Cairo Agreement a major step towards self-government.

United Nations Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali has called the 4 May Cairo agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and Jericho a "first and major step" in implementing the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Interim Self-Government Arrangements, signed by the parties on 13 September 1993 in Washington, D.C. "Each move forward, such as today's achievement, brings Israelis and Palestinians closer to the goal of peace, for which both sides have yearned", the Secretary-General said in a 4 May statement. "It also sets an example to the region as a whole. As the parties have themselves agreed, peace in the Middle East must be comprehensive, just and lasting", based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), Mr. Boutros-Ghali stressed.

The Secretary-General appealed to the international community to "fulfill its commitments in support of the Declaration of Principles", particularly with respect to financial assistance--an "essential element as the Palestinians embark on self-rule".

He also paid tribute to those who had facilitated the accord, in particular the United States and the Russian Federation as co-sponsors of the peace process, as well as Egypt and Norway.

A "new situation prevails on the ground, presenting new opportunities to the United Nations system", Mr. Boutros-Ghali said on 29 June, in addressing the Inter-agency Meeting on UN Assistance to the occupied territories. The Israeli Army and Civil Administration had withdrawn from Gaza and Jericho, which had "become self-governing areas"

Therefore, he continued, "every effort must be made to assist the Palestinian authority in establishing its new administration and the institutions necessary to sustain it throughout the transitional period".

Terje Roed Larsen of Norway was named the Secretary-General's Special Coordinator in the occupied territories as of 1 June. As a focal point for all UN economic, social and other assistance to the...