8A
Wednesday, March 8, 1995
NATION/WORLD
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Money stalls poverty summit...
The Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Discord about money, and how to spend it, stalled progress yesterday at a summit on poverty as delegates jostled about ways to raise global living standards.
After two days of the U.N. World Summit for Social Development, delegates still were trying to work out provisions on foreign aid, debt relief and education financing.
The issues were among the most contentious at the summit, the first attempt to reach global consensus on fighting poverty and unemployment.
Nearly 9,000 delegates from 183 nations flowed through the sprawling convention center, making a central hall look more like an international train station than a summit meeting.
Knight-Ridder Tribune
Piles of colorful brochures, posters and booklets were scattered in corridors, forming an obstacle course of issues — literally and figuratively ← for delegates and journalists at the weeklong session.
The delegates are supposed to put together a final document to be
signed Sunday by nearly 120 national leaders, including Vice President Al Gore and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Agreement has been reached on calls for equal rights for women, better education for girls, improved access to health care and more jobs for the rural poor.
yesterday all but ruled out overall targets for anti-poverty spending.
But a caucus of 132 poorer nations
The proposal to call upon nations to set a target of 20 percent of domestic spending for social welfare ran aground when several delegates resisted any conditions on aid money, said Venezuela's minister of family, Mercedes Puillo de Briceno.
Delegates said the idea still could be preserved in principle but would be limited to bilateral agreements. That means countries would be left to work out spending goals on their own, without accounting to the United Nations.
Still, some U.N. officials said that the idea was alive could be considered an achievement.
"We still consider it important; it's a departure point," said Jean-Claude Faby, director of policy coordination at the U.N. office on sustainable development.
The session was haunted by other money issues, such as whether rich countries and banks will write off Third World debt. Negotiations on the issue bogged down yesterday.
Officials from the United Nations, the United States and other countries said they had no information about any country or lender planning to announce debt relief at the summit.
Denmark, the host country, tried to set an example last week by canceling $166 million in loans owed by six African and Latin American countries. Other wealthy countries praised the move but have not followed suit.
The Associated Press
COPENHAGEN, Denmark Hillary Rodham Clinton urged rich nations yesterday to spend less on weapons, more on people and to take more time with their children.
In a stop at a day-care center, she told parents that a U.N. poverty summit in Copenhagen was aimed at improving social conditions.
"But the whole point of doing that is to have stronger relationships with other people and stronger family structures," Mrs. Clinton said.
"I do think that both mothers and fathers have to work out how to spend more time with their children."
"This forum is about putting people first. And putting people first requires realistic, workable solutions to complex problems," she said.
Earlier, Mrs. Clinton told delegates at the 183-nation poverty summit that countries were wasting money on weapons of mass destruction and doing violence to basic human rights.
The Clinton administration has proposed a 1996 military budget of $246 billion.
The United States and other wealthy nations are considering cuts in foreign aid, leaving the summit to focus on what governments and aid groups can do on their own. Most proposals for action by rich countries have been watered down.
Mrs. Clinton used the forum to promote the Clinton administration's drive to extend the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed by 172 nations. Several countries that have not signed are at the conference.
Some nonnuclear powers oppose extending the agreement, which they say gives nuclear powers a monopoly.
"All nations will have to realize that investing in people, not the acquisition of nuclear arms, is the way to make their societies stronger," Mrs. Clinton said.
She said she would announce a U.S. initiative to increase female literacy and help more girls in developing countries finish primary school.
Red Lyon Tavern
A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence
944 Massachusetts 832-8228
Vanity
AFTER INVENTORY
CLEARANCE SALE
March 8th & 9th
60% to 80% off
All Fall & Holiday Fashions
quantities won't last long!
Mon-Wed 10am-6:30pm Thurs 10am-9pm Fri-Sat 10am-7pm Sun 12:30-5:30pm 821 Massachusetts 843-8711
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
STUDENT SENATE INVITES ALL STUDENTS TO PRESENT WORK FOR ARTS ON THE BOULEVARD TO BE HELD ON APRIL 5TH
ANY MEDIA, ANY SIZE ANY FORM OF EXPRESSION ENCOURAGED.
TO SUBMIT, PLEASE VISIT THE SENATE OFFICE FOR AN APPLICATION.
ANY QUESTIONS MAY BE ANSWERED BY:
LUCY RIDGWAY arts and events chairwoman
STACYSILL fine arts senator or
DAVID TURNER fine arts senator at 864-3710