unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/12/89)
UN ASSEMBLY SESSION -- TAKE 9 Posting Date: 10/09/89 Copyright UNITEX Communications, 1989 UNITEX Network, USA ISSN: 1043-7932 Mr. MUSA, Foreign Minister of Belize, then turned to the illicit traffic in narcotics and expressed his country's commitment to launching a concerted drive to eradicate the drug problem, and to join forces in regional and international actions to put an end to this menace to society. While the cultivation and use of marijuana in Belize had abated considerably, he said a new danger stemmed from the growing use of crack and cocaine, as well as the use of Belize's territory as a transshipment point for illegal drugs. His Government proposed to work in collaboration with friendly Governments at the interdiction level to eliminate this serious threat to Belize. He expressed support to the related proposal of Jamaica, calling for the establishment of a multinational anti-drug task force within the United Nations system. The global issue that at present held centre stage was the environment, he said. In the coming decades, the world had to deal more effectively with the problem of acid rain, ocean pollution, nuclear and toxic wastes, ozone depletion and climate change. Belize, he went on, had its own concerns: its rain forests, coral reef system, flora and fauna, were gifts of God "which we have a duty to protect for generations of Belizeans yet unborn". But a holistic approach was necessary. Poverty was the ultimate environmental degradation, he said. He said the Government of Belize supported public and private initiatives in the promotion and defence of human rights, and particularly the rights of the child and of women. Belize would accede to and ratify the international Conventions on the Rights of the Child, and on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and give practical effect to these Conventions by the force of law. * Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501) --- Patt Haring | United Nations | Did u read patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | today? -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-