United Nations Treaties

U.N. negotiators from 143 countries approved a global warming treaty Saturday that the Bush Administration hailed as historic but environmentalists derided as too weak to avert catastrophe in the next century.

In a move welcomed by environmentalists but condemned by congressional critics, the United States signed an international global-warming treaty Thursday at the United Nations, one of the modest achievements of a conference here that has focused on the role of developing nations in reducing "greenhouse" gases. Before the signing, Undersecretary of State Stuart E.

With speaker after speaker evoking the horrors caused by poison gases used in World War I, more than 115 nations Wednesday began to sign a dizzyingly complex treaty intended to forever ban the manufacture, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. "We are here to say that we will no longer accept these atrocities," U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said, recalling the terror that chemical weapons had "produced for the men in the trenches."

With speaker after speaker evoking the horrors caused by poison gases used in World War I, more than 115 nations Wednesday began to sign a dizzyingly complex treaty intended to forever ban the manufacture, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. "We are here to say that we will no longer accept these atrocities," U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said, recalling the terror that chemical weapons had "produced for the men in the trenches."

Eight European countries and the European Economic Community told the United Nations on Friday they have ratified a treaty limiting the production of ozone-destroying chemicals, ensuring that the treaty will go into effect Jan. 1. The treaty negotiated in 1987 calls for signatory nations to reduce "consumption" of ozone-destroying chemicals, defined as production plus imports and minus exports, to 1986 levels by July 1 of next year.

Forty-three countries Tuesday signed a U.N. convention against drug trafficking that will enable them to freeze and confiscate bank accounts and extradite suspects. The convention commits signatories to toughening their laws against drug dealing and providing mutual legal assistance in fighting international narcotics rings. "We are sending a clear message to those involved in international drug trafficking that there is no safe haven in the world today for their illegal activities," U.S. Atty.

In a move welcomed by environmentalists but condemned by congressional critics, the United States signed an international global-warming treaty Thursday at the United Nations, one of the modest achievements of a conference here that has focused on the role of developing nations in reducing "greenhouse" gases. Before the signing, Undersecretary of State Stuart E.

After more than two decades of negotiations, the U.N. Conference on Disarmament reached a historic agreement Friday on a final draft treaty for a worldwide ban on chemical weapons. The draft treaty, running to nearly 200 pages, bans the acquisition, development, production, transfer and use of chemical weapons throughout the world. It also provides for the destruction of all chemical weapons stocks and production facilities within 10 years after the agreement takes effect.

Our unease over the flogging sentence meted out to an American youth in Singapore increases with news reports giving credence to his claim that he was coerced into confessing by threats of beating and prolonged interrogation in a refrigerated room. A ruling on the 18-year-old's final appeal for clemency to President Ong Teng Cheong is due soon. We hope the president considers this claim, and the well-documented flaws in Singapore's authoritarian system of criminal justice.

Richard Rodriguez, welcome to the club! Rodriguez seems to be joining rather late in life. I had an advantage over him. I was initiated my very first day in school (Boyle Heights, Bridge Street Grammar School, 1923). I took my first beating from Mexican kids ("Latino" wasn't adopted yet). That made an impression. My Jewish immigrant mother had thought it important to show respect; she dressed me like a sissy. I remember it crossed my mind that something was amiss even at the tender age of 6. Anyway, my "education" continued through Hollenbeck Junior and Roosevelt High schools.

After more than two decades of negotiations, the U.N. Conference on Disarmament reached a historic agreement Friday on a final draft treaty for a worldwide ban on chemical weapons. The draft treaty, running to nearly 200 pages, bans the acquisition, development, production, transfer and use of chemical weapons throughout the world. It also provides for the destruction of all chemical weapons stocks and production facilities within 10 years after the agreement takes effect.

U.N. negotiators from 143 countries approved a global warming treaty Saturday that the Bush Administration hailed as historic but environmentalists derided as too weak to avert catastrophe in the next century.

Forty-three countries Tuesday signed a U.N. convention against drug trafficking that will enable them to freeze and confiscate bank accounts and extradite suspects. The convention commits signatories to toughening their laws against drug dealing and providing mutual legal assistance in fighting international narcotics rings. "We are sending a clear message to those involved in international drug trafficking that there is no safe haven in the world today for their illegal activities," U.S. Atty.

Eight European countries and the European Economic Community told the United Nations on Friday they have ratified a treaty limiting the production of ozone-destroying chemicals, ensuring that the treaty will go into effect Jan. 1. The treaty negotiated in 1987 calls for signatory nations to reduce "consumption" of ozone-destroying chemicals, defined as production plus imports and minus exports, to 1986 levels by July 1 of next year.

The Supreme Court gave the Bush Administration the authority Saturday to resume its policy of picking up Haitian refugees on the high seas and returning them to their troubled island homeland without considering their reasons for fleeing. On a 7-2 vote, the justices lifted, at least temporarily, a ruling by a federal appeals court in New York that declared this policy illegal. The high court is likely to hear arguments this fall on whether U.S.

If it was a good idea for a warring corner of the Middle East, it just might work for the Bloods and Crips. So figures a group of ex-gang members who are seeking to cement the ongoing truce in South Los Angeles by looking to another seemingly intractable conflict--the 1948 war between Israel and Egypt that briefly ended in 1949 with a United Nations treaty.