United Nations  in the News

"The UN Human Rights Commission regularly votes on censure motions against China. Why have western allies such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which have similar human-rights records, never been the subject of censure moves" 

Mr. Annan: The work of the Commission is the work of an independent group of member states: the Secretariat has very little to do with it. I personally don't accept that human rights are Western. Their antecedents go back 2000 years, an indication this is something in every culture and religion. All believe in tolerance and the sanctity of life. We only codified these things after World War II. 

Since most of the 185 United Nations member states were not independent when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted, do you see justification in proposals for a review by the current membership? 

Mr. Annan: No. First of all, by accepting the UN Charter, the 185 members have signed on. Almost all have accepted the human rights convention and many of them have included its provisions in their national constitutions. The problem is how we apply it. I would be the last to suggest that human rights or democracy is one of those situations where one size fits all. Each society has to organize and structure itself to give meaning to democracy and to the values that human rights entail."

Golden Drops

March 20 is the sixth annual observance of World Water Day, declared by the UN General Assembly in 1992. 

What is this year's theme? 

Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of ESCAP: This year's theme is  "Ground Water - the invisible Resource", selected because of three fundamental gaps in groundwater management: Firstly, groundwater is being polluted at an accelerated pace in many parts of the world; secondly, people are not aware of the sustainable use and economic importance of groundwater, and thirdly, if the problems are not solved the cost of clean water will rise. 

Why should the United Nations worry about this? 

Mr. Mooy: ESCAP assists Asian countries in protecting their water resources. Nearly half of the world?s population depends on groundwater sources for drinking water supply and for other uses. In India, for example, nearly 50 per cent of the irrigated land depends on groundwater. Almost 80 per cent of the world's rural population receives a safe supply of water only because it comes from a groundwater aquifer safe from surface pollution. If the entire world's water supply were based on treated surface water, then the cost would be increased by 20 times. Groundwater is affordable and close to the community which can manage it. The protection of groundwater will become critical in the coming years due to the increasing problem of pollution. And conflicting uses of groundwater, such as drinking, irrigation and industry, can only be tackled through dialogue between all stakeholders. 

What is the effect of having World Water Day? 

Mr. Mooy: Many countries have been able to promote awareness of the benefits of clean water and have set up programmes to involve health authorities and educational institutions.