UN Chronicle back issues from March 1990:
The 38th floor: excerpts from statements by UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar made between 1 October and 31 December 1989. (column)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Excerpts from statements by UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar made between 1 October and 31 December 1989 Turning to the UN ... As we observe United Nations Day this year, there are growing signs that international relations may be entering a new and more ...
A turning point in UN history: towards a search for common ground. (44th General Assembly) (includes related articles)
Mar 01, 1990 ... The General Assembly a sensitive barometer Of the world's political climate-was swept at its forty-fourth session by an irresistible movement away from ideological confrontation and towards a search for a common ground, even on some of the thorniest international issues. A ...
Africa: major goals ... economic recovery, elimination of apartheid. (state-of-the-world review)(The Nations Speak)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Despite the successful independence process in Namibia, African nations speaking in the general debate remained concerned over what they saw as a potentially explosive situation in southern Africa because of the continuing existence of apartheid, The only hope for peace and stability in ...
Asia and the Pacific: the quest for peace pacts ... tempered optimism in '89. (state-of-the-world review)(The Nations Speak)
Mar 01, 1990 ...The quest for final peace settlements for Kampuchea, Cyprus, and Iran and Iraq remained a high priority for Asia and the Pacific nations in the 1989 general debate. Many noted continuing obstacles to fully implementing the 1988 UN-brokered peace plan for Afghanistan. The tempered optimism ...
Eastern European States: toward peaceful restructuring ... free of ideological prejudice. (state-of-the-world review)(The Nations Speak)
Mar 01, 1990 ... International security and cooperation, disarmament and European security were dominant themes in statements by representatives of the Eastern European States. Ways to enhance the role and efficiency of the UN, solve regional conflicts, protect the environment, overcome imbalances in the ...
Namibian elections declared 'free and fair'; 97 per cent voter turnout 'impressive,' 72 seated in Constituent Assembly.
Mar 01, 1990 ... The sight was impressive: hundreds of ordinary people standing in line, often for hours under a scorching sun,, waiting to vote in a process that would bring Namibia its long-awaited independence. And Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar described the results as equally impressive"' ....
Forging the world's youngest democracy. (Namibia)
Mar 01, 1990 ... One of the most important tasks facing the people of Namibia is the formulation of a Constitution for what is to become the world's youngest democracy. And a succinct text approved by the Security Council in 1982-the "Principles concerning the Constituent Assembly and the ...
After independence. (Namibia)
Mar 01, 1990 ... United Nations involvement in Namibia is not over yet. Until independence is attained, the Organization's transition team in Windhoek may have to deal with a daunting array of issues, ranging from the re-organization of the South West Africa Broadcasting Corporation to supervising possible ...
Unanimous call for end to apartheid made at 16th special Assembly. (UN General Assembly)(includes related information)
Mar 01, 1990 ... "The issue that the General Assembly is addressing today has been an unremitting concern of the United Nations since its inception. Through all the twists and turns of international affairs over the last four decades, the point of principle involved ... has remained absolutely clear. No ...
Launching the possible dream. (International Literacy Year)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Filling out a form, understanding a prescription, obeying a traffic sign or helping children with homework can be anxiety-ridden experiences for over one quarter of the world's adult population-the estimated 965 million people over 15-who cannot read or write. But there is hope ...
Literacy on the home front. (six national campaigns)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Xu Weizhi is a fruit farmer at his home in China's Sichuan Province. In 1982, he was also one of China's almost 238 million illiterate people over the age of 12. Like Weizhi, 91 per cent of his country's illiterates live in rural communities; the other 9 per cent live in cities. ...
How is literacy taught? (methodology of literacy campaigns)
Mar 01, 1990 ... I struggled through the alphabet as if it had been a bramble bush, getting considerably worried and scratched by every letter. - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations How is literacy achieved? What does a country do when it wants to launch a literacy campaign? ...
Closing the gender gap: literacy for women and girls. (includes related information on UNESCO in Nepal and Burkina Faso)
Mar 01, 1990 ... When you educate a mother, you educate a nation. -proverb Thirty-three-year-old Binta Badji felt an urgent "need" to learn to read and write after being unable to take notes or read class handouts during a three-day training course for village women on food ...
Educating all. (eradicating illiteracy)(includes related information on basic education conference to be held in Thailand)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Everyone has the right to education. -Article 26, Universal Declaration of Human Rights A 10-year-old girl, one of five children, lives in a remote village in India. Her parents are agricultural workers. She would like to attend school but there are numerous hurdles: ...
Illiteracy knows no borders. (functional illiteracy in the Western world)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Education isn't expensive when you consider the alternative. e - Derek Bok, President, Harvard University Not confined to developing nations, illiteracy is a global problem, crossing all borders. "Functional illiterates" in the industrialized world, ...
Assembly reiterates call for Middle East peace conference. (includes related information, and Security Council veto of text on Palestinian rights)
Mar 01, 1990 ... The General Assembly has called once again for the convening of an international peace conference on the Middle East, reaffirming its conviction that the question of Palestine is the core of the conflict in the region. The world body adopted seven resolutions on 4 and 6 ...
Larger role for UN in Central America urged; presidents ask for demobilization of irregular forces. (includes related articles on Nicaragua, and the United Nations Observer Group in Central America)
Mar 01, 1990 ...Presidents ask for demobilization of irregular forces The United Nations has been asked to play a larger role in the Central America peace process. The request was made by the region's five Presidents at a summit meeting in San Isidro de Coronado, Costa Rica (10-12 December). ...
Assembly demands immediate halt of United States intervention in Panama; similar text vetoed in Security Council.
Mar 01, 1990 ...Similar text vetoed in Security Council The General Assembly on 29 December demanded "the immediate cessation of the intervention and the withdrawal from Panama of the armed invasion forces of the United States". It also strongly deplored the intervention, calling it ...
Negotiations on Kampuchea gather 'unprecedented momentum,' S-G says. (Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar on 24 October reported "unprecedented momentum" in the process of dialogue and negotiations regarding the situation in Kampuchea. Although "peace remains elusive", he said, the results of ongoing intensive diplomatic activity should not be lost ....
Iran-Iraq peace talks continue.
Mar 01, 1990 ... Ways to move forward within the framework of Security Council resolution 598 (1987) in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace between Iran and Iraq have been put forward by Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar through his Personal Representative Jan K. Eliasson during ...
Two-session conference on conversion of partial-test-ban treaty asked by Assembly; co-operative climate in First Committee noted, nuclear issues dominate.
Mar 01, 1990 ... Co-operative climate in First Committee noted nuclear issues dominate Stating that a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty is the "highest priority step" towards nuclear disarmament, the General Assembly on 15 December recommended that a conference of States parties to the 1963 ...
Intensified efforts for world peace and security urged. (USSR-US joint initiative)
Mar 01, 1990 ... In the first joint USSR-United States political resolution in UN history, the General Assembly on 15 November called on Member States to intensify their efforts towards ensuring international peace and security through co-operative means, in accordance with the UN Charter. Resolution 44/21 ...
UN role in crisis prevention discussed; wider role for World Court sought.
Mar 01, 1990 ... Wider role for World Court sought The United Nations must demonstrate its capacity to function as "guardian of the world security", stated Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar in his 1989 report on the work of the Organization. His appeal for renewed efforts to "activate ...
UN peace-keeping activities need broad support.
Mar 01, 1990 ... UN peace-keeping activities require the "broadest and most informed popular support", Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar told a forum on "Peace-keeping in the 1990s," sponsored by Parliamentarians for Global Action at UN Headquarters on 2 November. Formerly, the image of ...
Programme for special UN Decade on decolonization considered. (International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Colonialism in all its forms is incompatible with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1960 Declaration on decolonization and poses a serious threat to international peace and security. So stated the General Assembly on 11 December in taking action ...
1990s declared UN Decade of International Law.
Mar 01, 1990 ... The General Assembly on 17 November declared the period 1990-1999 as the United Nations Decade of International Law, thus heeding a growing world-wide recognition of the need to strengthen the rule of law in international relations. The Assembly stated (44/23) that the Decade ...
1994 proclaimed 'Year of the Family'; rededication to social progress asked. (by General Assembly)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Family issues will receive heightened international attention in 1994, proclaimed as "International Year of the Family" by the General Assembly on 8 December (44/82). The Year will highlight global awareness of family issues and the improvement of national mechanisms directed at ...
Women: a UN priority; world conference may be held in 1995. (includes related information on women's role in development)
Mar 01, 1990 ... The General Assembly has asked the Commission on the Status of Women to consider the question of holding in 1995 a fourth world conference on women. The first UN world conference on women was held in Mexico City in 1975, the second in Copenhagen in 1980, and the third in Nairobi ...
Assembly adopts new Convention ... for the children of the world.... (international Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Mar 01, 1990 ... After 10 years of negotiations, the General Assembly on 20 November adopted an international Convention on the Rights of the Child. It took the Assembly only two minutes to officially turn the 54-article instrument into a universal standard against which children's basic rights will be ...
Drug menace to be focus of special session; international panel to be set up. (includes related information on world war against drugs)
Mar 01, 1990 ... Deep concern over the devastating effect of drug abuse on individuals and society" led the General Assembly on 1 November to call for a special session to spearhead the international fight against drug abuse and narcotics trafficking (44/16). Scheduled for 20 to 23 February 1990 ...
Crime Congress in Havana to address growing global crime. (Eighth Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders)
Mar 01, 1990 ... The global fight against Crime is to be given renewed impetus through the Eighth Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, to be held in Havana, Cuba, from 27 August to 7 SePtember 1990. Previous congresses have "influenced national policies and ...
Death penalty Protocol adopted, World conference on human rights considered. (Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
Mar 01, 1990 ... The General Assembly has opened for signature, ratification and accession a new human rights instrument aimed at the abolition of the death penalty. The 11-article Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was adopted by the Assembly ...
Global warming ignites Assembly action; Brazil will host 1992 conference.
Mar 01, 1990 ... The 159 States Members of the UN have agreed to draft as soon as possible a convention to protect the Earth's climate and to convene a world conference in Brazil in 1992 on ways to encourage environmentally sound development, at which such a treaty could be adopted. They also agreed to ...
1990s pose challenges; major uncertainties face world economy.
Mar 01, 1990 ... The next decade is likely to be marked by id major uncertainties" resulting from rapid changes in the structures and patterns of the world economy, Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar told the General Assembly on 24 October. The development dialogue has suffered, he declared on the ...
Special report on debt crisis; global economic growth hampered by debt burden, but new initiatives offer some hope.
Mar 01, 1990 ... Global economic growth hampered by debt burden., but new initiatives offer some hope Massive external debt-presently estimated at 1.3 trillion-remains at the heart of the continuing economic woes suffered by some 70 UN Member States. The General Assembly lamented this seven-year ...
Playing to all in harmony; a look back ... UN Day concerts.
Mar 01, 1990; ... On 24 October, the sometimes dissonant voices speaking in many languages on political topics of all persuasions fall silent, and the walls of the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters reverberate with the harmonious chords and notes of world-class musicians. The occasion is UN Day, when ...
UN stamps: messengers of peace.
Mar 01, 1990; ... They have been called "Messengers of Peace" And it is an apt title, for every day UN Postage stamps relay the goals of the world Organization around the globe. Since 1951, the UN Postal Administration (UNPA) has issued 860 stamps of different design, all on international ...