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UNITED NATIONS

"Passport to the Future - a programme to encourage young people between the age group of 7 to 14 to demonstrate their commitment to global citizenship, was launched by the United Nations Information Centre in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and UNICEF in New Delhi on October 10. The passports given to -each student contains a declaration for a united world and a series of pledges in key areas such 08 human rights, environmental protection, sustainable development and peace.

Developing countries are upset over the precarious state of the UN's finances. A major defaulter is the US which is estimated to have run up arrears to the tune of nearly US $L4 billion. Typifying the stand of developing nations, Prakash Shah, India's permanent representative to the UN complained: "The entire budget discussions will have a sense of unreality if major contributors continue to remain major defaulters."

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