kigali (Rwanda) from 1-3 March ended with a call for establishing

a compensation fund for the victims of genocide in Rwanda. The

Kigali Declaration also urges all governments to cooperate in

bringing the perpetrators of genocide to justice. More than 100

participants attended the conference, including representatives

of governments, women s associations, NGOs and regional

associations.



At the conference a group of African women called on governments

to recognize  women s traditional peace-making roles and their

rights to equal involvement in all peace initiatives including

early-warning mechanisms and swift responses at national,

regional and international levels.  Conference participants also

urged the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity

to accelerate the establishment of an African Women Committee on

Peace, and they called on governments to prioritize poverty

eradication policies and programmes to foster economic

empowerment and advancement of women.



The conference was sponsored by Pro-Femmes/Twese Hamwe of Kigali,

the Rwandan National Consultative Committee for Women, and the

Rwandan Ministry of Family and Women in Development. It was

funded by, among others, the UN Development Programme (UNDP).



Contact: UNDP, Avenue de l ArmÇe, BP 445, Kigali, Rwanda,

telephone +250/75381 or 76906, fax +250/76263 or +873/150 7445. 





COMMISSION REVIEWS TRADE, ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

UNCTAD s Commission on Trade in Goods and Services, and

Commodities will convene an expert meeting later in the year to

discuss how to encourage the integration of trade and development

with positive measures, such as opening access to markets and

technology transfers. The commission, which met from 19-21

February in Geneva, also decided to convene an expert group to

examine environmental management standards and their impact on

trade and investment, and it sent a message to the UN Commission

on Sustainable Development (CSD). The message to the CSD, meeting

from 7-25 April in New York, calls for  renewed efforts at both

national and international levels to make trade and environmental

policies mutually supportive.  



During an informal panel presentation at the Geneva meeting,

Ambassador Anthony Hill (Jamaica) spoke on behalf of the Latin

American and Caribbean Group and suggested that UNCTAD continue

to play a role in three key areas. They are policy analysis and

debate; conceptual work and research, such as defining positive

measures more carefully; and capacity building for member states.





The representative of the European Community called for concrete

measures to assess integration of trade and environment

objectives in order to avoid discussions that are too abstract.

Ms. Santa Cadalina (Philippines), speaking for the Asian Group

and China, warned that environmentally-sound processing methods

are still too expensive for developing countries. She urged that

the search for resources for this purpose, including foreign

direct investment, should be high on the commission s agenda. Mr.

Lahcen Aboutahir (Morocco), speaking for the African Group,

pointed to what he called high dependency on commodity exports as

a serious constraint on African countries  ability to protect the

environment. 



Contact: Jagdish Saigal, Senior Programme Manager, Division on

International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities,

UNCTAD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland,

telephone +41-22/907 5731, fax +41-22/907 0044, e-mail

<jagdish.saigal@unctad.org>.





AFRICAN FOOD SUPPLY REPORT

The food security outlook is bleak in parts of the African Great

Lakes Region, while it is stable in most Sahelian countries,

according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization s (FAO)

most recent Food Supply Situation and Crop Prospects in

Sub-Saharan Africa.



The report, published in February, warns that pockets of famine

could develop in eastern Zaire as relief distribution continues

to be hampered by hostilities and logistical difficulties.

 Deaths from malnutrition and disease are already reported from

some camps,  it says.  Only urgent action by the international

community to ensure uninterrupted flow of relief assistance to

the trapped refugees will avert further human suffering and loss

of life. 



In most Sahelian countries the food situation is stable, although

local deficits persist. Average to above-average harvests have

been gathered in most of the countries, and aggregate cereal

production is estimated to be 8.9 million tons, which is 2% up

from 1995. Above average output has been reaped in Niger and

Senegal, although regions in some countries had poor harvests;

they include northern Chad and parts of Mali, Mauritania and

Niger. In Liberia the food supply situation remains precarious,

while in Sierra Leone it is gradually improving following the

signing of a peace agreement.



In southern Africa harvest prospects are favourable, following

good rains. However, red locusts pose a serious threat to crops

in several countries. Locust swarms originating from Mozambique

have been reported in Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and

Zimbabwe, among others.



In eastern Africa, the food outlook is mixed: it is unfavourable

in Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia, where harvests have been

substantially reduced by dry weather conditions, while Ethiopia

and Sudan have had good cereal harvests.



According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa s aggregate food aid

needs in 1997, although less than in 1996, will remain high.

 However,  it says,  despite a large rise in global cereal

production, 1996-1997 is likely to be marked by continuing

relatively tight supplies, and the global food aid availability

is unlikely to improve much over the low level of 7.2 million

tons in 1995-1996.  In addition, most low-income food-deficit

countries in sub-Saharan Africa face acute balance of payment

difficulties, which severely constrain their import capacity. The

report says exceptional food assistance will be needed to avert

suffering from underconsumption in several of these countries.



Contact: Abdur Rashid, Chief, Global Information and Early

Warning Service, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla,           

I-00100 Rome, Italy, fax +39-6/5225 4495, e-mail <giews@fao.org>,

web site (http://www.fao.org).





UNDP REPORT ON ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

New energy technology is a key stimulant to improving the

economies, health care systems and the status of women in

developing countries, according to a report released in March by

the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The report, Energy After

Rio Prospects and Challenges, focuses on how increased access to

energy would provide improved health care, education, housing and

water and sanitation services for the poor. It was prepared by a

group of 22 international environment and energy specialists.



UNDP says the poor are being forced to use precious natural

resources to supply themselves with energy, which has disastrous

environmental consequences including an important loss of

fertilizers for the soil and devastated landscapes. In addition,

the burning of fossil fuel, which generates 76% of the world s

primary energy, and reliance on it has had severe environmental

consequences, such as air pollution, acid rain, and increased

atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. 



The report says women in particular would benefit from better

energy technology. For example, replacing traditional stoves with

higher efficiency stoves would cut smoke-related health problems,

which disproportionately affect women and children. And relief

from time-consuming collection of firewood would allow women to

invest their time in income-generating activities. 



The report analyzes the opportunities to use energy more

efficiently and increase the use of renewable sources. It says

developing countries have an opportunity to use modern

technologies: wind power is technologically ready to provide

electricity, photovoltaic cells are ready for small-scale,

stand-alone power applications, and solar energy could be an

important source of electric power.



Contact: Annie Roncerel, Energy and Atmosphere Programme, UNDP, 1

UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/906 6616, fax

+1-212/906 5148, e-mail <annie.roncerel@undp.org>.





FAO REPORTS HIGH DEFORESTATION LEVELS

Worldwide deforestation is continuing at a high rate, according

to a new UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report. 



State of the World s Forests 1997 estimates that 11.3 million

hectares (ha) of the world s forests are lost each year.  The

estimates of forest cover change in the 1990-1995 period,  says

the report,  indicate a net loss of 56.3 million ha of forests

(natural forests plus plantations) worldwide, representing a

decrease of 65.1 million ha in developing countries, which was

partly offset by an increase of 8.8 million ha in developed

countries.  The report estimates the annual rate of forest loss

in developing countries is 0.65%. 



The report was published to coincide with a meeting of the FAO

Committee on Forestry, held from 10-13 March in Rome. The meeting

brought together senior forestry officials from around the world

to review progress toward sustainable forestry management,

consider the implications of the World Food Summit Plan of Action

for forestry, and guide FAO s forestry programme of work for the

coming two years. 



Contact: Steven A. Dembner, Publications and Information

Coordinator, Forestry Department, FAO, Viale delle Terme di

Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-6/5225 4778, fax

+39-6/5225 3024.





WHO CONDEMNS HUMAN CLONING

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the use of cloning

for replication of humans to be ethically unacceptable and is

taking the lead in organizing debates about research on animal

cloning and transgenic species, according to Dr. Hiroshi

Nakajima, WHO Director-General. In March he stressed that human

cloning violates some basic principles that govern

medically-assisted procreation, including respect for the dignity

of the human being and protection of the security of human

genetic material.  We propose that the ethical aspects of

health-related research and technology should be at the core of

the debate,  said Dr. Nakajima.  In our sphere of competence, we

will focus initially on two priority areas: reproductive health

and the biomedical applications of research on the human genome.

Our objective would be to help assess current needs and

practices, to review available techniques and procedures, and to

help build consensus on the technical and ethical safeguards to

be applied.  



Dr. Nakajima said the Special Programme of Research, Development

and Research Training in Human Reproduction, which reviewed the

technical aspects of medically-assisted procreation and related

ethical issues in 1992, upheld  the right of everyone to enjoy

the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.  But it

stressed that there is universal consensus on the need to

prohibit extreme forms of experimentation, such as human cloning

and interspecies fertilization. Dr. Nakajima said these guiding

principles should serve as a starting point for public debate at

national and international levels to establish the necessary

norms and safeguards. WHO s Scientific and Ethical Review Group

plans to lead the work on ethical aspects of research in

reproductive health. 



Contact: Philippe Stroot, Health Communications and Public

Relations, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland,

telephone +41-22/791 2535, fax +41-22/791 4858.





WHO ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH IN TB CONTROL

The World Health Organization says that a breakthrough in

tuberculosis (TB) control could save millions of lives and

dramatically reduce the threat of multidrug-resistant strains in

the next decade. The breakthrough, known as Directly Observed

Treatment Short-course (DOTS), is causing the global TB epidemic

to level off for the first time in decades.



A recent global assessment reveals that  use of the DOTS strategy

has virtually stopped the epidemic s upward surge,  according to

WHO.  Computer projections of the future impact of wide scale use

of DOTS show that it can quickly cut the current annual number of

TB cases in half during the next decade  and prevent at least ten

million deaths with the introduction and extensive use of the

DOTS strategy.



A unique feature of the strategy is its use of  patient

observers  to watch TB patients swallow each dose of medicines.

This helps overcome one of the most difficult problems that has

hindered TB control efforts: patients who take enough of their

medicines to feel better, but fail to finish the course of

treatment so that they are completely cured and no longer able to

spread the disease to others. Failure to ensure that TB patients

take all their medicines and are cured has been the primary

factor in recent outbreaks of virtually incurable,

multidrug-resistant TB in New York City, London, Milan, Bangkok

and Johannesburg, among others. Over the past few years, the DOTS

strategy has been tested in Tanzania, New York City, Indonesia

and Peru with  impressive results.  The largest DOTS project, 

says WHO,  supported by the World Bank in China, has achieved 94%

cure rates. 



Contact: Catherine Dansen, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva

27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 2189.





WHO/WORLD BANK REPORT ON WORLDWIDE DISEASES

The next two decades will see dramatic changes in the health

needs of the world s population, according to The Global Burden

of Disease series, published by the World Health Organization,

World Bank and Harvard School of Public Health. In developing

regions, noncommunicable diseases, such as depression and heart

disease, are replacing infectious diseases and malnutrition as

the leading causes of disability and premature death. In all

regions, life expectancy at birth is expected to grow for women,

while life expectancy for men will grow more slowly, mainly

because of the impact of the tobacco epidemic. The study says

that by the year 2020, men between the ages of 15 and 60 in the

formerly socialist economies of Europe could face a higher risk

of death than men in Sub-Saharan Africa.



By 2020, infant girls born in the established market economies

are expected to live to approximately 88 years of age, while

males born in sub-Saharan Africa can expect to reach only 58

years. Males born in Latin America and the Caribbean, who in 1990

could have expected to live to 65, can expect to reach 71 years. 



In 2020 noncommunicable diseases are expected to account for

seven out of every ten deaths in developing regions, compared

with less than half today. Injuries are growing in importance,

and by 2020 they could rival infectious diseases worldwide as a

source of ill health. The study predicts these changes will take

place because of rapid ageing of populations in the developing

countries. In China, some other parts of Asia and Latin America,

this  epidemiological transition  is much more advanced than many

public health specialists expected.  In all regions,  says the

study,  the rapidity of change, and the very large absolute

numbers of people involved, will pose serious challenges to

healthcare systems and force difficult decisions about the

allocation of scarce resources.  



The study uncovers some surprises: it says mental illnesses such

as depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia have been

seriously underestimated by traditional approaches, which take

account only of deaths and not disability. These underestimated

illnesses are responsible for about 1% of deaths, although they

account for almost 11% of disease burden worldwide. Also, tobacco

is expected to kill more people by 2020 than any single disease

and will surpass even the HIV epidemic.



Contact: Christopher Murray, Harvard School of Public Health, 9

Bow Street, Cambridge MA 02138, USA, telephone +1-617/495 8498,

fax +1-617/496 3227.





PANEL ON AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT MEETS

The Panel of High-Level Personalities on African Development met

from 13-14 March in New York to review the efforts of African

countries to implement political and economic reforms, and the

social impact of economic trends in recent years. The panel,

which was set up in 1992 to assist the UN Secretary-General in

the implementation of the UN New Agenda for the Development of

Africa (NADAF), also addressed issues of good governance, and

agriculture and food security. 



Participants at the meeting, chaired by Baroness Chalker of

Wallasey, Minister for Overseas Development of the United

Kingdom, included Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Policy

Coordination and Sustainable Development; Bahiti Temane,

Botswana s Minister for Labour and Home Affairs; Mohammad Sadli,

Adviser to the President of Indonesia for South-South and

North-South Cooperation; Vijay Makhan, Assistant

Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity; and

Delphin Rwegasira, Senior Adviser to the President of the African

Development Bank, among others.



The panel urged the donor community to target official

development assistance (ODA) to build capacity, especially in

health care, education, water and physical infrastructure. The

panel also welcomed the World Bank s debt relief initiative

related to the heavily indebted poor countries; 33 out of 41 of

the countries are African. The panel urged the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and bilateral donors to be more

flexible in its implementation of the initiative and expressed

concern over its credibility if it fails to result in meaningful

debt reduction in the first group of countries to be considered.



The panel said good governance should go beyond the electoral

process and democratization to include elements such as civic

education, gender mainstreaming and the separation of powers

among executive, legislature and judiciary branches of

government. The panel noted that the development of civil society

leads to more accountability, and it recommended regular

tripartite consultations among civil society, the private sector,

and governments. It said poverty and ethnicity are the two

principal elements that trigger escalation of conflicts into

violence, particularly in cases where access to power and

resources are not perceived to be equitable. In this connection,

the panel noted that the cultural aspects and traditional values

of African countries should be taken into account in conflict

resolution.



The panel recognized that food insecurity is related to both

inadequate food production and poverty and proposed a two-pronged

approach to solving the problem. It recommended creating

productive employment and increased income-earning opportunities,

and it underscored the importance of providing an enabling

environment, not only domestically but at the international

level, to achieve a sustainable level of food security. It also

called for improved market access and increased trading

opportunities for developing countries and least developed

countries (LDCs). The panel, which stressed that food security

should be a national responsibility, said emphasis should be

placed on rural development and rural infrastructure, including

food storage, water resources and productivity improvement. It

also called attention to maintaining the production of

traditional food crops and promoting inter-regional trade in

Africa. 



The panel commended African countries for their continued efforts

to assume ownership of their development programmes and for their

improved economic performance. It warned, however, that poverty

has increased and called upon African countries to carry out,

concurrently with political and economic reforms, social

programmes targeting vulnerable groups. 





SEMINAR ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

A three-day seminar on The Role of Community Development in

Shelter and Human Settlements Improvement concluded on 26

February in Bangkok (Thailand) with participants calling for a

new style of United Nations programme that is flexible,

participatory and focused directly on the needs of the urban

poor.



The Deputy Director of Thailand s Urban Community Development

Office, Somsook Boonyabancha, said programmes should be open to

direct participation of community-based organizations and should

respond to their needs. She said such a programme would have an

important political role to play and should be more demanding on

government commitments to protect people s housing rights and

halt evictions whenever possible, as agreed at the second UN

Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) held in Istanbul in

1996.



The seminar, which was organized by the Community Development

Programme for Asia of the UN Centre for Human Settlements

(Habitat), brought together some 45 participants from Bangladesh,

Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka,

Thailand and Viet Nam to assess poor urban communities  access to

housing and services. Representatives of governments, NGOs and

community-based organizations also shared experiences on how to

strengthen the legitimacy of communities when dealing with

governments.





Seminar participants requested the Centre for Human Settlements

(Habitat) to assist in promoting and strengthening

community-based processes in their countries. It was generally

agreed that when communities are involved in planning and

implementing shelter and settlement upgrading projects that

affect members  lives, the results will be appropriate and

sustainable. Participants stressed that strong and capable

community organizations are essential, need to have legal

recognition in order to work with local authorities, and should

have a say in the design of government programmes.



Contact: Peter Swan, Coordinator, UNCHS, Community Development

Programme for Asia, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and

the Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Building, Rajadamnern Avenue,

Bangkok 10200, Thailand, telephone +66-2/2881604, fax

+66-2/2881097.





ASIAN INVESTMENT RISING IN EUROPE

Investors from Asian developing countries are discovering Europe:

foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from Asia into Europe

increased from an annual average of US$100 million in 1989-1991

to US$860 million in 1992-1994. While North America remains the

main location of Asian investment outside the region, it is

 gaining momentum  in the European Union, both in manufacturing

and services. Evidence and analysis of this phenomenon is

provided in a report by The United Nations Conference on Trade

and Development (UNCTAD) on Sharing Asia s Dynamism: Asian Direct

Investment in the European Union.



The report says the share of the European Union in the total FDI

stock from developing Asia reached about 5% in 1995. Though this

is still relatively low, this does  not reflect neglect, but

rather the fact that Asian firms are just at the beginning of

their entry into Europe. 



According to the report, many firms of the Asian newly

industrializing economies (NIEs) increasingly see need for a

direct presence in the European Union in order to serve this

large and rich market. Others are seeking access to advanced

technology and skills, research and development programmes.

Approximately 40% of FDI stock held by Asian NIEs in the European

Union is located in the United Kingdom, around 30% is in Germany,

and about 20% is in the Netherlands.



Asian transnational corporations also recently began investing in

Central and Eastern Europe to take advantage of privatization

programmes. The report says the corporations find a low-cost

production base in the region and a good platform for relatively

unrestricted entry into the European Union internal market.

Moreover, local demand for manufactured consumer goods in Central

and Eastern Europe is projected to rise strongly and provide more

encouragement for Asian investment there. 



UNCTAD anticipates a  continuing upsurge  in FDI from developing

Asia into the European Union. The report reviews various measures

that could be taken to increase Asian FDI in Europe to the

benefit of both investors and host countries.



Contact: Karl Sauvant, Chief, International Investment,

Transnationals and Technology Flows Branch; Division on

Investment, Enterprise Development and Technology; UNCTAD, Palais

des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907

5707, fax +41-22/907 0194.





SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON UN CHARTER

The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on

Strengthening of the Role of the Organization has approved its

report to the General Assembly, which contains recommendations on

strengthening the International Court of Justice, implementing

Charter provisions on assistance to third states affected by UN

sanctions, and increasing the number of officers in the GA s main

committees.



The committee, which concluded its two-week session on 7

February, recommended that the General Assembly invite states

that are members or parties to the Statute of the International

Court of Justice to present their observations about the effect

of the court s increased workload on its operations. 



The committee also recommended that the 52nd session of the GA

consider the question of implementation of Charter provisions on

assistance to third states affected by sanctions imposed under

Chapter VII of the Charter. The committee said implementation of

assembly resolutions 50/51 and 51/208 on the question should also

be considered. Resolution 51/208 underlines the importance of

consultations under article 50 of the Charter with third states

confronted with special economic problems arising from sanctions

imposed by the Security Council. Article 50 grants third states

the right to hold consultations with the council on how to solve

the economic problems they face from sanctions imposed on other

states. 



The committee also asked the GA to consider a draft resolution to

amend the first sentence of rule 103 of its Rules of Procedure to

read:  Each Main Committee shall elect a chairman, three

Vice-Chairmen and a Rapporteur.  Rule 103 allows each main

committee four officers, who are drawn from each of the regional

groups represented in the UN. Some committee members said that

since there are now five regional groups, the proposal will help

ensure equitable geographical representation in the main

committee bureaus. 





ILO SAYS FULL EMPLOYMENT ATTAINABLE

Full employment is a goal that can be realized without

overheating national economies, according to a report prepared by

the International Labour Organization. Priority Theme: Productive

Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods was presented to the

Commission for Social Development in New York, which convened

from 25 February-6 March. It says citizens have paid a price for

the overriding concern of policy makers to control inflation and

reduce public deficits, and the relative neglect of measures to

combat unemployment. It warns that in Western Europe unemployment

is reaching the highest level since the Great Depression in the

1930s. The resulting pressures threaten to undermine the

achievement of greater integration within the European Union,

while fuelling persecution of minority groups and immigrants and

exacerbating social tensions. 



The report reviews employment policy issues from countries and

regions around the world and presents policy recommendations,

which include:

n    economic growth rates need to be pushed higher to increase

the rate of growth in employment;

n    political and social stability are as essential to economic

progress as macroeconomic stability;

n    consensual approaches to income determination can be an

additional instrument for increasing employment and stabilizing

prices;

n    the  excessive rigours  of structural adjustment policies in

indebted poor countries need to be  moderated;"

n    in some countries,  a more gradual and selective approach to

trade liberalization may be warranted;" and

n    government action to initiate growth, such as incentives to

new investment, are needed to offset shortcomings in pure market

mechanisms. 



The report says  high and productive levels of employment...are

fundamental means of combatting poverty, of ensuring equality, of

meeting peoples  aspirations for participation in economic and

social life, and for preserving social cohesion.  Job creation in

developing countries is lagging behind an increase in the labour

force, which is averaging about 2% annually. It also notes that

widespread unemployment and underemployment remain primary

impediments to poverty eradication. 



Contact: John Langmore, Department for Policy Coordination and

Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA,

telephone +1-212/963 5855 or Elizabeth Ruzicka-Dempsey,

Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York NY

10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 1742.





OECD RELEASES 1996 DAC REPORT

The 1996 Development Cooperation Report from the Organization for

Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sets out a

newly-agreed strategy for development cooperation, which proposes

measurable goals for poverty reduction, social development and

environmental sustainability. The goals, many based on recent UN

world conferences, include: reduce by 50% the proportion of

people living in extreme poverty in developing countries by the

year 2015; achieve universal primary education by 2015; eliminate

gender disparities in primary and secondary school enrolment by

2005; ensure universal access to reproductive health services by

2015; implement national sustainable development strategies by

2005; and reverse trends in the loss of environmental resources

by 2015. The report says these are presented as a basis for

discussion with individual recipient countries on development

assistance goals, and are not intended to displace

nationally-determined development priorities. 



The strategy also recommends that donors better coordinate their

work, especially in the field, and proposes that global reporting

by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD on

results be complemented at the national level by the publication

of country human development reports. These are already produced

in many countries in collaboration with the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP). 



The report also highlights trends in international cooperation.

It says total net resource flows to developing countries set a

record high in 1995 at just over US$225 billion. However, the

aggregate volume of DAC members  Official Development Assistance

(ODA) disbursements to developing countries and multilateral

organizations declined about 9% in real terms. Official resource

flows to the poorest countries continued to decline in that

period, while flows to richer countries increased. The geographic

distribution of ODA remains relatively constant, with about 40%

going to Africa, 30% to Asia, 10% to Latin America, 10% to other

recipients, and 10% for administration, global programmes,

research and other activities. The report suggests that the size

of allocations to emergency assistance has peaked.



The strategy for development cooperation was the outcome of a

year of negotiations in the DAC, which culminated in 1996 with a

report entitled Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of

Development Cooperation. This report was adopted by the OECD

Council at Ministerial Level in 1996 and is now meant to provide

the basis for development cooperation relationships for OECD

member donor countries. 



Contact: Communications Division, Organization for Economic

Co-operation and Development, 2 rue AndrÇ-Pascal, F-75775 Paris

CÇdex 16, France, telephone +33-1/45 24 80 91, fax +33-1/45 24 80

03, e-mail <news.contact@oecd.org>, web site

(http://www.oecd.org/dac).





UN NGO NEWS



NGOS BRIEF SECURITY COUNCIL

In an unprecedented informal briefing, NGOs told members of the

UN Security Council that humanitarian action in Africa s Great

Lakes Region is being used as a substitute for political action.

During the briefing on February 12, representatives of Oxfam,

CARE and MÇdecins sans frontiäres (MSF) stressed the grave access

problems they face in Rwanda, Burundi and particularly in eastern

Zaire and called for a commitment comparable to the one required

to address the situation in the former Yugoslavia. The briefing

did not take place in the Security Council Chamber, but in

another conference room at UN headquarters.



 Since the beginning of the genocide in 1994 in Rwanda,  the NGOs

said in a joint statement,  the Security Council has consistently

failed to abide by the Geneva Conventions and to take action to

address the underlying causes of the conflict and to help find

political solutions in the region. Humanitarian action has been

used as a substitute for political action.  The NGOs told council

members they strongly support the appointment of Mohamed Sahnoun

(Algeria) as the UN/Organization of African Unity Special

Representative for the Great Lakes Region. But they said Mr.

Sahnoun needs to receive what they called the proper degree of

support.  Aid agencies,  the NGOs said,  cannot solve these

problems with biscuits, vaccines and water. People will continue

to die and the war will continue to spread throughout the region

unless the UN Security Council, Member States and regional

leaders take decisive action. 



Pierre Salignon, Country Coordinator for MSF in Zaire, raised his

concerns about protecting civilians and the vulnerable refugee

population in the region, which he said is being used as  a human

shield.  David Bryer, Oxfam Executive Director, called on the

Security Council to apply political pressure to bring parties to

negotiate measures of protection, such as establishing safe

corridors for immediate needs.



Ambassador Juan Somav°a (Chile) initiated the meeting to enable

humanitarian NGOs active in conflict areas to brief Security

Council members. He said he hoped additional meetings will take

place because  the Security Council has to be informed as widely

as possible  on complex peace and security issues. NGOs expressed

their hope for similar meetings in the future. 



The NGOs also met informally with the bureaus of the Economic and

Social Council and the Second (Economic and Financial) and Third

(Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) Committees of the General

Assembly.





AFRICA FORUM ON MICROCREDIT HELD

The Africa Advocacy Forum on Microcredit and Poverty Eradication,

held in New York on 6 February, focused on how improving access

to credit can help empower Africa s poor, especially women, to

free themselves from poverty and become more active participants

in the development process. The forum, organized by the Friedrich

Ebert Foundation and the UN Office of the Special Coordinator for

Africa and Least Developed Countries, examined the UN s role in

dealing with poverty eradication and the potential role of

microcredit in addressing five topics pertaining specifically to

Africa: food security; women s economic empowerment; provision of

basic social services; employment/self employment; and

traditional banking systems.



Speakers discussed objectives of recent UN conferences and

initiatives, African women s experiences with traditional

 responsive banking  techniques, and what some perceived to be

the marginalization of Africa at the February 1997 Microcredit

Summit. 



The forum was co-sponsored by, among others, the Department for

Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD), UN

Development Programme (UNDP), Department of Public Information

(DPI), NGLS and the Trickle Up Program.



Contact: Ruth Engo, Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa

and the LDCs (OSCAL), DPCSD, Room DC1-1048, United Nations, New

York NY 10017, USA.





UNESCO KIT ON WORLD PRESS FREEDOM

World Press Freedom Day, observed on 3 May each year, is the time

to review the state of press freedom in the world, speak up

against violations and take action. In order to promote press

freedom, media independence and pluralism, the UN Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has published a kit

with information on activities to promote the free flow of

information and a practical guide for journalists investigating

infringements of press freedom.



The pocket guide, co-published with Reporters sans frontiäres,

includes the basic principles of press freedom, procedures for

investigating infringements of press freedom and writing a report

of an investigation. The guide contains useful addresses

including international NGOS specializing in freedom of

expression and press freedom.



The kit also includes information about violations of press

freedom around the world in 1996 and UNESCO activities to promote

the free flow of information.



Contact: HÇläne Gosselin, Director, Office of Public Information,

UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy, F-75700 Paris, France, telephone

+33-1/45 68 18 50, fax +33-1/45 68 56 54.





1% FUND REPORTS 75% SUCCESS RATE

The 1% for Development Fund is a non-profit association of UN

system staff and other intergovernmental organizations in Geneva

who voluntarily contribute 1% of their salary to finance

development projects in underprivileged countries. Contributors

say 217 projects they funded from 1986 to January 1995 for a

total cost of 2,231,685 Swiss francs have had a 75% success rate,

based on reports of funded organizations and visits by UN staff. 



The highest success rates were among organizations working on

education (79%), crafts (76%) and agriculture projects (73%).

Projects that performed best were those carried out by

international NGOs (83%) and churches (81%).  Indeed, almost half

of the projects managed by international NGOs were classified as

outstanding,  according to Peter McCarey, who carried out the

study. Grassroots projects had a success rate of 65%, and local

NGOs had a success rate of 73%. For the purposes of the study,

 satisfactory  projects were defined as those that fulfilled

their objectives, and  outstanding  projects were those that

clearly benefited the community.



The 1% fund in Geneva has financed more than 400 projects in

about 50 countries, mostly in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

There are also independently-run 1% funds in Rome, New York and

Vienna. Projects supported by the fund must encourage collective

autonomy and promote local development, among other things.

Projects usually focus on health, education and vocational

training, agriculture or small businesses. 



Contact: Coordinator, 1% for Development Fund, Office A825,

United Nations, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10,

Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7705, e-mail

<pichelin@ilo.org.>.





CHILDREN RECEIVING DIET OF JUNK FOOD ADS

Few people would urge their children to eat more sugar or consume

more fat. Yet everyday kids around the world are bombarded with

food television advertisements sometimes as many as 12 an

hour telling them bad food is good. These are the results of a

survey, carried out by Consumers International (CI), in 13

countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,

Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as

well as Australia and the United States. The results of the

survey, which was sponsored by the UN Children s Fund (UNICEF),

the Commission of the European Communities, and the Swedish

Consumer Agency, are published in a report entitled A Spoonful of

Sugar.  



Key findings in the survey show mainly sweetened breakfast

cereals and fastfood make up over half of all food

advertisements; these form by far the largest proportion of all

television advertisements aimed at children in 11 out of 13 of

the countries in the survey. The United Kingdom has the most

television advertising during children s programming in Europe,

with an average of 17 commercials an hour and ten for food. A

nutritional analysis of the advertised foods in the UK found that

95% were for foods high in fat, sugar and/or salt. Sweden and

Norway, where virtual bans exist on television advertising toward

children, have the least amount.



The most prolific advertiser during children s programming is

McDonald s, with commercials for the fastfood chain found in

every country in the survey.  It is no surprise,  says CI,  that

an Australian survey found that just over half of Australian

children aged nine and ten think Ronald McDonald knows best what

is good for children to eat.  



The report makes a number of recommendations, including tougher

restrictions on advertising to children; mandating clearer breaks

between programmes and advertisements to help young people

understand the difference; and overturning the current practice

of allowing the regulations of a transmitting country to apply

where cross-border advertising is concerned. 



Contact: Consumers International, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5

1RX, UK, telephone +44-171/226 6663, fax +44 -171/354 0607.





NGO NEWS



SOCIAL WATCH REPORT

The Instituto del Tercer Mundo has published the first edition of

the Social Watch report, which reports on progress or lack of it

in fulfilling national commitments made at the 1995 World Summit

for Social Development and other conferences. A trial edition of

the annual report was published last year.



The report includes chapters on, among other issues, the

dimensions of poverty, a fulfilled commitments index, family and

work, the sex trade, and human and social development in the

European Union. Chapters also cover 25 countries including

Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia,

Germany, India, Malaysia, United Kingdom and the United States.

The country chapters, contributed by NGOs, attempt to measure

poverty using indices such as education, health and nutrition,

water, employment, income and access to resources. They also

describe government programmes aimed at reducing poverty and give

suggestions for improving them.



The report says that in many countries, despite good resolutions

at national level, women and girls in remote areas and indigenous

population sectors in particular are lagging behind in education

and health care. The report gives factual information, but it

also tries to analyze why the poorest are not being reached. The

publication is supported by the Netherlands Organization for

International Development Cooperation (NOVIB).



Contact: Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Juan Jackson 1136, 11200

Montevideo, Uruguay, telephone +598-2/496192, fax +598-2/419222,

e-mail <item@chasque.apc.org>.





INTERACTION ON US DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

InterAction says the United States must refocus its development

assistance programmes on new development challenges and increase

its development resources to  affirm and protect US global

leadership.  These commitments are crucial given new global

realities, according to the US-based organization s policy paper

on American Values/National Interests: The New Shape of

International Development Cooperation. The paper says the new

realities include booming international trade, which makes the US

economy more dependent on the developing world; the post-Cold War

surge in democratization and internal conflicts; and global

threats including population growth, environmental degradation

and infectious diseases. 



The paper says that development assistance must be part of a

broader policy agenda, which includes, among other issues, trade,

investment and debt relief. It says the United States should

focus on four priority areas in development assistance: promoting

human development and broad-based economic growth; addressing

imminent global threats; assisting countries undergoing political

transition; and supporting emergency humanitarian and refugee

programmes. 



The paper, which also proposes guidelines for effective

international assistance programmes, takes its title from a

central thesis: Whereas Cold War foreign aid often required the

US to choose between humanitarian values and national interests,

these two motives now complement each other.  Today,  says

InterAction,  programmes that help poor people and development

nations also strengthen our economy and support our broader

foreign policy goals.  



Contact: InterAction, 1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC

20036, USA, telephone +1-202/667 8227, fax +1-202/667 8236, web

site (www.interaction.org).





JUBILEE 2000

Jubilee 2000, an educational charity based in the UK, is

campaigning to achieve  a one-off cancellation of the backlog of

unpayable debt for the world s poorest countries,  which the

charity describes as one that  either cannot be paid, or can be

paid only with enormous human suffering.  



The campaign, which focuses on relieving the debt burden of

governments to other governments, international financial

institutions, or to commercial banks by the year 2000, is

designed to promote social justice, fundamental human rights and

sustainable development. Organizers say that they also want to

provide a focus and a catalyst for harmonizing and mobilizing

international cooperation, support and actions to achieve the

remission of debt. Jubilee 2000 says countries will have to meet

a specific set of criteria to be eligible for the write-off. They

should be a low- or middle-income country with strong deprivation

indicators and have a gross domestic product per capita at

purchasing power parity of US$2000 or below. They should also

meet at least two of the following criteria: net present value of

total external debt of 50% or more of gross national product; a

total external debt value of 200% or more exports of goods and

services, and net of food and fuel imports; and net present value

of public and publicly-guaranteed external debt of 200% or more

of total government revenues.



Other specific instances where write-off is possible would be

considered. The campaign is encouraging people to help to create

an informed constituency, including economists, politicians and

decision makers, to lobby for action at the highest level. The

organization has published The Debt Cutter s Handbook, which

gives more detail about the campaign s origins and aims.



Contact: Jubilee 2000, PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT, UK, telephone

+44-171/620 4444, fax +44-171/620 0719, e-mail

<j2000@gn.apc.org>.





PEOPLE IN AID CODE

A code on Best Practice in the Management and Support of Aid

Personnel has been launched by the People in Aid network, based

in the United Kingdom. The code complements existing ones of the

Geneva-based Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, and

the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. But People

in Aid says the code differs in three ways: it is intended for

use by development as well as relief agencies; it includes

indicators against which achievement in implementing the code can

be measured; and it will undergo testing by relief and

development agencies over a period of up to three years in order

to evaluate its effectiveness.



The guiding principles of the code include: the people who work

for us are integral to our effectiveness and success; our human

resource policies aim for best practice and aim to be effective,

efficient, fair and transparent; we consult our field staff when

we develop human resource policy; plans and budgets reflect our

responsibilities toward our field staff; we provide appropriate

training and support; and we take all responsible steps to ensure

staff security and well-being. 



Contact: Sara Davidson, Inter-Agency Coordinator, People in Aid,

c/o International Personnel, BRCS, 9 Grosvenor Crescent, London

SW1X 7EJ, UK, tel./fax +44-171/235 0895.





WWF WARNS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IN AFRICA

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says climate change will

alter natural vegetation through southern Africa, as well as

wildlife habitats, crop growing seasons, and the distribution of

pests and diseases in the region.



In its study on Climate Change and Southern Africa, WWF predicts

that climate change will alter the habitat in 15%-20% of southern

Africa s large nature reserves. The changes in habitat will also

have serious impacts on conservation and tourism, which is an

important source of revenue in the region.



The study, which was coordinated by the Climatic Research Unit of

the University of East Anglia, says there has been noticeably

less rainfall in southern Africa over the past 20 years, and

drought has become an increasing threat. Between 1985-1995, many

bore holes dried up in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, southern Zambia and

South Africa, making it impossible to grow crops or maintain

livestock herds in many areas. 



Climate change also threatens human health, according to the

study.  Global warming looks set to expose millions of Africans

to new health risks,  said Dr. David Rogers of Oxford University

and one of the report s authors.  There are clear signs that as

climate conditions change, disease-bearing mosquito populations

will increase, and more of the African population will become

vulnerable to malaria.  He said research suggests that climate

change is likely to increase the distribution of malaria-bearing

Anopheles gamhiae mosquitoes. These mosquitoes will probably

maintain their stronghold in equatorial Africa, and their range

will extend into areas of Namibia and northern South Africa,

where human populations have little immunity to the disease.



Adam Markham, Director of WWF s Climate Change Campaign, added,

 The whole of Africa contributes around 7% of the world s

greenhouse gas emissions. It is both ironic and tragic that

Africa should suffer such devastating effects as a result of

other countries  activities.  WWF is urging African countries

that are parties to the UN climate convention to join in efforts

to commit industrialized countries to greater reductions in

carbon dioxide emission. 



Contact: WWF International, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, telephone

+41-22/364 9550, fax +41-22/364 8307.





WOMEN-CENTRED HEALTH RESOURCES KIT

The Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW)

has produced a health resource kit, which shares the experiences

of organizations and individuals who are striving to change

perspectives, policies and programmes on women s health, to

become more focused on women s needs and more responsive to

gender issues. The kit highlights a variety of efforts in the

Asia-Pacific region to meets women s health needs, such as

developing a new women s health policy, sensitizing policy

makers, health practitioners and others, and empowering women

with information on health. It features pull-out sections

containing case studies with lessons learned for easy reference

and practical use. The kit also contains tested and practical

tools, including frameworks, guidelines and questionnaires with

instructions. 



A wall-chart poster, which contrasts the conventional population

control and family planning approach with women-centred and

gender-sensitive ones, is also provided along with a description

of concepts and terms.



Contact: ARROW, 2nd Floor, Blk. F, Anjung Felda, Jalan Maktab,

54000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, telephone +60-3/2929913, fax

+60-3/2929958, e-mail arrow@po.jaring.my





CONGRESS ON ENVIRONMENT AND PEACE

The International Association of Educators for World Peace

(IAEWP) is holding the 1997 International Eurasian Congress on

Environment and Peace in Giresun (Turkey) from 2-9 August.

Participants will discuss environmental issues including the

effects of technology, energy and pollution, teaching conflict

resolution, potential conflicts around the world, effects of

technology on peace, and the relationship between peace and the

environment.



Contact: IAEWP 1997 International Eurasian Congress, Executive

Committee, Gazi Caddesi No. 72, 28100 Giresun, Turkey, telephone

+90-454/212 3190 or 216 6790, fax +90-454/216 4518 or 216 0095.



FOCUS SECTION



ILO WORLD EMPLOYMENT REPORT SURVEYS LABOUR 

MARKET CONDITIONS



Nearly one billion people around the world, about 30% of the

global workforce, are unemployed or underemployed, says the

International Labour Office (ILO) report on World Employment

1996/97: National Policies in a Global Context. Go Between

summarizes the report s major findings and recommendations.



The report calls the global employment situation  grim.  It says

the underlying causes of deteriorating labour market conditions

are, among other things, lower growth rates in industrialized

countries; the failure of many developing economies to recover

from the 1980s economic crisis; and the progressive  eviction 

from the work world of the long-term unemployed and

the casualization  of millions of informal sector workers.



At least 34 million people are unemployed in the world s

wealthiest nations, the members of the Organization of Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the European Union,

unemployment rates in 1995 increased to an average of 11.3%, with

significant increases in France (11.8%) and Italy (11.5%). In

1996 the trend continued with unemployment rates rising in

Germany to 11.2% and in Sweden to 8.3%, among others. However,

unemployment dipped in the United States from 5.4% in 1994 to

4.9% in 1996. Unemployment rates also declined in the United

Kingdom from 9.4% in 1994 to 7.8% in 1996. But in both countries,

the report warns, income disparities are widening.



Unemployment rates declined slightly in Central and Eastern

European countries between 1994 and 1995, but they remained high

at 11.6% or more in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and

Slovenia. Unemployment continued to increase in the Russian

Federation and in some countries of the former Soviet Union.



In Latin America and other developing countries, up-to-date data

on employment is rare. In Colombia, unemployment rose from 8% to

10.4% between mid-1995 and 1996. In urban areas, unemployment

between 1994 and 1995 increased in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador,

Jamaica, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela; the rate was 10% or more

in Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela.



The report says data on unemployment during the same period in

other developing regions is available only for South Africa and

the Republic of Korea. In South Africa unemployment increased

from 4.4% to 4.9%, and in Korea it declined from 2.4% to 2.2%. In

many low-income countries in sub-Sahara Africa and parts of Asia,

where data on unemployment does not exist, other indicators point

to continuing underemployment and poverty; these indicators

include the rate of economic growth and of industrialization.



Commitment to Employment Needed

The report says the  priority requirement for reversing the

prolonged deterioration in employment conditions is the

restoration of high and sustained rates of economic growth,  and

it maintains that  the concept of full employment, suitably

updated, should remain as a principal objective of economic and

social policy.  Nothing short of a renewed international

commitment to full employment is required to reverse the problem.

 It is not just heartless but pernicious to assume that nothing

can be done to remedy unemployment,  says ILO Director-General

Michel Hansenne. He questions the belief that  jobless growth  is

the best that can be hoped for in an increasingly competitive

economy, or that current rates of unemployment constitute a

natural and inevitable outcome of market forces.  Current levels

of unemployment,  he says,  make no economic sense and are

neither politically nor socially sustainable. 



Recommendations for Developing Economies

The report says policy makers in the developing economies should

aim for  a rate of growth of productive, modern-sector jobs that

exceeds the rate of growth of the labour force and a reduction in

the extent of under-employment in the rural and urban informal

sectors of the economy.  It calls for economic reforms, where

necessary, to achieve macroeconomic stability and to generate an

 environment conducive to high saving and investment and the

efficient allocation of resources.  The report says this would

permit developing countries to benefit fully from growing trade

and investment flows in the international economy. 



The Challenge to Transition Economies

The report says that although many enterprises in the region have

undertaken substantial restructuring, the formidable challenge

remains of restructuring uncompetitive enterprises and adjusting

enterprise structures to raise labour productivity. Given the

high and potentially intolerable social tensions this is likely

to generate, the ILO advises governments to choose  economic

policies and labour-market institutions that are most likely to

reduce unemployment,  such as decreasing obstacles to new

enterprise development and barriers to foreign investment. 



Other practical problems include inadequate housing market

flexibility and the difficulty of ensuring adequate social

protection for workers affected by restructuring. An array of

measures may need to be supplemented by temporary measures to

contain the rise in unemployment. These measures include an

improved institutional framework in which unions and employers 

organizations can undertake effective collective bargaining.



Promoting Jobs in Industrialized Countries

The World Employment Report 1996/97 cites three fundamental

preconditions it says are necessary for reaching full employment

in industrialized countries. They are:

n    increased economic growth rates via a combination of

expansionary policies and measures to boost productivity, which

means lower interest rates in an atmosphere of wage restraint and

concerted efforts to overcome skills shortages;

n    anti-inflation mechanisms, which could include improved

coordination of wage bargaining procedures and a strengthened

social pact; and

n    improved labour-market policies, such as reforms of

unemployment benefit systems and benefit-transfer programmes,

subsidies for low-wage employment, and payroll tax deductions to

encourage hiring of the long-term unemployed.  





Contact: Bureau of Public Information, International Labour

Office, 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland,

telephone +41-22/799 7940, fax +41-22/788 3894, web site

http://www.ilo.org





UNICEF REPORT REVIEWS STATE OF THE WORLD S CHILDREN



This year s State of the World s Children 1997 focuses on child

labour and explores implications of the Convention on the Rights

of the Child. It argues that, just as no child should die of

preventable illness, no child should labour in hazardous and

exploitative conditions. The report also describes myths about

child labour and outlines priorities for action.



Nearly every country in the world has ratified the Convention on

the Rights of the Child, which recognizes children s right to be

protected from economic exploitation and from work that is

hazardous or likely to interfere with their education or

development. But UNICEF says many commitments still need to be

put into action.



The report estimates that at least one-fourth of children in

developing countries are working some 250 million children aged

five to 14 years old. UNICEF is calling for global action to

tackle child labour and is demanding an immediate end to its most

intolerable forms, such as prostitution and bonded labour. Carol

Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, describes these forms as

 so grave an abuse of human rights that the world must come to

regard them in the way it does slavery as something unjustifiable

under any circumstances. 



Four Myths About Child Labour

UNICEF says one of the most persistent myths surrounding child

labour is that it exists only in developing countries. There are

child workers in all countries rich and poor. In the United

Kingdom, for example, between 15%-26% of 11-year olds are

working. In the United States, a three-day sting operation in

1990 by the Department of Labor found more than 11,000 children

working illegally.



Second, the report says it is a myth that child labour will never

be eliminated until poverty disappears. It says child labour

exists primarily because there are people willing to use children

for profit to exploit their poverty. UNICEF says that while the

effort to eliminate all forms of child labour must go

hand-in-hand with measures to reduce extreme poverty,  The end of

hazardous child labour does not have to and must not wait for the

end of poverty.  



A third myth that child labour is mainly found in export

industries is also discounted by the report. In fact, only a

small fraction of the world s child workers are employed in

export-sector industries probably less than 5%. Most children

work on farms, plantations or in the home, far from the reach of

labour inspectors and the media s scrutiny.



A fourth myth is that sanctions and boycotts are the only way to

make headway against child labour. The report says this myth

implies that the people and governments of developing countries

have been ignoring the problem of child labour. In reality,

governments, communities, organizations and individuals have been

working to expose child labour abuses, develop local and national

programmes, and promote consumer awareness at home and abroad.



UNICEF insists that any comprehensive attack on hazardous child

labour must advance on several fronts and take into account the

best interests of the child as a human being with a whole range

of needs and rights, not simply as a child labourer. It must also

aim to release children immediately from the most damaging

situations, such as bonded labour and prostitution; rehabilitate

those children who are released from work through the provision

of adequate services and facilities, especially education; and

protect working children who cannot immediately be released by

making their life as safe and as conducive to development as

possible. 

National and International Changes Needed

National and international priorities must change to ensure that

every child has access to relevant primary education. The report

stresses the links between education and eradicating child labour

and says education can liberate today s child labourers and

prevent children from drifting into similar work in the future.

 The longer and better the education,  says the report,  the less

likelihood that a child will be forced into damaging work. 

However, education must be of good quality. According to UNICEF,

education is often underfunded, rigid and uninspiring. In 14 of

the world s least developed countries, half the pupils have no

textbooks. Classes are often huge, with 67 pupils per teacher in

Bangladesh and nearly 90 per teacher in Equatorial Guinea. Around

30% of children in developing countries who enroll in primary

school do not complete it.  Education has become part of the

problem,  says UNICEF.  It has to be reborn as part of the

solution. 



The report also calls on governments to allocate 20% of their

budgets to education and basic social services, and it asks donor

governments to do the same with their official development

assistance.  It would cost,  says the report,  an estimated US$6

billion a year, on top of what is already spent, to put every

child in school by the year 2000. That may seem an enormous sum.

Yet it is less than 1% of what the world spends every year on

weapons. 



Priorities for Urgent Action

The report calls for urgent action on several fronts, including:

eliminating hazardous and exploitative child labour; free and

compulsory education for every child; stringent child labour laws

and their vigorous enforcement in each country; registration of

all children at birth; data collection and monitoring; and codes

of conduct and procurement policies. 



It says sanctions and boycotts have been used effectively to

raise awareness about child labour in export industries and force

some governments and business leaders to take vigorous action

against it. However, different approaches are needed to reach the

remaining 95% of child labourers, whose work is often unseen and

unreported. They include child prostitutes, farm labourers,

domestic servants and children working in local industries. In

the Convention on the Rights of the Child, governments are

committed to establishing a minimum age for employment,

regulations on terms and conditions of employment, and proper

penalties to ensure that these labour laws are enforced. The

report stresses these commitments must be put into action.  The

lives of working children will not change unless the world backs

its words with action,  it says.  It is time morality prevailed.

As we step into the next millennium, hazardous child labour must

be left behind, consigned to history as completely as those other

forms of slavery that it so closely resembles.   



Contact: HÇläne Martin, Division of Communication, United Nations

Children s Fund (UNICEF), Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10,

Switzerland, telephone +41-22/909 5519, fax +41-22/909 5907; or

Madeline Eisner, Division of Communication, UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza,

New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/326 7261, fax +1-212/326

7768. 





INCD-10 PREPARES FOR FIRST CONFERENCE OF PARTIES



The tenth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee

for the Convention to Combat Desertification (INCD) met in New

York from 6-17 January to prepare for the first Conference of

Parties (COP-1), to be held from 29 September-10 October in Rome.

Go Between summarizes the outcomes of the session.



Although progress was made in some areas, delegates failed to

reach agreement on important issues, such as the functions of the

institution to host the Global Mechanism (GM), the location of

the permanent secretariat, the size and composition of the COP

bureau, and the channeling of financial resources for the

convention s projects.



In his opening speech, Bo KjellÇn (Sweden), Chair of the session,

identified its central issues as the functioning and host

organization of the Global Mechanism; the work programme, budget

and role of the permanent secretariat; and arrangements for the

Committee on Science and Technology (CST). He also pointed out

the link between the INCD process, the meeting of the Commission

on Sustainable Development to be held in April, and the UN

Special Session of the General Assembly to review implementation

of Agenda 21, to be held in June.



The committee requested the interim secretariat to circulate, at

least 90 days prior to the COP, draft decisions related to the

programme of work and budget of the conference, as well as

detailed budget estimates for the biennium 1998-1999. It also

approved a draft on COP financial rules, subsidiary bodies and

the permanent secretariat and recommended the COP adopt the draft

at its first meeting. 



The INCD recommended the COP accept the UN Secretary-General s

offer to provide administrative and support arrangements for the

convention s secretariat, currently located in Geneva. Canada,

Germany and Spain have all offered to host the secretariat;

further negotiations on the subject will take place at a resumed

session in August. 



The committee adopted a text inviting the International Fund for

Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) to submit to the interim secretariat

by 1 May revised versions of their offers to house, and possibly

co-host, the secretariat. The text also proposes administrative

operations of the Global Mechanism, which will promote actions to

mobilize and channel substantial financial resources. The

committee was unable to agree on the GM s functions and ways to

mobilize funds. Finally, a text containing a number of

alternatives was annexed to the draft and forwarded to COP-1.



The issue of development assistance came under discussion in the

debate on financial resources. There was discussion about

providing developing countries, particularly in Africa, with a

means for addressing these issues through the emerging concept of

a chef-de-file, who would act as lead agency in coordinating

activities of donors in the affected developing country, rather

than empowering the Global Mechanism to mobilize resources. Most

delegates agreed that the matter could only be resolved at the

political level during COP-1. 



The session approved, with some specified exceptions, the

orally-amended draft rules of procedure of the COP (to be adopted

by the COP when it meets), as well as a number of decisions

related to the Committee on Science and Technology established by

the convention. These include the establishment of the

committee s research priorities and modalities, and timing of

future work on an inventory of research, which will report on

bodies performing similar work. The session also approved a

four-part decision on preparatory measures to be undertaken by

the CST on networking of institutions, agencies and bodies. 



The committee requested the interim secretariat continue its work

on benchmarks and indicators, as well as its informal, open-ended

consultative process. The process focuses on elaborating

implementation indicators and developing a methodology for

determining impact indicators. 



The committee recommended to the COP that:

n    NGOs previously accredited to the INCD be accredited to the

first session of the COP; 

n    NGOs meeting criteria proposed in the draft rules of

procedure and criteria recommended for adoption to the COP be

accredited to the first and subsequent sessions of the COP; 

n    observer status be accorded at the first session to all

intergovernmental organizations previously accorded such status

at INCD; and 

n    observer status to the first and subsequent sessions of the

COP be accorded to intergovernmental organizations meeting

criteria proposed in the draft rules of procedure and criteria

recommended for adoption to the COP. 



The committee recommended that the UN General Assembly decide

that the head of the interim secretariat, under the authority of

the Secretary-General, use the special voluntary fund to assist

developing countries affected by desertification and drought,

particularly the least developed countries, to participate fully

in the COP process and use the trust fund to support the

participation of NGOs in the work of the COP. 



A resumed session of the INCD-10 will be convened from 18-22

August in Geneva to address outstanding arrangements for COP-1.

The 50th ratification to the convention was deposited by Chad on

27 September 1996; accordingly, 90 days later on 26 December

1996, the convention entered into force.



An international network of NGOs, RÇseau International d ONGs sur

la DÇsertification (RIOD), has been facilitating communication

among NGOs concerned about desertification. The network is

working to enable NGOs to participate in designing and

implementing the Convention to Combat Desertification, and

empower local communities to take control of activities to fight

desertification.  



Contact: Interim Secretariat, Convention to Combat

Desertification, Geneva Executive Centre, 11-13 chemin des

AnÇmones, CH-1219 ChÉtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland, telephone

+41-22/979 9410, fax +41-22/979 9030, e-mail

<secretariat@unccd.ch>, web site http://www.unep.ch/incd.html 



Badouine Kamatari, RIOD, Environment Liaison Centre International

(ELCI), PO Box 72461, Nairobi, Kenya, telephone +254-2/562015 or

562022, fax +254-2/562175.





WTO MINISTERIAL MEETING CONCLUDES IN SINGAPORE



The World Trade Organization (WTO) held its first ministerial

conference in Singapore from 9-13 December 1996. Trade ministers

or representatives from 127 member countries, together with

observers from non-member countries and international

organizations, met to consider the WTO s work programme for the

next two years at the conference, which is the organization s

highest governing body. 



The key outcomes of the conference include the Information

Technology Agreement, a programme of action for least developed

countries (LDCs), and the establishment of new working groups on

investment, competition policy and government procurement

practices. NGOs welcomed the WTO s decision to grant them access

to the conference s public sessions, but they pressed for more

access to the negotiations.



Conference Debates and Outcomes

The conference preparations were marked by some serious

disagreements among member countries on what the WTO s work

should include. Contentious issues included multilateral

investment, linking labour standards to trade agreements, and the

timetable for meeting the commitment to review agreements on

agriculture in 1999. Much of the disagreement centred on whether

the WTO should address new issues in the next two years, or

should focus instead on the continuing work of implementing the

Uruguay Round agreements. 



The meeting s most concrete outcome was also the least expected.

The Information Technology Agreement (ITA), a result of

discussions led primarily by the  Quad countries  (the United

States, European Union, Japan and Canada) was brought to the

conference already largely negotiated. Twenty-eight WTO member

countries endorsed the agreement; all are members of either the

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The ITA commits signatories to removing tariffs on information

technology trade, including products such as cash registers,

loudspeakers and fax machines. 



Another important result of the meeting is the Comprehensive and

Integrated Plan of Action for Least Developed Countries. The

plan, which is non-binding, calls on members to eliminate all

tariffs on LDC exports, which WTO Director-General Renato

Ruggiero has been advocating since the Group of Seven Summit in

Lyon, France in June 1996. It also asks the WTO to collaborate

with other multilateral agencies on LDC initiatives. The plan

commits WTO ministers to organize a meeting in 1997 with the UN

Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International

Trade Centre and others to develop an integrated approach to

strengthening the LDCs  trade opportunities. 



During the meeting many developing and some developed countries

resisted efforts by the United States and some European countries

to include labour standards in the WTO s work programme. Some

countries said they fear the proposal, often referred to as the

social clause, could lead to making core labour rights

enforceable by threat of trade sanctions. Moreover, some

developing countries are concerned that such a clause could

create opportunities for imposing new trade restrictions. The

Singapore declaration states that labour standards must not be

used for trade protectionist ends and recognizes the

International Labour Organization (ILO) as the organization

competent to deal with these issues. The declaration asks the

World Trade Organization to cooperate with the ILO in this area,

in line with each organization s institutional mandate. Many

trade unions strongly support the social clause while NGOs

disagree on how best to ensure that core labour rights are

upheld. 



Many developing countries sought to include in the declaration a

commitment to accelerate liberalization in the textile and

clothing sector, as well as in agriculture. Developed countries

resisted these proposals, and the final text simply reiterates

the commitment of member countries to full implementation of the

existing agreement.



The declaration calls for a working group to study the

relationship between trade and investment, one of the new areas

for WTO work that a number of developed and some developing

countries support, although it faced strong resistance by some

member countries. The declaration also calls for the

establishment of a working group to examine the relationship

between trade and competition policy. The declaration includes a

qualifying statement aimed at pre-empting these working groups 

discussions from turning into formal negotiations, and it

welcomes UNCTAD s work in these areas. 



A third working group is to be set up to study  transparency in

government procurement practices.  This group will seek to ensure

that government contracts and purchases are open to all bidders,

regardless of national origin, in conformity with WTO rules. 



The mandate of the WTO s Committee on Trade and Environment

remains largely unchanged, although the declaration proposes that

more use be made of trade and environment experts from member

governments in the committee s deliberations. 



NGO Participation

Over 125 NGOs, represented by 275 people, attended parallel

meetings in Singapore, and 235 people were accredited to attend

the conference s public sessions. NGOs welcomed the WTO s

invitation to attend public sessions. However, many NGO

representatives said their access to proceedings and the WTO s

work in general is too limited. Others said that representatives

of the private sector are granted more access to delegates than

the non-profit sector.  Your presence is important because you

are a bridge an essential link between what we are trying to

accomplish in the WTO and what the public expects us to

accomplish,  WTO Director-General Renato Ruggiero told NGOs in

Singapore.  I agree that more could be done to make documentation

available, to improve transparency, and to expand our dialogue

with NGOs, and I will continue to press ahead, bearing in mind

that the WTO is a membership-based organization and that we must

all agree on a common direction. 



The WTO s next ministerial conference will be held in Geneva in

1998, the 50th anniversary of the coming into force of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and with it the

founding of the multilateral trading system. Switzerland will

chair the conference.  



Contact: WTO, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne,

CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland.





UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SETS UP SUB-GROUP ON NGO 

PARTICIPATION



A sub-group of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the UN

System, established by the 51st GA after a series of informal

consultations, will examine the question of participation of NGOs

in all areas of the UN s work. Go Between provides information on

the sub-group and opportunities for NGO inputs.



While the exact scope of the sub-group s work has not yet been

determined, it will consider how to expand NGO participation in

areas of the UN s work outside of the Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC). The General Assembly, including its subsidiary bodies,

special sessions and global conferences, is increasingly

important to NGOs involved in the UN. In addition to economic and

social matters, the United Nations also addresses questions

related to peace and security, disarmament, and the development

of international law (for example the Convention on the Law of

the Sea and the establishment of an International Criminal

Court), which are of great interest to many NGOs.

 

Background on  All Areas 

The sub-group was set up in response to ECOSOC decision 1996/297,

which recommends that the General Assembly  examine, at its

fifty-first session, the question of the participation of

non-governmental organizations in all areas of the work of the

United Nations.  This was qualified by an interpretive statement,

read into the record by the President of ECOSOC, which says the

recommendation  falls within the competence of the General

Assembly as set forth in Article 10 of the United Nations

Charter.  



Governments are now working to reach agreement on the exact

interpretation of the hard-won consensus reached in ECOSOC. One

interpretation would limit the scope of the sub-group's inquiry

to NGO participation in plenaries and main committees of the

General Assembly. Another interpretation would mean the sub-group

would examine the question of NGO participation in the entire UN

system, with the sole exception of the Security Council s ongoing

work on specific disputes or situations.



Origins of the Sub-Group 

on NGO Participation

On 26 November 1996, GA President Razali Ismail (Malaysia)

requested Ambassador Ahmad Kamal (Pakistan) to consult with

governments and NGOs on this question. Ambassador Kamal held an

informal consultation with governments on 2 December while NGOs

observed, on 9 December he consulted with NGOs while governments

observed, and on 11 December he met with governments only. Many

participants said they would have preferred a separate working

group, but a separate working group had not been foreseen in the

UN budget, so this was not a viable option. A sub-group seemed

both an appropriate and adequate mechanism for the task at hand,

as long as the issue of NGOs did not become caught up in the

complex package of questions being negotiated in the working

group. 



These findings were presented to the General Assembly on 17

December and taken up by the working group on 23 January. The

working group set up the sub-group with Ambassador Kamal as its

chair.



The sub-group began its first round of consultations on 29

January. It addressed the question of NGO attendance at meetings

of the sub-group and its mandate, scope and future programme of

work. 

Opportunities for NGO 

Participation and Input

On 4 February numerous NGOs had the opportunity to make

statements to the sub-group. Ambassador Kamal requested that NGOs

address the following issues:

n    their experiences regarding existing practices with the GA,

its main committees and other parts of the UN system;

n    their experiences regarding attendance, seating, and access

to documents, the Secretariat and delegates;

n    advice on whether the current exercise should limit itself

to the question of modalities of NGO participation in the work of

the General Assembly, its main committees and the international

conferences and special sessions; or whether it should also

address the desirability and feasibility of NGO participation in

all areas of the work of the United Nations;

n    their understanding of the definition of civil society and

views on the proposal for the convening of a Civil Society Forum;

n    recommendations on exploring new and innovative mechanisms,

which could be examined along with those in place over the last

50 years; and

n    suggestions about introducing equitable geographical balance

in the representation of non-governmental organizations.



NGOs, which had not been permitted to monitor the sub-group s

deliberations on the scope of its work, presented a common

statement to the sub-group on 4 February. The statement expressed

their  grave concern [over] the fact that so many governments,

most of which operate on open and democratic principles, are

apparently opposing transparency in the sub-group.  



NGOs also said there should be no delay in agreement on extending

arrangements for NGOs to the GA and main committees, since

arrangements for NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC (as

agreed to in Resolution 1996/31) could form the basis for

arrangements in the GA and its main committees. They also said

that arrangements for UN conferences as contained in part VII of

resolution 1996/31 should provide the basis for arrangements in

special sessions convened by the General Assembly. 



NGOs said that adequately addressing the question of NGO

participation in the broader UN system, including its programmes,

agencies, treaty bodies and international financial institutions,

will require a more complex process of discussion and

negotiation. They declared they are willing to contribute to this

process but stressed that reaching agreement on arrangements for

NGO participation in the GA plenary, its main committees and its

special sessions should not be delayed pending a full examination

of the UN system. They noted that NGOs already working in the UN

system can provide valuable information and recommendations to

the sub-group when it addresses this question. The sub-group will

hold further meetings over the coming months.  



NGOs, in addition to contacting their national governments, can

send their contributions to the process to: Ambassador Ahmad

Kamal, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations,

Pakistan House, 8 East 65th Street, New York NY 10021 USA,

telephone +1-212/879 8600, fax +1-212/744 7348.





PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE



Structural Adjustment for the Transition to Disarmament: 

An Assessment of the Role of the Market

This discussion paper reviews the macroeconomic effects of

military expenditures and the transition to disarmament. It also

explores the effects of the peace dividend on growth.

Available from: UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),

Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax

+41-22/907 0057.



The Blue Helmets

This third edition, prepared by the UN Department of Public

Information, traces the course of United Nations peace-keeping

from 1948, when the first military observer group was deployed in

the Middle East, through early 1996. It also reviews the most

intensive period in the history of UN peace-keeping: 23 of the 41

operations covered in this edition have been established since

The Blue Helmets was last published in 1990.

Available from: UN Publications, Room DC2-853, 2 UN Plaza, New

York NY 10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 3489, e-mail

<publications@un.org> or UN Publications, Palais des Nations,

CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, fax +41-22/917 0027.



UNESCO Publications

General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa Since 1935

This 1000-page volume traces Africa s cultural, economic and

political history since 1935, when World War II arrived on the

continent with Mussolini s invasion of Ethiopia. Its sections

include the Struggle for Political Sovereignty, Underdevelopment,

Socio-Political Change Since Independence, Pan-Africanism, and

Africa in World Affairs. The book, which contains many

photographs, maps and an extensive bibliography and index, is

part of UNESCO s eight volume series on General History of

Africa. 



The History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. III

The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750

This volume, part of a UNESCO series, traces Central Asia s

complex mosaic of political events, warring dynasties and ethnic

movements from the Third to the Eighth Century. The book, richly

illustrated with photographs, provides detailed documentation

about the artistic, intellectual and great scientific and

literary works of the region as it became more strategically

important and made a major contribution to world civilization. 



Culture of Peace Newsletter

This bulletin highlights actions by UNESCO and its partners aimed

at promoting lasting peace and development. The bulletin,

published three times a year, is available in English, French and

Spanish.

Available from: UNESCO Publishing, 7 place de Fontenoy, F-75352

Paris, France, fax +33-1/45 68 57 41.



NGOs and the Bank: Incorporating FY95 Progress Report on

Cooperation Between the World Bank and NGOs

This report examines the relationship between NGOs and the World

Bank, ways to strengthen the relationship, and the progress made

toward this goal during 1995.

Available from: World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC

20433, USA, fax      +1-202/477 6391.



Child Labour: Targeting the Intolerable

This report from ILO chronicles the exploitation and abuse of

working children, surveys international and national laws and

practices, and describes effective practical actions to eliminate

the exploitation and abuse.

Available from: International Labour Office (ILO), 4 route des

Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland.



In Search of Cool Ground: War, Flight and 

Homecoming in Northeast Africa

This book, co-published by the UN Research Institute for Social

Development, draws on case studies from Northeast Africa,

including Eritrea, Ethiopia and Uganda. Its chapters include:

Assisting Refugees in the Context of Warfare; Reconstituting

Households and Reconstructing Home Areas; Responding to

Situations of Mass Voluntary Return; and Social Devastation and

Mental Health in Northeast Africa.

Available from: James Currey Ltd., 54b Thornhill Square,

Islington, London N1 1BE, UK.



International Fund for Agricultural 

Development Publications

Common Property Resources and the 

Rural Poor in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study concludes that common property regimes are

economically rational forms of property and management under

specific conditions; and the apparent failure of some to provide

a framework for sustainable resource utilization is attributable,

in many cases, to the intervention of outside forces, such as

governments that have not provided a viable alternative. 



Building on Project Experiences

This paper synthesizes the findings of IFAD case studies on

alleviating rural poverty in nine countries of the Southern

Africa Development Community (SADC). It also draws conclusions

about which projects have worked well, and highlights lessons for

future project interventions.

Available from: International Fund for Agricultural Development

(IFAD), Via del Serafico 107, I-00142 Rome, Italy.



NGOs, the UN and Global Governance

This book explores the role of NGOs in the international arena

and outlines their aims and scope. It provides five case studies

focusing on NGOs and critical contemporary issues: AIDS, the

environment, human rights, humanitarian relief, and women in

development.

Available from: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1800 30th Street,

Boulder Colorado 80301, USA, or Lynne Rienner Publishers, 3

Henrietta Street, Convent Garden, London WC2E 8LU, UK.



NGOs, Civil Society and the State: 

Building Democracies in Transitional Countries

Practitioners and researchers have contributed to this book,

which examines the role of NGOs in civil society. It includes

thematic chapters and case studies on civil society, and it

examines initiatives by Northern NGOs and donors aimed at

promoting democracy in the South. 

Available from: International NGO Training and Research Centre

(INTRAC) Publications, PO Box 563, Oxford OX2 6RZ, UK, fax

+44-1865/201852.



A Guide to NGO Essential Drug Policies

While many NGOs pressure national governments to adopt essential

drugs policies, few have actually implemented the same policies

to guide their own activities. This 20-page guide explains why

following an essential drugs policy is important and sets out a

step-by-step approach to help NGOs develop such a policy.

Available from: Health Action International-Europe, Jacob van

Lennepkade 334T, 1053 NJ Amsterdam, Netherlands, fax +31-20/685

5002, e-mail <hai@hai.antenna.nl>.



Successful Natural Resource Management in Southern Africa

This volume presents nine case studies of natural resource

management in Southern Africa. The studies were conducted by

universities, NGOs and government agencies.

Available from: Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers, PO Box 22830,

Windhoek, Namibia.



World Summit Follow-Up Series

The People s Alliance for Social Development has published eight

booklets on follow-up to the 1995 World Summit for Social

Development. Topics include eradicating poverty, a national and

international enabling environment, generating employment, social

integration, lobbying and the media.

Available from: People s Alliance for Social Development, PO Box

380, San Bernando, Chile, fax +56-2/857 1160.



European Local Government Database

This database contains 47,000 names of local government officers

in Europe working in economic development, planning, transport,

architecture, environmental control, housing and social services.



Available from: Newmedia Publishing, 71 Bondway, London SW8 1SQ,

UK, fax +44-171/820 8354, e-mail <100615.2361@compuserve.com>.



Human Rights Web Site

This web site from the UN Centre for Human Rights aims to be the

most complete online source of information about UN actions to

promote and protect human rights. The site covers, among other

things, field operations, treaty monitoring bodies, complaints

procedures and voluntary trust funds.

The web site can be accessed at http://www.hchr.ch



UN Department for Policy Coordination and 

Sustainable Development Web Site

The DPCSD web site covers issues such as climate change,

desertification, women, and least developed countries. It also

contains up-to-date information on the work of the Commission for

Sustainable Development and the special session on the General

Assembly to review Agenda 21. The site has links to national

research centres, UN information sources and development research

institutes.

The web page can be accessed at http://www.un.org/dpcsd



Protection of Marine Environment Home Page 

UNEP has set up a home page on the Global Programme of Action for

the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based

Activities (GPA). It aims to raise awareness on the global

programme of action and facilitate access to the GPA information

clearing-house.

The home page can be accessed at http://www.unep.org/gpa



Social Development Web Site

The International Council on Social Welfare has launched a social

development web site, which contains information from NGOs,

governments, UN agencies and multilateral actors, as well as

documentation of recent UN conferences. The site also contains a

calendar of events and a table of follow-up action by country.

The web site can be accessed at http://www.icsw.org



World Trade Organization Home Page

The WTO s home page contains press releases, derestricted

documents and the newsletter WTO Focus.

The home page can be accessed at http://www.wto.org



International Institute for Sustainable Development Home Page

The IISD s home page on trade provides information on trade laws

and the World Trade Organization.

The home page can be accessed at http://iisd1.iisd.ca/trade/wto





CALENDAR



ENVIRONMENT

Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

n    5th session, 7-25 April, New York 

n    Special Session of the General Assembly on Agenda 21, 23-27

     June, New York 



UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

n    Meeting of the States Parties to the UN Convention on the

     Law of the Sea

     10-14 March, New York

     19-23 May, New York



Convention on International Trade in Endangered                   

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

n    Conference of the Parties, 9-20 June, Harare



Biodiversity Convention

n    Open-Ended Ad Hoc Working Group on Biosafety, 2nd meeting,

     12-16 May, Montreal



Climate Change Convention

n    Conference of the Parties, 3rd session, 1-12 December, Kyoto



Convention to Combat Desertification

n    11th session, 2 weeks, Geneva

n    Conference of the Parties, 1st meeting, 29 September-1

     October, Rome



Global Environment Facility (GEF)

n    NGO Consultation, 18-19 May, Washington DC

n    GEF Council Meetings, 20-22 May, Washington DC



DISARMAMENT

n    Conference on Disarmament

     1st part, 20 January-27 March

     2nd part, 12 May-27 June

n    Disarmament Commission, 21 April-13 May, New York



ECOSOC/GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

n    Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), substantive session,

     30 June-25 July, Geneva

n    52nd UN General Assembly, 16 September-December, New York



HUMAN RIGHTS

n    Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 50th

     session, 3-21 March, Geneva

n    Commission on Human Rights, 53rd session, 10 March-18 April,

     Geneva 

n    Human Rights Committee, 59th session, 24 March-11 April, New

     York

n    Committee Against Torture, 18th session, 28 April-9 May,

     Geneva

n    Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 

     16th session, 28 April-16 May, Geneva 

     17th session pre-sessional working group,26-30 May, Geneva

n    Commission on Human Rights, Subcommission on Prevention of

     Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Working Group

     on Minorities, 2nd session, 26-30 May, Geneva 

n    Commission on Human Rights, Subcommission on Prevention of

     Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Working Group

     on Indigenous Populations, 15th session, 28 July-1 August,

     Geneva 



Rights of the Child

n    Committee on the Rights of the Child

     15th session, 20 May-6 June, Geneva

     16th session pre-sessional working group, 9-13 June, Geneva



SOCIAL ISSUES

n    Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 40th session, 19-24 March,

     Vienna

n    Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 6th

     session, 28 April-9 May, Vienna

n    Commission on Human Settlements, 16th session, 28 April-7

     May, Nairobi

n    International Labour Conference, 85th session, 3-19 June,

     Geneva



TRADE

n    United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

     (UNCITRAL), 30th session, 12-30 May, Vienna



United Nations Conference on 

Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

n    Commission on Science and Technology for Development, 3rd

     session, 12-16 May, Geneva

n    Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial

     Issues, 2nd session, 29 September-3 October, Geneva

n    Trade and Development Board, 44th session, 13-24 October,

     Geneva



UN-NGO ACTIVITIES

n    Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, 5-16 May, New

     York



WOMEN

n    Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), 44th session, 10-21

     March, New York

n    Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

     (CEDAW), 7-27 July, New York





GUEST EDITORIAL

Samir Sanbar

Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information





The UN and the NGO Community: A Common Mission, A Common Future

There was a time, not so long ago, when the question of whether

the United Nations should make more room for non-governmental

organizations was still a matter for debate within the

organization. No more.



NGOs who played so vital a part in the founding of the United

Nations 51 years ago, contributing time and energy and unique

expertise are now recognized not merely as participants, but as

important partners in the work of the organization. Indeed, in a

very real sense, they are part of the UN.



Early this year, the United Nations Department of Public

Information (DPI) welcomed NGOs into a new and expanded DPI/NGO

Resource Center situated not across the street, as the old one

was, but on international territory, within the Secretariat

building itself. As the Secretary-General said to the NGOs,  This

is your home. 



In September 1997, DPI and more than 1500 national and

international NGOs will mark the 50th Anniversary of their

working relationship at the annual DPI/NGO Conference at

Headquarters. The further strengthening of that partnership could

not be more timely. 



The challenges facing the United Nations in development,

peace-keeping and peace-building, and in promoting freedom and

justice and respect for human rights have always been daunting.

They are even more so now in the aftermath of the Cold War, with

the world being swept by the fragmenting, technology-driven winds

of globalization.



Questions of security not so much of territory, but of people s

daily lives loom ever larger in public consciousness, amid

deepening worldwide economic inequities, social breakdown,

environmental threats and new infectious diseases, unfettered

population growth, gender inequality and assaults on human

rights.



Only the United Nations can lend momentum and visibility to the

search for global solutions to these problems and it is DPI s

job, at a time of dwindling finances and wavering political will

among governments, to spread that message to the widest possible

audience. This means seeking out opportunities to reach diverse

audiences, especially through such mass media as television and

radio; and disseminating, through cyberspace as well as more

conventional routes, easily digestible information, using formats

such as fact sheets and  at a glance  explanations of the many

complex issues on the organization s agenda.



Globalization has brought many new and frightening problems to

the fore but it has also provided the ingredients for new

solutions, by bringing a surge of new actors onto the world

stage. Regional and international organizations,

parliamentarians, transnational business groups, academic and

policy-research institutions, the media, and especially NGOs, all

have vital parts to play in the making of a better world.

In the 1990s alone, NGOs have been in the forefront of the UN s

development and human rights agenda, not only at the United

Nations itself, but in connection with the many global

conferences and summits held under UN auspices. The role of NGOs

in the landmark agreements of the Earth Summit whose

accomplishments will be the subject of a five-year review by the

General Assembly in June is but one shining example.



Now, on the brink of a new century, with the future rol