Fourth Committee: special political and decolonization; Making progress in the 'eclectic' Committee.

Some of the most contentious issues are discussed in the Fourth Committee, among them are problems in the Middle East, the ongoing decolonization process and the dangers posed by landmines, which have killed and maimed many innocent lives. Committee Chairman Yashar Aliyev, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the United Nations, described the Committee as "eclectic". He told the UN Chronicle that it illustrated "the divergence of the world" and gave delegates "the opportunity to deal with a number of very important issues".

In August 2005, Israel commenced its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, ending a 38-year occupation that many in the international community deemed as a positive step in the resumption of the peace process. Yet, the humanitarian and human rights situation of the Palestinian refugees "remains to be a major concern for the international community", Mr. Aliyev said.

Nadya Rasheed of Palestine said in the Committee debate that although her people viewed the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as "an important step towards reversing the Israeli colonization of the Palestinian Territory", the unilateral nature of the disengagement "failed to recognize any Palestinian concerns and left many critical issues unresolved". She added that Israel's continued construction of the Separation Wall was "making the vision of a two-State solution nearly impossible".

Ran Gidor of Israel said his country's withdrawal "demonstrated the seriousness of its commitment to peace" and allowed "the Palestinian Authority to assume responsibility for its citizens' well-being". In justifying the construction of the Separation Wall, he said that Israel was able to reduce the number of road blocks along the Karni border from 600 to around 370 "due to a decrease in terrorism inside Israel, which had resulted from the construction of the security barrier".

The Committee approved a draft resolution on "Assistance to Palestine Refugees" by 161 votes to 1 (Israel), with 11 abstentions, calling on all donors to make generous efforts to meet the anticipated needs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The issue of decolonization dominated the Committee's agenda. At the midpoint of the Second International Decade on the Eradication of Colonization (2001-2010), 16 non-self-governing territories, with a population of 2 million, still remain under colonial rule. Margaret Hughes Ferrari of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community, said that since 7 of the 16 countries under colonial rule are in the Caribbean region, the Community was "passionate about completing the unfinished business of decolonization". However, people living in colonized territories were, "in large measure, unaware of the legitimate political options available to them", she added.

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On the issue of Western Sahara, Abdallah Baali of Algeria said that Morroco's reign had caused "tens of thousands of people to take the path of exodus and seek refuge in Algeria and Mauritania", and for thirty years the Saharawis had seen "their fundamental liberties and inalienable right to self-determination denied". He called on Morocco "to return to international legality" and take up the peace plan for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Mohamed Bennouna of Morocco responded that his country did not understand "the stubbornness of Algeria to support a plan that was the subject of disagreement between the parties and which consequently is regarded as a still-born plan". He proposed a compromise solution, namely "a statute of autonomy, which allows all the population to directly manage its own affairs, in full respect of the prerogatives of sovereignty of the Kingdom". The Committee approved without a vote a draft resolution reinforcing Security Council resolution 1495 (2003), in which the Council expressed its support for the peace plan on self-determination of the people of Western Sahara as the optimum political solution.

Tim McIvor of New Zealand said that "Tokelau could become self-governing in the second quarter of 2006". With his country's full support, Tokelau is preparing to hold a referendum on its draft constitution and a treaty of free association with New Zealand. A draft resolution calling on UN agencies to assist the territory as it becomes self-governing was adopted without a vote.

The peaceful uses of outer space, including space debris and telemedicine, also featured highly in the Committee debate. Mr. Aliyev said that it was particularly interesting for delegations to learn how technology could play a part in monitoring the state of the environment. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad of Pakistan said that following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the early 2005 earthquakes in Chile, "we have witnessed the extreme devastation and human suffering caused by the recent earthquake that struck South Asia. This and other recent major natural disasters underline the need for a greater and more efficient role for space technology in the prediction, monitoring and mitigation of natural disasters". Khunying Laxanachantorn Laohaphan of Thailand, speaking on behalf of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), proposed the use of space technology to set up global early warning systems, which included networks to "disseminate knowledge of the disaster, disaster management and preparedness to the citizens of the world".

Jane Lute, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, acknowledged that landmines impeded sustainable peace and the long-term development of affected societies. However, there had been some progress and currently more mines are being removed from the ground. Maria Angela Holguin of Colombia said that "mines are perhaps one of the cruelest instruments of violence known to humanity, where children and innocent people are generally its victims". Colombia destroyed more than 18,000 antipersonnel mines that were in its deposits, she said. Chairman Aliyev pointed out that one of the positive things that came out of the debate was the recommendation to declare 4 April as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

On the recommendation of the Fourth Committee, the General Assembly adopted 24 resolutions during its sixtieth session.

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Telemedicine is "the use of information science and telecommunications to support the practice of medicine when distance separates the caregiver from the patient", said Dr. Ronald Merrell, Professor of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University and Director of The Medical Informatics and Technology Applications Consortium. "It is about the only thing I see on the horizon that could retard the growth of the cost of medical care, and perhaps slow it down and make it more affordable and more accessible", he said at his presentation during the Fourth Committee debate on the peaceful uses of outer space.

Dr. Merrell told the UN Chronicle that if telemedicine uses satellite transmission as its vehicle, it would be able to reach previously inaccessible or remote areas that might not have telecommunications networks in place. Telemedicine is the perfect tool for combating health problems in the developing world. For example, in rural Kenya, he was able to show that for just 28 cents a child could have "access to a health-care provider who has full access to information resources and consultation by telemedicine overnight".

Falling prices of telecommunications equipment and services "at a time when the costs of medicines and travel, and maybe medical care in general, are getting more expensive, makes telemedicine an inescapable reality", Dr. Merrell added. Currently, he conducts patient visits via telemedicine to 18 prisons in Virginia. "I have very high-quality cameras for looking at small things, a stethoscope to listen to breathing and heart sounds, and by interaction with the nursing personnel there, it's almost as though I'm touching things". Telemedicine, which has been around for 35 years, aims to put health-care workers in consultation with each other and allow them access to online medical information and database, he stressed.

For now, there is a well-established infrastructure supporting the technology with research in a field largely funded by space agencies, according to Dr. Merrell. However, he said he was frustrated that the "extraordinary" capacity for global "satellite communications is used for perfect reporting of some disasters, some tragedies, somewhere", instead of using those same links "to go back there and do something about it"--Jane Llyod