30 December 2004 – Security, one of the main concerns of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, has greatly improved in the Caribbean nation, allowing UN teams to work with their Haitian counterparts on such pressing civil issues as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a mission spokesman said.
30 December 2004 – While the political and economic fortunes of the Central African Republic (CAR) are gradually improving, human rights abuses continue and the country's situation remains precarious ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-February, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report on the United Nations peace-building office there.
29 December 2004 – The exchange of 12-year-old Côte d'Ivoire currency for new began today in the rebel-held north of the West African country under the watchful eye of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, which was asked to help provide security for the three-day operation.
28 December 2004 – The Interim Government of Haiti today began paying former soldiers who have since demobilized following on agreements reached during talks supported by the United Nations mission in the country (MINUSTAH).
23 December 2004 – Though progress has been made on disarming Liberian militias, the peace process is dogged by persistent confrontations within one group and by the inability of the National Transitional Government to provide basic services or address corruption, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report to the Security Council.
23 December 2004 – United Nations humanitarian agencies and their partners are planning a new relief aid push aimed at helping internally displaced people (IDPs) in the troubled eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) now that a buffer zone there has restored a measure of security.
22 December 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the United Nations and the Security Council to make an immediate and "real re-assessment" of their approach to resolving the humanitarian crisis engulfing Sudan's Darfur region because the current course is clearly not working.
22 December 2004 – Joint United Nations and Côte d'Ivoire forces today started patrolling the West African country's major city, Abidjan, to provide security of person and property, the UN mission said today.
22 December 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the five-year-old UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) for another year and expanded its work, citing the Transitional Government's need for help in structuring mechanisms for national reconciliation and reform.
21 December 2004 – Having received an expert report citing failures in Liberia's management of its major natural resources and saying it still feared that proceeds from those resources might fuel conflicts, the United Nations Security Council today renewed sanctions against the West African country's diamond and timber industries and re-imposed bans on weapons importing and travel by certain former officials.
21 December 2004 – Facing a serious degradation in security and relief operations in Sudan's Darfur region which it has already called the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the United Nations today moved on both the political and aid fronts to halt the resurgence of violence and prepare for a possible new flood of refugees.
21 December 2004 – Stressing the importance of demarcating a final acceptable border between two Horn of Africa countries, the United Nations Security Council today said it was encouraged by Ethiopia's announcement that it has a new peace plan and by Eritrea's continued acceptance of an independent Boundary Commission's decision on the frontier as binding.
20 December 2004 – With emergency United Nations funding for Guinea-Bissau running out by the end of this month and despite a military mutiny in October, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is appealing for continued political, financial and technical assistance to the West African country so that it can be stabilized and carry out sustainable development plans.
20 December 2004 – Faced with a large-scale influx into Chad of refugees from the fighting in Sudan's Darfur region and the prospect of new waves fleeing across the border, the United Nations is calling for nearly $183 million to cater for a whole list of urgent needs in 2005, a 10 per cent increase over this year.
17 December 2004 – The outgoing United Nations envoy for the Middle East today visited Gaza to bid farewell to the UN family after more than five years of serving as Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s senior representative in the strife-torn region.
17 December 2004 – The Chairman of a United Nations Security Council committee monitoring international sanctions against the Taliban and Al-Qaida today reported that progress is being made against those groups, but stressed that all countries must be given the necessary resources to participate in this effort.
16 December 2004 – A comprehensive strategy addressing both security and economic problems besetting United Nations-administered Kosovo, as well as the inclusion of Serbs and other minorities with the majority Albanians in provisional arrangements, are among Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendations released today for moving the province towards final status.
16 December 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today called on countries in a position to enforce the arms embargo against Somalia to stop the flow of weapons to the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.
16 December 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today said it was looking for ways to toughen the arms embargo against Côte d'Ivoire and deplored the failure of all parties to fulfill their pledges under peace agreements by yesterday, a deadline set to herald expanded and automatic sanctions for a year.
16 December 2004 – In sharp contrast to his last briefing of "foreboding" looming over the Middle East, the head of the United Nations Political Affairs office told the Security Council today that "there exists, once again, a 'window of opportunity' to revitalize" the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
15 December 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today that he intends to increase the number of United Nations staff in Iraq, which he cut back after last year’s terrorist bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, and has ordered a review of security conditions in the violence-wracked country in order to move as soon as practicable.
15 December 2004 – Noting that the latest report on the Middle East referred to continuing tensions, the Security Council today unanimously renewed the mandate of United Nations observers in the Golan Heights monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Syria for another six months, until the end of next June.
15 December 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today "strongly condemned" the execution by Saddam Hussein's regime of Kuwaitis and third-party nationals who went missing in Iraq after the 1990 invasion of their country and the subsequent Persian Gulf War.
15 December 2004 – Diamond exporting revenues have risen about 60 per cent in post-conflict Sierra Leone, but youth unemployment is also rising, creating social tensions as the United Nations peacekeeping mission prepares to leave, a report to the Security Council from Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
14 December 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the Security Council and West African regional leaders to propose new long-term strategies for Côte d'Ivoire, saying that last month's crisis highlighted the limitations of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there.
14 December 2004 – The armed conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have presented new, more difficult challenges to the task of protecting civilians and the United Nations has had to call on religious and cultural leaders to plead the cause of independent humanitarian activities, the world body's top relief official said today.
14 December 2004 – The outgoing United Nations envoy for the Middle East is moving on to another hot regional issue after being appointed today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as his top aide on the question of foreign troops in Lebanon.
14 December 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan said today there were indications rebels killed two humanitarian workers in the strife-torn western Darfur region and he called on the international community to hold any side to the conflict, whether the Government or rebels, responsible for actions committed by its forces.
13 December 2004 – With violence in Iraq remaining a major challenge, the restoration of security, protection of civilians, credible and inclusive elections, and a closing of ranks by the international community to support political and economic reconstruction are more vital than ever, according to the latest United Nations report on the situation released today.
13 December 2004 – With more than half of the people of Liberia estimated to be living on less than 50 cents a day, a United Nations-appointed expert panel says the West African country is suffering from "widespread financial improprieties by government officials, extremely low economic growth, a high foreign and domestic debt burden" and about 80 per cent unemployment.
13 December 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan today condemned "in the strongest terms" the "brutal" murder of two workers of an international humanitarian organization in the strife-torn western Darfur region, and called on all the Government, rebels and militia to respect the principles of international humanitarian law.
10 December 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti is set to have more than 8,000 troops and police on the ground by the end of this month and will be able to demonstrate to country's people its determination to disarm rogue groups and establish security, the senior UN envoy to the country has said.
10 December 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq met today in Washington, D.C. with United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to examine the world body's role in the country.
9 December 2004 – Iraq's national elections, scheduled to take place at the end of next month, are on track, with more than 5,000 candidates registered from over 200 political parties, United Nations spokesman Fred Eckhard said today.
9 December 2004 – Seven months after the Security Council set up a committee to help implement a resolution that aims to prevent "the ultimate nightmare" - weapons of mass destruction (WMD) falling into the hands of terrorists and dealers on the black market - only 86 countries have submitted their first reports explaining what they have done or plan to do to meet the requirements set out in the measure.
9 December 2004 – The United States Government gave unambiguous support today to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan after several days of attacks on him by a US senator and sections of the US news media over the UN's supervision of the Iraq Oil-for-Food programme.
8 December 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan has told the Government and rebel leaders that "failure is not an option" in their efforts to formalize by the end of the year the two decades of civil war that have torn apart the southern region of Africa's largest country.
7 December 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today demanded Rwanda withdraw any military forces it may have in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and warned of potential instability brought about by the presence of Rwandan rebels in the DRC.
7 December 2004 – With both the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi "at a crucial turning point" in their peace processes, the United Nations Security Council should take financial and technical steps to help ensure success of the transition from years of war, according to the report of a Council mission released today.
7 December 2004 – Alarmed that the deteriorating security situation in Sudan's western Darfur region risks degenerating into chaos, the United Nations Security Council today called on the Government and rebels to abide by their pledges to end what the UN has termed the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
7 December 2004 – Since the Middle East “is very tense and likely to remain so,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended extending the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) between Israel and Syria until the end of next June and called on UN Member States to pay up their arrears for the troops.
6 December 2004 – On the eve of the inauguration of Afghanistan's first democratically elected President, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that despite key political gains, the country faces broad security threats as coalition and other international troops reduce their ranks.
6 December 2004 – With the clock ticking towards the 31 December deadline for concluding a peace agreement in southern Sudan, a senior United Nations envoy was today meeting with major players in efforts to formally end the civil war that has dragged on for more than two decades in Africa's largest country.
3 December 2004 – The United Nations commission that was in charge of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction says the conclusions of a CIA report largely confirm the analysis reached by its own inspectors.
3 December 2004 – The heads of the five United Nations peacekeeping and political missions in West Africa today decried attempts to derail elections in Liberia and called on the parties in Côte d'Ivoire to break the "perennial impasse" in that country's peace process.
2 December 2004 – Over 200 former fighters in Burundi turned in their weapons at a United Nations-run centre in the Central African country, which today officially began the disarmament process considered crucial to countering instability caused by decades of ethnic war there.
1 December 2004 – A senior United Nations official has obtained assurances from the rebels in Côte d'Ivoire that there will be no repetition of the kind of incident that forced the world body's emergency feeding agency to suspend flights last week after one of its planes was met with shots fired in the air, threats and hostile slogans.
1 December 2004 – A panel of eminent persons has recommended far-reaching changes to boost the ability of the United Nations to deal effectively with future threats caused by poverty and environmental degradation, terrorism, civil war, conflict between states, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and organized crime.
1 December 2004 – With the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Burundi set to expire today, the Security Council renewed the operation until 1 June 2005 and took the occasion to reiterate its strong condemnation of the massacre this summer of 150 Congolese at a refugee camp inside the country.
1 December 2004 – The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) today expressed concern about renewed tensions between the DRC and its eastern neighbour over Rwanda's expressed intentions to attack DRC-based Rwandan rebels even though conditions are ripe for their repatriation.
30 November 2004 – A high-level panel appointed last year by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is poised to officially release its report on threats to international peace and security in the twenty-first century and recommendations on how to deal with them, including two proposals for expanding the membership of the Security Council.
30 November 2004 – As preparations for Wednesday's observance of World AIDS Day gather steam, a United Nations official today stressed that HIV-prevention programmes targeting peacekeepers can help stop the epidemic's spread in areas where the UN is operating.
30 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council mission to Central Africa has returned home heartened by the progress made in efforts to bring peace to the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi, but fully aware of the considerable difficulties on the road ahead, its leader said today.
30 November 2004 – The Security Council today established a Trust Fund for donations to finance a protection force for the United Nations presence in Iraq.
30 November 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for the Middle East today became the first UN official to appear before the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, and urged the country to "grab the outstretched hand" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resume peace negotiations without preconditions.
29 November 2004 – The Security Council today renewed for another six months the 8,500-strong United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti after hearing a report from Secretary-General Kofi Annan outlining a deteriorating security situation with a surge of violence in the impoverished Caribbean country.
29 November 2004 – Although security has improved significantly in Kosovo since March's deadly violence, the worst in the five years since the United Nations took over administering the ethnically-divided province, much work remains to be done to achieve the goals needed to settle its final status, the top UN envoy there said today.
29 November 2004 – The United Nations today observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging the international community to renew its commitment to work for a “reinvigorated peace process” in the Middle East.
26 November 2004 – The United Nations emergency feeding agency said today that the security situation in western Sudan’s Darfur region was deteriorating rapidly with 300,000 displaced people cut off from all aid following a rebel attack earlier this week in breach of ceasefire accords signed with the government.
24 November 2004 – Syria is willing to negotiate a peace deal with Israel without conditions, the United Nations envoy for the Middle East said today.
24 November 2004 – The United Nations today called on Rwanda to respect international law following its threat to strike against rebels based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that the UN mission's mandate in the DRC includes preventing the peace process from being derailed by spoilers from within or without.
23 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council's Central Africa mission arrived in Burundi today on the third stage of its efforts to bolster the peace process in the region's war-wracked countries.
23 November 2004 – Leading prosecutors and judges of the two United Nations war crime tribunals warned the Security Council today that continued lack of cooperation by certain governments could derail their efforts to complete their work on time.
22 November 2004 – After seven rounds of voting, the General Assembly has elected 14 judges to serve on the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia through 2009.
22 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council, fresh from a rare session in Kenya to speed up efforts to resolve civil wars in Sudan, today visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), another conflict-riven country where the world body is seeking to bring peace and stability.
22 November 2004 – Despite recent steady progress in the peace process, major political and social tensions remain in Burundi as it tries to emerge from a decade of civil war, human rights violations are a cause of great concern and a strong international donor response is vital, according to a new United Nations report released today.
22 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously authorized the establishment of a European-led multinational stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
22 November 2004 – The security situation in Haiti has deteriorated over the past three months with a surge of violence, underlining the need to remove all illegal weapons from the streets, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report on the impoverished Caribbean country.
19 November 2004 – Fresh from a visit to Kenya to push for peace in neighbouring Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan moved south today with a call to solidify stability in Africa’s Great Lakes region, an area that he said had “been blighted by an appalling toll of death and destruction for as long as most of us can remember.”
19 November 2004 – Stressing the responsibility of the parties in Somalia to finalize peace in the country, the United Nations Security Council today reiterated its commitment to a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the situation in the Horn of Africa nation.
19 November 2004 – The Government of Sudan and southern rebels today pledged to end two decades of war by 31 December, signing a memorandum in front of the United Nations Security Council which had convened in neighbouring Kenya in a rare session outside New York to press for peace in Africa's largest county.
19 November 2004 – The United Nations today launched a new initiative to assess the impact of sanctions on civilians.
18 November 2004 – Warning that “there is no time to waste” in ending Sudan’s “long nightmare” of civil wars, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged a rare special session of the Security Council in Africa to give the final impetus to peace talks in the south while addressing “the terrible situation” in the west of the continent’s largest nation.
18 November 2004 – Russia today formally delivered its ratification of the Kyoto treaty against global warming to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, enabling the pact that seeks to reduce so-called greenhouse gases to go into effect in what the United Nations chief called “a great day for the whole world.”
18 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council held a rare session away from its New York Headquarters today in a bid to spur peace efforts in Sudan, convening in a highly symbolic step in neighbouring Kenya and receiving pledges from the parties in one of the wars in Africa's largest country to reach an accord swiftly.
18 November 2004 – Reports of violence against Sudanese women and children in and around camps for civilians displaced by fighting in Darfur seem to be increasing rather than diminishing, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today.
17 November 2004 – Although the overall situation in Côte D’Ivoire was reported to be relatively calm today, two weeks after fresh fighting in the West African country, the United Nations-patrolled Zone of Confidence (ZOC) separating government and rebel forces remained very tense, with the civilian population there very vulnerable to attacks.
17 November 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council arrived today in Nairobi ahead of a two-day meeting devoted to the civil conflicts engulfing Sudan, including the crisis in the western region of Darfur and the long-running war in the country's south.
16 November 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council are scheduled to depart today for Nairobi, Kenya, where they will convene a two-day meeting on the situation in Sudan later this week.
16 November 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN mission in Timor-Leste (UNMISET) for another six months before its planned withdrawal from that country next year.
16 November 2004 – The United Nations envoy to Southern Lebanon today expressed his serious concern over repeated violations of the line marking Israel's withdrawal from the area after two rockets were fired from the Lebanese side on Monday.
16 November 2004 – Despite a high degree of uncertainty in the resurgent conflict in Côte d'Ivoire, life seems to be returning to normal in Abidjan and other major cities and hate broadcasts that raised the spectre of further ethnic violence have given way to calls for restraint and a return to work, the United Nations mission there reported today.
15 November 2004 – Seeking to end the violence in Côte d'Ivoire, the United Nations Security Council today imposed an immediate, 13-month arms embargo against the country and gave the parties there one month to get the peace process back on track or face a travel ban and a freeze on their assets.
15 November 2004 – Security Council members will head for the troubled Great Lakes region of Africa later this week to show global support for national peace efforts, the leader of the mission said today.
15 November 2004 – More than two thirds of the military and police forces planned for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Haiti have already arrived to help foster a democratic political transition in the strife-torn Caribbean country after widespread unrest last March led to the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
15 November 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq today said "from a technical perspective" elections slated to be held by the end of January 2005 can go ahead as planned.
15 November 2004 – The United Nations Mission of Support in East-Timor (UNMISET) is preparing to conclude its work next May by turning over responsibility for key tasks to the East Timorese people, the senior UN envoy to the country told the Security Council today.
15 November 2004 – Briefing the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the senior United Nations envoy to the region urged both sides today to advance the peace process.
11 November 2004 – In messages of condolences and a solemn memorial session, the United Nations today paid tribute to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, stressing his historic acceptance of the principle of peaceful coexistence between Israel and a future Palestinian State and regretting that he did not live to see its realization.
11 November 2004 – Bosnia and Herzegovina is making steady progress in building closer relations with the rest of the international community, but the Serb entity within the country is impeding this effort by failing to turn over indicted war criminals, the United Nations Security Council was told today.
11 November 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy for Iraq met today in Baghdad with interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to discuss the latest developments in the country, a UN spokesman said today.
9 November 2004 – The Security Council today welcomed the certification by the joint United Nations-Afghan electoral board of interim President Hamid Karzai as the winner of Afghanistan's first-ever presidential elections last month.
9 November 2004 – On the eve of a Security Council session in Kenya to galvanize talks to end the long-running civil conflict in southern Sudan, the top United Nations envoy for Africa's largest country, Jan Pronk, has discussed the world body's role with rebel leader John Garang.
8 November 2004 – The situation in Côte d’Ivoire continues to cause great concern, foreign nationals have sought refuge in United Nations buildings and the atmosphere in the commercial capital of Abidjan remains very tense and volatile despite the restoration of relative calm following several days of violence in the West African country.
8 November 2004 – A United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry has arrived in Sudan to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred in the country’s strife-torn Darfur region, which the international organization has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
6 November 2004 – Meeting in an emergency session after French forces in Côte d'Ivoire were attacked and the Ivorian Government stepped up air strikes against rebel-held areas in the north, the United Nations Security Council today called for an end to fighting in the West African country.
4 November 2004 – The Security Council today decided that an election will be held next February to fill a vacancy on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) created by the resignation of Judge Gilbert Guillaume.
4 November 2004 – Reacting to the outbreak of violence in Côte d'Ivoire, members of the Security Council today demanded that the country's ceasefire be fully respected.
4 November 2004 – With both Sudan's government and its rebels losing control of their fighting forces in troubled Darfur, warlords may take over unless an international peacekeeping force is fully deployed, negotiations are speeded up and political leaders are held accountable for their actions, the United Nations envoy for Sudan said today.
4 November 2004 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today issued an appeal for $58 million to help 47,000 ex-fighters in Liberia, warning that peace in the West African country could become unravelled if the former soldiers do not get urgently needed education and job training after laying down their weapons.
3 November 2004 – United Nations reform, major events in 2005 and the present challenges facing the world body were at the top of the agenda for the yearly meeting of the heads of the UN systems six major organs.
3 November 2004 – The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) has started broadcasting radio programmes on its work in support of the country’s peace process.
2 November 2004 – Security breaches have been increasing in the camps housing Sudan's Darfur refugees and internally displaced people on both sides of the Sudanese-Chadian border, the United Nations said today.
2 November 2004 – Reacting to the recent assassinations of top military officials in Guinea-Bissau, the United Nations Security Council today said the parties in the country must not attempt to seize power by force.
1 November 2004 – The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency's top official today called on Iran to do its utmost to build confidence by suspending activities related to uranium enrichment and reprocessing-related activities.
1 November 2004 – Some relief agencies have been forced to scale back aid operations and relocate staff due to security incidents in the three Darfur states, the United Nations mission in Sudan said today.
29 October 2004 – On the eve of his retirement after three years of serving as the deputy head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Charles Brayshaw says nascent democratic institutions in the province will need continued international support to flourish.
29 October 2004 – The head of the United Nations mission in Haiti has met the leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to improve human rights in the Caribbean country to explain the UN's efforts towards the same goal.
28 October 2004 – Just ahead of a visit to New York to report to the Security Council on the Darfur conflict in Sudan, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today warned that the situation in the strife-torn region has not improved much during the past month.
28 October 2004 – The Security Council today called on the international community to help Central African Republic (CAR) prepare for its November constitutional referendum and January elections, and it welcomed Secretary-General Kofi Annan's intention to renew the mandate of the United Nations peace-building office there.
28 October 2004 – The Security Council today called on the United Nations to make a comprehensive, system-wide effort to end the continuing violence against women and girls in war and to give women a much stronger voice during post-conflict peace processes.
28 October 2004 – After the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone, the government should pay reparations to amputees and other wounded victims, those who were sexually violated, and the widows and children who suffered deprivation, displacement, or worse between 1991 and 2002, a United Nations-endorsed report on the war says.
28 October 2004 – The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations mission in Western Sahara through 30 April 2005, and asking Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report further on the possibility of reducing the size of the operation.
28 October 2004 – Women remain overwhelmingly excluded from participating in peace talks and post-conflict reconstruction, and continue to suffer physical and sexual violence during war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report on women, peace and security.
27 October 2004 – Spanish marines with their own armoured vehicles will join Moroccan troops in forming a United Nations peacekeeping brigade, which will deploy this weekend in northeast Haiti near the Dominican Republic, an area said to be rife with weapons smuggling, the UN mission said today.
27 October 2004 – Though peace talks on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict are at a virtual standstill, the search must continue for a permanent solution, the United Nations Security Council said today.
27 October 2004 – United Nations operations deployed to strife-torn countries are leading the effort to protect the youngest victims of war, the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict says.
27 October 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed a tripartite agreement signed by the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda and designed to promote security in the conflict-wracked Great Lakes region of Africa.
26 October 2004 – Anticipating a call for the United Nations to intensify its peace-building activities in Somalia, the Security Council today said any enhanced role for the Organization must be incremental and based on the outcome of discussions with the new transitional government.
26 October 2004 – The Security Council voted unanimously today to hold a two-day meeting next month in Kenya – only the eleventh time in its history that it will have met away from United Nations Headquarters in New York – to discuss the civil conflicts engulfing Sudan.
26 October 2004 – The United Nations has secured areas in Burundi where former fighters will lay down their arms in a process that could start next month, an official serving with the UN peacekeeping mission there said today.
25 October 2004 – More than 340 tons of high explosives that had been subject to United Nations monitoring were stolen or looted from a government facility in Iraq, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported today.
25 October 2004 – All sides to the conflict engulfing Sudan's Darfur region should take advantage of the momentum generated by international focus on the region and settle their political differences at peace talks now taking place in Nigeria, the senior United Nations envoy for Sudan said today.
25 October 2004 – Reacting to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's address in the Israeli parliament today, a senior United Nations envoy said he was encouraged by the leader's reiteration of support for a Palestinian State and his readiness to take "painful steps" to make it happen.
25 October 2004 – A United Nations team probing the mid-August slaying of Congolese Tutsi refugees in Burundi has not been able to identify the perpetrators and is recommending a further investigation of the brutal overnight massacre which left 160 people dead.
22 October 2004 – The parties in Western Sahara have made no progress over the last six months towards agreement on a peace plan, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report recommending a six-month extension of the United Nations mission there in order to maintain stability.
22 October 2004 – Cambodia could become a breeding ground for terrorism if it does not receive urgently needed international cooperation to boost its ability to confront the scourge, the Chairman of the United Nations Security Council’s committee on sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban warned today.
22 October 2004 – With a sense of foreboding looming over the conflict-wracked Middle East, a senior United Nations official today called for the international community to be more vigorously engaged in the region’s peace process.
22 October 2004 – The Security Council today endorsed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recommendation to reduce by one third the size of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and extended the mission’s mandate through mid-June 2005.
22 October 2004 – The international community must cooperate in helping Guinea-Bissau, which is at “grave risk” of becoming a failed State, the permanent representative of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for October, said today.
22 October 2004 – As the Security Council voted today on a reorganization of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the head of the operation said its newly strengthened civilian component will work to build on the success of ongoing reconciliation measures.
21 October 2004 – Requesting a three-year extension of the mandate of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Secretary-General Kofi Annan says it has proved a useful instrument in raising public awareness about cross-border problems and promoting conflict prevention in the region.
21 October 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the African Union’s decision to send an expanded force of troops and police with a broad mandate to protect monitors, aid workers and civilians in the conflict in western Sudan and he called on countries to contribute urgently and generously to the AU as it prepares to deploy.
21 October 2004 – The United Nations Security Council is considering holding a two-day meeting next month in Nairobi, Kenya, primarily to discuss the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, the permanent representative of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency for October, said today.
21 October 2004 – Shining the spotlight on what he called the world’s largest neglected humanitarian emergency, a senior United Nations relief official today called on the international community to get more involved in the nearly two-decade-old conflict in northern Uganda.
20 October 2004 – Fiji has agreed to provide a protective security detail for senior United Nations officials in Iraq, as well as a guard unit for UN facilities in Baghdad, a spokesperson for the world body said today.
20 October 2004 – Warning that the Georgia-Abkhaz peace process has come “perilously close” to a standstill, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged both sides to resume political contacts and to continue pursuing a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
20 October 2004 – Deteriorating security in Sudan's Darfur region and its impact on humanitarian operations and the safety of aid workers will be discussed tomorrow at a meeting bringing together United Nations and Sudanese Government officials.
19 October 2004 – In the four years that have elapsed since the Security Council voted to improve the ratio of women to men dealing with peace and security issues, the greatest progress has been made in United Nations peacekeeping missions, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
19 October 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today again urged Syria to withdraw its remaining troops from neighbouring Lebanon and asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to continue reporting any progress.
19 October 2004 – As several organizations work on structuring a peacebuilding framework for Somalia, a call may come for an enhanced role for the United Nations, but that expansion must be based on discussions with the new government, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
18 October 2004 – Adequate security, a well-defined and realistic mission and long-term commitment to success are among the key requirements for successful peacekeeping, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in Ulster, Northern Ireland.
15 October 2004 – Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Japan and Tanzania won seats today as non-permanent members of the Security Council.
15 October 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, which has been operating at less than half its authorized strength, will receive several hundred new members by the end of October, a UN spokesman said today.
14 October 2004 – The members of the Security Council today condemned the ongoing fighting in Haiti and gave their backing to the top United Nations envoy and the UN peacekeeping operation in the Caribbean nation.
14 October 2004 – The Security Council is considering holding a meeting next month in Kenya, where peace talks to resolve the long-running civil conflict in southern Sudan are taking place, to stimulate the two parties towards striking a final peace agreement.
14 October 2004 – The International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) on the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) has received an audit on the country's oil export sales during the first half of this year, a United Nations spokesman reported today.
14 October 2004 – Following on a Security Council decision to expand the tasks of the United Nations operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the senior UN peacekeeping official is in the country today reviewing the challenges ahead.
13 October 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today sent a letter to the Security Council outlining the financing of the independent investigation into the Oil-for-Food programme being led by former United States Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker.
12 October 2004 – Welcoming Saturday's presidential election in Afghanistan, and congratulating the millions of voters for their "commitment to democracy," the Security Council today urged the Afghan Government to focus on the challenges of improving security, continuing the disarmament of ex-fighters, battling the illegal drug trade and preparing the country for parliamentary elections next April.
12 October 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire have called for calm after violent demonstrations took place yesterday in Bouaké against two UN sites and the city's business district.
12 October 2004 – Satellite images show equipment and materials that could be used to make nuclear weapons have disappeared from Iraq, the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has warned, and it has called on countries to provide information concerning their whereabouts.
11 October 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan held talks today in Beijing with China's Foreign Minister, reviewing key regional developments, including the nuclear programme in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the weekend's elections in Afghanistan.
11 October 2004 – Culminating a two-year negotiation process, Abdullahi Yusuf has been elected as the transitional president of Somalia - a move welcomed today by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and members of the United Nations Security Council, who all said it marks an important step towards the reestablishment of peace and stability in Somalia.
8 October 2004 – Condemning terrorism as one of the most serious threats to peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today unanimously called on countries to prosecute or extradite anyone supporting terrorist acts or participating in the planning of such schemes.
8 October 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire is voicing deep concern at the upsurge of human rights violations in the West African nation, pointing in particular to an incident at the residence of an opposition leader where one of his employees was murdered and three others tortured.
8 October 2004 – Fresh off the passage of a new resolution targeting terrorists around the world, the Security Council today strongly condemned a string of attacks this week in Pakistan and Egypt as well as the beheading of a British civilian in Baghdad.
7 October 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the formal establishment of a commission of inquiry to determine whether acts of genocide have occurred in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, selecting an Italian judge and professor to lead the probe.
7 October 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today deplored the action by a group of mutinous soldiers in Guinea-Bissau that led to the death Wednesday of the country's armed forces Chief of Staff.
7 October 2004 – Verification of a country's nuclear activities, used together with diplomacy, can be a very effective way of ensuring compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but the international community must be prepared to take action in the event of non-conformity, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog has said.
7 October 2004 – While Liberia has made progress in conforming to international regimes for its diamond and timber trade, the conditions are still not ripe for lifting sanctions against those industries in the West African nation, the President of the United Nations Security Council said today.
7 October 2004 – Syria has not withdrawn its troops from Lebanon as called for by the United Nations Security Council although Damascus said some 3,000 of its forces have been redeployed, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report made public today.
7 October 2004 – Sierra Leone has made "significant improvements" in protecting human rights over the past seven years, but the country's faltering economy means those gains remain in peril, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says in a report to the General Assembly.
6 October 2004 – The United Nations is working on developing "important new tools" to strengthen its support for the rule of law and transitional justice in States that are either still facing or just emerging from conflict, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
6 October 2004 – Seeking to foster adherence to the rule of law in States either still facing or just emerging from conflict, the Security Council today stressed that such countries must make certain there is no "climate of impunity" for individuals who have committed human rights abuses.
5 October 2004 – Although major progress has been made in the peace process in Bougainville in recent months, the province of Papua New Guinea is not expected to hold elections by the end of the year as planned, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report on the United Nations mission there.
5 October 2004 – India and Pakistan are preparing to quickly deploy some 1,700 soldiers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after the Security Council moved to bolster the United Nations peacekeeping operation there with an infusion of troops to conduct a range of new tasks, including protecting civilians from violence and enforcing an arms embargo in the east.
5 October 2004 – The Sudanese Government made no progress last month in either stopping militia attacks against civilians in Darfur, disarming those armed groups or prosecuting the individuals responsible for the worst atrocities, the senior United Nations envoy to Sudan said today.
5 October 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have demanded Israel halt all military operations in northern Gaza and withdraw from the area.
4 October 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed four areas where the United Nations can immediately help the African Union (AU) expand its ceasefire-monitoring mission in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan, his spokesman said today.
4 October 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today held an emergency session on the latest Israeli military action in Gaza, with numerous speakers urging a formal response to the scale of violence and mounting civilian casualties on the Palestinian side.
4 October 2004 – With the security situation in Cyprus increasingly benign, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended cutting the troop strength of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there by about one third while extending its mandate until mid-2005 to foster conditions conducive to a comprehensive settlement.
4 October 2004 – Justice, the rule of law and the role of women in post-conflict peacebuilding will be the subject of two Security Council meetings this month, the President of the 15-member body said today.
4 October 2004 – The General Assembly today began discussing a report endorsed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan which urges the United Nations to open its deliberations to greater involvement by civil society groups.
1 October 2004 – Chadian authorities are tightening security in and around 10 United Nations refugee camps in the east of the country - where more than 200,000 Sudanese people have gathered after fleeing violence in the Darfur region - after three refugees were killed there in the past week amid rising tensions with locals.
1 October 2004 – The Security Council today expanded the mandate United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and authorized an increase in its troop strength, but stopped short of raising levels to what Secretary-General Kofi Annan said would be needed in the war-torn central African country.
1 October 2004 – Angola, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo and Sudan have signed on as members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region, a United Nations-initiated summit that will try to resolve the many problems bedevilling Central Africa.
1 October 2004 – The Security Council today welcomed proposals by Secretary-General Kofi Annan regarding security arrangements for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and urged Members States to contribute to the effort.
30 September 2004 – An international police presence is needed in Sudan's troubled Darfur region to accompany and monitor local police officers so that the vast population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) there are protected, two senior United Nations human rights officials told the Security Council today.
29 September 2004 – Addressing national leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, the Foreign Minister of Chad issued an appeal for international support to his country, which is hosting hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who fled fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan.
29 September 2004 – The illegal drug trade, human rights, the root causes of terrorism and the deep economic inequalities between rich and poor nations dominated the agenda as the General Assembly's annual high-level debate continued today at UN Headquarters in New York.
29 September 2004 – Experts monitoring the ban on Liberia's diamond trade say without external funding, the country will not be able to institute a certificate-of-origin regime for trade in the gemstones - a condition considered necessary for the United Nations Security Council to lift the sanctions.
29 September 2004 – The political leaders, public institutions and authorities in the troubled West African nation of Guinea-Bissau must persevere with the peace process beyond next year's scheduled presidential polls if they want to reap all the benefits, the President of the Security Council said today.
29 September 2004 – The United Nations' top human rights official and its expert on genocide will brief the Security Council tomorrow on the findings of their weeklong mission to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, where more than 1.65 million people have been forced to leave their homes and armed militias are accused of killing thousands of others.
29 September 2004 – A lawyer from the United States with expertise in identifying terrorists and freezing their assets has been named to a team tracking sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban by the United Nations Security Council.
28 September 2004 – From the dangers of terrorism and the importance of regional solidarity to the concerns of small island States and calls for the introduction of debt relief, leaders from around the world spotlighted a diverse array of issues during the annual high-level debate at the United Nations General Assembly this morning.
28 September 2004 – With only 11 days remaining before the people of Afghanistan go to the polls to elect a president for the first time in their history, the senior United Nations peacekeeping official today warned there may be many violent incidents around the country in the run-up as groups try to disrupt the electoral process.
28 September 2004 – Back in Geneva following a weeklong visit to the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today said the external security and humanitarian presence there should be quickly expanded.
27 September 2004 – Security Council reform, calls for a fairer global trading system, disarmament, the threat of terrorism and the gap between the haves and have-nots were among the subjects debated this morning when the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level debate resumed for its second week.
27 September 2004 – Voicing concern over the lack of progress in Côte d'Ivoire's national reconciliation process, Security Council members today called on President Laurent Gbagbo to make good on the pledges he made at a peace summit this summer.
27 September 2004 – Most of the vast population of displaced people in Sudan's Darfur region "are living in prisons without walls," and yet the Sudanese Government continues to deny the scale and gravity of what is happening there, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said after returning from a visit to the strife-torn region.
27 September 2004 – The ability of countries to prevent terrorists, black marketers and other private interests from acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) will soon get essential support from a Security Council committee set up to monitor the problem, the panel’s chairman said today.
24 September 2004 – The African Union’s (AU) troop force in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan needs greater international funding and logistical support if it is to successfully carry out its task of protecting civilians there, Nigerian President and AU Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo told the Security Council today.
24 September 2004 – The problems bedevilling the world's small island States, especially global warming, fishing rights, natural disasters and the inequalities of global trade, dominated this morning's session of the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level debate.
24 September 2004 – As the General Assembly wrapped up the fourth day of its annual high-level debate, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq appealed to its neighbours and the international community for help in rebuilding the country ruined by war and a brutal regime and defeating terrorists bent on destroying the dreams of the Iraqi people for a country rooted in democracy.
24 September 2004 – The “terrible violence” being waged against the people of Sudan’s troubled Darfur region means the crisis there is a global issue, and “not simply an African problem,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
23 September 2004 – A United Nations panel today approved awards of nearly $377 million in compensation to victims of Iraq's 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of Kuwait.
23 September 2004 – African Union (AU) Chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is slated to brief the United Nations Security Council tomorrow on the situation in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, where thousands of people are dying every month and 1.45 million have been uprooted from their homes because of militia attacks and fighting between the Government and two rebel groups.
23 September 2004 – The primacy of the United Nations in dealing with global issues - whether economic and social development or international peace and security - continued to be the key theme as the General Assembly moved into the third day of its annual high-level debate.
23 September 2004 – Addressing the United Nations General Assembly this afternoon, the Foreign Minister of Sudan pledged to work for peace and respect for human rights in the country's vast and blighted Darfur region, but denounced a Security Council resolution threatening sanctions in the absence of action.
22 September 2004 – National leaders speaking on the second day of the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level debate today highlighted the vital role of multilateralism in solving world crises, the need to strengthen the world body and the threat that global poverty poses to international peace and security.
22 September 2004 – As the Security Council embarked today on a discussion of building durable peace in countries shattered by war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this goal can be reached only when key conditions - including adequate resources and trained personnel - are met.
22 September 2004 – Addressing the General Assembly's high-level debate this afternoon, leaders from countries ravaged by conflict - both ongoing and resolved - urged broad support for enhanced United Nations peacekeeping, particularly in the troubled Great Lakes region of Africa.
21 September 2004 – With just over two weeks before Afghanistan is scheduled to hold historic presidential elections, the country's current leader today appealed to top officials from across the world meeting at the United Nations to sustain their support for the nascent democracy.
21 September 2004 – As 95 Heads of State and Government began arriving at United Nations Headquarters in New York today for the start of the General Assembly's annual high-level debate, United States President George W. Bush called on the world body to support democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the global war on terrorism.
21 September 2004 – A sense of fear pervades the many camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan's Darfur region, and most residents remain sceptical that local authorities can guarantee their security, two senior United Nations human rights officials said today while touring the strife-torn region.
21 September 2004 – Two judges from Denmark and Germany were today sworn in to serve temporarily on the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as part of the court’s bid to complete its work by 2010.
20 September 2004 – Two senior United Nations human rights officials have arrived in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan to examine how to shield beleaguered civilians there from further militia attacks.
20 September 2004 – The United Nations atomic watchdog agency has called on Iran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment, a potential step to producing nuclear weapons, and will decide in November whether further steps are required regarding the country's obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
18 September 2004 – Concerned that the Government of Sudan had not fully met its obligations to protect civilians in Darfur, the United Nations Security Council on Saturday declared that it would consider taking additional measures, including sanctions, should the Sudan fail to comply fully with the Council's July resolution or to cooperate with the expansion and extension of the African Union monitoring presence in Darfur.
17 September 2004 – A year after it set up the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to stabilize the West African country following an end to 14 years of civil war, the Security Council today extended the operation’s mandate for another 12 months and welcomed the progress it was making in disarming the nation’s thousands of ex-combatants.
17 September 2004 – The Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the international troop force in Afghanistan for another year and called upon countries to commit more personnel and funds so that it can work more effectively.
17 September 2004 – Extending the life of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) until the end of next June, the Security Council today welcomed the progressive scaling down of its size and urged the West African country’s Government to accelerate its efforts to establish viable institutions so that it can take full responsibility for law and order.
17 September 2004 – The two senior United Nations human rights officials dispatched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan to examine how civilians can be protected from continuing attacks by armed militias will visit camps for displaced persons, speak to abuse victims and hold talks with local officials, the UN announced today.
17 September 2004 – A top United Nations official today again reported "a bad month in the Middle East," with a resumption of Palestinian suicide bombings inside Israel, further deadly Israeli military operations in Palestinian territories and no progress on an international peace plan that offers the only way out of "the current hopeless situation."
16 September 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced he is dispatching the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and his Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Juan Méndez to the strife-torn region of Darfur in Sudan to recommend what can be done to protect civilians there from continuing brutal attacks by local militias.
16 September 2004 – Eritrea has again closed a major road to traffic by United Nations peacekeepers charged with monitoring the ceasefire that ended a bitter two-year border war with neighbouring Ethiopia.
16 September 2004 – The new President of the United Nations General Assembly today called on the media to support the world body in addressing burning global issues and help the Assembly restore its leadership role.
16 September 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan believes that the Iraq war in 2003 demonstrated the need for the international community to address the issue of preventive action in the context of Charter principles and showed the importance of joint efforts on matters of use of force, a United Nations spokesman said today.
15 September 2004 – As Burundi government forces and rebels continue to clash near Bujumbura, the capital, United Nations agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs) are constructing temporary shelters for an estimated 25,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.
15 September 2004 – The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) continues to make progress in stabilizing the West African country after it was torn apart by nearly 15 years of civil war, but many challenges lie ahead as it prepares for democratic elections, and international aid is urgently needed, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
14 September 2004 – Noting that the "vicious cycle of violence" was continuing even as he addressed the Security Council today, the top United Nations envoy for Iraq warned that lack of security was halting efforts to rebuild the country and undermining the world body's efforts to assist in elections set for January.
14 September 2004 – Prominent political figures in Côte d'Ivoire continue to posture for partisan gains for themselves in the current peace process, the monitoring group overseeing the country's troubled path towards peace and unity says in a report to the United Nations Security Council.
14 September 2004 – With the stalemate in the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea ongoing, the Security Council today extended for another six months the United Nations peacekeeping operation overseeing the ceasefire between the Horn of Africa neighbours.
14 September 2004 – Senior officials at United Nations humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) met this morning to discuss how to accelerate their relief efforts in the wake of a World Health Organization (WHO) report showing that hundreds of people are dying every day in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region.
13 September 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly concluded the work of its fifty-eighth session today, with the outgoing President praising the body's genuine drive to overcome the crisis of confidence that had gripped the United Nations in the wake of the war in Iraq.
13 September 2004 – Security Council members today condemned Sunday's violent scenes in the troubled Afghan city of Herat, where the regional offices and compounds of the United Nations mission and agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were ransacked and seriously damaged, forcing dozens of UN staff to be relocated to the capital Kabul.
13 September 2004 – Calling on the Security Council "to stay ahead of the curve," the head of the Council's committee that monitors sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban said today the world needs "to think of new ways to defeat terrorism and its perpetrators" because the threat from the two groups keeps changing.
13 September 2004 – The joint body charged with implementing commitments made by the Sudanese Government and the United Nations to alleviate the suffering and end the fighting in the strife-torn Darfur region will hold its next meeting this Friday.
10 September 2004 – Against a backdrop of stepped-up activities by rogue elements in Haiti, the United Nations Security Council today called for the urgent disbanding of all illegal armed groups undermining stability and security in parts of the strife-torn Caribbean country.
10 September 2004 – As members of the Security Council began closed-door talks on a proposed draft resolution on Sudan, a senior United Nations envoy today visited Kuwait to draw attention to the humanitarian crises raging across Africa's largest nation, especially the Darfur region, and to drum up a greater response by international donors.
9 September 2004 – Political efforts to resolve the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia remain stalemated, and the longer the deadlock continues the greater is the risk that an isolated incident could unravel a truce that ended a fierce border war four years ago, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in his latest report on the two Horn of Africa countries.
9 September 2004 – The United States said it has received a "very positive" response in the Security Council today after circulating a draft resolution aimed at ameliorating the security and humanitarian crises engulfing the Darfur region of Sudan.
8 September 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed new envoys to work with two United Nations missions in West Africa as the world body continues its efforts to build a sustainable peace and generate stability and economic development in Guinea-Bissau and Côte d'Ivoire.
8 September 2004 – Amid mounting reports of hostage-taking in Iraq, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reiterated his call for the "immediate and unconditional" release of all those who have been abducted.
8 September 2004 – The Security Council will hold consultations tomorrow afternoon on the humanitarian and security crises engulfing the Darfur region in Sudan as talks continue in Abuja, Nigeria, in a bid to resolve the political dispute driving the conflict.
7 September 2004 – The Security Council could take action on the crisis engulfing the Darfur region of Sudan within the next week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, stressing that "more can and should be done" to improve security in the war-torn region and urging international support for the African monitors deployed there.
7 September 2004 – While the troubled Caribbean nation of Haiti is making tentative steps towards stability and development, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's latest report on the progress of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there warns that the rule of law remains weak and armed groups continue to undermine the country's institutions.
7 September 2004 – Battling appalling and often dangerous conditions in western Sudan’s Darfur region, the United Nations emergency feeding agency said today it had delivered food for nearly 1 million people there in August, but noted this fell alarmingly short of its target of the 1.2 million total displaced by fighting between the government, rebels and armed militias.
3 September 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed his horror at the large number of children and others killed or injured in the school hostage crisis in southern Russia.
3 September 2004 – Preliminary findings from a United Nations probe into the gruesome massacre of 160 Congolese Tutsi at a refugee camp in Burundi on 13 August show that fighters from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were responsible and not only the Burundian rebels who claimed responsibility at the time, the President of the Security Council said today.
3 September 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the international presence in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region must be expanded as soon as possible because attacks against civilians are continuing and "the vast majority of militias" have not been disarmed.
3 September 2004 – Over the next 10 days the senior United Nations envoy for Western Sahara will conduct his first round of formal talks with Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO about the disputed territory since his duties expanded three months ago.
2 September 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Burundi has welcomed the appointment of a five-member Independent National Electoral Commission as a "decisive step" towards bringing peace to the small Central African country, which has been torn by more than a decade of civil war.
2 September 2004 – With an eye to Lebanon's upcoming elections, the United Nations Security Council this evening passed a resolution - by the razor-thin margin of nine in favour with six abstentions - declaring support for polling free of outside influence and calling for the withdrawal of foreign forces, the disbanding of all militias and the extension of Government control over the entire country.
2 September 2004 – As the school hostage drama in southern Russia dragged on towards its third day, the top United Nations official dealing with the fate of children in war joined the chorus of appeals from the world body for the immediate release of all the hostages.
2 September 2004 – The Sudanese Government has not disarmed the notorious Janjaweed militias nor stopped their brutal attacks against civilians in the war-torn Darfur region, the senior UN envoy to Sudan told the Security Council today in a meeting assessing what steps Khartoum has taken to restore security to Darfur.
1 September 2004 – Stressing that the economic and social fabric of Côte d’Ivoire is seriously deteriorating because of the continuing violence there, and the conflict is having a spill-over effect on other West African nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is urging the country’s political leaders to take substantive steps towards peace immediately.
1 September 2004 – Reacting to the unfolding hostage crisis in the Russian Federation, the United Nations Security Council convened an urgent meeting this evening to demand the unconditional release of the detained – who include numerous children – and to urge all governments to help bring to justice those involved in this and other recent terror attacks in the country.
1 September 2004 – The Security Council's 15 members have received a United Nations report assessing the latest developments in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, a day before the senior UN envoy to the country briefs them on what progress Khartoum has made on its pledges to restore security there and disarm the militias accused of brutal attacks.
1 September 2004 – Noting it recently had to freeze recruitment because some Member States had not paid their contributions, the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Rwandan genocide in 1994 has warned in its annual report that it must be funded properly or it will not meet a Security Council target to complete all trials by 2008.
31 August 2004 – The United Nations today strongly condemned the double deadly terrorist attack in the Israeli city of Beersheba, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling on the Palestinian Authority to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice and "put an end to such heinous crimes."
31 August 2004 – Reinforcing its commitment to a 2003 peace pact that ended Côte d'Ivoire's fierce civil war, the Government has followed through on pledges made last month at a summit co-hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan by transferring sweeping powers from the President to the Prime Minister, a group set up to monitor progress says in a report released today.
30 August 2004 – The displaced inhabitants of the Sudanese region of Darfur are traumatized and humiliated, and remain at constant risk of rape, violence and pressure to return to their homes, a United Nations humanitarian official told reporters today after visiting the war-torn area.
30 August 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today named Maj.-Gen. Guido Palmieri of Italy as Chief Military Observer in the United Nations Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
30 August 2004 – With al-Qaida-related terrorism posing as great a threat as ever, the head of the United Nations committee monitoring sanctions against the group today called for "pressing on the accelerator a lot more" to strengthen steps to cut off financing and prevent the terrorists from obtaining a dirty bomb or other means of mass destruction.
30 August 2004 – As the United Nations prepares to reappraise its activities in Cyprus, officials of the world body have arrived on the island to review the peacekeeping operation there, a UN spokesman reported today.
27 August 2004 – The joint mission of United Nations and Sudanese Government officials to the war-torn Darfur region was on hand today as some 200 members of the Khartoum-backed People's Defence Force handed in their weapons under a new disarmament programme.
26 August 2004 – In a bid to continue identifying violators of the 1992 weapons embargo against Somalia and find ways to strengthen compliance, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reappointed the members of an expert panel tracking the ban.
26 August 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan today began his last mission to the war-torn Darfur region ahead of next week's meeting of the Security Council, which will decide whether the Government is making good on commitments to restore security and disarm the militias responsible for killings and massive displacement.
25 August 2004 – Warning that the Taliban and other extremist groups are preparing to step up their violent attacks ahead of Afghanistan's presidential elections this October, the head of the United Nations mission to the country today told the Security Council that voters and electoral workers will need urgent protection.
24 August 2004 – Timor-Leste has been stable and largely peaceful since the Government took over responsibility for security from the United Nations mission there, but the youngest UN Member State will need international support in the period ahead, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.
24 August 2004 – The United Nations is taking part in talks in Nigeria between the Sudanese Government and two rebel groups from the war-torn Darfur region in a bid to resolve the conflict that has created what has been widely described as the world's worst current humanitarian crisis.
23 August 2004 – Timor-Leste has made significant progress towards self-sufficiency in terms of administration and security, and has advanced in border delimitation talks, but the world's newest country has not been able to bring several people accused of serious anti-independence crimes to justice, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
23 August 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Iraq today met with the country's interim Prime Minister in Baghdad to discuss the battles still raging in the holy Shiite Muslim city of Najaf.
20 August 2004 – The United Nations Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) today warned that "the current verbal escalation among the political actors" is endangering the political process in the small West African country ahead of presidential elections next March after years of conflict, including a coup d'état last year.
20 August 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a report to the Security Council showing that Côte d'Ivoire's Government has made progress in following the path to peace and unity, a United Nations spokesman said today.
20 August 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan visited the south of the strife-torn Darfur region today to meet humanitarian workers and local officials there and inspect a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
20 August 2004 – The United Nations Peace-Building Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) has launched a nationwide "awareness campaign" to prepare for elections in January that it is hoped will end years of instability and violence in the country.
19 August 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief today warned those making bellicose statements in the wake of the massacre of nearly 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in the Gatumba transit centre in Burundi last weekend to avoid the danger of spiralling violence and go back to the path of reconciliation.
19 August 2004 – With solemn words and mournful music, black ribbons and a silent march, the lighting of candles and the unveiling of plaques, the entire United Nations system today marked the first anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad, one of the darkest days in the world body's history.
19 August 2004 – In his latest report on the fate of 605 Kuwaitis who went missing in Iraq after the 1990 invasion of their country and the subsequent Gulf War, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says 340 bodies have already been repatriated.
19 August 2004 – The terrorist bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad one year ago has forced the world body to wrestle with fundamental questions regarding security, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today at a solemn ceremony in Geneva marking the anniversary.
18 August 2004 – One year after what has been called one of the darkest days in United Nations history, the UN will hold solemn observances on Thursday in memory of the victims of a deadly terrorist attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, including top UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Webcast of 19 August events
18 August 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping missions in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are concerned about rising tensions along the border since the massacre of over 150 DRC ethnic Tutsi refugees in a Burundi camp late last week and the subsequent claim of responsibility by a Hutu rebel group operating in that country.
17 August 2004 – The United Nations refugee agency has temporarily suspended its convoys for Iraqis wishing to return from neighbouring Iran because of the fighting raging in the south of the country and a housing shortage in the north.
17 August 2004 – Condemning continuing violations of the 12-year-old arms embargo against Somalia, the Security Council today called for a six-month extension of the latest mandate of an expert group monitoring the sanctions.
17 August 2004 – Extremist violence, factionalism and the illicit drug industry are on the rise in Afghanistan, threatening lasting peace as the country prepares for elections, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report on the country released today.
16 August 2004 – As chilling new details emerged about the gruesome massacre of some 150 Congolese civilians at a refugee camp in Burundi on Friday, the United Nations refugee agency today reported that the country's Government has agreed to authorize a secure camp away from the border for newly arrived refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
16 August 2004 – The Sudanese authorities today re-opened the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Darfur to humanitarian workers – a day after the senior United Nations envoy to the country had called for access to the area.
16 August 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire launched its radio station today to broadcast various shades of opinion on an FM frequency it hopes will be heard all over the country as the divided West African country works towards re-unification.
15 August 2004 – The UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) has expressed outrage over Friday night's massacre of some 150 Congolese refugees at a camp in Burundi – an event which prompted the UN Security Council to schedule emergency talks today in New York.
15 August 2004 – The United Nations Security Council and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today strongly condemned Friday night's massacre at a refugee camp in Burundi, where more than 160 innocent Congolese civilians, mostly women and children, were brutally murdered, and over 100 others injured.
13 August 2004 – Eritrea has reopened a major road to traffic by United Nations peacekeepers, declaring a “new page” in its relations with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) charged with monitoring the ceasefire and ensuring observance of security commitments after the two countries fought a two-year border war.
13 August 2004 – Sudan has presented the United Nations a set of measures to meet the Security Council timetable to improve the dire situation in the Darfur region, the focal point of fighting between rebels and Government forces leading to what some UN officials have described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
13 August 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Iraq arrived in Baghdad today for his first visit since his appointment last month to oversee what Security Council resolutions have called the world body’s vital role in rehabilitating the war-torn country.
12 August 2004 – The Security Council today unanimously renewed for a further year the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, whose tasks include coordinating various humanitarian operations and helping the war-torn country to organize elections by the end of January and draft a new constitution.
12 August 2004 – In helping war-torn societies re-establish the rule of law and come to terms with large-scale past abuses after conflict, the United Nations must reject any amnesty for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report made public today.
11 August 2004 – Both Israelis and Palestinians are undermining prospects for peace, with the former failing to end settlement expansion and carrying out collective punishment, the latter failing to end violence and combat terror, and civilians on both sides suffering, according to the latest United Nations briefing on the Middle East today.
10 August 2004 – The Ituri district in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is undergoing one of the world's worst and most ignored human rights crises, largely stemming from illegal land seizures which have led to ethnic strife, the deaths of 8,000 civilians and the displacement of another 600,000, a United Nations report says.
9 August 2004 – The United Nations atomic watchdog agency has completed its annual inspection of remaining nuclear materials in Iraq to ensure that they conform to the country's safeguard obligations against the spread of weapons under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
9 August 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Burundi today hailed progress made during two days of talks in South Africa on forming a multi-party, power-sharing government at the end of the transitional political period, which followed a decade of civil conflict in the Great Lakes nation.
9 August 2004 – Representatives of the rebel movements in Sudan's western Darfur region have agreed to allow some 500,000 children cut off from regular health services to be vaccinated against such potentially killer diseases as measles and polio, the United Nations announced today.
6 August 2004 – J. Asoka de Silva of Sri Lanka has become a permanent judge of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda, replacing his compatriot, Judge Asoka Gunawardena, who resigned in June.
6 August 2004 – Staff security remains the overriding constraint for all United Nations operations in Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the Security Council on the work of the UN mission in the country.
6 August 2004 – The Sudanese Government has finalized an agreement reached earlier this week between its Foreign Minister and the senior United Nations envoy to the country, paving the way for Khartoum to take detailed steps in the next 30 days to disarm the militias accused of conducting deadly attacks against civilians in the troubled Darfur region.
6 August 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the appointment of Robert Orr, a veteran United States expert in foreign affairs, as the new United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning.
5 August 2004 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent agreement by Côte d'Ivoire's leaders to resume the country's stalled peace process, and called on them to observe deadlines for disarming militias and drawing up a selection process for presidential candidates.
5 August 2004 – Despite some progress in Kosovo since violent clashes in March, the province faces an uphill challenge in moving forward along the path of normalization, ethnic reconciliation, strengthening its still-fledgling democratic institutions, and creating a tolerant, inclusive society, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
5 August 2004 – The senior United Nations envoy to Sudan and the country's Foreign Minister have signed an agreement committing Khartoum to take "detailed steps" in the next 30 days to disarm the militias responsible for deadly attacks in the Darfur region, improve security for the 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and alleviate the humanitarian crisis, a UN spokesperson said today.
4 August 2004 – Côte d'Ivoire's multi-party, post-conflict Government of National Reconciliation, which had hit an impasse over implementing its signed peace agreement, will soon meet to set in motion plans for political reform, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
4 August 2004 – With United Nations war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia processing cases amid severe budget shortfalls, the Security Council today urged States support this effort and called on the courts to complete their work by 2010.
4 August 2004 – The United Nations will keep up the pressure on the Sudanese Government until it meets its commitments to disarm the militias responsible for deadly attacks in the troubled Darfur region and to restore security so that the estimated 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) feel it is safe to return home, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
3 August 2004 – Sudan is indicating it wants to comply with the Security Council's demand that it show progress in meeting its dual pledges to disarm the armed militias that have conducted deadly attacks in the troubled Darfur region and to restore security for the estimated 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
3 August 2004 – While there has been some progress in reconstructing buildings and restoring community relations in Kosovo after March's deadly outbreak of ethnic violence, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says a lot "remains to be done to repair the physical and psychological damage."
3 August 2004 – A briefing by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on recent developments in Côte d'Ivoire and Sudan is among the highlights of the Security Council's work for the month of August, the President of the 15-member body said today.
30 July 2004 – The Security Council today adopted a resolution paving the way for action against Sudan in 30 days if it does not make progress on pledges to disarm the militias accused of indiscriminate murders, rapes and other attacks against civilians in the Darfur region – a move that was immediately welcomed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
29 July 2004 – Citing reports of rapes and other attacks by militiamen against villagers in Sudan's Darfur region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the Government to protect civilians, while the Security Council prepared to vote tomorrow on a resolution threatening measures against Khartoum if it does not disarm the militias and bring the leaders to justice.
29 July 2004 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, backing the mission’s efforts to maintain a ceasefire along the line of withdrawal where Hezbollah and Israeli military forces have been engaging in a recent flurry of deadly exchanges.
29 July 2004 – With peace talks between authorities in separatist Abkhazia and the Government of Georgia at a near standstill, the Security Council today unanimously extended the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until the end of January 2005 to maintain stability along the ceasefire lines.
29 July 2004 – With the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) posing a threat to international peace and security in the region, the United Nations Security Council today extended the peacekeeping mission in the Great Lakes country until the beginning of October.
29 July 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is not only in the Caribbean country to improve security but also to stimulate the economy and restore the political and electoral systems, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General said there on Wednesday.
28 July 2004 – An observer group of United Nations staff, Sudanese officials and representatives of concerned countries today wrapped up its three-day visit to troubled Darfur, where local civilians have been fleeing deadly militia attacks, by touring a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region’s west.
27 July 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan is advocating an inclusive and transparent national conference in Iraq, a United Nations spokesperson said today.
27 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today renewed its arms embargo against irregular forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) until July of next year "in light of the failure by the parties to comply" with previous demands and it called for the re-establishment of an expert group to analyze any further violations.
27 July 2004 – An observer group of United Nations staff, Sudanese officials and representatives of concerned countries has spent the second day of its visit to the troubled Darfur region inspecting a village where residents have returned following an earlier attack by militiamen.
26 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council was today briefed in closed-door consultations on the report of the international oversight body for the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), which was set up last year to take over management of the country's petroleum revenues.
26 July 2004 – An observer group of United Nations staff, Sudanese officials and representatives of concerned countries today inspected a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Darfur to verify whether Khartoum is making good on pledges to disarm the Janjaweed militias that have been attacking and killing local civilians.
23 July 2004 – The leadership of two rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region today agreed to take part in substantive negotiations to resolve the political dispute that has led what is widely considered the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
22 July 2004 – Despite some practical cooperation between the two sides in the Abkhaz separatist conflict in northwestern Georgia, there has been no substantive dialogue on key issues and human rights in the area remain in peril, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report on the UN peacekeeping mission there.
22 July 2004 – As Security Council members consider a draft resolution aimed at redressing the catastrophic humanitarian conditions prevailing in western Sudan's Darfur region, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell today called for the Sudanese Government to protect civilians there.
22 July 2004 – Emphasizing the importance of security for United Nations activities in Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his newly-appointed senior envoy to the country, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, said today this work will focus on supporting national efforts to achieve the political transition.
21 July 2004 – Amid mounting tensions at the withdrawal line between Israel and Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended extending the UN force in the area for an additional six months.
21 July 2004 – A joint mission of United Nations staff, ambassadors and Sudanese Government ministers and officials will travel to the troubled Darfur region in the next week to observe first-hand whether Khartoum is making progress in its pledges to disarm the militias attacking black Africans and to improve security so that displaced civilians can return to their homes.
21 July 2004 – A United Nations expert Group investigating the weapons embargo against militias in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has found that Rwanda supported dissident military leaders in the area and violated the ban directly and indirectly.
21 July 2004 – The United Nations atomic watchdog agency is planning to inspect remaining nuclear materials in Iraq this month to ensure that they conform to the country’s safeguard obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
20 July 2004 – The Sudanese Government has told humanitarian officials operating in the troubled Darfur region that plans are being made for the return of about 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their towns and villages, prompting United Nations agencies to stress that relocation must be voluntary.
20 July 2004 – When a country emerges from war, regional organizations are often well-placed to foster peace, but United Nations assistance is usually required to sustain the effort, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
20 July 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly today voted overwhelmingly to demand that Israel comply with an advisory opinion issued earlier this month by the World Court, which declared the construction of a separation barrier in and around the West Bank to be illegal.
20 July 2004 – Calling on regional organizations to increase their collaboration with the United Nations on stabilizing countries emerging from war or crisis, the Security Council said today that future partnerships must focus on using the comparative strengths of the two sides.
19 July 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly today delayed until Tuesday a vote on a draft resolution introduced by Arab countries that seeks to end Israel's construction of a separation barrier in and around the West Bank after the barrier was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
19 July 2004 – Charging that Serbia and Montenegro is still failing to cooperate with the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia despite the public claims of its political leaders, the court's chief Prosecutor today demanded the country either arrest a recently indicted Croatian Serb leader or face disciplinary action from the Security Council.
19 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today voiced ongoing support for the work of its Counter-Terrorism Committee and invited the expert group to accelerate its assessments of nations' abilities to fight the scourge.
19 July 2004 – United Nations humanitarian agencies said today that the Sudanese Government is increasingly pressuring internally displaced people (IDPs) within the troubled Darfur region to return to their homes, even though the beleaguered civilians remain afraid of militia attacks and security has still not improved.
16 July 2004 – The international oversight body for Iraqi oil sales has released an initial audit of the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), which was set up last year to take over management of the country's petroleum revenues, the United Nations announced today.
16 July 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly today discussed measures to end Israel's construction of a separation barrier in and around the West Bank after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared it to be illegal.
16 July 2004 – Anyone who wonders about the relevancy of the United Nations in today's world should have accompanied the Security Council mission to West Africa where UN employees were helping governments better meet their country's needs, British Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry said today.
15 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today called on Afghanistan's authorities to accelerate the disarmament of ex-combatants, strengthen the country's army and police and do more to cut opium production ahead of the scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections.
15 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today expressed the hope that the meetings between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia in their capitals earlier this month would bring new commitment from both to meet his Special Envoy for constructive negotiations over their problems.
15 July 2004 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has condemned the continued fighting which recently claimed nearly 50 lives in the troubled eastern region of the country.
14 July 2004 – A day after the senior United Nations envoy to the Middle East briefed the Security Council on the situation in that troubled region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today echoed his call for peace talks.
14 July 2004 – With national reconciliation in Somalia mired in an impasse, the Security Council today condemned elements obstructing the country's peace process and warned that those who persist on the path of confrontation and conflict would be held accountable.
13 July 2004 – The struggle against terrorism must be reconciled with the imperatives of personal safety and dignity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has asserted.
13 July 2004 – The political stalemate and accompanying violence in the Middle East continue to take a heavy toll, but Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza, if executed properly, could constitute a breakthrough, the United Nations Middle East envoy told the Security Council today.
13 July 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly will convene on Friday an emergency special session on the question of Palestine to examine the advisory opinion issued last week by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel's construction of a separation barrier to be illegal.
13 July 2004 – After a fact-finding trip to seven West African countries last month, United Nations Security Council members are recommending strengthening of institutions working for regional stability, such as the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
12 July 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan informed the United Nations Security Council today that he has chosen a human rights advocate, lawyer and former political prisoner from Argentina as his first Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
12 July 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has transmitted to the Security Council a new report on the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq (IAMB), which serves as an audit oversight body dealing with the country's oil revenues.
12 July 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, today condemned the rash of killings of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past few days.
12 July 2004 – An Indian general will succeed a British one as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) later this month, UN Secretary-General Kofi told the Security Council President in a letter made public today.
9 July 2004 – As the United Nations peacekeeping mission reduces its forces in post-conflict Sierra Leone, the West African country urgently needs aid from the international donor community in providing its security sector with needed equipment and must promote harmony between its police and troops, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
9 July 2004 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion today that Israel's building of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and said construction must stop immediately and Israel should make reparations for any damage caused.
9 July 2004 – The political impasse over marking a border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, following their 1998-2000 war, is a source of instability in the Horn of Africa, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
9 July 2004 – With the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently deciding to end its multinational stabilization force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of the year, the United Nations Security Council today authorized participating countries to continue the operation for a further six months.
9 July 2004 – After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued today its advisory opinion on the Israeli-built barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan forwarded the decision to the UN General Assembly, which had requested the Court's advice on the legality of the structure.
8 July 2004 – Armed bandits are attacking civilians and humanitarian workers in the violence-wracked Darfur region of western Sudan, a United Nations spokesperson said today.
7 July 2004 – Underscoring the vital importance of Africa’s women for economic development, fighting HIV/AIDS and achieving peace, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has lambasted the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war in the continent’s conflicts.
7 July 2004 – Using a satellite link to brief the Security Council on his visit last week to Sudan and neighbouring Chad, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reiterated his concern about the grave situation caused by the deadly violence and ethnic displacement wracking the Darfur region of western Sudan.
7 July 2004 – West African leaders at a meeting convened by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan have decided to bring the parties in Côte d'Ivoire together later this month in a bid to break the impasse in that country, a UN spokesperson reported today.
7 July 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today called for "sustained pressure" on the Sudanese Government to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis engulfing the Darfur region and reserved the right to take tougher action if Khartoum does not match its commitments to end the human rights abuses and restrictions on aid workers.
7 July 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today called for steps to consolidate stability in the Central African Republic (CAR) and pave the way for free elections scheduled to take place there next year.
7 July 2004 – Relaying information received from Washington, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has told the Security Council that the United States transferred nuclear material out of Iraq last month.
6 July 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has re-appointed the five members of the expert monitoring panel - including specialists in the diamond and timber fields - to investigate the implementation and violations of Security Council sanctions against Liberia.
2 July 2004 – The new head of the United Nations Counter-terrorism Committee's (CTC) Executive Directorate today outlined plans to tackle the scourge by working with allies in the fight and operating with maximum efficiency.
2 July 2004 – Eyeing the possibility of elections in Bougainville by the end of the year, the Security Council has agreed to a final six-month extension of the mandate of the United Nations mission there in order for it to finish tasks related to the implementation of the peace agreement between pro-independence groups and the Government of Papua New Guinea.
2 July 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will brief the Security Council next week on his current trip to the Darfur region of Sudan - with other issues on the continent topping the Security Council's programme this month, the incoming President of the 15-member body said today.
2 July 2004 – The United States Government has informed the United Nations that Washington will withdraw some US personnel from the world body's peacekeeping operations, a UN spokesman confirmed today.
1 July 2004 – Sir Richard May of the United Kingdom, a judge who served on the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for almost seven years, died this morning at the age of 65.
1 July 2004 – The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) will commence trials on Monday of three former members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) charged with major crimes in connection with the country's 1991-2002 civil war.
30 June 2004 – The United Nations and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire have signed an agreement on the world body's work in the West African country, the UN peacekeeping operation there (ONUCI) announced today.
30 June 2004 – West Africa is full of potential, but the fragility of its states has brought on a cycle in which there is no sustainable development without security, and little security or stability without development, British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said today as he reported on a Security Council fact-finding trip to seven countries in the region.
29 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan, currently travelling in the Middle East, today hailed the restoration of Iraq's sovereignty as a chance to reconstruct the war-ravaged nation and pledged the full support of the United Nations in this endeavour.
29 June 2004 – Thirty years after it was first established, the United Nations peacekeeping force observing the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights had its mandate extended today through the end of the year.
29 June 2004 – The United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda are striving to complete all of their trials by the Security Council-imposed target date of 2008, but their prosecutors today warned that many indicted suspects remain at large.
28 June 2004 – Hailing an end to the occupation of Iraq, the United Nations Security Council today welcomed the handover of full responsibility and authority to the country's "fully sovereign and independent" interim Government, while condemning ongoing violence.
28 June 2004 – The Côte d'Ivoire Government of National Reconciliation has pledged to move forward on its peace agreement with the armed opposition by submitting the recommended political reforms to the National Assembly next month and complementing United Nations peacekeeping actions, a UN Security Council mission visiting West Africa said today.
25 June 2004 – The Security Council today called on the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to comply with decisions made under a United Nations certification process to weed out police officers whose past, particularly during the war, disqualified them from remaining on the force.
25 June 2004 – The United Nations today took over responsibility for the peacekeeping operation in Haiti from the United States-led multinational force at a ceremony in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
25 June 2004 – A team from the UN refugee agency went today to survey three new sites proposed by the Burundian government to relocate deeper inland an estimated 34,000 refugees fleeing insurgency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
25 June 2004 – The 14-member Security Council mission visiting seven West African countries today went to the independent Special Court for Sierra Leone, where people accused of crimes during the country's eight-year conflict are being tried.
25 June 2004 – The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) today announced plans to rule in two weeks on a case concerning the legality of Israel's construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.
24 June 2004 – As a Security Council mission to West Africa arrived in Liberia today, the team leader said the arms embargo and other measures now in place against the country will be lifted only when conditions are met.
24 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the Frente POLISARIO’s release of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war who were repatriated yesterday by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
23 June 2004 – Events in the past month showed yet again how desperately the people of the Middle East need a political solution to their long conflict, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
23 June 2004 – A potential United Nations mission in Sudan as well as support for other African peacekeeping efforts are among the issues being discussed during a two-day meeting of countries contributing troops to a stand-by arrangement for UN operations.
23 June 2004 – Members of a Security Council delegation in Côte d'Ivoire held talks with top officials today and urged the country to meet its obligations under peace agreements that ended a spate of bloodshed early last year.
23 June 2004 – The United States announced today that it would not proceed with a Security Council resolution that would have extended, for a third consecutive year, the immunity of some United Nations peacekeepers from prosecution by the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.
22 June 2004 – Although the situation in the Golan Heights has remained generally quiet over the past six months, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended extending the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the area through the end of the year.
22 June 2004 – Hailing the Security Council’s efforts to strengthen its connection with civil society organizations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said their input could enhance the work of United Nations peace operations.
22 June 2004 – Condemning "in the strongest terms" any outside involvement in the volatile situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Security Council today urged Secretary-General Kofi Annan to determine whether the UN mission there needs "a possible rapid reaction capability."
21 June 2004 – Representatives of nearly all members of the United Nations Security Council have started a 10-day fact-finding mission, led by British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, to seven West African countries, the UN spokesman said today.
21 June 2004 – As the world's problems grow ever-more complex, the United Nations should stop limiting its decision-making processes exclusively to governments and instead open its deliberations to greater involvement by civil society groups and the private sector, a blue-ribbon panel recommends in a new report released today.
18 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on Somali leaders to show the political will needed to agree on procedures leading to reconciliation and the establishment of a transitional federal government by the end of July, a deadline set by East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
18 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the execution in Saudi Arabia of a hostage from the United States was tragic, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
18 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has informed the Security Council that he intends to appoint Jan Pronk of the Netherlands his Special Representative for Sudan and head of the peace support operation that may soon be authorized by the Council, a UN spokesperson said today.
18 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today commended the Government of Guinea-Bissau for completing a phase of the transitional process leading to the 2005 presidential election, but said it was concerned about the West African country’s structural weaknesses.
18 June 2004 – With the United Nations Security Council spending at least half of its time on African issues, the Ambassadors of 14 of the 15 Council members will leave New York on Sunday for a 10-day fact-finding visit to seven West African countries, the leader of the group said today.
17 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today stressed the comprehensive nature of an independent inquiry into allegations of corruption within the now-defunct United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq, and urged critics to allow the panel to reach its conclusions before pronouncing judgement.
17 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said that continuing to grant peacekeepers participating in United Nations operations immunity from potential prosecution by the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal had the potential to hurt the credibility of both the Security Council and the UN itself.
17 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today re-established an expert monitoring panel to investigate the implementation and violations of sanctions imposed last year against Liberia.
16 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has informed the Security Council that he intends to appoint Søren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark as his new Special Representative for Kosovo and the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK), a UN spokesman said today.
16 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council has issued a list of associates of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, including his immediate family, whose assets are to be frozen under a resolution adopted earlier this year.
16 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today called on countries that have pledged troops for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to send them so as to ensure a smooth deployment.
14 June 2004 – Iran must be “proactive and fully transparent” in declaring its nuclear activities, and should do so within the next few months to allay suspicions about its programme, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency said today.
14 June 2004 – At least 10 million people caught up in 20 separate wars around the world are cut off from access to aid workers, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official said today as he urged the Security Council to strengthen its efforts to protect civilians in armed conflicts.
14 June 2004 – Haiti will have a programme in place to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS before the main contingent of United Nations peacekeeping troops arrives in the troubled Caribbean country, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said today.
11 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, James A. Baker III of the United States, has resigned, a spokesperson for the United Nations said today.
11 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Ambassador Kai Eide of Norway to investigate the wave of ethnic violence that roiled Kosovo in mid-March, leaving 19 people dead, hundreds injured and many homes and Serbian religious and cultural sites damaged or destroyed.
11 June 2004 – Looking back on a year when more than 100 United Nations personnel died in the service of peace, UN officials and diplomats today paid tribute to the memory of the fallen at a solemn ceremony in New York.
11 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today endorsed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s proposal for an advance team to travel to Sudan ahead of a planned political mission as expectations rise that a peace deal will soon be signed to end a long-running civil war in the country’s south.
11 June 2004 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 15 December, agreeing also to act quickly on recommendations to be made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan after a review of the operation in three months.
11 June 2004 – As the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was being normalized after an attempted coup early today in its capital, United Nations officials condemned the uprising and pledged to help the country’s transitional political process.
10 June 2004 – Foreign Minister Jean Ping of Gabon was elected today to preside over the fifty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, which is scheduled to open on 14 September.
10 June 2004 – Guinea-Bissau’s democratization process is fragile and, with government revenues falling below projections, unpaid salary arrears are still a critical problem for the West African country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the UN Security Council.
10 June 2004 – Despite appeals from the top United Nations envoy for Liberia and the West African country’s National Transitional Government (NTGL) for the lifting of embargoes on diamonds and timber, the United Nations Security Council today said maintaining sanctions longer would help cement the peace process.
10 June 2004 – United Nations officials joined members of the Security Council today in strongly condemning the killing of 11 construction workers from China and their local guard during an attack on their compound last night in Afghanistan.
8 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for the deployment of an advance team in Sudan to prepare for a future United Nations peacekeeping mission as hopes rise of a comprehensive peace agreement to end the 21-year civil war in the south of Africa’s biggest country.
8 June 2004 – Describing the Security Council’s unanimous adoption of a resolution on Iraq as “a genuine expression of the will of the international community,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he welcomed its passage and pledged the United Nations would play its part in the next phase of the country’s transition from war and occupation.
8 June 2004 – The future of Iraq, and the role of the United Nations and the international community in helping the reconstruction of the country in the aftermath of the war, was the focus of a student-diplomat summit Monday at UN Headquarters in New York.
8 June 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan does not see any basis for resuming his active good offices on Cyprus now that it has missed its final chance to join the European Union as a united country, a senior United Nations adviser told the Security Council today.
8 June 2004 – A week after the formation of an interim government of Iraq, the United Nations Security Council today unanimously endorsed the new leadership and paved the way for Iraqis to assume “full responsibility and authority” for their country, including decisions on security matters, at the end of the month.
7 June 2004 – Civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts, and sexual violence – especially against women and girls – is increasingly used as a weapon of war, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.
7 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today called for an immediate halt to military actions by dissident forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and condemned "with utmost firmness" last week's seizure by the groups of the eastern town of Bukavu, and the accompanying atrocities and human rights violations.
7 June 2004 – For the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire to succeed, the West African country’s leaders must give priority to the national interest over personal ambitions, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his first report to the Security Council on peacebuilding there.
7 June 2004 – A United Nations expert panel on Liberia has found no proof of weapons-smuggling into the West African country after August 2003 or of diamond- and timber-smuggling out, and the imposed sanctions contributed significantly to ending the country’s armed conflicts over a 14-year period.
7 June 2004 – Engines of two surface-to-air missiles from Iraq have turned up at a scrapyard in the Netherlands, according to a new report by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), tasked by the Security Council to probe the country’s illicit arms programme.
7 June 2004 – With the Security Council poised to act soon on a draft resolution on Iraq, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi today urged the international community to continue support for the county, and its new interim government, as it deals with challenges during “a new phase of the political process” – the return of sovereignty on 30 June.
5 June 2004 – As peace talks aimed at ending over two decades of war in Sudan enter a critical phase, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the parties to reach a comprehensive settlement.
4 June 2004 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for an end to the looting that has forced it to suspend food distribution across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
3 June 2004 – Expressing his anger and distress, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the murder of five members of the non-governmental organization Médecins sans Frontières-Holland in northwestern Afghanistan and called on the country's authorities to bring their killers to justice.
3 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has underscored the need for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus question while noting that as long as the current stalemate continues there is "no apparent basis for resuming the good offices" effort.
3 June 2004 – The once-volatile situation in Liberia has calmed and security is being restored to the West African country, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there (UNMIL) told the Security Council today.
3 June 2004 – The new Foreign Minister of Iraq today urged the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution underlining the transfer of sovereignty back to the country's people and their representatives.
2 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a six-month extension of the UN operation in Cyprus (UNFICYP), while pledging a review before the mid-point aimed at adapting its mandate to the prevailing circumstances.
2 June 2004 – With Iraqis having named an interim government to inherit sovereignty from the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) at the end of June, United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi departed the country today as talks continued in New York on a new Security Council resolution on the future course of action.
2 June 2004 – The town of Bukavu in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) fell to dissident forces today, while troops from the national army either fled or sought sanctuary among troops serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force (MONUC) and looters ransacked UN premises.
2 June 2004 – The United Nations Security Council will continue its attention to unfolding developments in Iraq while keeping African hotspots high on the agenda, the body's incoming President said today.
2 June 2004 – In an effort to rescue Côte d'Ivoire's peace process, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative (SRSG), Albert Tévoédjrè, has held talks with Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and with the leader of the opposition Forces Nouvelles, whose representatives withdrew from the coalition government.
2 June 2004 – The United Nations General Assembly should be given more authority to respond to emerging global challenges, its President told reporters in Vienna today.
1 June 2004 – As more than 2,000 troops from the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB) troops were "re-hatted" today as United Nations forces, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed the continent's leadership in laying a solid foundation for the peace process.
1 June 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the announcement of Iraq's interim government as "a new beginning," while calling for continued vigilance about the country's security situation.
28 May 2004 – With millions of civilians across the globe affected by the complex crises brought on by war and natural disasters, the international community must respond quickly to alleviate their plight, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
28 May 2004 – Gravely concerned at the scale of suffering caused by Israel's systematic demolition of Palestinian homes, water sources and livelihoods in the Rafah refugee camp, two United Nations experts today jointly condemned the practice as illegal and called for international action if it continues.
28 May 2004 – With a peacekeeping mission in Haiti set to begin next week, another for Burundi recently approved and one in the works for Sudan, the United Nations observed the International Day of UN Peacekeepers today at time of increased demands on its ability to maintain peace around the world.
27 May 2004 – Afghanistan needs international support to emerge from decades of war, tackle resurgent militias sabotaging peace efforts, and hold credible elections in September, a senior United Nations official said today.
26 May 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed appointing the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Carolyn McAskie, as his Special Representative for Burundi and head of the UN operation in that country when it is launched on 1 June.
26 May 2004 – Israel's recent weeklong military raid into the Gaza Strip town of Rafah left more than 2,000 Palestinians homeless, bringing to nearly 3,500 the total of those whose residences were demolished or rendered uninhabitable since the beginning of the month, according to a full United Nations assessment released today.
26 May 2004 – With United Nations peacekeeping set to expand as new missions are set up, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has emphasized that these operations remain the best investment in ensuring that stability endures.
26 May 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today met in closed session to discuss a draft resolution on Iraq, while Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi continued contacts in Baghdad aimed at helping the Iraqis set up a transitional government to receive sovereignty on 30 June.
26 May 2004 – Having lifted restrictions on humanitarian visits to the internally displaced people (IDPs) under attack in its western Darfur area, the Sudanese Government has imposed other restraints which, along with insufficient external funding, effectively impede timely assistance, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator said today.
25 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has hailed the African Union's new Peace and Security Council as a potentially powerful tool for the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict on the continent.
25 May 2004 – Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser, today continued consulting leaders in Iraqi on who would represent the country's people in a transitional government set to assume power after 30 June.
25 May 2004 – If the United Nations wanted to make any headway on the key aspects of its agenda- from development and peace to human rights and the rule of law - the fight against terrorism must remain a priority, the Security Council was told today.
25 May 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today expressed its deep concern at the recent announcement by President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire that he would dismiss opposition ministers and also reiterated its concerns at the continuing non-participation of opposition parties in the Government of Reconciliation.
25 May 2004 – The top United Nations administrator of ethnically-divided Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, today announced his intention to resign for health reasons, just 10 months after he was appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and two weeks after he was briefly hospitalized for fatigue.
25 May 2004 – The latest Israeli military incursion in Rafah has left an additional 575 Palestinians homeless, bringing the total since the beginning of the month to nearly 2,000, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported today.
25 May 2004 – With the African Union (AU) and other budding institutions beginning to drive the continent's efforts to empower itself, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the forty-first anniversary of Africa Day provided an occasion to intensify the search for solutions to ongoing problems like the human suffering in Sudan's western Darfur region and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
25 May 2004 – Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in the Darfur region of Sudan, the United Nations Security Council today underscored the responsibility of the country's Government to neutralize the armed Janjaweed militias operating in the region.
25 May 2004 – Sukehiro Hasegawa, the current deputy of the United Nations mission in Timor-Leste, has been named the new chief of the UN operation following an exchange of letters between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council.
23 May 2004 – Addressing the people of Côte d'Ivoire, the top United Nations envoy to the country today reiterated the world body's full support for the country's disarmament campaign.
21 May 2004 – Delivering what he called a "melancholy briefing, full of death and destruction and human misery" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the top United Nations political officer today called on both sides to move beyond the deadlock that keeps them stalled at the crossroads and embrace the internationally endorsed Road Map peace plan.
21 May 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously approved the establishment of a new operation for troubled Burundi, where the UN will deploy up to 5,650 military personnel and help the central African nation with restoring peace and bringing about national reconciliation.
20 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the recent announcements by Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo suspending support of opposition ministers and by the opposition Forces Nouvelles that they would move their staff in Abidjan to their stronghold Bouaké in the north were a disturbing turn of events.
20 May 2004 – Work has begun by an independent panel investigating the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq, and its focus is to "get after" allegations of corruption and misconduct within the UN itself and, more broadly, the question of possible maladministration of the humanitarian operation, its Chairman said today.
20 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, today discussed with the Baghdad envoy of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) the situation of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib and other prisons following reports of abuse and humiliation by United States and other coalition forces.
20 May 2004 – With today's conflicts sparking huge flows of terrified civilians and armed militia moving across borders, the head of the United Nations refugee agency today urged the Security Council to develop a "cross-border peacekeeping" formula for UN missions operating in war zones.
20 May 2004 – In a further effort to resolve the 10-year-old Georgian-Abkhaz separatist conflict in north-western Georgia, the top United Nations envoy in the country today chaired a meeting of both sides on security guarantees.
20 May 2004 – A United Nations human rights expert has expressed his "horror" at the ongoing Israeli military action in Gaza, where some 30 Palestinian have been killed, nearly 200 homes have been destroyed and 2,200 people left without shelter since the beginning of May.
19 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, today continued his talks with various officials in Iraq on the future of the country following the handover of sovereignty at the end of June.
19 May 2004 – Concerned by the recent demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Security Council today called on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law and insisted on its obligation not to destroy homes contrary to that law.
19 May 2004 – In another landmark of progress for Timor-Leste, the United Nations mission in the southeast Asian country today handed over all official responsibility for policing and external security to the government of the world body’s youngest member.
19 May 2004 – The United States called on United Nations Member States today to help provide a special protective force for UN personnel returning to Iraq to assist with preparations for future elections.
18 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis today held talks on a number of regional issues, including Mr. Annan's recent efforts to reunite Cyprus ahead of its joining the European Union earlier this month.
17 May 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today called on Member States to give the world body the political and financial support, as well as the civilian and military personnel, "to allow the multiple operations to start optimally and fulfil their respective mandates in an effective manner."
17 May 2004 – United Nations peacekeeping missions, which are becoming increasingly numerous and more complex, will need an extra $1 billion by the end of 2004, bringing up the total funds available to nearly $4 billion, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
17 May 2004 – A United Nations report on deaths in Côte d'Ivoire during a banned demonstration in late March recommends investigating and persecuting those responsible, expanding the UN mission already in place, reforming and strengthening the judiciary and establishing a truth and reconciliation commission.
14 May 2004 – Calling on Eritrea and Ethiopia to engage constructively with the United Nations mission in the region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today Eritrea's recent verbal attacks on the mission and the restrictions imposed on it could endanger the lives of UN personnel and limit their effectiveness.
14 May 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today condemned human rights violations in Côte d'Ivoire, especially those that occurred during the deadly demonstration in March, and called for the immediate formation of a national human rights body.
14 May 2004 – Calling on Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to strengthen security along their frontier, the United Nations Security Council today condemned incursions by the Rwandan army into the eastern DRC as well as rebel attacks launched from Congolese territory.
14 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has informed the Security Council of his intention to name the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Javier Ruperez, as the head of the restructured Counter-terrorism Committee (CTC).
14 May 2004 – The United Nations refugee agency today appealed for an urgent injection of new funds to meet its "desperate" needs in caring for more than 120,000 black Sudanese who have fled into eastern Chad from what has been called ethnic cleansing by mainly Arab militia in Sudan's western Darfur region.
14 May 2004 – The Security Council decided unanimously today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) for another six months, reduce its size, put more emphasis on training and advisory services and phase it out by May of next year.
13 May 2004 – The top United Nations envoy to Kosovo, Harri Holkeri, was admitted to hospital in Strasbourg , France, last night suffering from fatigue due to his heavy work schedule.
11 May 2004 – The acting United Nations human rights chief will brief the Security Council Friday on a report into the demonstrations that took place in March in Côte d'Ivoire, which left dozens of people dead.
11 May 2004 – Although the recent wave of violence shook the United Nations mission in Kosovo "to its foundations," it aimed to root out and punish the perpetrators while remaining resolute in its task to help prepare the province for self-governance, the UN's senior envoy in the province told the Security Council today.
10 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council today voiced both their dismay and condemnation of Sunday's terrorist attack in Grozny, which killed Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov and a number of bystanders.
10 May 2004 – Cautioning that the peacekeeping developments in recently-independent Timor-Leste are better characterized as encouraging than as successful, the top United Nations envoy to the country today took his leave of a mission that is being gradually downsized.
10 May 2004 – The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has expressed grave concern that new and old accusations of infractions levelled by an Eritrean panel has made the mission part of the problem in the Horn of Africa and could turn the Eritrean public against the three-year-old peacekeeping mission.
7 May 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reaffirmed that the United Nations will fully support the work of an independent panel he commissioned to examine allegations of corruption surrounding the UN Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq.
7 May 2004 – The Chairman of Europe's largest security organization today told the United Nations Security Council that if asked, the 55-nation body would be willing to offer its assistance in rebuilding democratic institutions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
7 May 2004 – The humanitarian crisis in strife-torn western Sudan, one of the worst in the world, is one of "massive displacement, critical humanitarian needs and extreme levels of violence and fear," a senior United Nations relief official told the Security Council today.
7 May 2004 – While black African rebels in western Sudan appear to have violated human rights in their quest for development, the Government of Sudan and its Arab proxy militia have responded with a "reign of terror" of massive human rights violations which "may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity," according to a new United Nations report released today.
6 May 2004 – The 191-member United Nations General Assembly today overwhelmingly affirmed the need to enable the Palestinian people "to exercise sovereignty and to achieve independence in their State, Palestine."
6 May 2004 – United Nations Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi arrived back in Baghdad today and immediately started work on seeking agreement for forming a caretaker Iraqi government by the end of May, ready to succeed the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on 30 June.
6 May 2004 – Bougainville, now autonomous after a decade of secessionist fighting against Papua New Guinea, has destroyed at least half of its weapons, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
5 May 2004 – In the wake of the deadly ethnic violence that swept Kosovo in March, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says what is now needed is concrete action by the leaders and people of the province to not only ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, but to rebuild the confidence among minority communities, and most of all, to address the root causes of the violence.
5 May 2004 – Countries are committed to the international sanctions against Al-Qaida, the Taliban and their associates but some lack adequate resources to fulfil their reporting obligations, according to the Chairman of the Security Council committee dealing with the issues.
4 May 2004 – Citing dwindling cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), members of the Security Council today called on both Horn of Africa countries to work fully with the mission in fulfilling its mandate and with one another to explore ways of moving forward the stalled border demarcation process.
4 May 2004 – The United Nations Security Council is set for a "busy" May, highlighted by two special debates on UN peacekeeping, and continued focus on the situations in a host of African nations - including Sudan - while giving "considerable attention" to Iraq, the President of the 15-member body said today.
4 May 2004 – "Extremely serious" and persistent failures on the part of Serbia and Montenegro to cooperate with the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are threatening to push the trials of key suspects beyond the target completion date of 2008, the court's President warned today in a letter to the Security Council.
3 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that he expects the Security Council to authorize a multinational force to remain in Iraq as part of a resolution that will cover the period after the return of sovereignty on 30 June, saying it was in everyone's interest to do "whatever we can" to stabilize the country.
3 May 2004 – With the United Nations poised to play a key role in Iraq's transition to sovereignty, critics of the world body are seizing on unsubstantiated allegations regarding the Oil-for-Food relief effort before a high-level panel appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan has had a chance to investigate the matter, according to a senior UN official.
3 May 2004 – United Nations peacekeepers have played a crucial role in the extraordinary political progress made by newly independent, post-conflict Timor-Leste, and a reduced force of nearly 700 troops should remain for another year to allow the country to become self-sufficient, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the Security Council.
2 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today voiced concern about photos of Iraqi prisoners allegedly being beaten by United States and British soldiers, and urged the authorities of both countries to discipline those involved.
30 April 2004 – The United Nations presence in Tajikistan is continuing to make an important contribution to that country’s post-conflict transition as it encourages the continuation of national dialogue and reconciliation and helps to bolster democratic institutions, the Secretary-General says as he seeks to extend the work of the UN Tajikistan Office of Peace-building (UNTOP) for another year, until 1 June 2005.
30 April 2004 – The Security Council today unanimously approved a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti to help stabilize the country, establish democratic institutions and eventually organize free and fair elections.
30 April 2004 – The future status of Kosovo will only be taken up after the province’s Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) attain certain benchmarks – including free, fair and regular elections, free media and a sound and impartial legal system – outlined in a United Nations-backed plan, the Security Council said today.
30 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today threatened unspecified actions against individuals whose activities might block the full implementation of the 2003 peace accord between the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and its opposition.
29 April 2004 – Georgia's new Prime Minister, Zurab Zhvania, today told the United Nations Security Council that the main goal of the country's new leadership was to restore the territorial integrity of the State through peaceful means.
29 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today supported a plan that would allow the people of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, to determine their own political future, disallowing both Morocco’s rejection of the plan and its proposal to give Western Saharans limited autonomy under its rule.
29 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today voiced its disappointment that recent efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem have not succeeded and reiterated its backing for an overall political settlement.
28 April 2004 – While reiterating his determination to "get to the bottom" of allegations surrounding the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme in Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today stressed that some of the issues have been blown out of proportion and the UN has been unfairly blamed for things that had been beyond its control.
28 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed to all the parties in Iraq to refrain from violence, urging the United States to do all it can to seek a peaceful end to the confrontation in Fallujah and warning that violent military action would only make matters worse.
28 April 2004 – While the outcome of Saturday's vote in Cyprus on a unity plan was disappointing, the United Nations had come closer than ever before to resolving one of the most delicate and complex conflicts on its agenda, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.
28 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously approved a binding resolution criminalizing the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by such private parties as terrorists and black marketers.
27 April 2004 – After 13 years of peace negotiations and $600 million in United Nations expenditure, the choices facing Morocco and Western Sahara are to end peacekeeping operations and return their problem to the General Assembly or to continue working towards implementing the UN peace plan, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
27 April 2004 – United Nations Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi told the Security Council today he intends to quickly resume talks with Iraqis to reach agreement by the end of May on the composition of a caretaker government to succeed the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), formally bringing an end to the occupation on 30 June.
27 April 2004 – A meeting of representatives of the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Senegal this weekend will explore how best the two organizations and civil society can implement UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendations on stabilizing West Africa, the UN regional office said today.
27 April 2004 – The Security Council today gave its backing to ideas outlined by United Nations Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi for the formation of an interim Iraqi Government take over from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) at the end of June.
27 April 2004 – The United Nations today marked the 10th anniversary of South Africa’s battle to make the transition from apartheid racism to democracy in what Secretary General Kofi Annan called “a struggle that galvanized the entire world community.”
26 April 2004 – Four experts have been named to monitor the United Nations embargo prohibiting weapons flowing to militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and, if necessary, to nearby areas of other countries.
26 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, paid farewell calls today to a number of leaders on the island as the United Nations began the process of shutting down its presence there after a reunification plan was rejected over the weekend.
26 April 2004 – Thousands of Ugandans and Sudanese have reportedly fled settlements in northern Uganda in recent weeks following a series of raids by rebels of the feared Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), according to the United Nations refugee agency.
24 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today Cyprus missed an historic chance to resolve the decades-long problem after voters rejected a reunification plan, leaving the island nation divided as it prepares to join the European Union next week.
23 April 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, gave the Security Council a cautiously upbeat assessment today of developments in the area, now poised between choosing a new era of peacemaking if Israel withdraws from Gaza in the right way and more violence if the withdrawal is wrongly handled.
23 April 2004 – With Cypriots heading to the polls tomorrow, the United Nations today handed over the authenticated version of a plan to reunify Cyprus ahead of its entry into the European Union on 1 May.
22 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council held an open debate today on the threat to international security posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), especially if they should pass through black markets and fall into private hands.
22 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed Libya's decision to cooperate with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and abandon its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), along with the means to deliver them.
22 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today condemned the recruitment of child soldiers and called on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to create a monitoring mechanism, preferably within three months, "to provide timely objective, accurate and reliable information on the recruitment and use of child soldiers in violation of applicable international law."
21 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today announced the formation of the independent panel that will conduct an inquiry into allegations of impropriety in the administration and management of the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme.
21 April 2004 – Addressing the people of Cyprus on the eve of Saturday's historic simultaneous referenda on his plan to establish a unified island, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today spelled out the benefits that would follow an affirmative vote.
21 April 2004 – Representatives from Georgia and Abkhazia met in Geneva today in United Nations-initiated talks on international security guarantees in the conflict zone in Abkhazia, where Georgian government and separatist forces fought a war 10 years ago which forced nearly 300,000 refugees to flee.
21 April 2004 – Paul Volcker, the former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System, today pledged a thorough inquiry into allegations of impropriety in the administration and management of the United Nations Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme.
21 April 2004 – The Russian Federation today vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council that would have terminated the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and replaced it with the UN Settlement Implementation Mission in Cyprus (UNSIMIC).
21 April 2004 – Welcoming the appointment today of an independent high-level inquiry into allegations of corruption in the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme, the Security Council called on all concerned to cooperate fully with the probe.
21 April 2004 – Stressing the importance of resolving the fate of Kuwaitis and others missing since Iraq's 1990 invasion, members of the Security Council today voiced hope that a United Nations envoy dealing with the issue could soon pursue his work in Baghdad.
20 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed sending United Nations military and police forces to Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, beginning in the latter half of May as the vanguard of an 8,300-strong United Nations stabilization mission that will take over from the United States-led multilateral interim force (MIF) on 1 June.
20 April 2004 – An official announcement that Secretary-General Kofi Annan will set up an independent inquiry to look into allegations of corruption in the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq is expected on Wednesday, his spokesman confirmed today.
20 April 2004 – While over 200 cases remain unresolved, appreciable progress has been made in identifying the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners of war as well as the nationals of other countries who have been missing since the 1990 invasion by Iraq, according to a United Nations report released today.
20 April 2004 – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced today that its fact-finding mission has been given permission to travel to the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan, where a senior UN official has said there has been an ethnic cleansing campaign against the local black African population.
19 April 2004 – With Cypriots preparing to vote this weekend on a reunification plan, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the Security Council to endorse the basic agreement creating a United Cyprus Republic, ban arms sales to the country and approve the mandate of a new United Nations operation there.
19 April 2004 – Sir Dennis Byron of Saint Kitts and Nevis has become a permanent judge of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda, replacing his compatriot Judge Lloyd George Williams, who resigned last month.
19 April 2004 – Less than a month after several countries in the United Nations Security Council condemned the killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the 15-member body met today to discuss the assassination by Israel of his replacement, Abdelaziz Rantissi, over the weekend.
19 April 2004 – As yearly casualties in armed conflicts in the new century drop to about one-tenth the annual deaths in the 1990s, the international community must prevent new flare-ups by investing time and funds in preparing post-conflict countries for democratic governance and economic development, the top United Nations peacekeeping official says.
19 April 2004 – The United Nations today reported transferring $500 million in surplus money from its now-defunct Oil-for-Food programme to the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI).
16 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the offer of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to negotiate with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to try to peacefully resolve their conflict in the country's north and east, two days after the Security Council condemned the rebel group's atrocities against civilians.
16 April 2004 – The Security Council should pass a new resolution on Iraq to help the country move forward with the upcoming political transition, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed during their meeting Thursday evening in New York.
16 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General this evening welcomed the willingness of the Security Council to help all parties fully meet their commitments under the proposed comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem if that blueprint is approved in referendums next week.
16 April 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today said they were ready to help Cyprus implement a plan to reunify the island nation ahead of its entry into the European Union on 1 May should the referendums on that blueprint be approved next week.
16 April 2004 – Three persons have been identified for the independent panel that will conduct an inquiry into the Oil-for-Food humanitarian relief effort for Iraq, a United Nations spokesperson confirmed today in response to press questions in New York.
16 April 2004 – Lord Iain Bonomy of the United Kingdom has become a permanent judge of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, replacing Judge Richard May who had to resign earlier this year for health reasons.
16 April 2004 – Voicing hope that the United Nations would return its personnel to Iraq to help with the transition to sovereignty, the United States Ambassador today suggested the establishment of a new multinational force dedicated to protecting the UN in the war-wracked country.
15 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said a “more systematic approach” between the United Nations’ security and development arms is necessary if business is to play a constructive role in countries either facing or emerging from armed conflicts
15 April 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes the possibility of an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip but hopes that such a step would spark the renewal of the Road Map to peace, his spokesperson said today.
15 April 2004 – From exploring the importance of a growing economy as an incentive to living in peace to studying the need to better monitor corporate behaviour to discussing the crucial function the private sector can play in encouraging development, the United Nations Security Council today held a debate about the role of business in countries facing or emerging from war.
15 April 2004 – The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency says it is concerned that equipment - even entire buildings - and contaminated scrap have been removed from sites in Iraq, in some cases even out of the country.
15 April 2004 – A programme designed to eliminate sales of rough diamonds to finance armed conflicts, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, has received renewed support from the United Nations General Assembly.
14 April 2004 – Highlighting the abduction and forced recruitment of children as soldiers and sex slaves, members of the United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the atrocities being committed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group in northern Uganda.
14 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, said today the United Nations was confident an Iraqi caretaker government could be formed ahead of the transfer of power at the end of June to guide the country until free and fair elections are held in January 2005.
13 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said that he will soon name the members of an independent panel to investigate allegations of corruption and fraud within the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme, and pledged that the probe will take the charges “very seriously.”
13 April 2004 – A senior United Nations relief official will head to the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan next week to assess the humanitarian situation there, weeks after warning that a coordinated, “scorched-earth” campaign of ethnic cleansing was taking place against the local black African population.
13 April 2004 – Kosovo's leaders and its people must take concrete steps to tackle the root causes of the ethnic violence that continues to plague the province, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.
12 April 2004 – The United Nations Security Council has elected a chairman and two new vice chairpersons for its committee overseeing an arms embargo against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
7 April 2004 – Ten years after more than 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by their fellow countrymen, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today unveiled a five-point plan for the United Nations to prevent future genocides while calling particular attention to the crisis unfolding now in the Darfur region of Sudan.
7 April 2004 – With a minute of mournful silence, the ringing of the Peace Bell, the testimony of a tearful young survivor and expressions of regret and resolve from senior officials, the United Nations today commemorated the deaths of at least 800,000 Rwandans 10 years ago in the world’s biggest genocide since the Second World War.
7 April 2004 – Calling on the world's States to hand over all remaining indicted suspects, the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda today marked the tenth anniversary of the start of the 1994 genocide with a special memorial ceremony at its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
7 April 2004 – A proposed United Nations peacekeeping operation in Burundi aimed at consolidating recent political progress there would cost $418 million for a 12-month period, according to a new UN document released today.
6 April 2004 – Stressing its fears that opium poppy cultivation could undermine the rule of law, security and economic development in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council today called for greater international efforts to combat the illicit drug industry as it endorsed the results of last week's reconstruction conference in Berlin.
6 April 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today expressed concern that post-coup Guinea-Bissau remains in serious economic difficulties and called on lenders and donors to see the situation in the West African country as an emergency.
5 April 2004 – Iraq and the Middle East, as well as regional issues such as Kosovo and the conflict in Georgia, topped the agenda as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials today in Moscow.
5 April 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has begun preparations for an expanded United Nations role in Burundi, saying that much needs to be done to establish a UN peacekeeping mission to support the Transitional Government ahead of the Central African country’s elections later this year.
2 April 2004 – After hearing a briefing on United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to reunite Cyprus before its entry into the European Union on 1 May, Security Council members said today that the future of the island nation is now up to its people.
2 April 2004 – A small fire broke out at the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda early today, but there were no injuries and damage was minimal, a spokesperson for the UN said.
2 April 2004 – The Security Council is poised this month to discuss a draft resolution dealing with the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to non-State actors, the Ambassador of Germany, which holds the presidency of the 15-member body for April, said today.
2 April 2004 – As the Security Council today called for a ceasefire to the conflict engulfing the Darfur region in western Sudan, a senior United Nations humanitarian official said a coordinated, "scorched-earth" campaign of ethnic cleansing was taking place there.
1 April 2004 – Maj. Gen. Abdoulaye Fall of Senegal will be the Force Commander of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the Security Council.
1 April 2004 – With the final plan to reunify Cyprus before its entry into the European Union on 1 May now in the hands of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot voters for approval, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser is scheduled to brief the Security Council tomorrow on the latest developments.
1 April 2004 – The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has paid tribute to two soldiers whose deaths in March brought the toll for peacekeepers in the country to 27.
31 March 2004 – An advance party of 30 military officers and five United Nations civilian police officers arrived today in Côte d'Ivoire from neighbouring Ghana, where they were in training for the full peacekeeping mission that is scheduled to be launched on 4 April.
31 March 2004 – The Security Council today gave its backing to an independent probe ordered by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to look into allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian programme in Iraq.
31 March 2004 – Security sector reform is of high priority in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as prisoners escape from the jail in Bunia and Ituri in the east, but the Transitional Government coordinated well in defeating an incursion into Kinshasa last weekend, the United Nations chief of peacekeeping said today.
30 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special adviser on Haiti today called for a long-term international presence of some 20 years in the Caribbean country as it recovered from a series of reverses, but he said that mission must give ownership of reconstruction programmes to Haitians themselves.
30 March 2004 – After recently agreeing to a new structure for its Counter-terrorism Committee (CTC), the United Nations Security Council today confirmed that the current operational arrangements of the Committee's bureau will remain until the new changes take effect.
30 March 2004 – Extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) by another six months, the Security Council today endorsed plans to scale down the size of its peacekeeping force to a residual presence next year to give Government forces time to assert control over the country.
30 March 2004 – The top United Nations envoy for Kosovo announced today he is setting up a review body to study the UN mission's response to the deadly violence in the province earlier this month and to make recommendations on how it can react better in future crises.
30 March 2004 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today sentenced a Bosnian Serb man to 10 years in jail for his role in the burning down of a predominantly Muslim village in May 1992.
29 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, expressing concern about weekend attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) capital, Kinshasa, called on all parties to “stay the course of national reconciliation leading to fair and free national elections,” his spokesman said today.
29 March 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent the Security Council a letter detailing the workings of an independent, high-level inquiry into allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian operation for Iraq, a UN spokesman said today.
29 March 2004 – With the Security Council set to create or expand its peacekeeping missions “on an almost unprecedented scale,” the United Nations faces considerable political, logistical, recruitment and security challenges, the UN’s most senior peacekeeping official said today.
26 March 2004 – Just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the United Nations today hosted a memorial conference to mark the occasion, which served as an opportunity to review past mistakes and draw lessons for the future.
26 March 2004 – Members of the Security Council today condemned the recent killing of two police officers in Kosovo, one of them with the United Nations mission in the province, and called on the Provisional Institutions of Self-government to cooperate with the investigation.
26 March 2004 – Stepping up United Nations efforts to combat the terrorist threat, the Security Council today restructured its Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in a bid to revitalize the panel’s efforts in fighting the worldwide scourge and adapt to the evolving nature of its mission.
26 March 2004 – Faced with fatal clashes at opposition demonstrations yesterday in Côte d'Ivoire as the United Nations prepares to deploy peacekeeping forces there, Security Council today expressed grave concern about the events and said political agreement is the only solution to the crisis in the troubled West African country.
26 March 2004 – Asking all States to intensify their cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Security Council voted today to call on them to complete their investigations by the end of this year and all of their work by 2010.
26 March 2004 – A team of United Nations electoral experts arrived in Baghdad today along with security support, a UN spokesman said in New York.
26 March 2004 – Renewing the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by another 12 months, the Security Council today stressed the importance of extending central authority across the whole country and disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating all armed factions.
25 March 2004 – West Africa's problems stem from abuses of the region's governance, human rights and transparency obligations, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
25 March 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with Security Council members to review the workings of a proposed independent panel to probe allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian programme for Iraq.
25 March 2004 – Following clashes at protests in Côte d'Ivoire that reportedly left up to two dozen people dead, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for calm and dialogue.
25 March 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, with the United States vetoing what it called a one-sided text.
25 March 2004 – Weighing Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendations to reduce conflict in West Africa, the United Nations Security Council today said it would consider facilitating cross-border operations and strengthening cooperation among the UN peacekeeping missions in the region.
24 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed leaving a residual UN peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone until December 2005 to ensure a smooth transfer of security responsibilities to the national government.
24 March 2004 – Peace and security remain elusive for many Afghans, especially in rural areas, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says as he calls for another 12-month extension to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
24 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will urge the Security Council to adopt a coordinated approach to tackling the cross-border problems plaguing West Africa, one of his senior aides said today.
24 March 2004 – On the eve of massive demonstrations planned by opposing sides in Côte d'Ivoire, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed to all Ivorian parties to exercise utmost restraint, reduce tensions and avoid exacerbating the situation in the West African country.
24 March 2004 – The circumstances in which the United Nations must now aid Haiti are more complex and difficult and need a longer commitment than they did nearly a decade ago when a previous UN mission was launched, according to UN Assistant Secretary-General Danilo Turk.
24 March 2004 – Ahead of the planned transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on 30 June, the Security Council today strongly supported Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to send United Nations experts to Iraq to help with the handover of power and future elections.
23 March 2004 – Responding to exchanges of fire along the Israel-Lebanon withdrawal line, a United Nations envoy today called on the parties to avoid a further deterioration of the already tense situation.
23 March 2004 – Condemning Israel's assassination on Monday of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, numerous speakers addressing an open meeting of the Security Council this evening called on the 15-member body to take decisive action in response.
23 March 2004 – With Secretary-General Kofi Annan set to appoint an independent panel this week to look into allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian operation for Iraq, the country's Governing Council still has not replied to Mr. Annan's request for help in investigating the charges, a UN spokesman said today.
22 March 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to communicate to the Security Council this week the details of a panel that would look into allegations of corruption within the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian operation for Iraq, his spokesman said today.
22 March 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today expressed concern about the continued fighting in Burundi and urged all parties to show restraint and finish peace negotiations.
22 March 2004 – The United Nations envoy to Côte d'Ivoire today called on the post-conflict West African country to support new negotiations so that problems with key peace accords can be ironed out.
19 March 2004 – With the potential of upcoming multiparty elections in Burundi to give rise to recurrent unrest, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the Security Council to make an early decision on sending a peacekeeping mission to bolster the stabilizing work of the African Union's (AU) forces before their mandate expires in early April.
19 March 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has communicated to key players his intention to dispatch United Nations officials to Iraq to help with the transfer of sovereignty later this year.
19 March 2004 – A United Nations spokesman announced today that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a letter to members of the Security Council in connection with the "Oil-for-Food" humanitarian aid programme, which has been the subject of press reports alleging corruption.
19 March 2004 – The deployment of extra international troops has helped to calm the situation in Kosovo after the recent deadly violence, but there are still reports of looting and unrest, the United Nations mission to the province reported today.
18 March 2004 – The top United Nations envoy in Kosovo issued a new appeal today for an immediate halt to violence that has already killed 22 people and injured 500 more in the worst unrest to hit the ethnically divided province since the world body took over its administration nearly five years ago.
18 March 2004 – Denouncing "the large-scale inter-ethnic violence" that has led to the deaths of at least 31 people in Kosovo since yesterday, the United Nations Security Council today called for the province's authorities to ensure that the rule of law is maintained, all ethnic communities feel properly secure and the perpetrators of crimes are brought to justice.
18 March 2004 – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip could contribute significantly to the search for peace, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, calling for the Israeli Government to provide a timetable for its initiative.
18 March 2004 – The United Nations Security Council, acknowledging political changes in Liberia following the departure of President Charles Taylor, has presented a new list of nearly 50 of his associates who should be confined to their own countries - fewer than half of the number previously restricted.
17 March 2004 – The United Nations auditing office is continuing its investigation into allegations of corruption within the Iraq Oil-for-Food programme, interviewing a number of former employees of the largest-ever UN humanitarian operation, a spokesman for the world body said today.
17 March 2004 – Responding to the Security Council's recent condemnation of illegal arms flows to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN mission there today said it will concentrate on helping to control the black market traffic in weapons bound for the Central African country.
16 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the General Assembly for $40 million to pay for a shortfall in the budget of the Special Court for Sierra Leone from July this year until December 2005.
16 March 2004 – Drawing experts from all regions of the world, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has named six men and two women to a recently established panel helping to track the international sanctions against the Taliban, Al-Qaida and their operatives.
16 March 2004 – Spain's Ambassador to the United Nations has written to the Security Council explaining the Government's insistence on blaming the Basque separatist group ETA for last week's terrorist bombing in Madrid in a resolution adopted shortly after the atrocity.
16 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed to the Security Council to allow peacekeeping missions in West Africa enough time in post-conflict countries to help establish good local governance and ensure national involvement in fostering reconciliation in the region.
15 March 2004 – Eritrea has retained restrictions on the movements of United Nations peacekeepers north of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) in the border area with Ethiopia, but Ethiopia lifted its interdictions in the south of the zone, the UN mission to the two countries (UNMEE) said today.
12 March 2004 – Given the urgent need to stem the cycle of violence in the Middle East and achieve a just and lasting settlement, the parties to the conflict must implement the Road Map plan for a two-State solution, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
12 March 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today ordered all governments to freeze the assets of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor and his immediate family and barred them from using "misappropriated funds and property" to obstruct the restoration of peace and stability in Liberia and the West African sub-region.
12 March 2004 – The Security Council today established a committee to monitor an eight-month-old arms embargo against all armed groups operating in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in a bid to strengthen the weapons ban, also authorizing the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country to seize or collect and to dispose of arms or related material found in violation of the measure.
12 March 2004 – A senior United Nations envoy today held talks with top Eritrean officials on current efforts to hammer out a comprehensive peace agreement ending Sudan's 20 years of civil war.
12 March 2004 – Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan issued a blanket appeal today for help in securing the release of a Doctors without Borders worker who was kidnapped more than a year and a half ago in southern Russia and is believed to be in ill health.
12 March 2004 – Calling on Eritrea and Ethiopia to cooperate with UN emissaries and with one another in demarcating a boundary, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the frontier area until 15 September.
12 March 2004 – In the aftermath of yesterday's brutal terrorist attacks in Spain, delegates to an international conference on terrorism in Vienna today reaffirmed the central role of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in the global effort to fight the scourge.
11 March 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed that the Special Court for Sierra Leone's funding shortfall should be covered by assessed rather than voluntary contributions by United Nations Member States.
11 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the Security Council was responsible for deciding whether there should be an investigation of how President Jean-Bertrand Aristide came to leave Haiti.
11 March 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the bomb attacks in Madrid that killed at least 190 people and injured more than 1,200, and called on countries to cooperate in the effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.
11 March 2004 – Bolstering the joint efforts of international organizations in the global fight against terrorism is the focus of a United Nations conference in Vienna, which opened today against the backdrop of this morning's multiple bomb explosions at three train stations in Spain.
10 March 2004 – With United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan saying the international commitment to Haiti could be needed for "10 years or more," the first group from a UN multidisciplinary team went to the troubled Caribbean country today as humanitarian assessment missions resumed in its provinces.
10 March 2004 – The United Nations envoy for southern Lebanon today strongly deplored several overflights by Israeli aircraft in Lebanese airspace, which were followed by anti-aircraft fire from the Lebanese side of the line of withdrawal.
9 March 2004 – The leaders of Sudan's Government and a key rebel group have hailed the role of the United Nations in their country during talks with UN envoy Mohamed Sahnoun, who is currently touring East Africa.
9 March 2004 – The United Nations today launched an emergency "Flash Appeal" for $35 million to meet the medical and nutritional needs of 3 million Haitians over the next six months.
9 March 2004 – The United Nations has stepped up its campaign to meet the growing demand for French-speaking peacekeepers, with missions in Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) either proposed or expanding.
8 March 2004 – While recommending a six-month extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the lack of progress in marking a permanent border between the two has led to a potentially dangerous political stalemate, his spokesman said today.
8 March 2004 – A United Nations multi-disciplinary team is scheduled to start arriving in Haiti tomorrow to assess what is needed for the stabilization force that the Security Council wants deployed within three months in the volatile Caribbean country, a UN spokesman said today.
8 March 2004 – While noting with satisfaction marked progress in cooperation by Iran, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency today voiced serious concern over gaps in Tehran’s declaration of nuclear activities and called on it to take the “vital” initiative to provide all relevant information fully and promptly in the coming months.
5 March 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council called today for “safe and unimpeded humanitarian access” to vulnerable people in Haiti after the breakdown in law and order there necessitated emergency international assistance to help stabilize the volatile country.
4 March 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy to Haiti, John Reginald Dumas, went to Jamaica today for talks on peace-building in Haiti with Jamaican Prime Minister Percival J. Patterson, the chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
4 March 2004 – Members of the United Nations anti-terrorism committee today agreed on the need to "revitalize" its work in order to adapt to the evolving nature of its mission and voiced support for a plan that aims to enhance the Security Council's ability to help countries implement a resolution - adopted in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States - to fight the worldwide scourge.
3 March 2004 – While Bosnia and Herzegovina has made real achievements in defence, intelligence reform, customs and indirect tax, the growing number of challenges to the United Nations-led police certification process requires attention, the Security Council was told today.
2 March 2004 – The Security Council’s schedule for March will be dominated by African issues, especially efforts to guarantee stability in the western part of the continent, the incoming Council President said today.
2 March 2004 – Condemning today’s terrorist attacks in Iraq and Pakistan that have left scores dead or injured, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he is particularly appalled they took place around Muslim shrines during the holy occasion of Ashura.
2 March 2004 – The United Nations commission set up to monitor and destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction is continuing its work and stands ready to resume operations in the country at the request of the Security Council, according to a document released today at UN Headquarters in New York.
2 March 2004 – The Security Council today commended the United Nations mission (MONUC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for resolving tensions in Bukavu and responding to violence in Ituri.
1 March 2004 – While the United Nations advised its staff members in Haiti to stay at home for their safety given chaos in the capital, the world body is preparing to step up its relief efforts in the strife-torn country by finalizing an inter-agency humanitarian appeal, the spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
29 February 2004 – Acting just hours after Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned as President of Haiti, the United Nations Security Council this evening unanimously authorized the immediate deployment of a Multinational Interim Force to the troubled nation.
27 February 2004 – The tumultuous situation in Haiti was high on the agenda of talks in New York today between the President of Costa Rica and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
27 February 2004 – With regional military forces being strengthened for rapid deployment, the United Nations can now deploy multinational peacekeeping troops as part of a series of steps reinforcing strategic partnerships, especially in Africa, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
27 February 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today authorized a full one-year peacekeeping operation for Cote d'Ivoire and mandated nearly 7,000 UN personnel to monitor the comprehensive ceasefire agreement the West African country's warring parties reached last May.
26 February 2004 – Given its long record of deploying peacekeeping missions, the United Nations has a special responsibility to send a multinational force to Haiti during a rapidly deteriorating political and security crisis, Jamaican Foreign Minister Keith D. Knight told the United Nations Security Council today.
26 February 2004 – Nine countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus have agreed to use their mass media and civil society institutions to develop "a culture of intolerance" towards all forms of terrorism, the United Nations reported today.
26 February 2004 – Deploying a multifaceted United Nations peacekeeping force in Côte d'Ivoire for six months would cost about $303 million, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council in a letter made public today.
26 February 2004 – Pledging his unwavering commitment to the peaceful resolution of the separatist conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia's new President Mikhail Saakashvili appealed to the United Nations Security Council today to enhance its efforts to advance lasting peace and stability in his country.
26 February 2004 – The United Nations today mourned the death of President Boris Trajkovski of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan recalling the crucial role he played in preserving the unity of his country and laying down the basis for the stability of a multi-ethnic State.
26 February 2004 – Expressing deep concern over the deteriorating political, security and humanitarian situation in Haiti, the United Nations Security Council today pledged to "consider urgently options for international engagement, including that of sending an international force" to support a political settlement.
25 February 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today deplored the Haitian opposition's rejection of proposals from two regional organizations that could form the basis for a peaceful compromise with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to stem the Caribbean country's violent political crisis.
25 February 2004 – The names of two Sierra Leonean former combatants have been removed from a list of people who are forbidden to enter other countries under a United Nations Security Council resolution.
25 February 2004 – Warning that it will keep close watch on those blocking efforts to resolve the conflict in Somalia, the United Nations Security Council today called on the country's warring parties to reach a peaceful settlement.
25 February 2004 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda today sentenced a former military commander in the country's armed forces to 27 years in prison for his role in a massacre during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
24 February 2004 – The Ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom today told the Security Council that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) welcomes the growing role of the United Nations in helping Iraq to determine its political future.
24 February 2004 – With Iraq expecting the United Nations to play a major role in organizing elections, drafting a constitution, reconstructing the country, and building a State based on human rights and the rule of law, the world body must retain a clear and separate identity in this effort, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
24 February 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed today's release by the Frente POLISARIO in Western Sahara of 100 Moroccan prisoners-of-war.
23 February 2004 – Credible elections are not possible in Iraq before the 30 June planned handover of sovereignty but they can be organized by the end of this year or in early 2005 given the establishment of certain conditions, including a legal framework for the process, a United Nations fact-finding mission to the country says in a report released today.
20 February 2004 – While Timor-Leste has progressed impressively since gaining independence, the fragility of its national security means that the United Nations should maintain a presence there for a year beyond the end of its mission’s mandate in May, a senior UN peacekeeping official said today.
19 February 2004 – Citing an “emerging consensus,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said elections cannot be organized in Iraq before the 30 June deadline for a transfer of sovereignty – a date he said should be “respected.”
18 February 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is slated to meet tomorrow with several countries interested in the Iraq situation to share ideas about the matter, a UN spokesman said today.
18 February 2004 – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s announcement that Israel will withdraw the military and settlements from the Gaza Strip should be welcomed by all, as it sets the stage for the possible resumption of a “vigorous” peace process, the senior United Nations envoy for the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen, told the Security Council today.
18 February 2004 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today announced that it will hold three days of hearings starting Monday in the request for an advisory opinion on the consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.
18 February 2004 – With the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMISET) set to end in May, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a special report to the Security Council hailing recent progress in the country while urging a continued international presence there in the year to come
18 February 2004 – Condemning the recent deadly clashes in Haiti, members of the United Nations Security Council today called on the government and opposition to restore confidence and dialogue, overcoming their differences peacefully and democratically through constitutional means.
18 February 2004 – A United Nations-chaired meeting to review the peace process between Georgia and Abkhaz separatists today hailed progress made in political and security matters, refugee returns and economic cooperation despite the difficult situation on the ground.
17 February 2004 – A two-day meeting aimed at addressing the conflict in Georgia opened today in Geneva under United Nations auspices.
17 February 2004 – An international board entrusted by the United Nations Security Council with monitoring the United States-led management of funding and revenues in Iraq has set up an information web site.
17 February 2004 – Relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its neighbours are improving, while the disarmament, demobilization and resettlement of fighters from Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi have proceeded faster than expected, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
13 February 2004 – The military leaders of three United Nations peacekeeping missions in West Africa met in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, today to coordinate their operations and strengthen sub-regional cross-border security.
12 February 2004 – An assessment team is in Sierra Leone evaluating the benchmarks for the reduction of the United Nations mission (UNAMSIL) in the country by the end of the year given the increasingly stable security situation there after a decade of conflict.
12 February 2004 – The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency today called for the urgent strengthening of the world's non-proliferation regime to ensure that nuclear materials and even weapons are not acquired by terrorists.
11 February 2004 – The force commanders of three United Nations peacekeeping missions in West Africa will meet in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on Friday to talk about sub-regional cross-border security, the UN said today.
11 February 2004 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today called for a series of measures aimed at promoting stability in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
9 February 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he hoped to be able to decide this month on the recommendations of a United Nations team currently in Iraq holding consultations on the feasibility of holding elections before the return of sovereignty at the end of June, as well as other alternatives.
9 February 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has moved to appoint Jean Arnault of France as his Special Representative for Afghanistan.
9 February 2004 – The people of Cyprus have a historic opportunity to unify their country and enter the European Union together, garnering great economic and social benefits, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today on the eve of talks between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in New York.
9 February 2004 – The Chairman of a United Nations Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban today described a strengthened regime designed to stem the terrorist threat posed by those groups.
6 February 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the current President of the UN Security Council have strongly condemned today's deadly terrorist attack in Moscow.
6 February 2004 – Pristina and Belgrade must have direct and serious dialogue if Kosovo is to make any progress soon on such key issues as the fate of persons missing from the war of 1998-99, the senior United Nations senior envoy to the province told the Security Council today.
5 February 2004 – Africa, with three-quarters of the United Nations' 45,000 uniformed peacekeeping forces, made real progress in achieving peace in 2003, but many challenges remain, a senior United Nations official said today.
4 February 2004 – The Security Council today unanimously agreed to a short extension of the United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (MINUCI) while suggesting that it might later be expanded into a full-fledged peacekeeping operation.
4 February 2004 – Wars in Africa will command the attention of the United Nations Security Council, but the 15-member panel will also closely track events in Iraq and the Middle East, the President for February said today.
30 January 2004 – Concerned about the lack of progress in arbitrating the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea according to the Algiers Agreement, United Nations Kofi Annan today appointed former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy his Special Envoy for the two Horn of Africa countries.
30 January 2004 – The Security Council today unanimously extended the 10-year-old United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) through July after Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported that it was critical to maintaining stability along the ceasefire lines between Georgian and Abkhaz separatist forces.
30 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council' s Counter-terrorism Committee (CTC) says the implementation of a resolution to monitor and try to increase the capability of States to fight terrorism "is encountering serious problems, both at the States and at the (committee) levels."
30 January 2004 – The record of achievements by Kosovo's Provisional Institutions is mixed, with progress apparently stalled in some areas, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new document made public today.
30 January 2004 – Calling on the Government of Lebanon to return its effective authority over its southern area bordering Israel, the United Nations Security Council today extended for six months the mandate of the UN force in the area.
30 January 2004 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission to Western Sahara, due to expire tomorrow, until the end of April.
30 January 2004 – The Security Council today tightened the sanctions regime against the Taliban and Al-Qaida in what the President of the 15-member UN body called a significant step forward in the struggle against terrorism.
29 January 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, responding to a Security Council request, has appointed a panel of experts to monitor violations of the arms embargo against Somalia during the coming six months.
28 January 2004 – United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today visited an anti-AIDS project in India before holding talks on key international concerns with senior Indian officials.
27 January 2004 – Poorer countries are providing the greatest contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations but even this support is insufficient to meet rising demands, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said today in India.
27 January 2004 – The President of the Security Council today predicted an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in order to foster efforts aimed at resolving the status of the disputed territory.
27 January 2004 – Several members of the United Nations Security Council today voiced support for Secretary-General Kofi Annan's decision to send a team to Iraq to examine the feasibility of elections before the 30 June transfer of sovereignty.
26 January 2004 – With the past decade providing “especially shameful” examples of genocide in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the global community to take urgent preventive action, both political and, if necessary, military.
26 January 2004 – The Security Council wrapped up a day-long debate today on the role of the United Nations in national reconciliation after wars, hearing UN officials warn the process will never work unless the conflict's root causes are tackled and its most serious crimes punished.
23 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today urged the authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) to carry out reforms that would allow elections to take place according to the agreed timetable and suggested that the UN mission in the country play a role in organizing the voting.
23 January 2004 – Appreciable progress has been made in addressing United Nations Security Council recommendations on strengthening security for four West African countries, but more remains to be done, a senior UN official said today.
23 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council, stressing that there can be mo military solution to the continuing Burundian conflict, today welcomed recent discussions between Burundi's opposing parties in the Netherlands.
23 January 2004 – A two-person team from the United Nations is in Iraq for talks with the coalition on various security matters, a UN spokesman in New York confirmed today.
22 January 2004 – Finland's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Marjatta Rasi, has been elected president of the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), becoming the first woman ever to head the 54-member development coordinating body.
22 January 2004 – The United Nations panel processing claims for losses and damage suffered as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991 today made available over $184 million for payment to more than 1,600 claimants.
21 January 2004 – The fragile stability of southern Lebanon is under threat after an upsurge in violent incidents in the past six months, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a document on the UN force monitoring the situation.
21 January 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the UN mission in Western Sahara should be extended for another three months, through the end of April, to give Morocco more time to respond to a peace plan for the disputed area.
20 January 2004 – The former head of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda has begun giving evidence in the case of four military leaders facing charges at the UN international criminal tribunal set up to prosecute crimes stemming from the country's 1994 genocide.
20 January 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has named five experts to conduct a follow-up mission to Liberia and its neighbours to assess the effectiveness of sanctions against the export of certain natural resources and the import of illicit arms.
20 January 2004 – The battle to uphold the rights and well-being of children exposed to armed conflict “has reached a watershed moment,” the Secretary-General's Special Representative on the issue told the Security Council today.
19 January 2004 – Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette today made a strong case for the ability of the United Nations to evolve, while stressing the need for a strengthened collective response to emerging security threats.
19 January 2004 – In a report released today that says progress in resolving the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict remains "painfully slow," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeals to the Abkhaz side to abandon its "uncompromising position" and negotiate a settlement with the new Georgian Government.
19 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today urged the world's countries to do more to halt the flow of the illicit small arms and light weapons, warning that they could end up in the hands of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida.
19 January 2004 – The Security Council heard a briefing today on the future role of the United Nations in Iraq from top Iraqi officials, who said a return of the UN to the country was key to the process of restoring sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
19 January 2004 – Two more individuals have been added to the consolidated list of those subject to sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council against the Taliban and Usama bin Laden and his associates in the Al-Qaida organization.
16 January 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan is set to meet on Monday in New York with officials from Iraq and the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) for talks on the future role of the United Nations in the country.
16 January 2004 – The Middle East peace process has been stalemated because the two sides, lacking "the will to take risks for peace," are making sequential moves instead of parallel ones, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
15 January 2004 – The successful conclusion of Afghanistan's recent constitutional Loya Jirga promises great hope, but the country faces many onerous challenges if it is to capitalize on that accomplishment, the outgoing senior United Nations envoy to Afghanistan told the Security Council today.
15 January 2004 – Acknowledging that the advent of a transitional national government had changed the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Security Council today unanimously withdrew its demand for the complete demilitarization of a key town.
15 January 2004 – The new senior United Nations envoy to Sierra Leone today held talks with the country's President on reviving initiatives aimed at promoting stability in the region.
14 January 2004 – The President of the United Nations Security Council today said it will hold a private meeting on Monday with this month's head of Iraq's Governing Council to hear thoughts on the current situation and plans for the country's future.
14 January 2004 – The senior United Nations official charged with looking after the rights of children caught in the throes of armed conflict today called on the Security Council to take concrete action to protect them.
13 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council plans to hold closed-door talks on Iraq on Wednesday in response to a request from one of the country's officials.
12 January 2004 – More than half of all United Nations Member States have yet to submit reports to a key Security Council committee dealing with Al-Qaida and the Taliban, seriously hindering its ability to provide assessments on the effectiveness of the sanctions against the two groups, the panel Chairman said today.
9 January 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan met in New York today with coalition representatives in preparation for 19 January talks on the future role of the United Nations in the country.
9 January 2004 – Securing adequate funding for disarmament campaigns in post-conflict areas remains a key concern in dealing with the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.
9 January 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan may recommend that the Security Council send a full peacekeeping force to Côte d'Ivoire, but only if the parties carry out their existing peace agreement, maintain a unitary government and disband disruptive militant groups, according to a document published today.
9 January 2004 – With the Security Council stressing the importance of bolstering the army and police forces of Sierra Leone, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there carried out a joint exercise with the country's armed forces today.
8 January 2004 – Insecurity in Afghanistan has impeded voter registration efforts, putting in jeopardy an election planned for June, a United Nations spokesman said today.
7 January 2004 – Expressing concern about the lack of progress in marking a boundary between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the United Nations Security Council today called on the two Horn of Africa governments to establish a broad political dialogue that would help to improve their relations.
6 January 2004 – A national dialogue has served to foster stability in the Central African Republic (CAR) but the security situation remains dire while the economy is precarious, according to a United Nations document released today.
6 January 2004 – Although Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be convening talks in New York later this month on the future role of the United Nations in Iraq with officials from that country, the Security Council currently has no plans to have a public meeting to discuss the situation there, the President of the 15-member body said today.
6 January 2004 – The United Nations Security Council today commended the delegates to Afghanistan's Loya Jirga, or grand council, for reaching agreement at the weekend on adopting a new constitution for the war-wracked country.
6 January 2004 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon today voiced concern over continued Israeli overflights in the area and urged an end to all violations of the line of withdrawal.
2 January 2004 – Warning that the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains precarious, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on both parties to expedite the demarcation of their common border – a fundamental requirement for peace between the Horn of Africa nations.
